Introduction
Federal Express (FedEx) is an American company, which was one of the first to use its own aircraft for expedited delivery and provided customers with the ability to track the movement of goods. This organization is a prime example of how a delivery service has become innovative due to a smart approach to operations. At present, FedEx is one of the leaders in the market of courier services. The purpose of this paper is to review the case study of this company and analyze some aspects of its performance.
Technology
It is not easy to answer the question of whether technology solely may be enough to ensure high-quality service. On the one hand, FedEx is an example of a company that introduced technology to improve its customer service and succeeded. The case study suggests that through the introduction of a new approach, the enterprise was able to decrease the workload of the call center. It was beneficial for the company and improved customer experience to a significant degree. In addition, by having technologies in place that allow clients to locate and weigh packages, they were able to transform their experience. On the other hand, modern or sophisticated technology without human power is not enough to provide clients with high-quality services. In particular, it may be assumed that technology is not always reliable and may lead the company down, which will affect service provision dramatically.
Companies also need staff who are knowledgeable about how to use the technology and adapt it to customer needs. When technology fails, the company expects employees to be able to understand what went wrong and fix it. As stated in the case study, FedEx still relies on its call center when their technology is down or when clients have difficulty using it. Some people are more experienced with using advanced technologies, while others might need guidance from the side of employees. Therefore, it may be stated that technology should be accompanied by a skilled workforce.
Annual Savings
The use of technologies by the company was determined by the desire to utilize them to serve the interests of consumers. Due to the fact that the economy does not imply such a concept as a long-term competitive advantage, the company was looking for a way to meet the changing needs of consumers. FedEx’s business strategy has always been consistent with market requirements and consumer needs, even if they needed to weaken their own business to meet them. Parcel delivery services using computer hardware and software were in demand, and the business developed very rapidly. Moreover, the new services attracted many additional customers, and the overall revenue growth covered the company’s costs of introducing new technologies. According to the case study, the company has been able to save around 1,395,960,000 USD. The number of customer calls fell down, which allowed saving approximately 57,560,000 USD annually. Package-tracking requests were also minimized due to the intense use of technology. This enabled cutting down the costs by 1,360,000,000 USD, which is a dramatic change.
Information Technology
The company applies various information technologies to address customer needs. For instance, FedEx has a convenient website available in different languages with clear instructions per each service. Using this website, clients can track their parcels and packages. In addition, the company has a service called Ship Manager, which enables clients to weigh their parcels and understand what shipping costs they will need to pay. Using this technology, customers can also link invoices and manage billing and accounting.
Importantly, customers can access the company’s website using any type of device (laptop, smartphone, tablet). The technology used by FedEx ensures clients have the best user experience and can keep track of their packages easily and get access to the information within seconds. Clarify is another information technology the enterprise has introduced; it is a customer relationship management software, which allows FedEx to make response time shorter. It not only ensures the company spends less money but also gives an opportunity to transform the customer experience.
Information technology enables the company to offer customers different ways to track their shipments. Customers can track the current status of their package, check delivery dates, and change delivery settings. Clients can track their parcels, both using the provided reference or by number. The site allows tracking all the information online, and technology ensures customers get information about the exact location of their packages. However, if necessary or in case of a technology malfunction, clients can always get help not only online but also by phone.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the introduction of information technology in the company’s operations enabled FedEx to completely transform the customer experience and become one of the leaders in the courier market. The transport infrastructure, coupled with the use of advanced information technologies, makes FedEx one of the largest express carriers in the world. The company understands that it cannot rely on technology solely; therefore, it ensures clients can always receive offline assistance. Nevertheless, the introduction and active use of hardware and software allowed it to save millions of dollars.