Trust, safety, and agility are the terms often associated with FedEx. They have been serving small businesses well for quite some time, and there’s no denying they’re best at it. FedEx Express, their top-of-line shipping service, has a subsequent sub-division called the FedEx Overnight.
FedEx Overnight is responsible for handling most packages in the U.S. after FedEx Ground. Being a much faster FedEx service than others, it comes with a ton of special delivery options too. It’s obvious this service could probably be the next big investment to your business.
But is it really the best choice for your online business? Are the deliveries really that quick and safe? And what about the shipping prices?
This very article goes deep to find answers to such questions. We will cover everything related to FedEx Overnight and show you the benefits of using it along with your business. Finally, we will see a few examples, compare its shipping rates with others, explore intra-Canada shipping, and much more.
What is FedEx Overnight shipping?
FedEx Overnight shipping is FedEx’s reply to the expedited deliveries provided by other big carriers like UPS. FedEx promises to deliver your package to its destination by the next business day no matter what.
They have streamlined their workflow in such a way that they almost never miss the deadline. And coupled with the latest technologies, their web services like shipment tracking and label generation are really up there.
What’s really cool is they have divided FedEx Overnight into three individual services. They directly compete with the likes of UPS Next Day Air and Early Next Day Air.
- First Overnight
- Priority Overnight
- Standard Overnight
As a result, FedEx now serves more businesses each having a different dynamic than others. Meaning, based on their individual business requirements corresponding store owners can now choose the most appropriate one. This has to do a lot with how they operate out on the road.
What are the differences among the FedEx Overnight shipping services?
In particular to domestic shipping, speed is an important factor and sometimes takes precedence over shipping cost. Thanks to Amazon, the idea of ultra-fast shipping is helping small business owners score a few more customers as well. Customers now prefer to have their orders reach to them as soon as possible.
As a result of the increase in demand, store owners have now begun offering one or two-day shipping for their products online. Wherever you go, you can now see a fast delivery option on your Cart/Checkout page.
Coming back to the point, you have three expedited delivery options from FedEx. Let’s try getting to know more about them.
FedEx First Overnight
| Delivery Timings | FedEx First Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by,
The exact delivery timings depend on the destination ZIP code. You can check out the accurate transit times on their Price calculator page. |
| Working Days | By default, FedEx First Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends.
These additional services come for an additional charge. Please refer fedex.com for more info. |
| Delivery Area | The delivery is available throughout all 50 states of the United States of America. |
| Delivery Exception | The delivery is available from Alaska and Hawaii to various U.S. markets by 8 AM or 8:30 AM. The delivery timings depend on the destination ZIP code.
Delivery is also available to many Alaska markets by 9 AM. For additional details about Alaska and Hawaii shipments, please see FedEx Alaska and Hawaii services. |
| Package Type |
|
| Special Delivery Options |
|
| Shipping price | Highest among the group |
FedEx Priority Overnight
|
Delivery Timings |
FedEx Priority Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by,
The exact delivery timings depend on the destination ZIP code. You can check out the accurate transit times on their Price calculator page. |
|
Working Days |
By default, FedEx Priority Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends.
These additional services come for an additional charge. Please refer fedex.com for more info. |
|
Delivery Area |
The delivery is available throughout all 50 states of the United States of America. |
|
Delivery Exception |
The delivery to and from many areas of Alaska and Hawaii in 1 or 2 business days. For additional details about Alaska and Hawaii shipments, please see FedEx Alaska and Hawaii services. |
|
Package Type |
|
|
Special Delivery Options |
|
|
Shipping price |
A tad more than FedEx Standard Overnight |
FedEx Standard Overnight
|
Delivery Timings |
FedEx Standard Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by,
The exact delivery timings depend on the destination ZIP code. You can check out the accurate transit times on their Price calculator page. |
|
Working Days |
By default, FedEx Standard Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends. You can have your items picked up on Saturday with their Saturday Pickup option. But Saturday Delivery is not available for this shipping service The Saturday Pickup is only accessible for an additional charge. Please refer fedex.com for more info. |
|
Delivery Area |
The delivery is available throughout all 50 states where the FedEx Priority Overnight delivery commitment is by 10:30 AM or Noon. However, shipping to Hawaii is outbound only. |
|
Delivery Exception |
The delivery to and from many areas of Hawaii in 1 or 2 business days. For additional details about Alaska and Hawaii shipments, please see FedEx Alaska and Hawaii services. |
|
Package Type |
|
|
Special Delivery Options |
|
|
Shipping price |
Cheapest FedEx Overnight rates |
Which is the cheapest FedEx Overnight shipping service?
