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FedEx Corporation
FedEx
Company Overview
FedEx is a global organization that provides wide variety of business portfolio such as e-commerce, transportation and business services. FedEx operates and competes effectively under collective brand names such as FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Kinko's.
The objective of the paper is to provide comprehensive report on FedEx that include FedEx's strategy for success in the marketplace and the company four main business strategy. The report uses FedEx's Form 10-K fiscal year to answer the following 7 questions.
"What is FedEx's strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely primarily on a customer intimacy, operations excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? What evidence supports your conclusion?"
Answer to
FedEx strategy is by building a strong brand to enhance customer experience as well as enhancing capabilities of the company sales professional. The company relies on the combination of value proposition,…
References
Noreen, E., Brewer, P. And Garrison, R. (2011). Managerial Accounting for Managers. McGraw Hill Irwin. New York.
SEC (2005). Form 10-K FedEx Corporation. United States Security Exchange Commission.
FedEx Corporation is a logistics services company based in the United States. It was founded in Little ock, Arkansas in 1971 by Frederick W. Smith and since then has grown into a multibillion-dollar company with aerial and terrestrial forces that cater to almost 6 million packages per day. The company's headquarters are currently in Memphis, Tennessee. Originally known as FDX Corporation, it was renamed to FedEx Corporation in January 2000 and all of its subsidiaries were rebranded. The name FedEx is actually an abbreviation of the company's original air division "Federal Express."
FedEx Corporation allows customers and businesses the world over to choose from a wide variety of transportation, e-commerce and business services. Boasting annual revenues of $40 billion, the company offers integrated business applications under the respected FedEx brand. FedEx has consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, and sports a massive workforce of more than…
References:
All, A. (2009, December 07). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/all/FedEx-makes-smart-use-of-sensors/?cs=37952
Birla, M. (2005). FedEx delivers: How the world's leading shipping company keeps innovating and outperforming the competition. (1 ed.). Wiley.
Ryan, S. (n.d.). FedEx's monitor and pc power management initiatives save $1 million a year.
Retrieved from http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/power_mgt/downloads/FedEx_Case_Study.pdf
FedEx was founded by Fred Smith after his tour in Vietnam, and he continues to run the company today, as the only CEO that FedEx has ever known. The company began by offering overnight courier services, an industry that to that point had not existed. Today, that unit is known as FedEx Express and it is still the largest in the company. There are competitors, however, mostly notably UPS, DHL and TNT. In most estern markets, the industry is relatively concentrated, with these companies and a few local competitors (such as Purolator in Canada) dominating the business. In the developing world, there may be more competitors and the industry less concentrated. FedEx remains a strong competitor in the overnight delivery industry. Today, industry growth is concentrated on emerging markets. As such, most of the notable moves from FedEx Express have related to these markets. Recent moves in China for example…
Works Cited:
Ashby, A. (2011). FedEx Express launches new delivery service in India. Memphis Business Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2011/10/04/FedEx-express-launches-new-delivery.html
Berman, J. (2011). FedEx Express expands in Suzhou, China. Logistics Management. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/FedEx_express_expands_in_suzhou_china/
FedEx. (2007). FedEx Express responds to growth of Brazil, South Cone with greater access for local markets. FedEx Brazil. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://news.van.FedEx.com/international/br?node=5688
FedEx. (2011). FedEx earns top ten spot on Fortune's World Most Admired Companies List. FedEx Press Release. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://news.van.FedEx.com/fortunemostadmired2011
FedEx
In the case of FedEx, some elements of its business would be subject to regulatory oversight from the Department of Justice, which enforces the nation's antitrust statutes. These laws exist to protect consumers from unfair business practices. If the DoJ were to be involved in a FedEx merger this might imply that the company was attempting to merge with UPS. The result of that merger would be to take the industry from oligopoly to a virtual monopoly. The only remaining players would be DHL and TNT, and a handful of local firms. This would provide insufficient competition, as per Section 7 of the Clayton Act (FTC, 2013). Antitrust laws serve to protect consumers from monopoly abuse. It is entirely likely that such abuses would occur if there are no major competitors. Many customers of this industry would be forced to deal with the combined entity, and this lack of…
References
CFR. (2013). U.S. antitrust policy. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://www.cfr.org/corporate-regulation/us-antitrust-policy/p29984
Friedman, M. (2013). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html
FTC (2013). Mergers. Federal Trade Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/mergers
Investopedia. (2013). Definition of agency theory. Investopedia. Retrieved December 10, 2013 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/agencytheory.asp
02143
USD Rate
CAD
1
1.019015
0.00861
0.011
2
1.022995
0.01315
0.0116
3
1.027413
0.01833
0.0124
4
1.030542
0.02244
0.0134
5
1.03375
0.02623
0.014
6
1.033257
0.02827
0.0165
These figures that be used to convert the CAD cash flows into future USD.
According to the FedEx 2010 Annual Report (p.49), the company's discount rate for internal usage is 12%, so that is the discount rate used in this example.
The prospect of higher inflation in the future has already been accounted for. The discount rate factors in future inflation, as does the interest rates that are used in interest rate parity. Thus, the net present value of the project already reflects expectations for future inflation in both the U.S. And in Canada. No further accounting of inflation expectations should be done. The basic figures initially presented of course do not factor in inflation, which is why I have added the…
Works Cited:
FedEx Q4 2010 Fiscal Statistics. In possession of the author
FedEx 2010 Annual Report. In possession of the author
FedEx Corporation Complete Exercise
• What is FedEx's strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely primarily on a customer intimacy, operations excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? What evidence supports your conclusion?
FedEx relies on a product leadership approach for their success. The company commands four different market businesses, but has focused on keeping the businesses seamless and working together. According to their report, "We believe that sales and marketing activities, as well as the information systems that support the extensive automation of our package delivery services, are functions that are best coordinated across operating companies. Through the use of advanced information systems that connect the FedEx companies, we make it convenient for customers to use the full range of FedEx services. We believe that seamless information integration is critical to obtain business synergies from multiple operating units."
• What are FedEx's four main business segments?…
Score cards for the first level would be handed out and the program and the prizes explained. The start date would be set starting the day that the employee gets their score card. Each score card would require three months of consistent metrics in order to be signed off by the employee's supervisor. Once signed off, that employee receives their rewards at a monthly group award meeting.
orks Cited
"Case Study: A Great Place to ork." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://printfu.org/read/case-study-a-great-place-to-work-a761.html?f=1qeXpurpn6ih-SUpOGumainh6-wyaqUu7nFtsKolKeVtLexsMqFxLSms7eJwsOGzLy3t5Gx2K6Zn5LYi6nnoKumn47X6tnkopSf5M7h49vn0Mrfnd3X2cnZ4N7K0dna5OTU3tqkyOPVlN7X4OGj1tnTlNLU2srsx9Xi19zT4tr4c7b3aTV2M6Hq-8
"Compensation and Rewards." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/cn_english/careers/compensation.html
"FedEx Attributes Success to People-first Philosophy." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/eg/about/overview/philosophy.html
"FedEx Salaries." Glassdoor. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/FedEx-Salaries-E246.htm
"Larry D. Cox, a.A.E. Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://printfu.org/read/larry-d-cox-a-a-e-memphis-shelby-county-airport-authority-df2e.html?f=1qeXpurpn6ih-SUpOGunKnh7jQ6NftiKmekqzd7JKVrpOtnbuTlLXK3eLR1-eTyNXK2NHvhbfX2t7m4o61z-fd1N7jlqbp3M3f5NLi7Yiw4J-dqZjLlqPYqqmZqJbO6eHVpp6l3Ovfk9HV0pvix6Pc19Oe6dnV3M7Toc7c6Nj29jV46x1drX6ZebnrfV7dnRmcLm0Oaqzt-fr9fix-Gb1dDVmKDx
"Recognition for FedEx." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/gh/about/recognition.html
Smith, Federick (2008). hat the…
Works Cited
"Case Study: A Great Place to Work." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://printfu.org/read/case-study-a-great-place-to-work-a761.html?f=1qeXpurpn6Wih-SUpOGumainh6-wyaqUu7nFtsKolKeVtLexsMqFxLSms7eJwsOGzLy3t5Gx2K6Zn5LYi6nnoKumn47X6tnkopSf5M7h49vn0Mrfnd3X2cnZ4N7K0dna5OTU3tqkyOPVlN7X4OGj1tnTlNLU2srsx9Xi19zT4trW4c7b3aTV2M6Hq-8
"Compensation and Rewards." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/cn_english/careers/compensation.html
"FedEx Attributes Success to People-first Philosophy." FedEx Express. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/eg/about/overview/philosophy.html
"FedEx Salaries." Glassdoor. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/FedEx-Salaries-E246.htm
A fourth weakness is the declining level of business services sales during one period of the case study, brought about by the economic recession impacting areas of the global economy unevenly.
