The business of fresh berries is part art, part science — and always a race against time. For Shari's Berries, winning that race means delivering hand-dipped strawberries for peak freshness.

"FedEx is an invaluable ally for us," said Kevin Beresford, the company's president and CEO. "We rely on FedEx because their people at every level are focused on customer service."

While the company's processes are meticulous — every berry is dipped and packaged by hand at the Roseville, Calif., headquarters on the day it is shipped — this is no small-scale operation. The ability to ship overnight has allowed Shari's Berries to increase annual revenue from $700,000 in 2000 to $8 million in 2004, making it one of America's top 400 e-commerce merchants. This year, Shari's Berries will dip two million strawberries in 60 tons of toppings and send them to 200,000 addresses using FedEx.

Valentine's Day is an awesome challenge for Shari's Berries, with 14,000 orders to be filled in a single day. To handle the spike in volume, FedEx Express brings empty air cargo containers to the Shari's Berries loading dock, fills them with shipments and takes them directly to its aircraft for distribution.

"Moving that many orders reliably and quickly requires a commitment from everyone at FedEx — not just locally, but across their entire network," Beresford said. "FedEx has it down to a science."

berries.com