What the FedEx–RouteSmart Partnership Means for You
RouteSmart is now part of the FedEx family — gaining scale, speed, and strength to drive greater value across every mile we optimize. Your success remains our mission.
– 4 Min Read
If you’re a RouteSmart client, your first question after hearing that we’ve joined the FedEx family might be: What changes for us?
The answer: Our commitment to you and helping you improve your operations is stronger.
You will still work with the same RouteSmart team. You’ll still use the same intelligent route planning and optimization solutions that power your daily operations.
What’s new is the added backing of a global logistics leader. With the acquisition by FedEx in February 2025, RouteSmart gains the scale, resources, and global insight of one of the world’s most respected companies — without sacrificing the agility, innovation, and industry-specific expertise that made RouteSmart who we are.
“Clients should expect the same RouteSmart they’ve always known,” Kevin Dexter, Managing Director at FedEx, said. “The only difference is now they’re backed by a Fortune 100 company that’s committed to their success.”
FedEx and RouteSmart are aligning to accelerate innovation, expand offerings, and help organizations across waste collection, utilities, postal and parcel, and public works meet the growing demands of their service environments. We’re growing our development teams. We’re expanding support. And we’re doubling down on delivering value to you — faster than ever.
Same Quality Service and Support
RouteSmart will continue to operate as a standalone entity under FedEx Dataworks, maintaining its headquarters in Columbia, Maryland. That means you’ll continue receiving the same hands-on service, strategic support, and advanced route planning solutions you’ve come to rely on.
Tech Product Management, FedEx
“We literally had one objective in acquiring RouteSmart,” Brad Bozeman, Vice President of Ops Tech Product Management at FedEx, said. “Do no harm. RouteSmart’s strength is its relationship with its clients — and we want to support and grow that, not change it.”
With the additional strategic investment, we’re adding development and support personnel across all departments — client services, engineering, research and development, and quality assurance. These new hires will help accelerate product updates, enhance user experience, and bring new technologies to market faster.
A Long Road Together: The History Behind the Partnership
While the acquisition happened in February, the partnership between FedEx and RouteSmart dates to 1999, when FedEx Home Delivery first launched. Back then, RouteSmart’s Vehicle Route Planning (VRP) solution was brought in to help optimize high-density residential deliveries — a task that required intelligent route planning from day one.
“There was no doubt we needed an investment in technology to launch that product,” Dexter recalled. “RouteSmart was the solution that made it viable.”
That early success sparked a long-term relationship. Over the next two decades, RouteSmart’s solutions were integrated into numerous FedEx systems, including:
- Daily Route Planning System (DRPS) for sequencing stop data
- Work Area Planner (WAP) for route planning based upon future volume forecasting
- Dynamic Route Optimization (DRO), which evolved into FedEx Route Optimization (FRO)
By 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was prompting accelerated changes, RouteSmart’s DRO platform had already been deployed across the FedEx Ground network — and became critical to its resilience.
“I don’t know how we would have survived the pandemic without DRO,” Dexter said. “It allowed service providers to plan with visibility, even during impossible days. It literally kept the network running.”
FedEx initially anticipated a 6–7 percent efficiency gain from using DRO. The reality exceeded 10% — translating to hundreds of millions of dollars saved annually. That kind of return on investment, combined with proven reliability, made RouteSmart the clear choice when FedEx began seeking a long-term, scalable routing platform to support its Network 2.0 initiative, integrating Ground and Express operations.
Why Now? Why FedEx? Why It Matters to You
Acquiring RouteSmart secured the technology for FedEx to roll out their FedEx Route Optimization platform globally, as well as beginning to fulfill the objectives of leveraging the company’s data and supply chain expertise to provide value to clients across many industries.
“This is yet another step on our journey to make supply chains smarter for everyone as we revolutionize logistics,” Raj Subramaniam, president and chief executive officer, FedEx Corporation, said. “Through this acquisition, we will use RouteSmart’s expertise and proven technology platform to accelerate the deployment of a common route optimization capability for FedEx operations that will enable our team members to work safer and smarter as they deliver superior service to our customers.”
FedEx has made it clear: RouteSmart’s clients across all industries remain a top priority. The acquisition doesn’t narrow our focus — it broadens our ability to serve. Whether you manage solid waste, deliver newspapers, operate utilities, or coordinate public works organizations, we are still your partner in intelligent route planning.
“We remain focused on the success of our existing clients,” RouteSmart President Larry Levy said. “This acquisition allows us to dream bigger — and deliver faster.”
