FEDERAL

EXPRESS INDIA

Background
Federal Express (FedEx) is the world’s largest express transportation company, with a presence
in nearly 220 countries and covering 365 airports. It employs over 136,000 employees and
operates more than 645 aircraft. FedEx was established in 1973 and is headquartered at Memphis,
USA. The company differentiates itself through highly reliable, value-added services like guaranteed
customs-cleared, 48-hour delivery for international consignments. Federal Express started operations
in India in 1997, and currently operates ten flights a week from Mumbai to Europe and Asia. FedEx
has an operations agreement with Prakash Airfreight Pvt. Ltd., which provides all pick-up, and
delivery services within India. It also has an agreement with Jeena & Co. for providing nationwide
customs broker capability.
FedEx now services from eight centres as against four centres earlier and has branch offices in
Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Coimbatore, in addition to the current operating locations
in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
FedEx has also increased customs clearance capabilities from one gateway (inbound) to eight
gateways (inbound as well as outbound). Also, FedEx clearance for high value goods is available
from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Cochin and Kolkata.

FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES IN INDIA PAGE 76

Expanding range of services
FedEx has developed a wide range of services, some
of them customised for specific sectors in India. For
example, the company has developed products like
customised packaging options for the fashion industry
and on-line documentation support for fast-growing
and export-oriented industries in India including
automobiles, pharmaceuticals, leather, heavy
engineering and gems and jewellery. These clients are
also provided enhanced connections to the FedEx
international network plus international forecasts of
their own industries.
It has launched its technology solutions, such as FedEx
Global Trade Manager and FedEx InSightSM, in India as
part of its global technology leadership strategy. While
FedEx Global Trade Manager (GTM) provides online
consultancy on customs paperwork for small and
medium enterprises, FedEx InSightSM is a web- enabled
application that automatically tracks customer’s
incoming, outgoing as well as third party payer
shipments, without the need of entering individual
tracking numbers for each package.
FedEx has also launched G-tracker, a hand-held PC Strong growth
that enables couriers to advise customers on country- While the financial performance figures for FedEx India
specific documentation requirements and provides are not available, according to Jacques Creeten, MD
information on service availability by country, postal for FedEx in India, the company has grown nearly
code or city name in real time. 500 per cent since it started operations in 1997.

SUCCESS STORIES PAGE 77

Factors for success
Global reach
With a presence in over 220 countries and with a
large fleet of owned aircraft, FedEx has a global reach
that enables it to provide guaranteed delivery in the
shortest possible time. The company has a strong
presence in Asia as well, with Express Distribution
Centres (EDCs) in 11 countries: five in Japan, four in
South Korea, two each in Singapore, China and
Australia, and one each in Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Zealand.
Using its own aircraft and crew, and combined with
well-developed logistics facilities in Asia, FedEx is able
to provide extensive intra-Asia overnight delivery.
Leveraging technology
FedEx is actively involved in developing IT solutions
and leverages IT as a competitive advantage. According
to Eric Keane, VP and CIO-IT, EMEA, the company
invests around US$ 1.3 billion annually for technology
development alone, and employs around 5000 people
for technology development and tech support in the
Europe Middle East and Africa region.
Through its focus on IT solutions, the company has
FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES IN INDIA
been able to offer several innovative services like
Global Trade Manager, FedEx InSightSM and tracking
systems. According to Jacques Creeten, “Information
and technology have always been central to the FedEx
business strategies. Continued technological innovation
and capabilities of a virtual network are vital in bringing
FedEx closer to our customers and helping to manage
the daily logistics of their business.”
Commitment to manpower development
A key factor that sets FedEx apart from its competitors
is the commitment and motivation of its employees.
FedEx believes in supporting the individual ambitions
of its employees and allowing them to grow in the
direction of their own choice.
The company’s ‘People - Service - Profit’ (PSP) policy
lets every employee know upfront what his
performance objectives are and also what he can
earn. The company has established a fairly laborious
performance management and compensation system
to actualise this.
FedEx’s ‘Guaranteed Fair Treatment’ process for
grievance-redressal allows employees to take up
disputes with immediate managers or with the head
of the company if need be.
PAGE 78
Employees are encouraged to identify their weaknesses
through a personal development programme (PDP).
FedEx has an online training library with over 600
courses on subjects such as leadership, project
management skills, presentation skills etc. Employees
can log in and take any course, but need to pass.
FedEx also provides each employee US$ 3,000 per
annum as education reimbursement allowance,
regardless of seniority.
FedEx’s commitment to employee development is
reflected in the fact that nearly 40 per cent of the
company’s total expenditure in India is devoted to
employee development.
According to Mr. Creeten, “We don’t have a secret. software vendors including Bangalore based software
You’ll find these things in every textbook. The biggie solutions provider Mphasis, where there are nearly
is that we actually do what’s in the books.” 300 professionals developing software for it.

Leveraging India for software development Future plans

The company is also leveraging India’s software
development potential, to develop solutions. It has an
11 member IT development team in India that it
plans to merge with its help-desk team in Dubai.
Besides, the company has agreements with various
• The company is planning to expand its network in
India as it is reaching capacity.
• It is also heavily focusing on outbound cargo, as
exports from India are growing at the rate of 22
per cent.

SUCCESS STORIES PAGE 79