CASE ANALYSIS FOR FEDEX
1. Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that FedEx customers demonstrate, differentiating these three concepts.
In the case file for FedEx, Fred Smith the founder of FedEx mentions how business were having trouble figuring out how to get urgently needed packages to the right places quick and Smith knew that the need for business to move packages fast would only grow with time. From the beginning, FedEx was built on a foundation of obsessive customer focus (“FedEx,” 2015). Needs in marketing is the state of self-deprivation (Vander Schee, 2016). The tenacious pursuit of fulfilling customer needs in FedEx’s early days led to developing what is known at the company today as the purple promise, a
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Instead, customers value goods and services that are of the quality they expect and that are sold at prices they are willing to pay (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2017). As Smith mentions in one of his interviews, “If people were going to use FedEx in lieu of having incalculable amounts of money tied up in inventories, it absolutely, positively had to be there when promised” which tied to FedEx first slogan: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” (“FedEx,” 2015). Here FedEx slogan and Smiths words focus on the value they provide to a customer because they want to make sure that the customer receives the worth of what the customer paid for.
3. Evaluate FedEx’s performance relative to customer satisfaction. What is the outcome of this process?
Customer satisfaction is the customer’s evaluation of a good or service in terms of whether it has met their needs and expectations (Vander Schee, 2016). The culture of the organization is to focus on delighting customers rather than on selling products (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2017). An example of a highly satisfied customer would be Nicole Snow, who owns a small business in Maine. One day she reached out to FedEx on social networks and asked for help in getting her supply chain set up. The team responded immediately and helped her solve the problem (“FedEx,” 2015). Here customer satisfaction is greatly shown the customers’ needs and expectations have been met by
Satisfied customers can be the best advocates, which is why customers’ needs should be satisfied every time.
FedEx has reached this frontier through a combination of the four building blocks of competitive advantage. According to Morris (2009), FedEx is not just noted for its revolutionary idea of overnight delivery, or for its innovation through technology, or for its reputation as a reliable, courteous, and service-oriented alternative to the postal service, but for the mixture of all these elements fused together into a successful business model. Reliability and innovation have played a major part in FedEx’s success and value creation. If it is going to continue to maintain a
Fred Smith, is the founder CEO of FedEx, the first overnight express delivery company in the world, and the largest in the nation. To really grasp the concepts that he used in the formation and launch of the company, we really should examine the story in his own words. A former Marine Aviation pilot in Vietnam, Smith founded Federal Express. In 1973, the company began offering service to cities, beginning with small packages and documents. The focus was upon developing an integrated air-ground courier system something that had never been done before. What guided Smith more than anything else according to his own words were the leadership qualities that he developed as a Marine officer in Vietnam that have guided his company from the beginning. These principles, plus his days at Yale came together in FedEx. In his philosophy, he tells his managers to rely on their subordinates, delegate and to praise in public for a job
The point of quality, FedEx’s commitment about quality is very clear. They invest seriously in new technologies that allow them to develop their service and make it give credible and helpful for their customers’ mind . They have developed quality by presenting innovative technologies like package following system on the website, address checker which can aid you decrease some possible mistakes, unpunctual packages and dissatisfied clients causing from incorrect addresses. (Benson, Joe and Kinsella,2001) This commitment to developing the quality of their service with supplemental makes a more useful service for current and future clients.
Bold colors, bold font, and simplistic design. This logo fly’s around town and its tag line rings so clearly in my mind “the world on time” whether it be the truck arriving at your house to deliver a much anticipated package, or being warehouse personnel watching a truck marked with the bold graphic speed off with a sense of urgency, its graphic is iconic and could be recognized at a glance. Formerly known as Federal Express when the company began, it is remarkable that unlike so many other large companies, FedEx has only rebranded it’s self once since its birth.
FedEx able to identify the needs of its customer where many businesses demand a more efficient and reliable delivery services. After knowing the needs, FedEx develop an efficient overnight delivery services. This has shown that FedEx’s strategy is market-orientated where it estimated the market needs and created a value to serve the needs. He is able to identify market opportunities, target its market segment (businessmen) and effectively position their service (highly effective overnight delivery service). FedEx adopted market development strategy where it identifies and develops its new market segment by expanding its operation. It purchases Kinko’s, which operates in 11 countries and help the company to reach new customers and expand in Asia and Europe. It expands its reach further with U.S Postal Service where they can place a drop box in every U.S post offices.
FedEx is one of the top delivery companies in the world, competing with companies like United Parcel Service (UPS) and United States Postal Service (USPS) among a few. Online shopping has driven a huge demand for these type of companies. However, increasing costs like fuel and pressure for faster delivery have effected these companies. We will be analyze FedEx from four perspectives, ratios, horizontal and vertical analysis, and management discussions.
In 1978, the FedEx Corporation sent out its annual report noting that Federal deregulation, recapitalization, and public offering were credited as the impetus for record sales and earnings (FedEx Corporation, 1978). At the close of the report, the chairman of the board credited the employees as the most important factor in such favorable outcomes. Nearly 40 years later, the message and tone of the FedEx Corporation (2015a) Annual Report was again boasting a transformative year, and crediting its employees. But the success of FedEx Corporation, and specifically its air cargo and freight services (known as FedEx Express), does not rely solely on the hard work of people. Instead, success is the result of a vision, philosophy, approach, and perhaps simply some good fortune; all of which can be found in closer look at the making of FedEx Express.
• Innovation is one big advantage which FedEx carries and thus it keeps on innovating new solutions for client’s problems.
FedEx’s product mix breadth consists of FedEx Service, Express, Ground, and Freight. FedEx Services “provides sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collection services for U.S customers” (Investors.Fedex. 2017) which its main target is businesses and companies by providing a product line depth of print and copy services along with shipping, pickup, delivery and same day delivery services. This benefits corporations and small businesses because it provides a service that makes communication and the exchange of information a lot more efficient. The copy and print is a big advantage, because companies and or individuals can now replicate or reproduce certain documents and information that is need if they do not have the ability to reproduce such information.
Throughout its history, FedEx has been a leader in the transportation and information industry. In 1965, Yale University undergraduate Frederick W. Smith wrote a term paper about the passenger route systems used by most airfreight shippers, which he viewed as economically inadequate. Smith wrote of the need for shippers to have a system designed
FedEx always recruited people who were willing to take risks, who were risk-taking by nature, and was willing to take up challenges. During its initial years, when Fedex was relatively unknown and the overnight express delivery concept was not tested and proven, joining the company was considered a risky proposition. The company tempted functional experts by offering them stock options, and also opportunities to work in a motivating and interesting environment. The company recruited people from leading
One interesting way to analyze customer satisfaction is to look at the apostles and terrorists. Apostles are those customers that are so pleased with a product or company, that they get more people to like the product as well. Terrorists are those customers who are so displeased that
During the nearly these years, FedEx has done many successful promotions to the target customers so that its business has attracted more and more consumers. The most well-known is "Relax, its FedEx."
For most enterprises, the rank of customer satisfaction is very helpful for managers to meet and exceed customer satisfaction and predict the potential crisis that affects the company’s revenues and brand reputation.