Every so often, I stumble upon a news tidbit that shakes the very core of my existence as an Operations professor, thus compelling me to pen an article while fully aware that for the majority of my readers, it may seem as nothing more than a humdrum proclamation.
Great points! I think similar problem exists in software product development companies - a tension between fully autonomous teams vs a shared resource pool.
As for FedEx, as a consumer, I do not see any difference between FedEx and UPS anymore. They seem to offer same services and at relatively similar prices. There is still little more brand reliability premium I attach to FedEx but that has been declining for me.
Also, overnight document delivery has been gone for almost a decade now. Why did it take that long for FedEx to retool it's operations?
I also wonder last-mile drone delivery is reaching a high enough level of maturity where it influences FedEx's medium-term strategy. It is probably better to have the Ground and Express combined before adding drone capabilities.
Everything is okay but why have you used a chart from the pandemic affected 2020 to show negative correlation? There is no guarantee that this correlation holds in normal periods right ?
Great points! I think similar problem exists in software product development companies - a tension between fully autonomous teams vs a shared resource pool.
As for FedEx, as a consumer, I do not see any difference between FedEx and UPS anymore. They seem to offer same services and at relatively similar prices. There is still little more brand reliability premium I attach to FedEx but that has been declining for me.
Also, overnight document delivery has been gone for almost a decade now. Why did it take that long for FedEx to retool it's operations?
I also wonder last-mile drone delivery is reaching a high enough level of maturity where it influences FedEx's medium-term strategy. It is probably better to have the Ground and Express combined before adding drone capabilities.
Excellent point. This is their drone program announcement: https://newsroom.fedex.com/newsroom/global/elroyair#:~:text=The%20Chaparral%20aircraft%20is%20an,as%20airports%20or%20charging%20stations.
wow, I didn't know there were drones with the capacity to carry 300+ lbs up to 300 miles!
Everything is okay but why have you used a chart from the pandemic affected 2020 to show negative correlation? There is no guarantee that this correlation holds in normal periods right ?
Fair point, but I use the data I have. if you have more data, please share. The point was to show the pattern of behavior rather the volume itself.
I don’t have better data, unfortunately. However even in terms of behaviour and patterns I’d argue that 2020 was atypical