Opportunities
FedEx can expand significantly more into the highest-growth economies of the world by pursuing more acquisitions in specific logistics and transportation management companies. As one of their core strengths is growth through acquisition, the company needs to consider how to more fully support their growth potential in China and India especially. Their growing base of operations in ussia could further be supported by moving into ancillary businesses there. The continual refinement of Boeing aircraft and their supporting technologies shows significant potential as well, in addition to the strategy of consolidating jet aircraft models in their fleets. This is a critical success factor for driving down costs, as Southwest Airlines readily learned from their standardization on the Boeing 737.…
References
Alghalith, N. (2007). FedEx: Leveraging it for a competitive advantage. The Business Review, Cambridge, 8(1), 296-304.
FedEx
Applying Strategic Market Planning to FedEx
Marketing Foundations
FedEx (NYSE: FDX) is one of the leading providers of global logistics services to the Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketplaces globally. FedEx is particularly strong in the U.S. where 73% of total revenues in their latest fiscal year were generated (FedEx, 2010). FedEx's approach to marketing is to accentuate the role of trusted advisor in shipping, 3rd party logistics (3PL), and supply chain services (Trunick, 2004). The company has been very successful with their branding and marketing strategy efforts, being consistently recognized as one of the top ten brands in the world every year by Fortune Magazine during their annual surveys (Elmer-DeWitt, Birger, Colvin, Quittner, Taylor, Boyle, Hira, Murphy, Simons, McLean, Schlosser, Gimbel, Gumbel, Kapner, Schknder, Fortt, 2008). FedEx successfully uses integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies to accentuate and strengthen their brand's image and reputation as being fast, very trustworthy…
References
Nabil Alghalith 2007. FedEx: Leveraging IT for a Competitive Advantage. The Business Review, Cambridge 8, no. 1 (July 1): 296-304.
James C. Anderson, James A Narus, Wouter van Rossum. (2006). Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review, 84(3), 90-99.
Lora Cecere, Roddy Martin, 2006. What is Demand Visibility? AMR Research Report. Published March 14, 2006.
R Bhardwaj, K Momaya. 2006. Role of Organizational Flexibility for Corporate
FedEx Corporation offers worldwide delivery services in the overnight and ground businesses, along with other related logistics services. The company operates around the world, utilizing either wholly-owned subsidiaries or service partners to gain market entry. If the company is considering making an investment in a foreign country, it can start by determining the cost of capital. Most of the company's business is in the U.S., so the domestic cost of capital is applicable. There are different methods of financing that could be used to fund the expansion, debt or equity. Debt financing has the benefit of a lower cost but it also increases the risk that the company faces. Equity financing has a higher cost but carries with it less risk, since less of the company's cash flows are going towards debt service. Moreover, if the company wants to match the term of the financing with the term of the…
References
MSN Moneycentral. (2014). FedEx Corporation. Retrieved January 23, 2014 from http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet/?stmtView=Qtr&symbol=FDX
Robinson, M. (2014). FedEx sells $2 billion of debt in three parts, credit swaps hold. Bloomberg. Retrieved January 23, 2014 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-06/FedEx-said-to-plan-2-billion-bond-offering-credit-swaps-hold.html
FedEx is in the global logistics industry, and offers a wide range of products and services within this space. The major business units are Express, Ground, Office, Custom Critical, Freight, SupplyChain and Trade Networks. The major business is Express, which is the overnight courier business. FedEx pioneered this service and remains the global leader in overnight shipping. While most subsidiaries are based in the United States, Express operates globally, spanning a network of stations in 220 countries and territories. Most regions of the world can be reached within 1-3 days. Ground operates in the U.S. And Canada, serving business and residential customers with slower shipping times. FedEx Office used to be Kinko's, and is an international office services chain. The other businesses encompass a wide range of solutions including LTL (less than truckload) shipping, customs clearance and sophisticated supply chain solutions, primarily to very large or multinational clients.
The unifying…
FedEx is a worldwide delivery service specializing in the transportation of parcels and packages, and is the largest express transportation company with about 30 per cent of the market share. ince its founding in 1973, FedEx has done business with an eye to technological improvement. When it became one of the first companies to do business using the Internet in 1994, it was considered one of the only companies to whom the nature of the Internet as a medium for interaction was relevant. The reason for this was obvious: the development of the Internet as a medium for the sale of goods necessitated world-wide package delivery. FedEx had been one of the first companies to develop a computer network that was used to track its products.
The case study addresses how FedEx transformed itself into an e-business by integrating physical and virtual infrastructures across information systems, business processes and organizational…
Strategies implemented at Federal Express in the late 1990's to cope with the increasing importance of E-commerce were among the best; FedEx considered itself an innovator in this field. Among the most significant was to transition FedEx'es entire system of computers online through Project Grid; replacing 60,000 dumb terminals and some PCs with over 75,000 network systems. This is essential in that many inventory systems now use SQL server, SAP R/3 and other comprehensive systems in order to manage shipments and maintain active just in time delivery systems. Federal Express implemented its COSMOS online tracking system in addition to its hub-and-spokes model of global distribution.
Strategy Implementation.
The key hurdle that FedEx faced in 2001 and 2002 was that of its' customers facing curtailed revenues. However, whereas these customers' other vendors, like advertising concerns, suffered heavily, FedEx was able to convince clients of the essential nature of its business, allowing the company to double its market capitalization at a time when many companies ceased to exist.
FedEx Situational Analysis
Conduct a situational analysis for FedEx. What are its internal strengths and weaknesses? What strategic opportunities and threats does it face? Think SWOT analysis.
FedEx has evolved into one of the most powerful freight and courier service providers, in addition to providing world class logistics and business support. It's core strengths in logistics and supply chain management continually lead the U.S. And global air express industry (Pettus, 2006). The company is organized into the divisions of FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services, Uniting all of these diverse divisions into a single unified identity has been possible through the use of world class branding and marketing. FedEx has one of the strongest brand images globally today, instantly recognized and considered a global leader in brand management (Murphy, 2011). In addition their strength in branding, they have been able to attain a very large scale operation…
References
Murphy, C. (2011). FedEx CIO explains the real power of cloud. InformationWeek, (1291), 18-19.
Oster, C.V., Rubin, B.M., & Strong, J.S. (1997). Economic impacts of transportation investments: The case of federal express. Transportation Journal, 37(2), 34-44.
Pettus, M.L. (2006). Structural transformation of the U.S. air express industry. Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics, and Policy, 73(2), 261-265.
Viaene, S., & De Hertogh, S. (2010). Enterprise-wide business-IT engagement in an empowered business environment: The case of FedEx express EMEA. Journal of Information Technology, 25(3), 323-332.
The response to this challenge is a twofold one -- the first approach sees that the PacEx representatives assess the market conditions (including the legislation) and promote the company efforts in full accordance with local customs and norms. Secondly, it is necessary to approach the local authorities and promote the PacEx agenda as being beneficial for Kava as it creates more jobs, increases the living standards of the population and sustains their professional formation.
esource equirements
In implementing the recruitment and training plan for the Federal Express offices in Kava, it is necessary to make use of several resources, succinctly presented below:
in order to ensure the success of the campaign through sustained guidance, it is necessary to get the assistance of the marketing specialists in the FedEx headquarters to create and air the campaign, select the candidates and hold interviews, it is also necessary to get the support of…
References:
Sechler, B., June 9, 2009, FedEx Begins Campaign Against Labor Bill, the Wall Street Journal, p. B5
2006, FedEx Announces Retirement Contribution Freeze, FedEx Watch, http://FedExwatch.com/content/pages/FedEx_announces_retirement_contribution_freeze / last accessed on August 21, 2009
2009, FedEx Careers, FedEx Website, http://FedEx.hodesiq.com/careers/about_us.aspx?User_ID=&Locale=en last accessed on August 21, 2009
FedEx
The organization in question is FedEx Express, the overnight courier company. The company operates a global network for picking up and distributing packages and envelopes. Most of its major fixed assets are its stations, its aircraft and its fleets of vehicles. The company's business is highly correlated with the state of the global economy, and as a result FedEx must continually adapt its capacity in different regions according to the demand conditions in those regions. For example, the company has expanded significantly in China over the past twenty years, to meet the shipments of products to and from that country.
