-FedEx's Tight Focus on Strategic Information SystemsThis emphasis on IT innovation has gained FedEx a 30 percent share in the highly competitive business to consumer express delivery market, according to Chris Newton, a senior analyst of supply chain strategies for AMR Research in Boston (CIO Magazine, 2001). In my opinion, FedEx knows that without IT their business is liveless. They look beyond transportation from point A to point B but focus on value-added services that they want to put around package movement, especially the ability to see into the movement itself. That is what FedEx has sold successfully selling. In my analysis, this is how they have positioning themselves with clients.The company, which claims to have the only fully automated hub network in the ground package industry as of December 3, 2002 , FedEx also plans to introduce new facilities that will use the most advanced material handling and scann ...view middle of the document...
FedEx is also able to customise their services for special needs and occasions, such as urgent packages even on public holidays such as Thanksgiving, since they use systems such as their Rite Routing systems that provide the best routes through the snow covered roads of North America.-FedEx's IT Capabilities Rated BestDatamonitor's recent survey of top European manufacturers and retailers picked upon very similar themes. Asked to rate their current express provider on six criteria - speed of delivery, price, geographic coverage, IT capabilities, on time delivery performance and customer service - respondents ranked FedEx above its three main global rivals, UPS, DHL and TNT.-Strategic Systems That Deliver Information"Information about the package will soon be just as important as the delivery of that package."Those famous words are the theme of FedEx's strategic systems since their goal is to deliver information on the packages of their customers. With that in mind, systems like PowerShip MC, PowerShip Server, MultiShip, DADS and COSMOS were designed. Due to the straightforward nature of putting a box on a truck or a plane and making sure it gets where it is supposed to go, competition with rivals such as UPS and DHL has come to revolve around information which, in turn, has led to an enviable record of IT innovation by FedEx.The systems developed by FedEx were so inspiringly innovative that FedEx's innovation has led to advances in other industries as well. For example, the shipping giants' obsession with information about packages has been extended to manufacturing, where supply chain data has become more granular than ever. It was in 1996 , that FedEx moved its businesses to the Web: a move that even necessitated their systems to be more strategic as IT becomes a strategic necessity.-Impressive Bottom lines Proves Strategic Use of ITAs at 2002 (InformationWeek), FedEx Corp. obtained revenues of USD$20,607M, and an income of USD$710M. On InformationWeek's 500 companies, FedEx tops the list by employing 5,378 IT