No doubt FedEx Standard Overnight is the cheapest FedEx Overnight shipping service. But you should consider comparing their delivery timings too. Let’s look into this in detail.
Suppose you have a package having a weight of 3 Lbs. You need to ship it from your store in New York to a location in Atlanta in Georgia. To find out the shipping rates, you will have to check out the rates in the FedEx Rate Calculator.
As you can see, the difference between the rates for FedEx Priority Overnight and FedEx Standard Overnight is less than $10. However, the difference between the delivery timings is huge, almost 4-5 hours.
But when you compare the delivery timings between FedEx First Overnight and FedEx Priority Overnight, the gap around 2-3 hours. So if spending an additional $10 to deliver a package early is your thing, then you may go with the FedEx Priority Overnight.
Exploring the various special delivery options in detail
As we all know, each business is different. Even if two businesses that deal with the same product, say shoes, would probably have different shipping requirement. One may have a warehouse where the shoes are manufactured, packed and shipped from. Another may only use shipping as a way to deliver raw materials from one place to another.
All-in-all it’s not necessary that one shipping service could suffice the needs of both the businesses in the example above. So it’s important to make an informed decision before you select one.
Each FedEx Overnight service comes with a list of additional special delivery options. If you look back at the comparison section, you’d find these options under the Special Delivery Options.
Some of them are unique to their service while some are not available in others. For example, the Hold at Location option is not available in FedEx First Overnight. And FedEx Standard Overnight can only ship dangerous goods that are classified as inaccessible items.
What are the special delivery options and how to use them?
As discussed before, to fulfill the business requirements you may need to select a special delivery option. Let’s explore each one of them.
Saturday Pickup option
The FedEx Overnight delivery services operate only during weekends, that is, from Monday to Friday. They neither pickup or deliver shipments on Saturdays and Sundays by default. However, FedEx First Overnight and FedEx Priority Overnight services allow Saturday Pickup. So you can have your packages picked up on a Saturday. And FedEx can then deliver them on next business day, which is Monday.
Saturday Delivery option
In a B2C model, customers usually prefer having their order delivered to their home on weekends. As a result, most online stores now offer Saturday shipping for their items. So if you too want to offer Saturday shipping, you may go with it.
Like the Saturday Pickup, FedEx Overnight services also offer Saturday Deliveries for their FedEx First Overnight and FedEx Priority Overnight services. However, to save cost on shipping, they do not offer this feature for FedEx Standard Overnight.
Dangerous goods shipping
Shipping dangerous goods can be a train-wreck if not done right. Some companies/businesses deal with chemicals which could classify as a dangerous-to-ship commodity. If you deal with such commodities then you may need a special permit and an authorized shipping service to deliver from one place to another.
FedEx provides reliable delivery for dangerous goods. If your business deals with dangerous goods then FedEx Overnight services are for you. However, there are a few conditions. For instance, FedEx First Overnight does not ship Class 7 radioactive materials, and FedEx Standard Overnight only ship inaccessible items.
Each service offers support and guides on how to ship, download job aids and forms, and get the latest updates. FedEx also updates you with the latest changes to IATA regulations, IATA variations, and other regulatory information. These are necessary information which you should be aware of. Check out the article on Specifying Dangerous goods using FedEx shipping to know more about it.
FedEx Collect on Delivery (C.O.D.)
