FedEx Fulfillment to challenge Amazon for SME e-commerce services

FedEx Supply Chain announced the launch of FedEx Fulfillment, a service designed to meet the shipping needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to challenge to Amazon’s dominance of the e-commerce sector. FedEx Fulfillment delivers orders across multiple channels, including websites and online marketplaces, and manages inventory for participating retailers.

The new Fulfillment product – formerly called GENCO, an e-commerce platform catering to SMEs – utilizes FedEx Supply Chain’s suite of logistics services, including warehousing, distribution, transportation, e-commerce fulfillment and reverse logistics. FedEx Fulfillment then integrates these services to what it calls an “easy-to-use platform” and the rest of the integrator’s transportation networks.

For SME’s, scaling up e-commerce operations in-house is expensive and time-consuming, prompting many to turn to e-commerce platforms like Amazon. FedEx Fulfillment is meant to be a serious contender in this market.  Carl Asmus, senior vice president of e-Commerce for FedEx Express, explained that the new offering would allow “customers can focus less on fulfillment and logistics challenges and more on growing their businesses.”

The company stated that, “customers will have complete visibility into their products, giving them an easy way to track items, manage inventory, analyze trends, and make more informed decisions by better understanding shoppers’ spending behaviors.”

In early 2015, FedEx bought third-party logistics provider GENCO Distribution System for $1.4 billion, and the launch of FedEx Fulfillment fleshes out the integrator’s investment.

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