One recent decision that can be evaluated for costing is the decision to introduce the new Boeing 777F to the company's fleet. Adding new aircraft or vehicles to the fleet represents a significant challenge, because the maintenance department must have more parts, new training and possibly even new facilities…
Works Cited:
FedEx Corp. (2011). FedEx United Kingdom news. FedEx Corporation. Retrieved May from http://news.van.FedEx.com/international/gb?node=17164
SCDigest. (2010). Global logistics news: FedEx thinks new Boeing 777 fleet is a "game changer" in air freight out of Asia. Supply Chain Digest. Retrieved May 16, 2012 from http://www.scdigest.com/assets/On_Target/10-07-15-1.php?cid=3584
FedEx Canada
Source of Finance (millions)
Balance sheet value as of: 28 Feb 2011
Market value as of:____6/5/2011
Proportion in total financing
Cost of capital (ACC)
Product of (4)x (5)
Short-term debt
1,685,000
D/E Ratio: 11.07
Long-term debt 1
1,667,000
Long-term debt 2
Long-term debt 3
Preferred shares
Common equity
Total
1,716,000
Revenue
39.30B
34.73B
35.49B
37.95B
35.21 B
-Purchase of Office Supplies
-Direct and indirect labor
-Marketing expense
- Depreciation
1.91 B
1.90 B
1.89 B
1.70 B
1.52 B
EBIT
2.34 B
1.97 B
2.11 B
3.35 B
-Taxes
Net income
1.45 B
1.18 B
98.00 M
1.12 B
2.02 B
+ Depreciation
Operating cash flow
4.04 B
3.14 B
2.75 B
3.48 B
3.56 B
Are there any important economic variables that financial managers of FedEx Corporation need to identify before expanding in Canada?
At the current time FedEx will have to take into consideration the overall…
Works Cited
FedEx Corporation Income Statement. Retrieved from; http://finance.yahoo.com /q/is?s=FDX+Income+Statement&annual
FedEx Annual Report. Retrieved from; (2010)http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/FDX/1313050925x0x395636/5b8f7453-b960-4f0f-92cd-ec27cab06760/FedEx_2010_AR.pdf
WACC Discount Rate Analysis - FedEx (FDX). Retrieved from; http://www.wikiwealth.com/research:fdx
FedEx Exchange Risk
The majority of FedEx's transactions are in the U.S. dollar, but foreign exchange currency risk exists with the ritish Pound, Canadian dollar, Chinese Yuan, euro, Hong King Dollar, and the Japanese yen. During 2012 and 2011, foreign currency fluctuations positively impacted the operating income. At May 31, 2012, a uniform 10% strengthening in the value of the dollar relative to currencies in which transactions were denominated would result in a decrease in operating income of $75 million in 2013 (FedEx Annual Report 2012, 2012). This assumes each exchange rate changes in the same direction relative to the U.S. dollar.
Some of the foreign currencies are stronger than the dollar, creating more profits, and some of the currencies are weaker than the dollar, creating losses in revenues. If the overall currency mix is stronger than the dollar, there will be additional revenues. If the overall currency mix is…
Bibliography
FedEx Annual Report 2012. (2012, May 31). Retrieved from FedEx: http://annualreport.ir.FedEx.com/Files/FedEx_Annual_Report_2012.pdf
Basu, C. (n.d.). Hedging Strategies for Foreign Exchange Risks. Retrieved from eHow Money: http://ehow.com/info_8002819_hedging-strategies-foreign-exchange-risks.html
Volkov, A. (n.d.). Exposure Management in Foreign Exchange Risk. Retrieved from eHow Money: http://ehow.com/about_6389055_exposure-management-foreign-exchange-risk.html
Thus it exemplifies a company's migration from the technology strategy through the service strategy to the market strategy of the B2C e-strategic grid" (132). These authors suggest that these it-based initiatives were primarily responsible for the company's ability to promote its services and grow its market share far more rapidly than its main competitor: "By focusing on building profitable market share, UPS is now able to deliver 12.4 million packages a day around the world and handle 55% of all e-commerce shipments, compared with rival FedEx's 10%. Facilitating those shipments are 2,500 distribution centers, more than 330,000 employees, and 500 airplanes. Smart use of eb technology also has enabled UPS to reinvent itself as an information-delivery company and problem solver" (emphasis added) (Brynjolfsson and Urban 132). According to UPS President Jim Kelly: "UPS does business where the virtual and physical worlds meet, where 'tires and wires' converge"; however, this was…
Works Cited
Brynjolfsson, Erik and Glen L. Urban. Strategies for E-Business Success. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 2001.
FedEx Corporate History." (2007). FedEx. [Online]. Available: http://www.FedEx.com/us/ about/' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
FedEx Innovation
Innovation at FedEx
The shipping and parcel delivery company FedEx has always placed an emphasis on technology, starting with the industry's first automated customer service center as long ago as 1978 and continuing to incorporate new technologies that provide more efficient services and create value for customers and company shareholders alike (FedEx, 2012; Comer, 2007). FedEx still represents the forefront of technological innovation and incorporation in the shipping and delivery industry, with many different areas of technological adaptation, innovation, and application that serves to enhance the value chain of the company in all operations and at all levels (FedEx, 2012). From office communications to customer interactions, innovation and technological use remain deeply engrained and very widespread parts of FedEx's operations and overall competitive advantage.
When it comes to the internal operations of the company, there are several specific technological innovations FedEx has made that enable the company to…
References
Comer, D. (2007). How FedEx uses insight and invention to innovate. Accessed 24 February 2012. http://www.prtm.com/uploadedFiles/Thought_Leadership/Articles/External_Articles/PRTM_PDMA_How_FedEx_Innovates.pdf
FedEx. (2012). Technological innovation at FedEx. Accessed 24 February 2012. http://www.FedEx.com/ma/about/overview/innovation.html
FedEx
My company if FedEx Express, the overnight courier company. The activity that is being studied is the foot courier division, a hypothetical transaction that involves an envelope picked up by a foot courier and shipped domestically. The costs associated with this transaction are primarily allocated to the pick-up side; the delivery side is treated as a fixed cost to the delivering station. Indeed, most of the costs associated with this transaction are fixed costs, once the envelope enters the network on the airplane. Prior to that point, the courier is one cost, reflecting the total costs of the route, and the station is another cost, reflecting the aggregate costs associated with multiple couriers and routes.
The company publishes data for FedEx Express, as follows:
FedEx Express
Q1 YTD
Revenue
Salaries & Benefits
Transportation
Rentals/Landing Fees
Dep/Amort
Fuel
Maintenance & Repairs
Intercompany charges
Other
Operating Income
There remain costs that…
Works Cited:
FedEx Corporate Q1 Fiscal 2009 statistics. FedEx Corporation. Retrieved April 28, 2012 from http://www.FedEx.com/us/ investorrelations/Q1FY09_stat_book.pdf
FedEx Express is the overnight courier arm of FedEx Corporation. This is the core business for the firm, delivering packages in a number of time frames between almost any two points in the world. The business has high fixed costs in terms of trucks and aircraft, and is very labor intensive. Operating effectively requires that the company have stations located all over the world. The location and size of these stations has to be driven by demand. One of the areas that is growing the most rapidly is in China, so in 2010 FedEx undertook a major expansion of its Shanghai station near Hongqiao airport (FedEx, 2010). This project has a long life span, potentially upwards of 30 years for this expansion, assuming China maintains its economic strength.
There are several relevant costs that would go into this decision. A relevant cost is a cost that is directly incremental to…
Works Cited:
FedEx. (2010). FedEx expands largest operation station in China. FedEx Corporation. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from http://news.van.FedEx.com/international/cn?node=16841
FedEx Financials
The author of this report has been charged with doing a review and summary of the financial state of FedEx and their package shipment operations. Per the given parameters of the assignment, the included metrics and facts that will be included will be a summation of the airline's current status, an analysis of the firm's current financial performance, recommended courses of action that FedEx should take to be more profitable and the predicted status or performance of the company as the coming years arrive and then pass. While FedEx faces competition from firms or organizations like UPS and USPS, FedEx is really doing quite well for itself but they could be even better.
As indicated in the introduction, FedEx only has two competitors to speak of, those being USPS and UPS. Of course, there are other competitors that exist when it comes to FedEx's international operations. However, the…
References
Katz, E. (2016, January 21). Lawmakers Agree on Urgent Need to Overhaul Postal Service. In Government
Executive. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2016/01/
lawmakers-agree-urgent-need-overhaul-postal-service/125309/
Keever, J. (2014, April 20). UPS or FedEx? Read this and then decide. In The Richest. Retrieved May 14, 2016,
Each employee therefore plays a role in revenue generation. Just as important is the fact that a key organizational objective is to be as efficient and productive as possible. Revenue per employee is a key productivity ratio, and the higher this figure the more productive the company. Many employees can directly see themselves in this ratio, which orients personal responsibility for its improvement, another value of having a metric like this to evaluate total rewards.