FedEx is popular for its quick payment process for both direct and returns shipments. Their FedEx C.O.D. service, on the other hand, is a great way to expand payment options for your customers. So if you would like to offer this service, then you may go ahead with it.
Before the delivery is attempted, FedEx tries to contact your recipient to check if the payment’s ready. You can choose the format you prefer.
- Personal check
- Money order
- Cashier’s check
- Company check
- Official check/Certified check.
FedEx can return the payment to you by the end of the next business day via their FedEx Standard Overnight. They may also use the FedEx 2Day service depending on the availability.
FedEx Delivery Signature options
FedEx Overnight services allow multiple signature options when you need a signature upon delivery of certain packages. Based on the type and kind of shipment, FedEx will as the receiver to sign in to the final document. Failing to do so may void the shipment entirely and the package will be returned back to the origin address, i.e, your warehouse.
To avoid such scenario to ever happen, FedEx allows three types of signatures—
- Indirect Signature Required
- Direct Signature Required
- Adult Signature Required (required in the U.S. and Canada)
Please note Indirect Signature Required is available for residential shipments only. You can visit the FedEx page and choose Pickup and Delivery and then select FedEx Delivery Signature Options to know more.
FedEx Hold at Location
There are times when you’d want to hold package(s) for some time before delivering to the final address. Customers usually raise the request to do that because of some reason. Maybe they had to leave the city for a few days or simply aren’t available at the moment.
Nevertheless, FedEx offers a special delivery service that allows you to hold package(s) at a FedEx location upon further information. If you have enabled Hold at Location option for your shipments then you can have your eligible FedEx Express or Ground shipments held for pickup.
You can request the consignments/shipments to be held/retained at the FedEx destination location. You can select this option when you prepare your shipment once it’s on its way. To find the relevant FedEx locations and where this option’s available, you can enter an address and then select ‘Hold at location‘.
Return solutions
There are times when you have to return certain packages. FedEx Overnight services allow you to generate and print return shipping labels for your shipments. You can use their FedEx Ship Manager to print the shipping labels.
If you’re a WooCommerce store owner then you can use the WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin to print the return labels. This plugin will allow you to print the shipping labels in bulk. Check out the plugin page to know more about it.
Intra-Canada FedEx Overnight shipping scenario
Canada is great for small and mid-sized business. Even with so many shipping options to choose from, FedEx Overnight services seem to overrule here. But compared with the Overnight services available in the U.S., the corresponding services have been slightly changed. Check out the services listed below to know more.
FedEx First Overnight
|
Delivery Timings |
FedEx First Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by 10:00 AM to most areas. |
|
Working Days |
By default, FedEx Standard Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends. You can have your items picked up on Saturday with their Saturday Pickup option. But Saturday Delivery is not available for this shipping service |
|
Delivery Area |
The delivery is available to most metropolitan cities and areas across Canada. |
|
Package Type |
|
|
Special Delivery Options |
|
FedEx Priority Overnight
|
Delivery Timings |
FedEx Priority Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by morning to most areas. The timings may differ based on the destination location. |
|
Working Days |
By default, FedEx Priority Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends. You can have your items picked up on Saturday with their Saturday Pickup option. Saturday Delivery option is also available for this shipping service. |
|
Delivery Area |
The delivery is available to all provinces and territories across Canada. |
|
Package Type |
|
|
Special Delivery Options |
|
FedEx Standard Overnight
|
Delivery Timings |
FedEx Standard Overnight offers delivery by the next business day by,
|
|
Working Days |
By default, FedEx Standard Overnight works from Monday to Friday and does not deliver items on the weekends. You can have your items picked up on Saturday with their Saturday Pickup option. But Saturday Delivery option is not available for this shipping service. |
|
Delivery Area |
The delivery is available to all provinces and territories across Canada. |
|
Package Type |
|
|
Special Delivery Options |
|
How to set up FedEx Overnight services in WooCommerce?
