FedEx

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Federal Express" redirects here. For the passenger train, see Federal Express (train). For the cargo airline, see FedEx Express.
"Fed Express" redirects here. For the tennis player with this nickname, see Roger Federer. For the baseball player with this nickname, see Tim Federowicz.

FedEx Corporation
Public
Traded as
IndustryCourier
Founded1971; 48 years ago (1971)
(as Federal Express Corporation)
Little Rock, Arkansas
FounderFrederick W. Smith
Headquarters
Memphis, Tennessee
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsPost delivery, express mail, freight forwarding, third-party logistics
RevenueIncrease US$65.450 billion (2018)[1]
Decrease US$4.870 billion (2018)[1]
Increase US$4.572 billion (2018)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$52.330 billion (2018)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$19.416 billion (2018)[1]
Number of employees
425,000 (2018)
SubsidiariesOffice, Express, Ground, Freight, Supply Chain, Custom Critical, Trade Networks, Services
Websitefedex.com

FedEx Corporation is an American multinational courier delivery services company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express (now FedEx Express), which was used from 1973 until 2000. The company is known for its overnight shipping service and pioneering a system that could track packages and provide real-time updates on package location (to help in finding lost packages), a feature that has now been implemented by most other carrier services.[3]

History[edit]

For the history of Federal Express, see FedEx Express.
Fedex's first van displayed at the FedEx World Headquarters

FedEx Corporation is an import/export company, incorporated October 2, 1997, in Delaware.[4] FDX Corporation was founded in January 1998 with the acquisition of Caliber System Inc. by Federal Express. With the purchase of Caliber, FedEx started offering other services besides express shipping. Caliber subsidiaries included RPS, a small-package ground service; Roberts Express, an expedited shipping provider; Viking Freight, a regional, less than truckload freight carrier serving the Western United States; Caribbean Transportation Services, a provider of airfreight forwarding between the United States and the Caribbean; and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology, providers of logistics and technology solutions. FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of those companies and its original air division, Federal Express.[5]

In the 1990s, FedEx Ground planned, but later abandoned, a joint service with British Airways to have BA fly a Concorde supersonic jet airliner to Shannon, Ireland with FedEx packages on board, and then FedEx would have flown the packages subsonically to their delivery points in Europe. Ron Ponder, a vice president at the time, was in charge of this proposed venture.

A Federal Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11 in 1995.

In January 2000, FDX Corporation changed its name to FedEx Corporation and re-branded all of its subsidiaries. Federal Express became FedEx Express, RPS became FedEx Ground, Roberts Express became FedEx Custom Critical, and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were combined to comprise FedEx Global Logistics. A new subsidiary, called FedEx Corporate Services, was formed to centralize the sales, marketing, and customer service for all of the subsidiaries. In February 2000, FedEx acquired Tower Group International, an international logistics company. FedEx also acquired WorldTariff, a customs duty and tax information company; TowerGroup and WorldTariff were re-branded to form FedEx Trade Networks.[5]

FedEx Corp. acquired privately held Kinko's, Inc. in February 2004 and re-branded it FedEx Kinko's. The acquisition was made to expand FedEx's retail access to the general public. After the acquisition, all FedEx Kinko's locations exclusively offered only FedEx shipping.[5] In June 2008, FedEx announced that they would be dropping the Kinko's name from their ship centers; FedEx Kinko's would now be called FedEx Office.[6][7] In September 2004, FedEx acquired Parcel Direct, a parcel consolidator, and re-branded it FedEx SmartPost.[5]

In December 2007, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service "tentatively decided" the FedEx Ground Division might be facing a tax liability of $319 million for 2002, due to misclassification of its operatives as independent contractors. Reversing a 1994 decision which allowed FedEx to classify its operatives that own their own vehicles as independent contractors, the IRS audited the years 2003 to 2006, with a view to assessing whether similar misclassification of operatives had taken place. FedEx denied that any irregularities in classification had occurred, but faced legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued had they been classified as employees.[8]

In June 2009, FedEx began a campaign against United Parcel Service (UPS) and the Teamsters union, accusing its competitor of receiving a bailout in an advertising campaign called "Brown Bailout". FedEx claimed that signing the Federal Aviation Administration re-authorization bill, which would let some of its workers unionize more easily (and, according to the Memphis-based company, "could expose [its] customers at any time to local work stoppages that interrupted the flow of their time-sensitive, high-value shipments”),[9] was equivalent to giving UPS a "bailout". Independent observers heavily criticized FedEx's wording,[9] claiming that it was "an abuse of the term".[9] FedEx Express employees are regulated under the Railway Labor Act.[10]

