Small Parcel Carriers

Shipping with FedEx

4.0 min read

| September 14, 2024

This article reviews the features and services available when shipping FedEx orders through Small Parcel Suite, as well as how to connect a FedEx carrier account to Small Parcel Suite.

Supported providers

Label Provider

Supports FedEx?

BUKU Ship

Yes

Pitney Bowes

No

ShipEngine

Yes

Supported features

Feature

Description 

Supported?

Adult Signature

Requires recipient to sign for a delivery and be at least 21 years old

(Configured under Shipping Info)

Yes*

Carrier Insurance

Insurance available for purchase through carrier

(Configured under Shipping Info)

Yes

Collect Billing Allows a shipment to be billed to the consignee. Yes**

Delivery Confirmation

Allows recipient to receive text or email notification upon delivery

(Configured under Shipping Info)

No

Direct Signature

Requires someone at the delivery address to sign at time of delivery

(Specific to FedEx; Configured under Shipping Info)

Yes*

Domestic Shipping

Shipping supported in U.S.
 

Yes

Electronic Customs Submission

Commercial invoice is automatically delivered to customs after shipping label is printed

Yes

End of Day (Electronic)

Order is automatically manifested with carrier

No

End of Day (PDF)

Manifest can be downloaded as a PDF file

Yes

International Shipping

Shipping supported outside of U.S.

Yes***

Label Reference Fields

Allows up to three label messages per shipping label

(Configured in Small Parcel Settings)

Yes****

Multi-Package Shipping

Multiple packages allowed per shipment
 

Yes

Multiple Accounts

Allows connection of multiple prepaid billing accounts

Yes

Rate Shopping

Returns estimated shipping rates

(Configured in Small Parcel Settings)

Yes

Return Labels

Allows printing of return labels

Yes

Signature Confirmation

Requires someone at or near the delivery address to sign at time of delivery

(Configured under Shipping Info)

Yes*

Third-Party Billing

Allows billing of shipping costs to a third party that is not the shipper or receiver

Yes*****

Tracking

Verification of delivery progress
 

Yes

*Signature Confirmation is only supported for residential shipments. If a commercial shipment requires a signature, you must use "Adult Signature" or "Direct Signature," as FedEx ignores the standard "Signature" value on its end for any non-residential shipments.

**Extensiv supports billing shipments Collect for only FedEx Ground. Please be advised that collect billing will only be available for commercial destinations, and the recipient must have a Collect billing placard on display for the driver to scan. This cannot be validated on the API when you print a FedEx Ground Collect label. You will see the word “Collect” on the label when this is correctly requested. Please note that Extensiv does not support FedEx collect-on-delivery billing option.

***FedEx requires a digital signature and letterhead before they allow you to ship internationally. If you plan to ship international orders through FedEx, please see our guidelines for Capturing Digital Assets for FedEx ETD.

****Most FedEx shipping labels have three available reference fields. The fields are labeled REF, INV, and PO, and they correspond to reference field #1, #2, and #3 respectively. On FedEx commercial invoices, reference field #2 appears in the Special Instructions portion on the bottom left of the label, and reference field #3 appears under Purchase Order No. at the top-right of the document. Note: FedEx SmartPost allows you to only use reference field #1.

*****When billing third-party, you must have a valid zip code and account number defined in the Carrier and Routing section of the order.

Supported services

The ship services listed below are available when shipping FedEx orders in 3PL Warehouse Manager. Please note that these service names may vary slightly from their official carrier labels. 1

Service

Transport Territory

1 Day Freight

United States

2 Day*

United States

2 Day AM (One Rate)*

United States

2 Day Freight

United States

3 Day Freight

United States

Express Saver*

United States

FedEx Ground Economy United States

FedEx International Economy Freight

International

FedEx International Priority Freight

International

First Overnight*

United States

FedEx SmartPost Bound Printed Matter

United States

FedEx SmartPost Media Mail

United States

FedEx SmartPost Parcel Select

United States

FedEx SmartPost Parcel Select Lightweight

United States

Ground

United States

Ground Home

United States

Home Delivery

United States

International Connect Plus**

International

International Economy

International

International First

International

International Ground

International

International Priority

International

Priority Overnight*

United States

Standard Overnight*

United States

*These are special package services that require items to be packed in specific packaging to return the correct rates. Package definitions are set up under Orders > Manage Packaging with the appropriate descriptions—see Shipping with FedEx One Rate® to learn more.

**Please note that you must reach out to your FedEx account representative to have FedEx International Connect Plus added to your account.  Please note, FedEx FICP is different from FedEx International Connect (formerly Cross-Border), and we do not support the FedEx International Connect program at this time.

Extensiv supports FedEx Ground Economy through the legacy service codes used for SmartPost services. Our API partners at ShipEngine and BUKU Ship currently require the old codes.

 

Connection guidelines

Before you can start shipping orders through FedEx, you must first connect your FedEx account to Small Parcel Suite from the Small Parcel Settings page.

 Once you connect a customer's FedEx account to Small Parcel Suite, you cannot use your primary warehouse account for that customer when shipping with FedEx.

  1. Navigate to the Small Parcel space, then select Settings and select a customer from the drop-down menu.

  1. In the Carrier Accounts section, click Create.
     
  1. Using the drop-down menus, specify whether you are setting up a 'Warehouse Account' or 'Customer Account', select the relevant warehouse or customer, choose Federal Express, then click Next.
     
  2. Read the license agreement, select the checkbox next to 'I agree to these terms', then click Next.
     
  3. Complete each field as needed—those denoted with an asterisk (*) are required. Here are a few important notes related to the form fields:

    • If this is a Warehouse Account, you should enter your warehouse's information; if this is a Customer Account, you should enter your customer's information.
       
    • 'Account Nickname' is your preferred nickname for this carrier account.
       
    • The mailing address must match the billing address associated with the FedEx account.
       
  4. Once you complete the form, click Connect to receive a confirmation message.

Once connected, the carrier account is instantly set up, and your warehouse can start shipping against the account. 

If this carrier account is registered in a country that is different from where your 3PL account is located (defined under Admin > Manage Company Info), you must first reach out to Support so they can update this carrier account's home country before you can begin shipping with the account.

 

 We recommend printing 1–2 test shipping labels at least one business day in advance of needing to print labels for active shipments.

 If you plan on connecting multiple accounts for a single carrier, please see Connecting Multiple Accounts for the Same Carrier before repeating Steps 1–6 above.

When connecting your FedEx account, are you getting a billing address error? Log in to your FedEx account and click on your profile name. Navigate to Administrative Tools > FedEx Accounts and click on your account number. The FedEx Shipping Address listed on this page is what you will need to enter when connecting your account.

 

 

 

 

Not finding the help you need?

Contact Support