Q&A: Bonnie Voldeng, VP, FedEx Freight Direct,

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Bonnie Voldeng, VP, FedEx Freight Direct, the company's last-mile and e-commerce-focused service that handles the delivery of bulky items like furniture, televisions, and exercise equipment, among other items. From FY19 to FY20, FedEx Freight’s e-commerce portfolio saw a 71% annual volume increase, including FedEx Freight Direct.  The company said that much of this growth can be attributed to online purchases of outdoor equipment such as grills and pool supplies, which became even more prevalent last spring. And s the weather warms up, “Spring Patio” Peak season, as some in the industry may refer to it, reflects an increase in online shipments that companies such as FedEx Freight traditionally see primarily in the first few months of the year. Voldeng provided Berman with an overview of how FedEx Freight Direct approaches operations and approaches its high service goals. Ther conversation follows below. 

Logistics Management (LM): It is a very busy time of year for FedEx Freight Direct, with “Spring Patio Peak Season” upon us. Can you please provide an overview of how things will progress going forward, in terms of the processes leading up to it, as well as challenges and the company’s approach to things, too, as consumers prep to buy deck furniture, grills, and other items?

Bonnie Voldeng: We have definitely been on a journey, when it comes to FedEx Freight Direct. We saw that the market was moving in this direction several years ago, at the time when we launched this product. And we knew that there was a need in the market for more consumer-centric service that went to homes for the heavy, bulky market, and the need to leverage the trust and experience of a FedEx brand. When we went into this, we really focused on a customer-driven design.

LM: What did that entail?

Voldeng: What we did was ask shippers what they wanted, and we also asked consumers what they wanted. And we basically ended up offering more levels of service really focused on extending that experience a customer gets from a parcel-like experience. We offer a drop-and-go, with a drop [of a package] to a door, with no signature required. We also do an appointment delivery, and we also do some appointment deliveries that go through the door. And where we really focus in on the Spring Patio Peak Season is our Premium Service, where we will offer placement of choice, with us delivering, for example, a patio set to the back yard where someone wants it along with the option for debris removal.

LM: Over the last year or so how have things been, with people spending more time at home and following pandemic protocols? With a 71% annual volume gain, it looks like the impact the pandemic has had on your business has been pretty significant.

Voldeng: Going into patio peak last year, we saw a significant gain year-over-year, and as the pandemic has continued, people have stayed at home more. And customers have become more and more comfortable with purchasing those larger items [online]. We have seen growth in this space…and people enjoy being outside, not only with patio furniture but also outdoor fireplaces, grills, and other things, so it continues to drive the residential freight growth last year and this year as well.

LM: Going back a year ago and in the subsequent months thereafter, many providers were forced to put volume caps in place. Was this the situation for FedEx Freight Direct?

Voldeng: Going into this space, we really have not had to put those volume caps on the customers kind of looking in that rearview mirror. One of the things we have continuously done, from an operations standpoint and is something we have talked about over the last year, is that FedEx Freight had helped out its FedEx Ground counterparts throughout the Peak Season and ensuring that we were able to help them throughout the summer and into the winter months as well. We have not had to put those volume caps in place, but, again, as people get more and more comfortable with buying heavy, bulky items, I think we will continue to see us grow in this area.

LM: So, is FedEx Freight helping out FedEx Ground from a capacity and asset perspective basically?

Voldeng: When we saw the surge in e-commerce, related to regular Peak Season and not the patio peak season, we were prepared to meet and handle that increased demand, not only for ourselves but for FedEx Ground as well.

LM: Can you describe the intersection of the Spring Patio Peak Season and the pandemic? Looking back at March 2020 through now, what are some of the bigger lessons learned you have seen over that period?