On January 14, 2013, FedEx named Henry Maier CEO and President of FedEx Ground, to take effect after David Rebholz retired on May 31, 2013.[11] On July 17, 2014, FedEx was indicted for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in cooperation with the Chhabra-Smoley Organization and Superior Drugs.[12] According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "FedEx is alleged to have knowingly and intentionally conspired to distribute controlled substances and prescription drugs, including Phendimetrazine (Schedule III); Ambien, Phentermine, Diazepam, and Alprazolam (Schedule IV), to customers who had no legitimate medical need for them based on invalid prescriptions issued by doctors who were acting outside the usual course of professional practice."[13] A representative for the company contested these claims, stating that it would violate personal rights of customers to deny service and that "We are a transportation company — we are not law enforcement".[14] On July 17, 2016 the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed in a statement that it had asked U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer to dismiss the indictment but also did not say why.[15][16][17]

In April 2015, FedEx acquired their rival firm TNT Express for €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion; £3.2 billion) as it looks to expand their operations in Europe.[18][19]

Finances[edit]

For the fiscal year 2018, FedEx reported earnings of US$4.572 billion, with an annual revenue of US$65.450 billion, an increase of 8.5% over the previous fiscal cycle. FedEx's shares traded at over $244 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$55.5 billion in October 2018.[20] FedEx ranked No. 50 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[21]

Year Revenue
in mil. USD$ 		Net income
in mil. USD$ 		Total Assets
in mil. USD$ 		Price per Share
in USD$ 		Employees
2005 29,363 1,449 20,404 83.40
2006 32,294 1,806 22,690 101.69
2007 35,214 2,016 24,000 100.12
2008 37,953 1,125 25,633 76.143
2009 35,497 98 24,244 59.52
2010 34,734 1,184 24,902 80.69
2011 39,304 1,452 27,385 82.21
2012 42,680 2,032 29,903 86.05
2013 44,287 2,716 33,567 106.25 281,000
2014 45,567 2,324 33,070 144.80 269,900
2015 47,453 1,050 36,531 161.10 166,000
2016 50,365 1,820 45,959 159.36 168,000
2017 60,319 2,997 48,552 205.60 169,000
2018 65,450 4,572 52,330 244.53 227,000

Operating units and logos[edit]

FedEx is organized into operating units, each of which has its own version of the wordmark designed in 1994 by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates, of San Francisco.[22] The Fed is always purple and the Ex is in a different color for each division and platinum for the overall corporation use. The original FedEx logo had the Ex in orange; it is now used as the FedEx Express wordmark. The FedEx wordmark is notable for containing a subliminal right-pointing arrow in the negative space between the "E" and the "X", which was achieved by designing a proprietary font, based on Univers and Futura, to emphasize the arrow shape.[22] In August 2016, FedEx announced that all operating units will switch over to the purple and orange color logo over the next 5 years.[23]