The third metric for the total rewards program is turnover. The point of having a sophisticated total rewards program is to attract and retain the best people, in line with the People, Service, Profit mantra. hile good people will help the company deliver higher net income and revenue per employee, turnover is a very good direct measure of the program's effectiveness. The others are merely proxies. Turnover is a key metric for a couple of…
Works Cited:
Scott, D. & McMullen, T. (2010). The impact of rewards programs on employee engagement. World at Work. Retrieved March 7, 2012 from http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=39032
FedEx initiates the change process from its head office as the first step. The design of the change is made, and the implementation plan is then communicated to each regional station. The stations do not set their own implementation plans, but rather follow instructions sent from head office. hen the change involves new training, this is also handled from head office. This high level of centralization can at times bog down the change process at FedEx but it also allows for the consistency across the company that is required in such a tightly-coupled system.
orks Cited:
Volberda, Henk ijtze. (1999). Building the Flexible Firm. Retrieved April 18, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=zGgKtghlHScC&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=tightly+coupled+systems+decentralized&source=bl&ots=STxJIuIA_H&sig=PMw6Xje_7x5IFSqeKTA6-m2ynYU&hl=en&ei=v5vqSfnAE9KJtgen6ISbBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6
How Times Flies: FedEx Delivers the 21st Century. Internal FedEx publication. (1998)
Hesseldahl, Arik. (2002). FedEx has a new Gadget. Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/26/cx_ah_1126fdx.html
Works Cited:
Volberda, Henk Wijtze. (1999). Building the Flexible Firm. Retrieved April 18, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=zGgKtghlHScC&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=tightly+coupled+systems+decentralized&source=bl&ots=STxJIuIA_H&sig=PMw6Xje_7x5IFSqeKTA6-m2ynYU&hl=en&ei=v5vqSfnAE9KJtgen6ISbBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6
How Times Flies: FedEx Delivers the 21st Century. Internal FedEx publication. (1998)
Hesseldahl, Arik. (2002). FedEx has a new Gadget. Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/26/cx_ah_1126fdx.html
FedEx Company: Five Forces Analysis
The company examined is FedEx and the relevant industry is the overnight and express ground delivery business. There are a few different types of market participants. The first of these are the overnight and ground providers, FedEx and UPS. These are the market leaders and offer the most comprehensive route networks and packages of services. TNT and DHL offer some competition but have a much more limited market presence. There are other firms in the business as well. USPS does not have an overnight business, but handles express ground deliveries. There are also many local courier companies, handling a range of deliveries including same day service. Many of these offer rapid service, but within a single geographic area.
The bargaining power of buyers is moderate in this industry. Most customers have regular or semi-regular business -- these are the revenue drivers. The switching costs are…
References
Porter, M. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1
FedEx
he organization that is being studied is FedEx Express. he company is involved in the overnight courier business, which involves collecting shipments from customers, sending those shipments through the company's extensive logistics network, and then delivering them the next day. here are a wide range of services that the company offers, but the easiest to analyze is the cost of sending envelopes that originate with foot couriers. FedEx can cost this activity in a couple of ways, but it appears that only the pickup side is built into the cost, while the delivery side is viewed as a fixed cost.
Foot couriers work exclusively in major downtown areas, and they deliver and pick up only envelopes. It is easier to do costing for foot couriers because they do not require trucks, so there are fewer cost inputs. he revenue for this activity can be determined from the company's website.…
The variable cost would be factored on the basis on the pickup courier. So a foot courier working on Wall Street would pick up an average of 80 envelopes on his/her route. The foot courier makes an average of $15 per hour, depending on experience, plus another $2.50 per hour in benefits. The route takes four hours to complete (1pm-5pm). Thus, the total cost of this route would be $70, divided by 80 envelopes, for a variable cost per unit of 87.5 cents. There are also variable costs associated with the enveloped (5 cents) and stickers (1 cent). The total variable cost would therefore be 93.5 cents for each enveloped. The total contribution to fixed costs would be $38.99 - $0.935 = $38.055.
This is a fairly high contribution margin, but most of the company's costs per unit are fixed costs, associated with maintaining a vast global network of delivery couriers, aircraft, trucks and stations. The total operating expenses were $36.926 billion in FY 2011, and this was with 3.607 million packages per day. This gives the company fixed costs of $28.04 per package.
The breakeven point, given $38.055 as a contribution margin, is 970.333 million units per year, or 2.658 million units per day. Thus, while the foot courier only needs to pick up 1.8 envelopes to cover his/her costs, the company's high fixed costs mean that to turn a profit it needs to pick up the 2.658 million a day to break even at the price listed for the overnight enveloped from New York to Miami.
Local networks in Poland and in the United Kingdom have also been built up and an utter focus has been laid on Asia.
y reinvesting the funds generated, the company sustains growth through acquisitions, the development of new products and the improvement of the services provided. A result of the reinvesting process is the Package Flow Technology. This is a multi-year re-engineering of their pickup and delivery of packages. It has proved very efficient.
Types of Costs Involved
As in the case of FedEx, UPS is basically confronted with the same types of cost. The variable costs are the wages of the employees; these are strongly related to the number of hours they spend working. Others are the ones which depend on the distance of transportation, or on the weight of the package. As for the fixed costs, they consist of the amortization, the salaries paid to the employees in…
Bibliography
FedEx Annual Report, May 2006
United Parcel Service, Inc.: Company Report. On the Internet at http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/profile.asp?Symbol=UPS (n.d.). Last retrieved on October 28, 2006
UPS Annual Report, Dec 2005 http://www.FedEx.com/us/ about/' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
If it is felt that this is not the case, then another question needs to be answered -- to what extent are the policies and strategies of FedEx management related to the company's performance. Although it has long been held that the company is an economic bellwether on account of their customer base, there are certain aspects of the firm's business model that contribute to their performance, in particular vs. The performance of other firms in the industry.
There are other critical questions as well. The relation of FedEx's performance to the health macroeconomic environment has long been considered to be strongly correlated. It is hypothesized that this correlation has diminished in recent years. The company has expanded its business offerings, which should serve to increase that correlation by allowing the company to appeal to a broader range of business customers. However, these changes have been driven by increased segmentation…
Works Cited:
FedEx 2008 Annual Report. Retrieved July 8, 2009 from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/FDX/677397546x0x223284/b51e2e11-6edc-44a3-bcad-e5379c70a765/FedEx08ar.pdf
Palepu, Krishna G. (no date) Business Analysis & Valuation: Using Financial Statements. Cengage Learning. Chapter 3.
FedEx notes a few different indicators of success. Earnings per share ($1.65) is announced in one such release, but there is more than that. The company notes when it builds or expands plants, as this means better service to/from that destination. It also notes sustainability measures like the number of hybrid vehicles (365) and Co2 emissions reduced (3000 metric tons). The company notes its 290,000 employees as well.
This compares with UPS, who note on their website the number of countries it serves, its revenue, the number of employees (398,300), delivery volume (4 billion packages) and daily U.S. (2.2 million) and international (2.4 million) air volumes. The United States Postal Service uses metrics like operating revenue ($65 billion), new delivery points served (636,530), debt ($13 billion), deficiency ($18.9 billion) and number of employees (557,251) in its report to Congress.
An editorial in the all Street Journal highlights some differences between…
Works Cited:
FedEx website. (2012). Retrieved April 7, 2012 from http://about.van.FedEx.com/
UPS website. (2012). Retrieved April 7, 2012 from http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/facts/worldwide.html
USPS website. (2012). Retrieved April 7, 2012 from http://about.usps.com/publications/annual-report-comprehensive-statement-2011/html/ar2011_report_1_001.htm#ep998294
Wall Street Journal (2010). The big brown bailout. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2012 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704133804575198232906957778.html
FDX
Value Creation Frontier
The value creation frontier "represents the maximum amount of value that the products of different companies inside an industry can give customers at any one time by using different business models" (Hill & Jones, 2008). FedEx focuses on quality and excellence, as well as responsiveness to customer, as the core elements of its business model. eliability and efficiency are also facets of business on which FedEx focuses. What this means is that FedEx can and should offer higher prices, because its business has higher costs. FedEx is basically offering a premium service within the package delivery business, in the express division. FedEx Ground is more reliability and efficiency, which implies that division should offer a lower price and move more towards cost leadership.
To maintain above-average productivity, FedEx needs to continually innovate. The company has been an innovator in the past, first when it was the…
References
Gross, D. (2004). Ground war. Slate Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2014 from http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2004/01/ground_war.html
Hill, C. & Jones, G. (2008). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Cengage.
