FedEx and United Parcel Service last month introduced new shipping security features aimed at protecting companies, especially e-commerce merchants, from fraud, theft, and other supply chain risks.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) on Wednesday promoted the launch of UPS Secure Commerce, a suite of risk-management services that essentially repackages in one place pre-existing insurance, order visibility and technology products now supplemented by agentic AI agents.
Emarketer projects global e-commerce sales will reach $6.88 trillion this year, representing 21% of total retail sales. Of that total, 3.2% will be lost to fraud, according to the Merchant Risk Council. Resolving disputes, refunds, reshipments, claims handling, returns, customer recovery and reputational risk extra costs for merchants.
UPS says its solution provides merchants greater operational control by helping detect fraud risk during checkout from an online store and managing post-purchase risk, which ultimately helps retain customers. By combining data across a supply chain, shippers can identify actionable trends rather than simply respond to isolated events.
UPS Secure Commerce combines UPS’s InsureShield shipping insurance; Parcel Pro, a platform for managing domestic and international shipments, creating shipping and returns labels, scheduling carrier pick ups, and using paperless invoicing that includes extra security features; and CommerceShield, a tool that provides fraud screening during online checkout, but also analyzes other in-transit risks to minimize delivery exceptions, chargebacks
UPS provides insurance through UPS Capital. Last year, it insured 62 million packages, paid out $132 million in claims and processed 97% of claims within five days, according to the company.
Delayed packages can trigger support tickets, replacement costs, refund pressure, and disappointed customers who may turn to other vendors in the future. A lost package is more serious and can completely destroy customer trust, lower repeat-purchase rates and brand damage through poor word-of-mouth. Shipping insurance helps merchants deal with those situations by making the customer whole and preventing customer-service standoffs
Parcel Pro allows customers to delete sensitive words from shipping labels to reduce theft, validate shipping addresses to avoid mistakes, use powerful data models to help determine the likelihood of a successful delivery to a destination, and reroute packages to alternative delivery locations, like a UPS Store, for high-theft areas.
Merchants that used CommerceShield and UPS shipping insurance, for example, are able to win many more chargeback disputes with carriers, streamlining manual workflows for claims and making more informed decisions on when to issue refunds or send a replacement item, UPS says.
FedEx authenticated delivery
Meanwhile, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) launched a premium delivery option that uses a secure QR code authentication to help ensure packages are released only to an authorized recipient, providing an additional layer of protection for high-value and sensitive shipments.
FedEx Authenticated Delivery expands the FedEx proof-of-delivery portfolio with a digital verification process designed to help reduce the risk of fraud, theft and misdelivery. The service is particularly well-suited for shipments of luxury goods, electronics, healthcare, aerospace, collectibles and other high-value items where added security is important, the company said.
“The future of delivery isn’t just moving packages quickly. It’s about building greater trust throughout the delivery process,” said Neil Gibson, senior vice president, global customer experience,” in a news release.
When a shipper selects FedEx Authenticated Delivery for an eligible shipment, the recipient receives a unique QR code and delivery instructions through Fedex notifications. At delivery, a recipient with the QR code must be present and provide it to the FedEx driver for scanning and validation before the package can be released. No physical signature is required.
FedEx notifications keep recipients informed throughout the delivery process. Vacation holds may be available through FedEx Delivery Manager when needed. To help maintain the security of the shipment, other delivery changes are restricted, including Hold at Location, Redirect to Hold, and address corrections.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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