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When Australia was plunged into two years of lockdown, Australians found a source of much-needed comfort: online shopping. As a result of the global pandemic, Australia has seen an exponential rise in e-commerce, a trend very familiar across the world.
The volumes of items being shipped around the world have reached staggering heights, but today’s consumers still expect the best standards in delivery service.
Speed, convenience and visibility. The end-consumer expects to choose when and where they receive their orders, any day of the week. This applies to wherever they purchase from, whether it’s a major retailer or a local business.
But for small business owners that don’t have the resources of large retailers, providing the same level of delivery service can be daunting. How can small and medium businesses compete — and win — in the new world of e-commerce?
Providers like FedEx are teaming up with small businesses to deliver tailored shipping solutions that allow them to remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.
Collaboration is key
Small and medium enterprises or SMEs are enjoying the benefit of strategic collaborations and integrations that are designed specifically to support local businesses. FedEx is leveraging its global air network combined with our comprehensive domestic network, to offer consumers more choice, flexibility and expertise in their shipping needs.
This includes speciality shipments for temperature-sensitive items, healthcare shipments, and dangerous goods including dry ice and lithium batteries. SMEs are supported by a network of over 6,000 team members in Australia — all on hand to move large volumes of packages.
Combining the FedEx and TNT networks is giving SMEs unparalleled connectivity to Australia’s network of shipping suppliers. This includes:
- A cargo fleet of more than 680 aircraft
- More than 20 dedicated cargo aircraft into and out of Australia per week
- 6 new intercontinental flights originating from APAC, enhancing connections to Intra-Asia, to the U.S. and Europe
- 8 weekly flights connecting Singapore to Sydney
- Strengthening the Trans-Tasman Lane while increasing capacity on other high-demand lanes
Paving the way for borderless e-commerce
SMEs looking to expand their businesses globally are profiting off the rise of borderless e-commerce. Never has it been so easy for Australian-owned businesses to connect their products to the rest of the world.
The logistics industry plays a crucial role in allowing access to these global markets. By rapidly adapting and building worldwide service networks, FedEx is supporting Australian business expansion.
Reliability and speed are the two of the top factors for Australian SMEs when choosing a logistics provider. To make shipping faster and easier to manage e-commerce shipping, FedEx has introduced a suite of offerings, including:
- E-commerce delivery shipping service, FedEx® International Connect Plus (FICP), a day-definite service that combines competitive speed with attractive price
- Easy to use digital tools including FedEx Electronic Trade Documents (ETD) that help save time for SMEs and entrepreneurs and make the shipping process more efficient
- E-commerce platforms collaborations for example with BigCommerce that enable shippers to create shipping labels without leaving the online shopping website
- Customizing delivery preferences including choice of over 1,200 retail collection points in Australia
- Mobile-shipping option through FedEx Ship Manager Lite
- Webinars and educational material to expand SME knowledge on logistics and shipping know-how
- Making return shipments easier to create a smoother process at all stages of distribution
Connecting the world more sustainably
Sending items around the globe with ever-increasing speed and frequency carries a heavy carbon footprint. We all have a responsibility to take bold action on climate change.
The logistics industry has an important role in delivering more sustainably to ensure a bright future. FedEx has a longstanding commitment to sustainability that permeates all levels of operations. As part of this commitment, FedEx has set an ambitious goal to make its global operations carbon neutral by 2040, which will outpace the targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement by a decade.
This includes designating more than US$2 billion (approximately $2.8 billion AUD) toward modernising our airplanes, and using electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, and implementing sustainability and conservation programs through Australia and New Zealand.
Peter Langley, Vice President at FedEx Express, Australasia, says:
“FedEx is investing in more sustainable facilities. For example, our major hubs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are rated 4 Green Star, which means they produce 62% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than average Australian buildings and use 66% less electricity than average Australian buildings. In May 2022, we launched our eco-friendly packaging using cardboard packaging to replace polystyrene for wine shipments. More over, we are proud to have donated USD$100 million (approximately $140 million AUD) to establish the Yale Center for natural carbon capture.”
FedEx Express is one of the world's largest express transportation companies, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date.
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