UPS and FedEx Reinstate On-Time Service Guarantees (...well, Almost)
When COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, businesses across the country scrambled to come up with a plan to continue to serve their customers. UPS and FedEx responded by revoking their service guarantees. In fairness, the decision wasn’t irrational. Their networks were suddenly filled with goods that would have normally been purchased in brick and mortal stores and their systems quickly became overloaded beyond capacity.
Now that 1 in 4 Americans are fully vaccinated, businesses are determining how to move forward. Early last month both UPS and FedEx announced the partial reinstatement of their service guarantees– with a few changes. Today, we’ll go through their April 2021 service guarantee announcements to let you know what you can expect when you ship with FedEx and UPS now.
UPS service guarantee April 2021 updates
On April 5, 2021, UPS announced the return of service guarantees for the following services:
- UPS Next Day Air services (UPS Next Day Air®Early, UPS Next Day Air® and UPS Next Day Air Saver®)
- UPS Worldwide Express services (UPS Worldwide Express NA1®, UPS Worldwide Express Plus®, UPS Worldwide Express®, UPS Worldwide Express Saver®, UPS Worldwide Saver, UPS Worldwide Express Freight® Midday and UPS Worldwide Express Freight®)
They also announced that they would extend the guaranteed delivery time for UPS Next Day Air Saver® deliveries from 3 PM to 11:59 PM on the guaranteed day of delivery.
UPS has announced that service guarantees on all other UPS services not listed above remain suspended.
FedEx service guarantee April 2021 updates
FedEx followed suit, and as of April 6, 2021, the shipping company has reinstated their service guarantees on the following services:
- FedEx First Overnight®
- FedEx Priority Overnight®
- FedEx Standard Overnight®
- FedEx International First®
- FedEx International Priority®
- FedEx International Priority® Freight
Missing from that list are FedEx Express®, FedEx Ground®, FedEx Freight®, and FedEx Office®.
What do the partial service guarantees mean for your business?
Over the past year, the lack of service guarantees meant that the carriers were not held responsible for late deliveries– even when businesses paid for the expensive next-day shipping options. The reinstatement of service guarantees gives businesses peace of mind to begin using the more expensive shipping options. Once again, the carrier will be held accountable if they fail to deliver just as your customers hold you accountable. Soon, we expect the guarantee restrictions to be lifted on the remaining services.
Get in touch with the shipping experts at ShipRx to find a cost-effective solution that works for you. If your shipments are eligible for refunds, our parcel audit service will recover the funds you deserve. Not eligible for service guarantees? We’ll negotiate with your current carrier to ensure you’re paying the lowest rates possible.
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