Organizational Structure and Control

FedEx investments in competitive market research is high, systematic and constant. They are continuously tracking competitor movement in the market. They are a centralized organization with annual business planning processes that are initiated by their corporate headquarters in Memphis and Atlanta. Through all the integrators driven by the long term global growth in trade and economic productivity, FedEx has been able to maintain their independence. They have adopted a strong centralized command and control structure from the beginning and this has given the corporation ultimate success.

Corporate Governance

Organizational Chart- FedEx

Fred Smith- CEO, Chairman
Robert Carter- Chief Information Officer
Alan Graf- CFO
Kenneth Masterson- General Counsel
T. MIchael Glenn- VP Corporate Communications

The board of directors sits in conjunction with the vice presidents and is responsible for any array of activities such as auditing, executive compensation, information technology oversight, and governance. Although FedEx Corporation is the parent company of the six independent business units, it still offers strategic leadership at corporate level and they operate on their own and therefore are solely responsible for their decisions and ultimate success. There are 12 people on the Board of Directors at FedEx.

Strategic Alliance

In 2007, FedEx Corp. and the National Basketball Association (NBA) extended their U.S. strategic marketing alliance, which made FedEx the "Official Air and Ground Delivery Service of the NBA." In support of its NBA alliance, FedEx formed endorsement agreements with five international NBA players to help their marketing strategy as well. In my personal opinion, I don't think there is a better way to advertise than to take a NBA star ,who many people admire, and advertise with their association. It is just brilliant! “When you combine the global reach of FedEx with the international diversity of our game, it presents us with an enormous platform to jointly market the NBA and FedEx to our fans.” By using strategic alliances and internal expertise, it ensures their value added products and services will integrate into "the best of the trades."

Global Strategies

FedEx definitely purses a global strategy. Giving that they are a delivery services this strategy fits them well. The FedEx global network spans 210 countries, broken down into 4 Express networks. FedEx does need to customize their service since it is standardized. This is consistent with their low cost structure approach that ties into a typical global strategy. Since they don’t have to raise costs for customizing their service, they are able to use their cost advantage for a successful aggressive pricing strategy. They are able to spend their resources on technology instead, maintaining their focus on the cutting edge and ability to deliver, rather than on customization. FedEx is correctly using a global strategy because they have a low cost structure , a global standardized service, and a few key locations in 210 countries.

FedEx Acquisitions

The most famous and well know merger and acquisition FedEx had acquired is Kinko's (FedEx Kinko's). Kinko's would fuel the retail out let expansion and driving growth of its transportation services. FedEx claimed that Kinko's would give them access to individuals and businesses lacking regular pickup from a FedEx driver. Most of us know it is no longer called FedEx Kinko's... It is now FedEx Office. The FedEx way of integration has proved itself over the years. The 1998 acquisition of Caliber System Inc. is just another example. Its subsidiary, the less-than-truckload carrier Viking Freight, formed the basis for FedEx Freight. FedEx is always testing its own mastery of the art of integrating new companies!

Corporate Level Strategy

FedEx is made up of six independent business units: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks, and FedEx Services, each compete in different sectors of the transportation industry in order to tailor the entire FedEx service to best fit each customers needs.The business model that is followed at FedEx Corporation is "Operate independently, compete collectively." The vertical integration strategy is very aggressive for FedEx. Due to the amount of infrastructure they have, their competitive position is extremely strong. FedEx has great control over the over most of the distribution channels for their service. Although their vertical integration strategy is aggressive, FedEx still buy from independent suppliers and company owned suppliers. Most of these independent suppliers provide maintenance services to the air crafts, facilities, and ground vehicle support equipment.

Competition

The competition in the package delivery service is very global. FedEx Corporation's number one competitor is UPS (United Postal Service), but also competes with DHL, USPS (United States Postal Service) and a host of other smaller companies at home and abroad. Competition is not becoming more global due to the fact that companies are merging and the industry is consolidating. FedEx must make enormous investments in hubs, air and ground fleets, and trucking technology to stay on top of the competition. They try to stick out from their competitors by offering better quality shipping service. They continue to offer faster deliveries and expand their global network.