ICAO (2003). The impact of low cost carriers in Europe. International Civil Aviation Organization. Retrieved November 13, 2014 from http://www.icao.int/sustainability/CaseStudies/StatesReplies/Europe_LowCost_En.pdf
Session Long Project (SLP)
FedEx Corporation is one of the largest companies in the courier industry. The company is renowned not just nationally in the United States (U.S.) but internationally. FedEx Corporation belongs to the parcel service industry segment. The size of the industry segment is quite large in the sense that in the past fifteen years or so, consumers in America have spent beyond fifty billion dollars in shipping packages, parcels, and also letters. Also referred to as Federal Express, the company is a big player in the segment and is positioned as one of the trailblazers in the industry segment. However, it is important to note that in this particular industry segment, each of the players serves a niche. For instance, Federal Express is specialized in overnight delivery, while UPS concentrates on standard shipping on the ground for parcels not surpassing 150 pounds. In overall, this segment in…
References
Anderson, D., Britt, F., & Favre, D. (1997). The seven principles of supply chain management. Supply Chain Management Review, 1(1); 3-8.
FedEx Corporation. (2014). Annual Report. Retrieved from: http://investors.FedEx.com/files/doc_financials/annual/FedEx_2014_Annual_Report_v001_a00492.pdf
FedEx Website. Mission and Goals. Retrieved from: http://investors.FedEx.com/company-overview/mission-and-goals/default.aspx
Klapper, L. et al. (1999). Supply chain management: A recommended performance measurement scorecard. Logistics Management Institute document.
Innovation & Creativity
FedEx was founded as an innovator in a logistics field that had never seen overnight delivery before. The company has always positioned itself as a premium provider in the business, based on its sophisticated technology, superior network size and quality of service. However, as the company has matured, its ability to be an innovation leader is being threatened. There are a few different issues at play. The first is that, as in any mature industry, the pace of innovation is generally slow. And as the only company that genuinely seeks to position itself as premium to its competitors, FedEx is the only firm truly trying to compete on innovation. Over the years, it has had some tremendous innovation successes, pioneering the ability to maintain communication with its drivers on road, with its tracking that allows customers to see where their packages are at every step of the…
References
Andersen, H.; Barker, P. And Chen, X. 2006. The Cognitive Structure of Scientific Revolutions Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cooper, R.G. 2008. Perspective: The Stage-Gate® Idea-to-Launch Process-Update, What's New, and NexGen Systems Journal of Product Innovation Management 25 (3) 213-232.
Edquist, C. & Hommen, L. 1999. Systems of innovation: Theory and policy for the demand side. Technology in Society. 21 (1) 63-79.
Gatignon, H.; Tushman, M.L.; Smith, W. And Anderson, P. 2002 A Structural Approach to Assessing Innovation: Construct Development of Innovation Locus, Type, and Characteristics. Management Science 48 (9) 103-122.
Organizational Design
Introduction
FedEx is a logistics company focused on the overnight courier business, but with brand extensions into ground courier, office supplies, and customs-related business lines. Based in Memphis, the company operates a highly centralized system where most key operating decisions are made at headquarters, and the different national and regional subsidiaries are to carry out the instructions. There are two reasons for this structure. One is that the entire company must be virtue of its business operate in a tightly coordinated manner, such that the different elements cannot simply do their own thing or packages will not be delivered on time. The other is that the founder, Fred Smith, is a former Marine and brought a lot of military influence to the company's culture and structure. This paper will examine the organizational design at FedEx, and perhaps make recommendations for the transformation of some aspects of it.
Formal…
FedEx Express Airlines Asset Structure
In definition, the asset structure of an organization refers to the different kinds of assets that are held by that particular organization. These various kinds of assets are delineated in the statement of financial position of the organization (Ambrose and Megginson, 1992). This particular essay will discuss the asset structure of FedEx. It will consider the company's main concerns with regard to airline scheduling, and whether the company owns or leases its equipment. It will also take into consideration the average age of FedEx's fleet and what their route structure is like.
What are the primary considerations in airline scheduling?
Scheduling regulates where and when the airline will fly. Schedules are constructed to make best use of long-standing profitability. The revenue and cost linked with every schedule are centered on very dissimilar understandings of the equivalent information (Barnhart and Smith, 2012). There are a number…
References
Airfleets.net. (2016). Federal Express Fleet Details. Retrieved 4 April 2016 from: http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/Federal%20Express.htm
Ambrose, B. W., & Megginson, W. L. (1992). The role of asset structure, ownership structure, and takeover defenses in determining acquisition likelihood. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 27(04), 575-589.
Barnhart, C., Smith, B. C. (2012). Quantitative Problem Solving Methods in the Airline Industry. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science 169
Cosmas, A., Martini, B. (2007). UPS and FedEx Air Hubs: Comparing Louisville and Memphis Cargo Hub Operations.
FedEx Express Airlines (Case Study)
In this case study, we will be looking at FedEx Express's hub airports. The airports will include Memphis International Airport (MEM) and Indianapolis International Airport. The focus will be mainly on capacity, traffic, and what is planned for the future of these airports.
FedEx Corporation is one of the largest companies in the courier industry. The company is renowned not just nationally in the United States, but internationally. FedEx Corporation belongs to the parcel service industry segment. The size of the industry segment is quite large in the sense that in the past fifteen years or so, consumers in America have spent beyond fifty billion dollars in shipping packages, parcels and also letters. Also referred to as Federal Express, the company is a big player in the segment and is positioned as one of the trailblazers in the industry segment (FedEx Corporation, 2014). The following…
References
CAPA. (2015). Prospects for Indianapolis International Airport look promising after good 2014 passenger growth. Retrieved 21 April 2016 from: http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/prospects-for-indianapolis-international-airport-look-promising-after-good-2014-passenger-growth-220204
Cosmas, A., Martini, B. (2007). UPS and FedEx Air Hubs: Comparing Louisville and Memphis Cargo Hub Operations.
FedEx Corporation. (2014). Annual Report. Retrieved from: http://investors.FedEx.com/files/doc_financials/annual/FedEx_2014_Annual_Report_v001_a00492.pdf
Hao, E. (2015). Overview of the Cargo Industry and Airports: A Case Study of Memphis International Airport. Retrieved 21 April 2016 from: https://www.wsiz.rzeszow.pl/pl/Uczelnia/kadra/klysenko/Documents/Case%20study%202.pdf
Long-Term Financial Planning
FedEx Corporation
FedEx Corporation was established in 1971 and the company has four distinct business segments that include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Office and FedEx Freight. Over the years, the company has obtained 6-year of CAG (compounded annual growth of 5%). However, the company is likely to obtain similar CAG of 5.9% over the next 8 years based on current economic environment. (FedEx Corporation .2010.
The WACC (weighted average cost of capital) is the average interest rate that a company should pay in order to secure a project. Moreover, WACC is the average rate of return that a company must earn from its current assets to satisfy investors, shareholders and creditors. Since FedEx Corporation is always trying to create value for shareholders, the paper calculates the WACC of the FedEx to evaluate the company ability to generate returns from its assets.
Estimation of WACC of the…
Reference
FedEx Corporation (2010. Annual Report.USA.
The company offers training sessions for their staff members and presents them with several incentives, such as discounts on the organization's services or employee empowerment. This virtually means that the individual staff members are valued as vital organizational assets, and their input is considered throughout the decision making process.
The second component of the transportation and logistics infrastructure is given by the fleet. This is composed from the following:
654 aircraft fleet, out of which 71 are Airbus A300; 56 are Airbus A310; 13 are AT 72s; 26 are ATT 42s; 79 are Boeing 727; 1 is Boeing DC10 (10s); 6 are Boeing DC10 (30s); 57 are Boeing MD 10 (10s); 12 are Boeing MD 10 (30s); 57 are Boeing MD (11s); 10 are Cessna 208As; 242 are Cessna 208Bs and finally, 24 are Boeing 757-200s
43,000 vehicle fleet over 100,000 power ships over 2 million ships and ship managers…
References:
Marc h 16, 1995, FedEx Extends Tracking and Information Capabilities to America Online Users; Federal Express Customers already Using Services on FedEx Internet Worldwide Web Home Page, Business Wire
2000, FedEx Corporation SEC Filling, http://apps.shareholder.com/sec/viewerContent.aspx?companyid=FDX&docid=784953 last accessed on January 18, 2010
2010, FedEx Corporation, Hoovers, http://hoovers.com/company/FedEx_Corporation/rfhhti-1-1njdap.html last accessed on January 18, 2010
2010, The 9 Faces of Leadership, Fast Company, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/13/9faces.html last accessed on January 18, 2010
Business Expansion
FedEx is a corporation offering worldwide delivery services to other corporations, government entities, individuals and anyone who is interested in quick, efficient and safe delivery of documents and other packages throughout the world. As such, FedEx is constantly looking to expand into additional marketplaces and geographies. Understanding the local economies and cultures of the areas of expansion are key to a successful launch and ongoing profitability when servicing the new areas.
