FedEx
FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of its original air division, Federal Express, which operated under this name from 1973 until 1994.
FedEx is best known for its delivery service, as well as FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Office, FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Freight, and several other services through a network of subsidiaries. These expansions have often been strategic moves to compete with its primary rival, UPS.
The company's air shipping operations are centralized at its primary hub at Memphis International Airport, making it a critical hub for global logistics.
History
Foundation and early history
In 1971, the company was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas as Federal Express Corporation by Frederick W. Smith, a graduate of Yale University. He drew up the company's concept in a term paper at Yale, in which he called for a system specifically designed for urgent deliveries. While his professor did not think much of the idea, Smith pressed on. He began formal operations in 1973, when he moved operations to Memphis. Smith said he chose Memphis International Airport for being near the mean population center of the country and for its placid weather.The company grew rapidly, and by 1983 had a billion dollars in revenue, a rarity for a startup company that had never taken part in mergers or acquisitions in its first decade. It expanded to Europe and Asia in 1984. In 1988, it acquired one of its major competitors, Flying Tiger Line, creating the largest full-service cargo airline in the world. In 1994, Federal Express shortened its name to "FedEx" for marketing purposes, officially adopting a nickname that had been used for years.
Reorganization and Caliber acquisition
On October 2, 1997, FedEx reorganized as a holding company, FDX Corporation, a Delaware corporation. The new holding company began operations 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 services. FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of those companies and its original air division, Federal Express.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.
21st century
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 offered only FedEx shipping. 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. In September 2004, FedEx acquired Parcel Direct, a parcel consolidator, and re-branded it FedEx SmartPost.In April 2015, FedEx acquired its rival firm TNT Express for €4.4 billion as it looked to expand its operations in Europe.
In February 2016, FedEx announced the launch of FedEx Cares, a global giving platform, and committed to invest $200 million to strengthen more than 200 communities by 2020.
In March 2018, FedEx announced the acquisition of P2P Mailing Limited, a last-mile delivery service, for £92 million to expand their portfolio.
In June 2019, FedEx announced it would not be renewing its $850 million contract with Amazon for the company's U.S. domestic express delivery business. Amazon accounted for 1.3 percent of 2018 revenues. In August 2019, FedEx announced the termination of ground deliveries for Amazon as well.
In December 2020, FedEx acquired ShopRunner, an e-commerce platform.
On March 29, 2022, founder Frederick W. Smith announced he would be retiring as CEO and would become executive chairman effective June 1, 2022. The company named Raj Subramaniam, FedEx's current president and COO, as Smith's successor.
Proposed spin-off of freight truck business
On December 19, 2024, FedEx announced that it would spin off its freight truck division as a separate publicly traded company as part of a major corporate restructuring, scheduled to be completed by 2026. The spun-off freight truck company will retain the FedEx Freight name.Operating units
FedEx Corporation divides its business into the following main operating units:FedEx Express
FedEx Express is the company's original overnight courier services, providing next day air service within the US and time-definite international service. It operates one of the largest civil aircraft fleets in the world, which has the largest fleet of wide bodied civil aircraft, and carries more freight than any other airline. Included in this unit are:- Caribbean Transport Services: Until 2008, part of FedEx Freight. Provides airfreight forwarding services between the US mainland, Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean destinations.
- TNT Express: Formerly an independent international courier delivery company headquartered in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, now a subsidiary of FedEx. It has fully owned operations in 61 countries, and delivers documents, parcels, and freight to over two hundred countries.
- FedEx Custom Critical: Delivers urgent, valuable, or hazardous items using trucks and chartered aircraft. Drivers are independent owner/operators and services in Mexico use interline carriers. Formerly Roberts Express, a subsidiary of Caliber System.
- FedEx Cross Border: Provides information services, compliance management, and currency conversion services for cross-border retailers. Formerly Bongo International.
FedEx Ground
- FedEx Home Delivery: Provides domestic residential delivery services on an expanded schedule better suited to personal deliveries. Operates only in the US; residential deliveries in Canada are provided by FedEx Ground. The service's logo includes a drawing of a dog carrying a package.
- FedEx Ground Economy : Consolidates parcels from merchants such as e-commerce and catalog companies, transports them in bulk between its hubs, and uses FedEx Ground or Home Delivery for final mile delivery. Formerly Parcel Direct, a subsidiary of catalog publisher Quad Graphics, acquired by FedEx in 2004.
FedEx Freight
- FedEx Freight Canada: Formerly Watkins Canada Express, the Canadian services of Watkins Motor Lines.
FedEx Logistics
- FedEx Air and Ocean Cargo Networks: International air and ocean freight forwarding. Formerly C.J. Tower & Sons, TowerGroup International Inc., and FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, Inc.
- FedEx Customs Brokerage: Customs and international trade compliance services. Formerly World Tariff, Ltd. and FedEx Trade Networks Trade Services, Inc.
- FedEx Forward Depots: Critical inventory and service parts logistics. Also includes the TechConnect business equipment repair and refurbishment facilities, 3-D printing services, and the FedEx Packaging Lab.
- FedEx Supply Chain: Third-party logistics including transportation management, warehousing, fulfillment, and returns. Formerly GENCO.