Peak season is both one of the toughest and best times for FedEx route owners and drivers. Yes, the peak holiday shipping season can be stressful. But there are also money-making opportunities during FedEx Ground peak season. When you operate a business with small margins, the time to increase those margins is something you want to take advantage of.
Here are seven opportunities for you to maximize your earnings during FedEx Ground peak season.
Purchase Another FedEx Ground Route
You have just enough time before peak season begins to purchase another FedEx Ground route and bring a new driver up to speed or get up to speed on the route yourself. Purchasing an additional route (or even your first one) just before peak can be a great way to increase your revenue during the busiest season of the year.
Just be sure to pick a route in your area, adjacent to current routes you own if possible. This will help with logistics and some of the other opportunities listed below.
Evaluate Splitting Your Route
Is your route large enough that you may need a second driver or even to split the route? Now might be a good time to spin off a new route and get it organized and running before peak season. If your area includes both a large number of businesses and growing residential areas, splitting your route could be one of your best money-making opportunities of the season.
Optimize Your Route(s)
Before peak is a great time to ensure that you are running your route in the most efficient way possible. Whether you just look at the mapping of your route yourself or utilize AI route running tools, you can save fuel, time, and energy by optimizing your route.
With the rising cost of both fuel and labor, making sure your route is being run in the best and most fuel-efficient way possible is more important than ever, especially during peak season. The better route flow you have, the larger profits will be during peak. You may even want to consider electric delivery vehicle options before peak begins.
Run Stops or Even Temp Routes for FedEx Ground
No matter what, FedEx Ground always creates temporary routes during peak and hires temporary drivers. However, you can run some of these stops yourself if they are a part of your route territory or you can even run a temp route for FedEx Ground.
The other good news? You can often offload stops that are difficult to get to or on the edge of your delivery area to temp drivers, allowing for even more efficient operations on your route itself. The money and time saved can make your peak season much easier.
Add Trucks to Your Current Routes
Even if just temporarily, and even if you rent trucks, adding an additional truck to your current route can be a great money-making opportunity. Maybe your route is not ready to split yet, but you get busy enough during peak to run an extra vehicle. Before you offload those stops to a temp driver, see if taking them on yourself is a better choice.
The more stops you can handle within your business the more you make. Just be sure to take into account the additional truck, fuel, and labor expenses and only add what you know you can make money on.
Add Helpers and Additional Drivers
Want your drivers to be more efficient? Add helpers or runners who take packages to the door while your drivers drive and set up the next number of stops. This saves them time and energy and means they can handle more stops a day.
Need additional drivers, even part-time, to handle extra days or stops? Hire them. FedEx often has a pool of temporary workers who have been trained and certified to drive, and who want extra work during peak. Use them to assist with your routes for more money-making opportunities during FedEx Ground peak season.
Increase Your Pick-Ups From Shippers
Shippers ship more during peak the same as customers order more. Encourage those shippers on your route to ship with FedEx over other companies and increase your package count. Just like deliveries, the more you pick up, the more money you make during FedEx Ground peak season.
Start talking with shippers about this early when they are making decisions about how to handle shipping during one of their busiest times of year as well. You may be pleasantly surprised by the profits you can find on your existing route from established customers.
Maximize Money-Making Opportunities During FedEx Ground Peak Season
Peak is one of the toughest seasons for FedEx contractors. It’s true. But it is also one of the periods every year where they make more money than normal. By being efficient and using additional personnel, you can ensure the maximum profits for your business during FedEx Ground peak season.
Follow these tips to ensure your route is in the best shape it can be. And if you are interested in buying another FedEx Ground route or even your first one before this peak season, contact us here at Route Advisors. We’ll be with you every step of the way.