Considering all the various factors that can ensure a profitable expansion venture is an important part of the decision process. A recent report determined that "companies have more than enough data to tell them when, where and who is buying their product" (Neeley, arnica, Lorinc, Castaldo, McCullough, Nowak, Toller, Beer, Evans, Melanson, Barmak, McCullough, Shufelt, 2013, p. 36) but that is only part of the equation. Knowing who is buying your product does not necessarily equate into…
Works Cited
Kohls, B.M.; (2012) Going global, Economic Development Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pp. 27 -- 34
Neeley, P.; Warnica, R.; Lorinc, J.; Castaldo, J.; McCullough, M.; Nowak, P.; Toller, C.; Beer, J.; Evans, M.; Melanson, T.; Barmak, S.; McCullugh, M.; Shufelt, T.; (2013) 35 Radical ideas to kick-start Canada's economy, Canadian Business, Vol. 86, Issue 5, pp. 36 -- 62
Pofeldt, E.; (2013) Grow the right way, Money, Vol. 42, Issue 10, p. 48
SWOT Anaysis
Strengths
FedEx is an established company with many strengths, the first of which is the brand name recognition that the company enjoys. In addition, the company has the ability to deliver products throughout the world in a timely and efficient manner. FedEx has a presence in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.(About FedEx) Another strength that the company possesses is the ability to properly utilize technology. According to an article found in Mckinsey quarterly the company was one of the first to allow customers to track their orders through the internet and creating a virtual value chain. The article explains that Federal express now allows 'customers to track packages through the company's World Wide Web site on the Internet. Now customers can locate a package in transit by connecting online to the FedEx site and entering the airbill number. After the package has…
REFERENCES
Marketing Plan Worksheets. Retrieved November 26, 2004 from; http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:5oBnJ-W1CJ4J:www.swlearning.com/marketing/ferrell/second_edition/worksheets.doc+%22Formal+marketing+control%22& ; hl=en
About FedEx. Retrieved November 26, 2004 from; http://www.FedEx.com/us/ about/' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
1. What happened to the two company’s stock price in 2004? Why did it rise? Did one company outpace another and if so why do you think that happened? How should we interpret any increases?
Mid-year 2004, China and the United States attained a revolutionary air-transportation covenant that increased the number of commercial cargo trips between the two nations four-fold. In addition, the agreement encompassed the permission for air-cargo hubs to be created in China and also sanctioned the right for commercial airlines to land at any accessible airport. Taking into consideration that United Parcel Service, Inc, together with FedEx Corporation were the sole all-cargo carriers at the time, it implied that they could expand their operations to the Chinese market. This major market prospect led to an increase in the stock price for the companies. However, it is imperative to note that one company did outperform another. In particular,…
Fed Ex
hat is FedEx's strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely primarily on a customer intimacy, operations excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? hat evidence supports your conclusion?
FedEx's strategy in the market place combines customer intimacy, product leadership customer value proposition, and operational excellence. In our textbook, Noreen, Brewer, and Garrison describe how companies who have customer intimacy attract new and retain past customers by understanding and reacting to their needs better than their competition. Operational excellence is defined as providing faster services, conveniently, and at a lower price than their competition (Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison, 2008). Companies that pursue product leadership customer value proposition get their customers to select them due to delivering a higher quality service or product than their competition (Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison, 2008).
You can find the evidence of customer intimacy and operational excellence in the 10-K form that…
What are FedEx's four main business segments? Provide two examples of traceable fixed costs for each of FedEx's four business segments. Provide two examples of common costs that are not traceable to the four business segments.
Fed Ex has four main business segments. They are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Kinko's. A fixed cost that is traceable in a segment only exists because of the existence of the segment itself (Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison, 2008). If the segment is removed then so is the cost. Common costs are incurred to support operations of multiple segments of a company and are not traceable in any way or part of a particular segment (Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison, 2008). If a segment is removed then the cost remains and doesn't change.
A traceable fixed cost for FedEx Express is the cost of their facilities at Memphis International Airport, which includes hangars, aircraft maintenance, flight training, fuel facilities, administration building, and warehouse space. FedEx Express also has traceable costs in maintaining the 557 airplanes they own. They also have costs related to operating their offices and information data centers that are located in Pittsburgh and owned by FedEx Ground. Costs are also related to the salaries of the CEO plus all the worker's salaries. Traceable costs also include the costs to maintain the 39,500 vehicles and trailers plus the cost of operating their customs-critical headquarters in Green, Ohio. FedEx Kinko's traceable costs include operating 1,290 Office and Print Centers as well as the salary
Managerial Econ
FedEx is a logistics company that "provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services." The company offers "integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively" (FedEx.com, 2013). The company has a number of different units, including Express, Ground, Office, Customs Critical and other smaller businesses related to its core delivery businesses. The company has experienced a long-term rising trend in its revenues, mostly tied to the business cycle, but its net income has been more volatile over the past five years (MSN Moneycentral, 2013). FedEx has long been considered to be a bellwether firm for the economy, since it has a diversified corporate customer base and its stock price closely tracks industrial output (Goldstein, 2013).
Pattern of Change
FedEx has a relatively slow pace of change. The core technologies of the logistics business are transportation equipment, which has…
References
Doss, N. & Credeur, M. (2011). DHL reboots in U.S. after $9.6 billion bleed. Bloomberg. Retrieved November 29, 2013 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-14/dhl-reboots-in-u-s-after-9-6-billion-bleed-freight-markets.html
FedEx.com. (2013). Company information. About FedEx. Retrieved November 29, 2013 from http://about.van.FedEx.com/company-information
Goldstein, S. (2013). Why FedEx is called a bellwether. MarketWatch. Retrieved November 29, 2013 from http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2013/09/18/why-FedEx-is-called-a-bellwether/
MSN Moneycentral. (2013). FedEx Corp. Retrieved November 29, 2013 from http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-income-statement/?symbol=fdx
FedEx's 44,000) and strategy of building route density, productivity, and cost efficiency. While UPS, admittedly lagged behind FedEx in keeping pace with environmental trends, it is interesting to note that the company is now closing the gap quickly through addressing the weaknesses in its competitor's business model. Today, it is UPS, which is in a stronger position. UPS achieved this turnaround by integrating its online and core business practices, developing an open system of online services, and offering customers price and service flexibility. This strategy has not only allowed UPS to gain the leadership position in the online business segment, it has also resulted in the company's air express delivery business growing at more than double FedEx's rate.
A prima facie comparison of FedEx and UPS may lead to the conclusion that it is UPS that is relatively better placed today. However, a closer analysis will reveal that FedEx can…
References
Cohen, I. (2002, October). The Parcel Service Industry 2002: UPS vs. FedEx.
One of the first steps in the change management process is to carry out a diagnosis of the situation requiring change. This entails examining the causes, context, and rationale for the change (Russell & Russell, 2006). Proper change diagnosis ensures successful change planning and implementation. Though change may occur at different levels, including strategic, functional, and process, attention in this paper is paid to the human resource (HR) function. HR is one of the organisational functions commonly targeted for change. Increased competitive pressure, regulatory adjustments, changes in strategic orientation, as well as market and technological shifts often compel organisations to adjust their HR practices, policies, processes, and/or procedures. This paper describes, justifies, and evaluates a change in HR practice at FedEx, one of the largest courier delivery firms in the U.S. and internationally. The paper particularly identifies the HR area that requires change and the need for the change and…
Kotter's Change Model to Solve the FedEx Situation
FedEx HR Management Strategy
Local as well as multinational organizations experiences change during operations. The goal of change is to ensure sustained organizational competitiveness and relevance. Any change is met by an organization and its members going all-out in their commitment to it and in integrating it into company systems. HR departments are responsible for devising practicable plans for resolving organizational issues and, more significantly, inducing change. Corporate change may be small-scale (changing one sub-department or some operational processes only) or large-scale (department-wide or company-wide change).
International courier giant, FedEx, has a sound global footprint. Ever since its institution, the multinational has garnered positive reviews on the part of specialist commercial managers, business partners and its own workforce. Star candidates from the HR pool, with advanced educational qualifications and first-rate experience, are hired via a great vetting process, to handle its HR…
For the first 2010/2011 fiscal quarter ending Aug 31, FedEx Freight generated revenue of $1.26 billion, up 28% from last year's $982 million, but made a loss of $16 million -- down from an income of $2 million a year ago (2010, FedEx).
FedEx Corp. reported gross revenue of $9.46 billion in the quarter, up 18% from $8.01 billion the previous year; operating income of $628 million, a 99% increase from $315 million last year; and net income of $380 million, a gain of 110% from $181 million in 2009/10 (2010, FedEx).