You can add any of the FedEx Overnight services with the help of WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin. Using this plugin, you will be able to,
- Configure your FedEx account
- Show live (real-time) shipping rates on the Cart/Checkout page
- Generate, and print shipping labels for your shipments
- Provide real-time order tracking to your customers
Here are a few more things you should know about the plugin.
The WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin is the best FedEx shipping plugin for WooCommerce store owners. It is an automated shipping solution that provides,
- Live FedEx Shipping Rates for domestic as well as international shipments
- Support for FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx SmartPost, and FedEx International shipping services
- One-Click FedEx Label Generation and Download for Bulk Orders
- Live FedEx Shipment Tracking from within the WooCommerce store
- Support for Commercial Invoice andFedEx Pickups
Read more about the amazing features of the WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin.
How to show FedEx Overnight shipping rates on the Cart/Checkout page?
The WooCommerce FedEx shipping plugin is a very simple extension to use. The features and facilities it offers are easy to come by. Once you have installed the FedEx plugin on your WooCommerce, you should be able to see the FedEx option under the Shipping section.
You can enter your FedEx account details/credentials under the Generic API Settings. For more information on the plugin configuration, follow the FedEx shipping plugin setup guide.
Once you’re done, you can go into the Rates & Services section and enable the desired FedEx Overnight services from the list. Please refer the following image for the same.
If you don’t want to offer all three FedEx Overnight services, you may even choose one or two instead. For example, if you want to offer FedEx Priority Overnight then you can enable it and leave others disabled. You may even alter the shipping prices under the Price Adjustment sections as shown in the image above. Now let’s go to the Product page and move a sample item into cart.
As you can see, the real-time shipping rate for FedEx Priority Overnight appears on the Cart page. Your customers can also see the estimated delivery date alongside the service name (refer the same image). This estimate is provided by FedEx directly and you can disable it in the plugin settings if required.
How to configure and generate packages for FedEx Overnight shipments?
Suppose a customer places an order on your online store with a FedEx Overnight service selected. You should be able to find it under the WooCommerce Orders section. Once you’re in, you should be able to see the necessary information for that order.
As you can see in the image above, the order contains the shipping service name right under the product name. Like mentioned before the FedEx Overnight shipping service type we have used here is the FedEx Priority Overnight. The corresponding shipping rate can be seen next to it as well.
You can scroll below and click on Generate Package which will generate the package show the further option to create the shipment. Here, you can enable the Saturday Delivery option which will enable the Saturday delivery for this service.
You can even add enable Cash On Delivery option and add additional packages to the order if required. These features are really useful when creating order and can save a lot of your time.
How to print shipping labels for FedEx Overnight services?
Upon confirmation of the shipment, the plugin will send the information to FedEx and will request for a shipping label. As soon as you do that, you should be able to see the following label printing options.
You have various options here. You can print the shipping label, void the shipment, or even print the Generate the return shipping label for your order. The WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin allows you to change the shipping service for the return shipment as well. So if you want FedEx to return the shipment with the FedEx Standard Overnight then you can change the service then and there.
Anyway, here’s the label generated for the FedEx Priority Overnight shipment example taken before.
Conclusion
Many believe domestic shipping is simple but otherwise seems truer in reality. To provide fast deliveries, you may have to look over the shipping rates and may have to compromise on the package size. So it’s important to figure out the right FedEx Overnight service for your business.
This guide shows you how to make the best use of FedEx Overnight shipping services for your domestic orders. The WooCommerce FedEx Shiping plugin, on one end, is the best e-commerce tool to accomplish all your international shipping needs. Luckily, it has all the FedEx services, live/real-time shipping rate calculation, label generation within the WooCommerce store, live shipment tracking, and a lot more!
If you want to express any views regarding this article or WooCommerce FedEx Shipping plugin then feel free to share them in the comments section below. We will be more than happy to help you understand how this plugin can work together in fulfilling your shipping requirements.
And if you have any query regarding the plugin or WooCommerce shipping then feel free to contact our customer support. They should be able to help you out.
