On the surface, FedEx's core competitive advantage comes from its transportation team consisting of 152500 trucks and 560 planes, but in fact, FedEx's success today is more than that.
In the early 1980s, FedEx controlled the American road and land parcel delivery market with its huge brown truck fleet and timely delivery service. However, in the late 1980s, with competitors using different pricing strategies and innovative tracking and billing technologies, FedEx's revenue began to decline. Many large shippers want to provide the whole delivery service through a single service source. Further, customers hope to control their own costs and improve efficiency by mastering more logistics information. With the fierce competition, the demand for such services is becoming more and more urgent. It is based on this service demand that FedEx has been committed to the extensive use and continuous upgrading of logistics information technology since the early 1990s. Nowadays, providing comprehensive logistics information service has become a crucial core competitive factor in the parcel delivery industry.
FedEx has improved its competitiveness by applying three services based on logistics information technology:
First, bar codes and scanners enable FedEx to selectively track and report the transportation status 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can get value-added services such as "ground tracking" and air transportation by calling toll-free telephone numbers.
Second, FedEx delivery drivers are now carrying laptops based on numerical control technology to collect delivery information on arranged routes. The notebook computer enables the driver to digitally record the signature of the cargo receiver to provide receipt verification. Coordinate the driver's information through computer to reduce errors and speed up delivery.
Thirdly, the most advanced information technology application of FedEx is the national wireless communication network established in 1993, which uses 55 cellular carrier phones. Cellular carrier phone technology enables drivers to upload the timely tracking information of trucks to the central computer of FedEx. Wireless mobile technology and system can provide electronic data storage, and can resume tracking the company's millions of delivery services around the world. By installing a satellite ground station and an extended system, 1997 tracking packages in time has become a reality.
The logistics information technology applied and popularized by enterprises represented by FedEx is the core of modern logistics and the symbol of logistics modernization. Especially with the rapid development of computer network technology, logistics information technology has reached a new level, and logistics information technology is also the fastest developing field in logistics technology. From the bar code system of data acquisition to the microcomputer, Internet, various terminal devices and computer software in office automation system, the development is changing with each passing day. At the same time, with the continuous development of logistics information technology, a series of new logistics concepts and new logistics management methods have emerged, which has promoted the reform of logistics. Today, logistics information technology is mainly composed of communication, software and industry-oriented business management system. Including mobile communication means based on various communication modes, global positioning satellite (GPS) technology, geographic information (GIS) technology, computer network technology, automatic warehouse management technology, smart tag technology, bar code and radio frequency technology, information exchange technology and other modern frontier technologies. Under the support of these cutting-edge technologies, an integrated modern logistics management system has been formed, which integrates mobile communication, resource management, monitoring and dispatching management, automatic warehousing management, business management, customer service management, financial processing and other information technologies. For example, using satellite positioning technology, users can "see" their cargo status at any time, including the location of the vehicle transporting the cargo (on a road in the city), the name, quantity and weight of the cargo. , which not only greatly improves the "transparency" of monitoring, but also reduces the empty rate of goods and realizes the optimal allocation of resources; And by mastering more logistics information, it can help customers control costs and improve efficiency.
FedEx exerts its core competitive advantage by promoting logistics information technology in three aspects:
In terms of information technology, FedEx has been equipped with the third generation express data collector DIAD, which is the most advanced portable computer in the industry. Real-time parcel delivery information can be collected and transmitted almost at the same time, and customers can also know the current situation of parcel delivery in time. This DIAD is equipped with an internal wireless device, which can send information to the FedEx data center immediately after all delivery information is entered. The driver only needs to scan the barcode on the package, get the recipient's signature, enter the recipient's name and press a key to complete the transaction and send the data at the same time. DIAD III's internal wireless device also establishes two-way text communication between delivery truck drivers and shippers. The driver in charge of an office building or business center can shorten the door-to-door pick-up time by about 30 minutes. Whenever information is received, the indicator light on DIAD corner will flash to remind the driver to pay attention. For consumers, this not only means that the sent items can be sent quickly, but also can "track" the whereabouts of the package at any time. Through this process, the express delivery industry has truly realized a single point-to-point and door-to-door express delivery mode. In addition to providing customers with traditional express delivery services, it has also developed all-round logistics services including warehousing, transportation and waiting services, thus greatly expanding the traditional logistics concept.
In terms of information system, FedEx will be applied to the logistics information system of domestic cargo transportation in the United States and extended to all international cargo transportation. These logistics information systems include signature tracking system and ratio calculation system, and their solutions include: automated warehouse, fingerprint scanning, optical picking technology, product tracking and decision-making software tools. These solutions help customers improve their performance from the initial commodity starting point to the supply chain of the market or the final consumer, and truly achieve a win-win situation.
In the aspect of information management, the most typical application is the logistics information management system of FedEx in Singapore warehouse of NationalSemiconductor, which effectively reduces the storage volume and saves the delivery time of goods. Today, we can see in the FedEx logistics management system that in the Singapore warehouse of National Semiconductor Company, an administrator uses a scanner to sweep boxes of newly manufactured computer chips like waving branches. Through this simple action, he started an efficient, automated and almost magical delivery program. This huge warehouse was designed and built by FedEx transport wizards. FedEx's logistics information management system sends this box of chips to the dock, then to trucks and planes, and then to trucks. In just 12 hours, these chips will be delivered to the customers of ——PC manufacturers, a national semiconductor company in Silicon Valley thousands of miles away. Throughout the journey, the electronic tag embedded in the chip will allow customers to track orders with accuracy of up to three feet.
It can be seen that logistics information technology has realized the reasonable combination and efficient utilization of various production factors (cars, warehouses, drivers, etc.). ) by cutting into the business process of logistics enterprises, the operating costs are reduced and obvious operating benefits are directly produced. It effectively transforms all kinds of scattered data into business wisdom, endows logistics enterprises with new production factors-information, and greatly improves the business forecasting and management ability of logistics enterprises. Through the three-dimensional comprehensive management of "point, line and surface", the internal integration of logistics enterprises and the unified management of external supply chains can be realized, which can effectively help logistics enterprises improve their service quality and overall efficiency. Specifically, it effectively solves the contradiction between single point management and network operation, the contradiction between cost and customer service quality, the contradiction between limited static resources and dynamic market, and the contradiction between present and future prediction for logistics enterprises.
Based on modern logistics information technology, FedEx has opened representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. 1In June, 1996, FedEx and China partner Sinotrans Group established the first joint venture in China. At present, the company has more than 65,438+030 employees in China, and more than 60 vehicles equipped with UPS run on domestic streets, covering more than 65,438+090 cities. 200 1, 1, FedEx's plane is allowed to fly directly to China. Since the first flight arrived in Shanghai, FedEx has established its own aviation bases in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and there are 10 cargo flights to China every week. At present, the number of employees in FedEx China has increased from 200 last year to 530 this year, and it is expected to double again in the next six months, reaching 12. In this respect, FedEx, the world logistics giant, has participated in the fierce competition in the express delivery industry in China.
The most intuitive explanation: If you have a package sent from Shanghai to Germany, you can reach the destination within five working days (excluding legal holidays/weekends). You can check the details of the package (when, when to which country and port) at any time through the UPS network.