Financial Performance
On September 15, FedEx shares dropped by 3.4% on the news that profits in the quarter ending August 31 (the first quarter of fiscal 2011) had totaled $380 million. Although they had doubled relative to the immediately preceding quarter, this profit level was still seen as somewhat below market expectations (2010, Company Profiles).
According to Investor's…
References
A to Z. Of Management Concepts & Models (2005). Porter's generic strategies, p. 272-277. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
Blois, K., Dibb, S. (2000). Market segmentation. Added Oxford Textbook of Marketing, p.380, sections 1-10. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
Boyle, M. (2008). UPS and FedEx Think Outside the Box. BusinessWeek, (4099), 064. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
Cambra-Fierro, J., Hart, S., & Polo-Redondo, Y. (2008, October 15). Environmental Respect: Ethics or Simply Business? A Study in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Context. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(3), 645-656. doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9583-1.
companies I am going to compare are FedEx and UPS. These two companies compete in the United States and around the world, doing package delivery and other logistics services. As such, they have a lot of similarities, but they also have a lot of differences. This paper will explore both the similarities and differences between these two companies. The two companies are both American, and most of their business is domestic. However, it is valuable to look at two things that are similar in order to better understand their differences. I think that most people would see these companies as interchangeable, but it may be more that they are similar but not quite interchangeable.
Similarities
There are a number of similarities between FedEx and UPS. Both companies are American, as a starting point. UPS is based in Atlanta, GA while FedEx has its headquarters in Memphis, TN, so both are…
References
Business Wire. (2013) UPS officially opens Hangzhou healthcare facility as part of global expansion. Business Wire. Retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130530006011/en/UPS-Officially-Opens-Hangzhou-Healthcare-Facility-Part
FedEx. (2014). About FedEx. FedEx Company. Retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://about.van.FedEx.com/history
MSN Moneycentral (2014). FedEx Retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-income-statement/?symbol=U.S.%3aFDX
MSN Moneycentral (2014). UPS Retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-income-statement/?symbol=U.S.%3aUPS
In many countries, FedEx Express charges a fuel surcharge. In foreign countries, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar is inherently built into the price of jet fuel, or even into the price of gasoline. As such, a fuel surcharge helps to offset the currency impact on the local price of jet fuel. The result is that it serves as something of a hedge, pushing this particular risk at least in part onto its customers.
FedEx Express conducts as much of its business as possible in U.S. dollars. In particular, the company's major cost drivers in U.S. dollars. The foreign currency that is not reinvested into foreign subsidiaries may be repatriated to the U.S., or invested in other areas of the world. Despite its global footprint, FedEx Express therefore is well-hedged operationally against fluctuations in the U.S. dollar. Canadian dollar surpluses, for example, have been used to make…
Works Cited:
2009 FedEx Annual Report. Retrieved February 3, 2010 from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/FDX/791567587x0x312397/557bd7f3-8372-4afe-a664-1fdb82a488b0/FedEx2009AnnualReportl.pdf
FedEx Canada. (2009). FedEx Express opens new facility in Peterborough. FedEx Canada. Retrieved February 3, 2010 from http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2343955/
Company Description
FedEx Express is a logistics company, focusing on overnight delivery service, though offering slower services as well. The company operates globally, using a hub and spoke model. The company ships from each depot to one of several centralized depots, where the packages are sorted and dispatched to the different outbound aircraft (FedEx.com, 2015). Not surprisingly, information systems are critical to managing millions of packages each night, and ensuring that they arrive in their destination anywhere in the world the next day.
One Critical System
One of the information systems that is critical to FedEx is the one that manages the tracking of packages as they move through the centralized sorting facility. Each package has a bar code with which it is tracked. At the different stages of the handling, that code is scanned. This allows the packages to be sorted more efficiently, and it allows both FedEx and…
References
Baldwin, R. (2013). Shipshape: Tracking 40 years of FedEx tech. Wired. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.wired.com/2013/04/40-years-of-FedEx/
FedEx.com (2015). About us. FedEx.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.FedEx.com/us/
Gruman, G. (2004). Wireless -- UPS vs. FedEx: Head-to-head on wireless. CIO Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.cio.com/article/2439622/mobile/wireless-ups-versus-FedEx -- head-to-head-on-wireless.html
Economics
As a paid lobbyist of FedEx, I would like to see the government encourage more global trade. There are two reasons for this. The first is that global air trade is one of my company's most profitable services, and the other is that our revenues are tied closely to the state of the global economy. Trade agreements are a form of trade policy that enjoy broad Congressional support and are easier to implement than spending-related fiscal policy or monetary policy. Chiff.com (2012) notes that lobbying is the "process of petitioning the government to intervene in special causes. Aside from broad trade-related issues, FedEx could benefit from its ongoing classification as an airline, something that gives it special privileges compared with UPS, especially with respect to labor freedoms. Maintaining this flexibility and cost advantage helps FedEx and its competitors are trying to undermine this advantage.
Shalal-Esa (2009) notes that there…
Works Cited:
Chiff.com. (2012). What is lobbying? Chiff.com. Retrieved June 9, 2012 from http://www.chiff.com/society/lobby.htm
No author. (2008). This house believes that elected representatives should not hold any additional posts while serving in government. IDEA Beta. Retrieved June 9, 2012 from http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/constitutional-governance/house-believes-elected-representatives-should-not-hold-second-jobs
Shalal-Esa, A. (2009). How many lobbyists are there in Washington? Reuters. Retrieved June 9, 2012 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/13/obama-lobbying-idUSN1348032520090913
For their part, the employees at Kinko's were wary of change, having just suffered through several years of "change" at the hands of their investment firm owners. FedEx wished to instill their own systems on Kinko's but were not sure how to affect that sort of organizational change.
Ultimately, change at Kinko's has come slowly, primarily through attrition. In an attempt to further impose organizational change on Kinko's, FedEx has just announced they will change the name of the unit to FedEx Office. Yet the entire experience is an example of how even a company with as strong and well-supported culture as FedEx can run into problems in disseminating that culture throughout all parts of its organization.
Conclusion
For the most part, FedEx has successfully built a corporate culture that best supports its business model. The structures that support the culture - human resources, communications, motivation - are well-integrated and…
Works Cited
Interview with Frederick W. Smith. May 23, 1998. Academy of Achievement Retrieved June 14, 2008 at http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/smi0int-1
Deutsch, Claudia. (2007). Paper Jam at FedEx Kinko's. New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2008 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/business/05kinkos.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Argenti, Paul a. & Forman, Janis. (2002) the Power of Corporate Communication. McGraw-Hill. New York. pp. 50-51
Dengler, Charisse. (n.d.). The People's Voice: Shannon Brown, Senior VP of HR for FedEx Ground. Sellingcrossing. Retrieved June 15, 2008 at http://www.sellingcrossing.com/article/index.php?id=150016
Another factor that should be taken into consideration is that of overall strategy. Financial statements are snapshots, and sometimes it can be difficult to discern from looking at a small sample of them the firm's overall direction. Key strategic decisions can have a significant impact on the financial statements for a limited period of time. For example, during the period studied FedEx was having trouble absorbing Kinko's which it had purchased. These difficulties are not fully reflected on the income statements for 2005 and 2006. Instead, they appear as an unusual item (a writedown) in 2008. Likewise, UPS took a $6.1 billion writedown in 2007, which made the financial figures for that year look terrible. There is always strategic context in financial statements. That context is not always readily apparent, but it should be taken into consideration when analyzing the financial statements.
The potential impact of mergers and acquisitions should…
Yet, the result of their failure to achieve innovation in the wake of their purchase of Kinko's resulted in significant losses, writedowns and a loss of both prestige and market share. FedEx experienced this failure on several levels. They failed to adapt their culture to accommodate the differences between the two organizations, a move that stifled innovation. Moreover, they failed to place emphasis at the organizational level on the importance of innovation to the success of the merger. As a result, employees and managers in both companies were rudderless - they understood neither the need for innovation to the merger nor the importance of it.