FedEx Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11 landing in Hong Kong on August 11, 2010.
  • FedEx Express (Orange "Ex"): The original overnight courier services, providing next day air service within the United States and time-definite international service. FedEx Express operates one of the largest civil aircraft fleets in the world and the largest fleet of wide bodied civil aircraft; it also carries more freight than any other airline.[24]
    • Caribbean Transport Services: Until 2008, a part of FedEx Freight. Provides airfreight forwarding services between the US mainland, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands.
    • FedEx Trade Networks (Orange "Ex", formerly Platinum): Provides services relating to customs, insurance, and transportation advice. Formerly C.J. Tower & Sons, then Tower Group International.
    • FedEx Supply Chain (Orange "Ex"): Provides logistics services including Critical Inventory Logistics, Transportation Management Services, Fulfillment Services, etc. Formerly Roadway Logistics System, then Caliber Logistics.
FedEx Ground delivery van
FedEx Freight semi-trailer truck in Northbrook, Illinois.
  • FedEx Ground (Orange "Ex", formerly Green): Guaranteed day-definite delivery within Canada and the United States at a cost savings as compared to time-definite FedEx Express. Uses a large fleet of trucks which are owned by the independent owner/operators and drivers are independent contractors who control individual delivery routes and territories. Formerly Roadway Package System (RPS).[25]
    • FedEx Home Delivery: A division of FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery specializes in residential delivery Tuesday through Saturday and offers delivery options to provide more flexibility for residential recipients. The logo includes a drawing of a dog carrying a package . FedEx Home Delivery only operates in the United States. In the US it is not uncommon for Home Delivery packages to be delivered by standard Ground trucks. To make up the difference, FedEx Ground in Canada performs the business deliveries and residential deliveries.[26]
    • FedEx SmartPost (Orange "Ex", formerly Green): Consolidates parcels from merchants such as e-commerce and catalog companies and uses the United States Postal Service for the final delivery. Formerly the independent company Parcel Direct until FedEx acquired it for $120 million in 2004.[27]
  • FedEx Freight (Orange "Ex", formerly Red): Less than truckload (LTL) and other freight services. The largest LTL carrier in the United States, with $4.5 billion in revenue for 2008.[28] Formerly American Freightways, Viking Freight, and Watkins Motor Lines.
    • FedEx Freight Canada: Formerly Watkins Canada Express.
    • FedEx Custom Critical (Orange "Ex", formerly Blue): Delivers urgent, valuable, or hazardous items using trucks and chartered aircraft. Freight not accepted for transport includes perishable food, alcohol, medication, livestock, household goods, hazardous waste, and money.[29] Drivers are independent contractors who own their vehicles. Service in Mexico uses interline carriers. Formerly Roberts Cartage or Roberts Express.
  • FedEx Services (Orange "Ex", formerly Platinum): Provides global marketing, planning, and information technology (IT) services for the other FedEx operating companies.
    • FedEx TechConnect (Orange "Ex", formerly Platinum): Offering a customer service toll-free telephone line for customer questions. It is operated by an automated operator then will prompt the user to a live agent for uses of tracking, claims, scheduling pick-ups (Express, Ground, Same Day, Custom Critical, Freight Express, and Freight LTL), compliments and complaints, locations (both staffed counter locations and drop-boxes), ordering supplies, setting up FedEx accounts, billing etc. Formerly FCIS or FedEx Customer Information Services.
    • FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko's) (Orange "Ex", formerly Blue): The retail arm of the corporation, offers copying and digital printing, professional finishing, document creation, Internet access, computer rentals, signs and graphics, direct mail, Web-based printing, and FedEx shipping. Formerly an independent company, known as Kinko's until it was acquired by FedEx in 2004 and rebranded to FedEx Kinko's. In June 2008 the company was finally rebranded as FedEx Office.[30]
      • FedEx Office and Print Centers: Provides services such as copying, printing, Internet access and FedEx shipping.
      • FedEx Ship Centers: Provides a central location for FedEx customers to deposit their packages for shipping, also offering a self-service photocopy and fax machine, office products for packing and shipping, boxes, and packaging services. Formerly, these locations were called FedEx World Service Centers.
      • Both FedEx Office and Print Centers and Ship Centers now offer Hold at Locations for FedEx Ground & FedEx Express shipments for easy pick up. Transfer to Office/Ship centers takes 1 to 2 business days (example: calling the customer service line one day prior to pick up. This ensures package is put with proper route of courier that services that area).
      • FedEx Office counts with its own FedEx Couriers for Center to Center and local customer deliveries.
      • FedEx SameDay City (Orange "Ex", formerly Platinum) a division of FedEx office offers a delivery service between select ZIP codes in as little as two hours

FedEx SameDay City allows a between: Standard, providing pickup by noon and delivery by the end of the day, or Priority, providing delivery within 2 hours. FedEx SameDay City is currently expanding in all major cities across the country and is planning on becoming its own operating unit in the next five years.

SCAC codes[edit]

The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) is a unique code used to identify transportation companies. It is typically two to four alphabetic letters long. It was developed by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association in the 1960s to help the transportation industry for computerizing data and records. FedEx's codes include:

  • FXE – FedEx Express
  • FXSP – FedEx SmartPost
  • FXG – FedEx Ground
  • FXFE – FedEx Freight
  • FDCC – FedEx Custom Critical
  • FXO – FedEx Office
  • FSDC – FedEx Same Day City

Political donations and lobbying[edit]

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, FedEx Corp is the 21st largest campaign contributor in the United States. The company has donated over $21 million since 1990, 45% of which went to Democrats and 55% to Republicans. Strong ties to the White House and members of Congress allow access to international trade and tax cut rebates as well as the rules of the business practices of the United States Postal Service. In 2001, FedEx sealed a $9 billion deal with the USPS to transport all of the post office's overnight and express deliveries.[31]

In 2005, FedEx was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to sponsor the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.[32][33][34]

During the first three months of 2010, FedEx spent nearly $4.9 million lobbying the federal government (UPS, FedEx's main competitor, spent $1.6 million on lobbying over the same period), a 4% increase from the $4.7 million spent during the last quarter of 2009, but more than twice what it spent on lobbying during the first quarter of 2009.[35]

Awards and honors[edit]

The firm was named by Fortune magazine as one of the top 100 companies to work for in 2013, citing the company's choice to downsize with voluntary buyouts rather than involuntary layoffs.[36]

Advertising[edit]

Some of FedEx's ad campaigns:[37]

  • "When it Absolutely, Positively has to be there overnight" – 1978–1983
  • "It's not Just a Package, It's Your Business" – 1987–1988
  • "Our Most Important Package is Yours" – 1991–1994
  • "Absolutely, Positively Anytime" – 1995
  • "The Way the World Works," 1996–1998
  • "Be Absolutely Sure," 1998–2000
  • "This is a Job for FedEx," 2001–2002
  • "Don’t worry, there's a FedEx for that,” 2002–2003
  • "Relax, it’s FedEx," 2004–2008
  • "The World On Time" 2001–present
  • "We Understand," 2009–present
  • "We Live To Deliver" 2009–present

