Federal Express Corporation was founded in 1971 with money that Frederick W. Smith had inherited. After purchasing controlling interest in Arkansas Aviation Sales, Smith went back to a C graded term paper that he had written years ago as a student and developed the idea of overnight package delivery.
The company began operating on April 17, 1973 and used 14 aircrafts to distribute 186 packages to 25 cities within the USA. However, in a matter of approximately 40 years these figures have grown to 658 aircrafts, 7.500.000 packages/day and more than 220 countries around the globe.
All this was possible thanks to FedEx’s global acquisition strategy – main competitive advantage – which has given the company a unique ability to access various markets around the globe.
The multiple established firms and companies acquired by FedEx in various countries have all been integrated into a special widespread infrastructure, consisting of four segments - FedEx Express Segment, FedEx Ground Segment, FedEx freight Segment, FedEx Services Segment. These in turn have 11 operating companies, which operate independently.
Package rates are calculated according to traveling distance, package weight and delivery service; the faster the package is to be delivered, the higher the price. Additional services such as picking up packages from the sender, even on weekends are available in case of additional payments.
A SWAT analysis of the company revealed the below-presented characteristics. Strengths: * Strong brand image - The Company has a powerful reputation and is doing well especially in Asia. Moreover, in 1997 it became the only cargo carrier allowed to fly its own aircraft and use its warehousing facilities in Moscow. The company’s working strategy put all its customers in the heart of every single activity that the organization performed. That is why FedEx has been the pioneer in express delivery service, and has 95% customer satisfaction rate. * Cooperation