orks Cited
Sniegowski, Don. (2007). FedEx Kinko's rolls out small stores to outmaneuver UPS. Associated Press. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.bluemaumau.org/FedEx_kinkos_rolls_out_small_stores_outmaneuver_ups
Gross, Daniel. (2004). Ground ar. Slate. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.slate.com/id/2094149/
Deutsch, Claudia H. (2007). Paper Jam at FedEx Kinko's. New York…
Works Cited
Sniegowski, Don. (2007). FedEx Kinko's rolls out small stores to outmaneuver UPS. Associated Press. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.bluemaumau.org/FedEx_kinkos_rolls_out_small_stores_outmaneuver_ups
Gross, Daniel. (2004). Ground War. Slate. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.slate.com/id/2094149/
Deutsch, Claudia H. (2007). Paper Jam at FedEx Kinko's. New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/business/05kinkos.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Magpily, Gerald. (2007). FedEx Kinko's looking for cure for marriage blues. The Deal.com. Retrieved November 2, 2008 at http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2007/01/FedEx_kinkos_looking_for_cure.php
The horizontal analysis showed that FedEx's profits in 2009 were just 5% of their profits in 2007. Given that EBIT contributes to the T3 component of the Z-score, which is the most significant component by weighting, this would explain why the Z-score dropped so much. The other major contributor to the Z-score is the drop in the company's market cap. The market cap is deemed important in part because the market's view of company reflects the most known information at the time. The market has a strong ability to predict financial distress. A depressed stock price indicates that investors need a greater percentage return on the expected future cash flows from the company in order to invest -- an indicator that the market believes the firm's risk level has increased. The market cap contributes to the T4 component, which is the smallest component of the Z-score. However, the decline in…
Works Cited:
2009 FedEx Annual Report. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/FDX/791567587x0x312397/557bd7f3-8372-4afe-a664-1fdb82a488b0/FedEx2009AnnualReportl.pdf
Loth, R. (2010). Financial ratio tutorial. Investopedia. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/
Market cap and other financial information from MSN Moneycentral. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://moneycentral.msn.com/companyreport?Symbol=U.S.%3aFDX
Altman Z-Score calculator from CreditGuru.com. Retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.creditguru.com/cgi-bin/calculator/calcAltZ.pl
Personally I will never use FedEx again. It has easily been the worst experience with shipping companies I have ever had."(Measured Up)
Suggestions for improvement
While these 2 customers are extremely unhappy, and will probably never use FedEx again a lot of the problem could have been eliminated if the customer service personnel were more accommodating. It is my recommendation that FedEx have all their customer support staff attend customer service workshops. The fundamental purpose of a business is to get and keep customers. The goal is to satisfy customer/client needs at a profit. A company can only benefit from a strong customer service culture. Some of the benefits FedEx would attain from having their service staff attend a workshop would include: More satisfied customers, more repeat business, customers becoming advocates for the business and also a reduction of employee turnover.(the Customer Focus) There are several reasons a package may…
Resources
About FedEx.(2012) Histories of FedEx operating Companies. Retrieved from website: http://about.van.FedEx.com/FedEx-opco-history
Better Business Bureau (2012) Better Business Review. Fed Ex. Retrieved from website: http://www.bbb.org/memphis/business-reviews/mailing-services/FedEx-corporation-in-memphis-tn-3310
Encylopedia of Ecommerce (2012) Fed Ex Corporation-Early History. Retrieved from website: http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/443/FedEx-Corp-EARLY-HISTORY.html
Measured Up.(2012)Fed ex Reviews and Complaints.Retrieved from Website: http://FedEx-reviews.measuredup.com/539
Machine Metaphor in Organizations
The machine metaphor for an organization is one of two orthodox metaphors, the other being the organization as an organism (Morgan, 1980). The machine metaphor dates to the work of Fayol and Taylor, wherein the organization was understood as a series of parts, each with a specific, mechanistic role to play in the organization's success (Morgan, 1980). This metaphor not only included machines and fixed assets, but also viewed employees as tools in much the same way. They are to perform specific tasks as outlined by management, and would be measured in terms of their ability to perform these tasks accurately and quickly. The machine metaphor thus reduced labor to the role of a tool. Managers in this model seek to design their machine, by way of allocating resources to specific tasks at specific times, in order that the machine could optimize output. The machine metaphor…
References
Adamson, B., Dixon, M. & Toman, N. (2013). Dismantling the sales machine. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved July 25, 2015 from https://hbr.org/2013/11/dismantling-the-sales-machine
Baskin, K. (2000). Corporate DNA: Organizational learning, corporate co-evolution. Emergence. Vol. 2 (1) 34-49.
Koch, S. & Deetz S. (2009). Metaphor analysis of social reality in organizations. Journal of Applied Communications Research. Vol. 9 (1) 1-15.
Morgan, G. (1980). Paradigm metaphors and puzzle solving. Administrative Science Quarterly. Vol. 25 (4) 605.
Target's chart, however, shows that the company has tracked the market and GDP fairly closely, indicating that perhaps it does not trade the way a discount retailer should.
Johnson & Johnson
JNJ is a pharmaceutical and consumer products company. It competes in pharmaceuticals, consumer products in the health and beauty segment and in medical devices. The company was founded in 1886 and today is a multinational conglomerate with operations in 57 countries and with approximately 250 subsidiaries.
To a certain extent, JNJ's product line is price inelastic. Pharmaceutical demand is tied to overall consumer demand and the state of the economy, but not to the same extent that many other consumer products are. As a result, JNJ would be expected to have less significant swings in its stock price relative to the GDP, other macroeconomic indicators, or the Dow Jones. The stock, however, has traded roughly in line with the…
Works Cited:
Yahoo! Finance, various pages. (2009). Retrieved November 25, 2009 from http://finance.yahoo.com
Federal Reserve. (2009). Money Stock Measures. Federal Reserve. Retrieved November 25, 2009 from http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/Current/
Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2009). National Economic Accounts. BEA. Retrieved November 25, 2009 from http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Employment Situation Summary. BLS. Retrieved November 25, 2009 from
Federal Express
One of the major segments of the wider postal and cargo industries is the small package express delivery sector or industry, which is an increasingly complex and competitive sector. The complexity and competitiveness of this industry requires the use of combating and strategic approach to enhance the profitability of the small package express delivery industry. The contemporary express delivery industry in America originated from Fred Smith's vision for the Federal Express Company that is commonly known as FedEx. FedEx has played an important role in the small package express delivery industry through the establishment of a system that contribute to the realization of next-day delivery of small package airfreight that weighs less than 70 lbs. The company has also been instrumental in the development of the use of standard packaging with a weight that exceeds 70 lbs. This role has contributed to FedEx's value creation, product differentiation, and…
References
Bate, J.D. & Johnston, R.E. (2013, March 13). Strategic Frontiers: The Starting Point for Innovative Growth. Insigniam Quarterly. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://insigniamquarterly.com/strategy/strategic-frontiers-the-starting-point-for-innovative-growth/
Beard, D.W. & Dess, G.G. (1981). Corporate-level Strategy, Business-level Strategy, and Firm
Performance. The Academy of Management Journal, 24, 663-688.
Hills, C. & Jones, G. (2013). Strategic management cases: an integrated approach. Mason, OH:
ith respect to productivity, there are multiple measures that can be used. The two key metrics are speed and accuracy. The accuracy can be measured in terms of the amount of time that the couriers, when they arrive at their trucks, need to spend to re-arrange their trucks into the correct order. A reduction in this time can be used as a proxy for the accuracy of the loaders. The speed of the loaders can also be measured. e will likely speed the belt up to accommodate for the five minutes of stretching and warm-up exercises. Thus, we will measure the number of packages down the belt per minute to assess speed improvements. Our scanning devices along the belt give us an accurate count of package throughput that we can use for this measure. e will also add another measure to account for the extra staff member, by measuring throughput…
Works Cited:
Murphy, Lawrence R. & Cooper, Cary L. (2000). Healthy and Productive Work: An International Perspective. Retrieved May 15, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=gVIVAAAAIAAJ
No author. (2009). Ramp -- Manual Loading and Unloading. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved May 15, 2009 from http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/baggagehandling/ramp_manual.html
One global business mentioned in the report as a technology leader with high brand equity was at&T. Customer equity is that value of future business purchased by the customer based on brand equity, which in turn means consumer acceptance of the product, customer relationships and customer perception of the value. The postal service would encounter both retention and value problems and would be viewed as difficult to do business with, bureaucratic and would provide less value than its competitors. If there were no competitors, these would not present as problems under a stable and unchanging environment. However, that would not be the case, as the environment was quite susceptible to change. The Commission report said that consumer experiences registered relatively low customer equity according to his or her perceptions of low value, slow deliveries and inability to meet consumer expectations. The Commission is obligated to provide a strong and consistent…
Bibliography
1. Bozman, C. (2003). United Parcel Service. http://www.scs.unr.edu/~bcynthia/UPS.pdf#search='United%20Parcel%20Sercies'
2. Postal Rate Commission. (2001). Report of Consumer Advocate on Quality of Services Provided by the Postal Service to the Public. Postal Rate Commission. http://www.prc.gov/oca/papers/quality/summary.doc
3. Puscas, D and Girard, R. (2003). United Parcel Services. Polar Institute. http://www.polarinstitute.org/corp-profiles/public_services_gate_pdfs/UPS.pdf
4. Sivy, M. (2006). Fed-Ex: Flying Even Higher. Cable News Network LP, LLP. http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/27/commentary/sivy/sivy.moneymag/index , htm