Voldeng: When we actually started looking at the e-commerce space, we knew that the spring always a secondary peak for larger bulky items. We wanted to focus on what both the shippers and consumers wanted, realizing that LTL was mostly focused on a more commercial side we needed that lens of the consumer side. We had a lot of learnings going in to this space. We needed vehicles that worked well in the residential areas and focused on safety above all for our drivers, and we gave them the right equipment to go into this space. The equipment was the number one key focus for us, and we had liftgates on that equipment, lower-height vehicles for easy maneuverability in residential streets. And we also wanted to make sure that we set consumers’ expectations and focused on good communications with consumers so the minute that a shipment comes into our network, we provide them with proactive communication letting them know when their shipment is expected to arrive. If they have one of the FedEx Freight Direct Premium deliveries, we will put the shipment in a placement of choice. The customer will need to schedule an appointment for that Premium delivery and can do that either through e-mail or SMS text. I think that the main thing with e-commerce delivery and delivering items that are larger and squarer, a consumer actually needs to be at home, is really setting the expectation and moving that digital experience all the way through delivery. We do those proactive identifications, with the consumers’ ability to set the appointment online, and them give them the notification that that the shipment is out for delivery. About 30 minutes before we are expected to arrive, we let them know we are on route and are actually there. The other thing that we focused on is that consumers don’t like sitting around waiting for as delivery…most times those delivery windows are about four hours. We focused in on tightening that delivery window to only a two-hour window. The reason for that is we know our customers’ time is valuable, we want to ensure we keep to that tight two-hour delivery window. The success in this product has really been driven by the focus on the customer and the consumer experience up front to ensure we are delivering satisfaction to the market.  

LM: What is the timeline for Spring Patio Peak Season?

Voldeng: The spring peak starts in March, but it can be prolonged a little bit longer. It really follows the cycle of retailers when they are promoting their spring goods.

LM: Once you get through the spring, for customers on warmer areas, there are some items for which demand remains steady, from a delivery perspective. When the spring peak does wind down, what is the core focus for FedEx Freight Direct? Does it shift to more “evergreen” goods like exercise equipment, for example?

Voldeng: Yes, that is right. Exercise equipment moves year-round, as well as other things like large HD TVs, too. Many other items ship year-round, and there are certain peaks that occur, with patio peak being one of them.

LM: Is spring patio peak one of the more difficult, or complex ones, to navigate?

Voldeng: It really is all about the way a shipper packages their goods. I would say it is more about ensuring that a shipment fits well within our network, and then it is up to us to deliver on that customer experience.  

LM: What are the key things required in order to meet customers’ expectations?

Voldeng: Our value proposition, at FedEx, has always been about providing visibility for a shipment, from the beginning all the way through delivery. In this space, visibility is king. Consumers want to know when a shipment is going to arrive, so it is truly about making sure they have access to those tracking numbers to track their shipments and that they are receiving their communications to really know it is coming. That is key, and having our transit times and visibility and then setting the consumers’ expectation of when we are going to arrive.

LM: What are some things you are working on looking ahead?

Voldeng: We really are focused on continuing to meet the needs of our customers. I would say expanding those parcel-like experiences to them and having technology similar to FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, using labels for shipping and then leveraging our vast network to ensure we are covering the population centers in the U.S.

LM: What is the current asset count for FedEx Freight Direct?

Voldeng: FedEx Freight has 2,855 pieces of equipment to deliver residential and FedEx shipments on. In addition to this, we currently have 1,634 drivers to execute deliveries.

LM: How do you view future growth for this space?

Voldeng: From a market standpoint, this is a $10 billion industry. We expect it to grow, and that is why we wanted to focus on this area, as well as ensure that we can meet customer and consumer demand.

LM: With so many players in this space, what do you view as your main competitive advantages, in addition to service?

Voldeng: We have a large network, and one of the key differentiators of FedEx Freight as a whole is that with our FedEx Freight Priority Network, we have the fastest published transit times of any public carrier nationwide. And we have the backing of our LTL network in those fast transit speeds. You take that and then you combine that with a service that is being delivered by FedEx drivers, and then when we offer those premium services with a driver and a delivery assistant, we are leveraging our FedEx team members. We have a unique value proposition in that we are leveraging our FedEx brand and network for this service.