Federal Express unveils Import Tool in South Africa

FedEx has launched the FedEx Import Tool (FiT) in South Africa, a state-of-the-art platform designed to streamline and simplify the growing complexities of imports in the country.

This move is timely, as South Africa’s import volume saw an 8.5% increase in 2023, reaching $110 billion, according to FedEx’s official release. FiT aims to enhance the efficiency, compliance, and overall shipment management for businesses handling imports.

Features

Key features of the FiT platform include a unified self-service system for shipment management, a dashboard for end-to-end visibility, proactive notifications to minimize customs delays, an online customs payment system, and round-the-clock tracking for up to 90 days post-pickup. Developed initially in India, FiT is being introduced across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa, with South Africa being a key market.

Nitin Navneet Tatiwala, FedEx Vice President of Marketing for MEISA (Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa), highlighted that FiT was designed based on customer feedback, addressing the specific needs of businesses managing imports. It is expected to improve efficiency and transparency, helping South African companies stay competitive in the global market.

FedEx Corporation, originally Federal Express Corporation, is company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name “FedEx” is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company’s original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1973 until 2000. FedEx today is best known for its air delivery service, FedEx Express, which was one of the first major shipping companies to offer overnight delivery as a flagship service. Since then, FedEx also started FedEx Ground, FedEx Office (originally known as Kinko’s), FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Freight, and various other services across multiple subsidiaries.