FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition (Hardcover)

by Madan Birla (Author) "On FedEx's first night of operation, April 17, 1973, a small group of people stood around a makeshift system and sorted 186 packages..." (more)
Key Phrases: encourage collaborative development, employees from all areas, larger business environment, Fred Smith, Root Cause, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“…well written and surprisingly readable…essential reading on business courses.” (EN Magazine, September 2005)

"The book provides a blueprint for building and sustaining an innovation culture that engages every employee." (Supply Management, 8^th September 2005)

Product Description
An inside look at leadership practices that enabled the world's leading shipping company to outthink and outperform its competition

Using firsthand accounts from top leaders at FedEx, FedEx Delivers explains how the company became an international powerhouse and one of the most trusted global brands by using leadership practices that tapped into the creativity and commitment of its employees.

Both a compelling business story and a prescription for business success, FedEx Delivers presents a model to show how these practices created and sustained an innovation culture. Readers will learn how to apply this model to their organizations for developing a culture of innovation that evolves with the times and offers fresh solutions to new challenges.

Innovative thinking and disciplined execution are what made FedEx a market leader, and they can help any business in any industry do the same. Each chapter covers a different aspect of innovation with real-life stories that highlight its effectiveness, and offers valuable ideas that lead managers through the process of implementing those practices.

By breaking innovation down to its three simplest steps-generation, acceptance, and implementation of ideas-and offering proven leadership practices that really work, FedEx Delivers offers unique insight and invaluable advice on building an organization that can adapt to any challenge and meet any goal in today's highly competitive global economy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 215 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471715794
• ISBN-13: 978-0471715795
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,311 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read....from a manager's viewpoint, not from an engineer's, October 9, 2005

By	Sreeram Ramakrishnan (Yorktown Heights, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In a very easy-to-read book, Birla uses his vast experience in FedEx to outline how the philosophy of FedEx evolved and thrives on innovation. The vantage point enjoyed by the author certainly reflects in this "big picture" viewpoint of one of the better known company's growth. Of particular interest is the notion of innovation ( spelt with an "i") dealing with process improvements and Innovation (spelt with an "I") dealing with business model changes. The author provides an interesting discussion on what constitutes innovation and how FedEx defined (or didnt define) it. The rest of the book explains how a 5-dimensional employee base can be created. This discussion is certainly novel and adds some interesting perspective for anyone involved in managing people and/or processes.

Though the book will certainly please any "managerial-type" reader, I was a bit disappointed to see that the author's vast engineering experience was essentially untapped in this book. There is no meaningful discussion on the operational side of "how " FedEx actually implemented innovation....In that sense, the title is a little misleading for an engineering-minded reader. Regardless, this is an excellent read, provides a different perspective on how innovation should be seen, and a broad paradigm that enables developing an employee-base committed to and thriving on innovation. A good read. (It may be interesting to read this book along with the autobiography of Kinko's founder - "Copy This!". FedEx's buying of Kinkos is discussed in this book and for even a casual observer the synergy between these two companies seems real.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simplistic and Incomplete!, January 11, 2008

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fred Smith and FedEx overcame incredible obstacles in the company's start-up, and cannot be congratulated enough for doing so. In addition, it went on to become the first service company to win the prestigious Baldrige Quality Award in 1990. However, Birla's "FedEx Delivers" does neither readers nor FedEx any service by its incomplete and simplistic coverage.

Birla's book emphasizes a quasi-Baldrige/human-relations perspective. However, my research showed that maintaining an important competitive advantage and low costs are far more important to organizational success. Birla does not address these aspects. (This conclusion is reinforced by several Baldrige Award winners subsequently encountering severe financial downturns after winning the award - even bankruptcy.)

The second major problem with the book is that it does not cover FedEx's series of acquisitions since successful startup. These include Viking Freight, Watkins LTL Express, Roadway Package Express, Flying Tigers, and Kinkos. Again, FedEx has done a great job of building these existing businesses, but Birla tells us none of it - important since so many acquisitions fail. Neither does he address the resulting incursion of substantive competitive disadvantages. (One obvious issue is substantial route and facility overlap between various divisions - this becomes increasingly untenable as fuel prices increase.)

Finally, my experience (FedEx Ground) is that FedEx has NOT tried to substantially change the human-relations environment in these companies - even though they may seriously contradict Birla's summary of the original Baldrige-winning FedEx.

For example, FedEx Ground drivers are not company employees - rather hired by thousands of truck-owners contracting with FedEx, and labeled "independent contractors." If you're an independent contractor, neither the company nor the truck owner pays state workers compensation or federal unemployment and disability taxes. They are also released from matching workers 7.65% Social Security and Medicare taxes; an independent contractor pays the full 15.3% load. This creates great inconsistencies in work environment and pay. Almost all the FedEx Ground drivers and all the owner-operators receive no benefits and are paid far less than their UPS counterparts. (My sense is that FedEx is turning Watkins LTL into a similar situation, while reducing pay, increasing non-productive wait-times, and eliminating benefits at the same time - despite having been ruled in violation of IRS regulations and subjected to assessments estimated to eventually total $1 billion!)

Another issue is that because the over-the-road truck owners have invested considerable time and equity in their trucks and routes, FedEx has been unable to take advantage of much-more fuel-efficient piggy-back rail service - without buying out truck owners at considerable expense, which it has chosen not to do. (UPS uses considerable piggy-back rail service.)

Still another problem arising out of its acquisitions and new start-ups is that FedEx has duplicating routes - FedEx Express (its air arm), FedEx Ground, and FedEx Home Delivery vehicles all overlap in their service areas. (Conversely, UPS' use of a single vehicle for package delivery also allows it to charge by service speed, NOT transport type - often allowing use of low-cost ground transport instead of aircraft to provide higher-revenue next-day service.) Again, FedEx helps overcome these strategic disadvantages by paying employees less, and sometimes hiring unqualified drivers (eg. FedEx Ground OTR) - contrary to Birla's book.

FedEx has greatly benefitted from periodic UPS labor union strikes - a sustained competitive advantage also ignored by Birla. (On the other hand, Birla also ignores FedEx's labor strife among its pilots, especially after acquiring Flying Tigers.)

Bottom Line: "FedEx Delivers" is not worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, the book is more than just about FedEx, January 29, 2006

By	Mark McGregor "www.markmcgregor.com" (Warwick, UK) - See all my reviews

There is not a manager or executive throughout the world who would not benefit greatly from reading this book. In only 200 pages Madan captures the very essence of what is needed by any business in order to survive and thrive in today's economy.

Through the story of FedEx he both illustrates why companies need to engender a culture of innovation and, also sets out exactly what is needed to execute on that strategy. Any negativity on the part of a reader will have more to do with their own personal doubts or fear of failure, for the ideas are sound and well illustrated.

In the work I do I spend a lot of time reading management and success books, this is one of the best that I have read in a very long time. The linkage between Strategy, People, Process and Systems is as strong as I have ever seen.