CNBC Documentary "Delivering Profits" Premieres Jan. 23

A video went viral just before Christmas showing a FedEx driver who had enough of Christmas deliveries. When he reached a gated home, instead of ringing the bell and waiting for the owner to come to the door, he threw a COMPUTER MONITOR over the fence and left, no questions asked. Consumers were enraged that expensive items are put into driver’s hands and mistreated. Despite this, the eCommerce industry will continue to grow.

CNBC is premiering a documentary that explores what exactly happens to your packages from purchase to deliver. “Delivering Profits: Inside the Package Wars” follows workers at both FedEx and the UPS, showing exactly how automated processes get your package from the store to your doorstep. There’s so much technology and travel that goes into each package, most people would be surprised to see what a package goes through before arriving.

Between the UPS and FexEx, 25 million packages are sent daily. The average shipping process is a complex system that includes not only tracking and scanning, but transit on army trucks to fleet planes. The more people shop online, the more people will rely on such companies to ship items. Though most companies appear to be suffering during the recession, these two companies are not.

From a consumer point of view, we simply order our item online. Select the shipping, enter our credit card information and wait for our packages to arrive. We may obsessively check days before arrival, anticipating our new shoes, DVD or even bike. Few consider just what goes into making sure that package arrives from Idaho to New York or California to Maine.

Brian Schactman and a documentary crew were granted access no one has seen before in “Delivering Profits.” The investigative report airs Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. on CNBC.