John Moschitta ad[edit]

FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1981, their advertising firm Ally & Gargano hired performer John Moschitta, Jr., known for his fast speech delivery, to do an ad for Federal Express titled "Fast Paced World". This single commercial would be cited years later by New York as one of the most memorable ads ever.[38]

Motorsports[edit]

Denny Hamlin driving the FedEx-sponsored No. 11 car at the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

Football[edit]

Other sports[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "FedEx 2018 Form 10-K Annual Report". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "FedEx in Memphis". FedEx. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "Connecting People and Possibilities: The History of FedEx". FedEx. FedEx. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations, Online Services Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine; File No. 2803030.
  5. ^ a b c d FedEx History | About FedEx. About.fedex.designcdt.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  6. ^ " The Marketing Doctor Says: FedEx Does It Again!" Marketing Doctor Blog. June 3, 2008.
  7. ^ "FedEx Ditches Kinko's" Business Week. June 3, 2008.
  8. ^ Ron Da Parma (December 27, 2007). "IRS says FedEx may owe $319 million". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c 'Brown Bailout?' Hardly, FactCheck.org
  10. ^ "UPS, FedEx "Brown Bailout" battle rages on". Fleetowner.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  11. ^ "FedEx Corp. Announces Henry J. Maier to Succeed David F. Rebholz as President and CEO for FedEx Ground". fort mill times. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  12. ^ Moyer, Justin (July 18, 2014). "FedEx indicted for drug dealing. Not a delivery guy — the whole company". Washington Post.
  13. ^ "FedEx Indicted For Its Role In Distributing Controlled Substances And Prescription Drugs". U.S. Department of Justice. July 17, 2014.
  14. ^ Elias, Paul. "FedEx charges raise online pharmacy issues". Yahoo. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  15. ^ "A trial accusing FedEx of knowingly shipping illegal prescription drugs just ended suddenly". Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  16. ^ Beckerman, Josh (June 20, 2016). "FedEx: Justice Department Dismisses Charges Over Online Pharmacy Shipments". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  17. ^ "Feds Drop Charges Claiming FedEx Knowingly Trafficked Illegal Prescription Drugs". Fortune. June 20, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  18. ^ "FedEx to buy rival TNT Express for €4.4bn". BBC News. April 7, 2015.
  19. ^ "FedEx to buy Dutch Delivery Company TNT for 4.4 billion euros". news.biharprabha.com. Reuters. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  20. ^ "FedEx - FedEx - Annual Reports". investors.fedex.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  21. ^ "Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  22. ^ a b The Sneeze: The Man Behind the FedEx Logo, November 16, 2004
  23. ^ Birkner, Christine (24 August 2016). "FedEx Is Making All of Its Logos Purple and Orange, Its Most Recognized Color Scheme". ADWEEK.
  24. ^ "WATS Scheduled Freight Tonne – Kilometres". International Air Transport Association. 2006. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010.
  25. ^ FedEx Ground | About FedEx. About.fedex.designcdt.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  26. ^ fedex service info – u.s. – home delivery. Fedex.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  27. ^ "Current Report Sept 2004, Inc 2004 Current Report, Form 8-K, Filing Date Sept 22, 2004". secdatabase.com. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  28. ^ Comments. Logisticsmgmt.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  29. ^ "FedEx Custom Critical Solutions". Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  30. ^ FedEx Office | About FedEx. About.fedex.designcdt.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  31. ^ "FedEx Corp: Summary." Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  32. ^ Drinkard, Jim (January 17, 2005). "Donors get good seats, great access this week". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  33. ^ "Financing the inauguration". USA Today. January 16, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  34. ^ "Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag". USA Today. January 14, 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  35. ^ FedEx spends $4.9 million lobbying in 1st-quarter Bloomberg Businessweek. June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  36. ^ "100 Best Companies to Work For 2013 - FedEx Corporation - Fortune". CNN.
  37. ^ "Federal Express Corporation". trademarkia.com. Trademarkia. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  38. ^ "TV Acres Advertising Mascots". Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  39. ^ FedExName will come off Orange Bowl, Sports Business Journal
  40. ^ Marketing and Advertising | About FedEx. About.fedex.designcdt.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
  41. ^ "FedEx Forum". athleticbusiness.com. Athletic Business. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  42. ^ "and Rugby - The Heineken Cup - FedEx | United Kingdom". FedEx.com. May 24, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  43. ^ "Prepare thoroughly. Commit totally. Deliver". FedEx. FedEx. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FedEx&oldid=882062820"