Supply chain management improves competition by controlling costs and shortening product delivery cycles.supply chain, global supply chain, FedEx, supply chain management, Tennessee, logistics

Scott Gardner

English

Research Papers in Economics

en years ago the concept of sup-
ply chain management was sim-
ilar to nailing a custard pie to
the wall: despite much effort, the
result was messy. Industry talk wan-
dered among topics as diverse as con-
tract logistics and warehousing.
Chaos reigned.
Today, a much cleaner supply
chain environment is the cornerstone
of our economy. It can almost be
defined as a complex science that
improves competition in the market-
place by controlling costs and short-
ening product delivery cycles.
The essence of supply chain man-
agement is the ability to synchronize
the movement of goods and services
with the information and financial
transactions that accompany them. It
stretches from the initial procurement
stage all the way to the final disposi-
tion—even the recycling—of a prod-
uct. Not just manufacturers but also
service industries have supply chains.
As the thread that links all the var-
ious components of a business, regard-
less of function or even physical
location, a global supply chain pulls
together the world’s economies and
societies. Companies use supply chain
management to give them a competi-
tive edge and to bring their customers
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FEDEX CASE STUDY
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Supply chain management
improves competition by 
controlling costs and shortening
product delivery cycles.
by Scott Gardner
continued on page 6
y6
value. For example, by carefully managing
store inventories to ensure no stockouts, a com-
pany builds customer satisfaction and loyalty
by always having what customers need. 
To use supply chain management as a com-
petitive weapon, a company needs to first ask,
“How far and fast does a product need to travel,
and what is the best model to get it there?”
Armed with the answer, it can then decide
whether to opt for a regional distribution net-
work that supplies a steady stream of products
over short distances or whether it’s better off
with a global model that can handle customers
around the world. 
The best solution incorporates more than
considerations about where to put distribution
facilities. Issues such as longer transit times,
customs clearance, and trade regulations are key
factors that feed directly into the bottom line.
For this reason, locating your facility close
to your market isn’t necessarily the best
approach if that facility is in a region where
goods are routinely held up in bureaucracy or
the infrastructure isn’t developed enough.
Within FedEx, this aspect of the business is
referred to as access, because efficient and
timely access to global markets is the most level
playing field for companies that do business
around the world.  
Access is the core of a company’s ability to
splice the supply chain into ever-finer compo-
nents, disperse them around the world, and then
reunite these components in whatever shape is
necessary within a specific time frame. It is the
fuel of world trade. 
Trade in turn encourages the exchange of
ideas, the indispensable ingredient in innova-
tion and creativity, even as it channels the capi-
tal flow that turns these ideas into tangible
products and services. Trade promotes the
exchange of cultures and collaboration among
people who otherwise would never have met.
For example, even 20 years ago your
coworkers would consist only of the people you
saw every day. Now you come into work and
receive a dozen e-mails from coworkers—only
they’re sitting halfway around the world instead
of halfway to the office coffee machine.
Whether this phenomenon is labeled access
or  supply chain, it’s undeniable that it is
redefining how people experience the world. 
Links of the Chain
The phenomenon did not happen over-
night. Three main factors shape the modern
supply chain. First is the explosive growth of
world trade, since trade isn’t possible without
transportation. World GDP (gross domestic
product) in trade rose from 7 percent in 1940 to
30 percent in 2005.
1
Second is the growth of the world’s labor
pool. From 1989 onward, about three billion
people entered the global capitalist workforce
owing to the end of the Cold War, the disinte-
gration of the Soviet Union, and the greater eco-
nomic openness of China and India.
2
Third is the emergence of “fast cycle” logis-
tics, similar to the fashion and consumer elec-
tronics industries, which are known for making
goods that can be obsolete in a matter of months.
As a result, they are extremely innovative with
supply chain practices. Their profits depend on
fast delivery to global markets. Companies sim-
ply can’t afford to wait weeks for components
and finished goods. New products and technolo-
gies are constantly coming onto the market.
With customers who want the latest and best
products, obsolescence rates are high.
Industries like fashion and consumer elec-
tronics push the transportation industry to even
greater excellence to meet their high customer
service expectations. High-tech companies can
stock and ship so that a consumer receives a
customized request in days. Retail companies
are able to spot trends in the marketplace and
within weeks have that merchandise stocked in
their warehouses. 
More industries are extrapolating winning
solutions from the modern supply chain model.
The middle Tennessee area is home to diverse
industries that can use global supply chain man-
agement to run their individual businesses
effectively. Three key industries in this area are
consumer electronics, such as computers and
accessories; automotive manufacturers and sup-
pliers; and of course, the music industry. 
A local consumer electronics manufacturer
is using supply chain management to speed
products to an ever-changing market while at
the same time reducing risks of product obsoles-
cence. With technology accelerating and more
consumers downloading music to MP3 players,
demand for new models and accessories to fit
them continues to evolve. Users face a particu-
lar challenge when the manufacturer of the MP3
player introduces the latest model: will the old
accessories fit and perform the same way, or will
a design change be required?  
By keeping inventory lean and using air
