Fedex Case Study

FedEx-The E-Procurement Journey

“Ariba Buyer enables FedEx to lower costs by simplifying internal procurement processes reducing purchasing cycle times, and decreasing costs. By creating greater purchasing efficiencies for many of our commodity products—such as PCs, office supplies, and vehicle parts—we are able to better serve our internal customers while lowering our overall costs”-Chris Caewin, Manager (Business Systems). FedEx

BACKGROUNDNOTE

The history of Federal Express, the leading transportation, logistics and supply chain management company dates back to 1971, when Frederick W. Smith (Smith) felt the need for an airfreight system to facilitate quick delivery of documents.

June 1971: incorporated at Memphis as Federal Express

1973:started operations

July 1975:reported its first profits;

Federal Express very soon emerged a trendsetter in the express delivery industry.

Early 1980s. Federal Express was well established and its growth rate compounded at about 40% per year.

Late 1980s, Federal Express acquired Tiger International Ind.

1983:crossed the $1 billion revenue mark.

1984:FedEx began its overseas operations with services to Europe and Asia.

1985: started its regular scheduled flight to Europe.

1988:the first direct scheduled cargo service to Japan was started.

February 1989: became the world’s largest full service all-cargo airline.

1994: adopted FedEx as its primary brand name as part of a corporate identity updation exercise.

1995:acquired Evergreen International Airlines, Inc’s all cargo route authority that enabled it to enter China.

1998, FedEx acquired Caliber System Inc. Federal Express Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of FDX Corporation (FDX), a newly formed holding company.

FDX Corporation consisted of family of companies with expertise in niche areas such as ground transportation, express transportation and logistics. These companies operated independently but competed collectively, each focusing on...