

By acquiring RPS, FedEx would get a fully fledged ground network to complement its existing air services. FedEx, which at the time only offered air services, was under pressure from UPS which offered both air and ground services. In 1997, Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, contacted Dan Sullivan, co-founder of RPS and now president of Caliber System, about merging the two companies. After RSI spun off Roadway Express in 1995 and changed its name to Caliber System, RPS was its largest subsidiary.

This backing allowed RPS to grow quickly and by 1988 it was operating 130 terminals covering 70% of the US. Its parent company, RSI, already owned a number of transportation companies including national less than truckload (LTL) carrier Roadway Express. After an intensive effort to shift its operations to use the new technology, RPS became the first company able to track a package through the delivery cycle. One result of this drive for efficiency was RPS' use of barcodes on packages allowing it to track and sort shipments much more effectively.


When RPS was founded on March 11, 1985, it intended to out-compete UPS Ground by focusing on efficiency and structuring itself for lower costs. History The RPS logo used until it was rebranded FedEx Ground In addition to its core commercial package services, the company's services include FedEx Home Delivery, a US residential delivery service, and FedEx Ground Economy (formerly FedEx SmartPost), a low-cost parcel consolidation service. Its services are cheaper than the time-definite services offered by FedEx Express and its drivers are primarily owner/operators, independent contractors who control individual delivery routes and territories. FedEx bought Caliber in 1998 to complement its existing FedEx Express business and rebranded Caliber's RPS package delivery service FedEx Ground in 2000.įedEx Ground provides US and Canada domestic services as well as international services between the two, branded FedEx International Ground. The company began as Roadway Package System ( RPS), founded in 1985 by transportation company Roadway Services Inc., later renamed Caliber System. FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