express shipping on its imports from Asia, the
company is able to reduce the risk of warehous-
ing parts that do not fit the latest popular model.
Through air express shipping for order fulfill-
ment, the company has its products on retail
shelves quickly, resulting in higher customer
satisfaction and sales. Because of the fast deliv-
ery of products and the fact that an e-mail to the
buyer including the ship date and tracking num-
continued from page 5
Locating your
facility close to your
market isn’t
necessarily the best
approach if that
facility is in a
region where goods
are routinely held
up in bureaucracy
or the infrastructure
isn’t developed
enough.ber is automatically generated, the number of
“Where is my order?” calls to customer service
has also been reduced. 
Sometimes companies find that designing
reliable supply chains can take the place of
building brick and mortar facilities in other
parts of the world. Take, for example, an auto-
motive parts supplier that received a contract to
supply replacement service parts in Japan. After
the company won the business, it needed to
determine how to fulfill the orders.  
An expensive option would involve buying
or renting a building in Japan and hiring a staff to
receive orders shipped by ocean or air, stock the
parts, and then ship them as needed to customers
in Japan. This option, besides being expensive
and loaded with possible regulatory and labor
issues, has additional risks due to long-term lease
requirements and a high labor cost. What would
happen if anticipated sales didn’t materialize or
the company lost the contract?
A second option was to create a “ware-
house in the sky.” Even though the company
would normally not consider flying parts across
the Pacific, that method could work out to be
comparable in cost when considering the total
expense of doing business the traditional way.  
In the end, the company chose not to set up
a facility in Japan but to ship mainly by air on a
daily basis to fulfill orders within three to four
days of order placement. To minimize shipping
costs, employees categorized the parts that sold
regularly and the parts that sold less often. They
shipped the faster-moving parts by ocean to a
few primary distributors in order to ensure a
small safety net of stock. They chose not to
stock the parts that sold less often but commit-
ted to having them delivered within a few days
directly to the end user. 
Another middle Tennessee business, a local
compact disc and DVD manufacturer selling
primarily to distributors and some music stores
throughout the Americas and the Asia/Pacific
region, began fielding frustrated clients’ com-
plaints of either delayed order fulfillment or the
high cost of air shipments. Their clients wanted
smaller, more frequent orders rather than the
standard large quarterly orders, which required
forecasting consumer demand. 
With consumer taste and demand changing,
the manufacturer’s clients needed to react to the
marketplace quickly. The solution was to work
with FedEx to develop a deferred air program
option. Clients could not wait for a 20–25 day
delivery by ocean container and did not need
delivery in one or two days. Four or five busi-
ness days by air was perfect for their orders of
one to three skids each. By ordering a minimum
number of CDs in a pallet-sized order, their
shipping cost per unit was manageable. This
customized option has led to increased sales and
customer satisfaction for the manufacturer. Just
as important as the reasonable cost per unit is
that clients can now track their shipments on the
Internet from pickup through customs clearance
and final delivery. 
For middle Tennessee companies seeking
to expand sales internationally, global supply
chain management can be a strategic advantage.
Those looking for a carrier should consider the
service provider’s experience, depth and scope
of business, resources in place globally, and net-
works of people, capital, and information.  
FedEx and the Supply Chain
As these examples show, for middle Ten-
nessee businesses taking advantage of global
supply chain management, the FedEx portfolio
combines the three ingredients of modern supply
chain management: transportation, technology,
and strategy. Our delivery service includes cus-
tomized options for the customer, consulting
services, customs clearance, and ocean shipping.
The FedEx technology team is responsible
for building tools that can track packages and
calculate tariffs as well as designing handheld
devices for our couriers. Our strategy is to wrap
all aspects of the supply chain into one conven-
ient and reliable package for our customers.
This is why supply chain management doesn’t
just move your package: it moves the world. 
Based in Nashville, Scott Gardner is a senior
international sales executive with FedEx Serv-
ices. In his 15 years with FedEx, Scott has spent
time in Japan, France, and the Philippines
assisting customers with supply chain solutions.
Scott is active with the World Trade Council of
middle Tennessee and is a volunteer speaker for
the Tennessee Small Business Development
Center’s Passport to Exporting seminar series.
He is also a regular contributor at Nashville
Area Chamber of Commerce International
Business Council quarterly meetings. 
FedEx Corporation provides customers and
businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of
transportation, e-commerce, and business serv-
ices. A $35 billion company, FedEx offers inte-
grated business applications through operating
companies competing collectively and managed
collaboratively under the FedEx brand. 
Notes
1. Hoenig, Thomas M., president and CEO of the Fed-
eral Reserve of Atlanta, “The Global Economy,” speech,
September 15, 2005.
2. Gereffi, Gary, Duke University, “The New Off-
Shoring of Jobs and Global Development: An Overview of
the Contemporary Global Labor Market,” paper for the Inter-
national Labor Organization, 7th Nobel Peace Prize Social
Policy Lectures, Kingston, Jamaica, December 5–7, 2005. 
Sometimes
companies find that
designing reliable
supply chains can
take the place of
building brick and
mortar facilities in
other parts of the
world. 
7

FedEx Case Study: Links in the Chain

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/tnbiz/supply/fedex.pdf

FedEx Case Study: Links in the Chain

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