The FedEx Journey

Summary

FedEx’s data-driven culture focuses on leveraging analytics to enhance decision-making across its global operations. With over 400,000 team members and cutting-edge technologies like Hortonworks, the company drives improvements in efficiency, customer service, and security. By embracing a clear engagement model, FedEx empowers business partners to become self-sufficient in using analytics. Key use cases include speeding up shipment information, preventing fraud, and enhancing inbound visibility. FedEx measures business value through dashboards, capturing both tangible and intangible benefits. Ultimately, the company encourages purposeful use of analytics to unlock value enterprise-wide.

Takeaways

• 😀 FedEx operates globally with over 400,000 team members, 600 planes, and 160,000 motorized vehicles across 220 countries and territories, connecting people to goods, services, and ideas.
• 😀 The company has been data-driven since its early days, with the founder emphasizing that the information about a package is just as important as the package itself.
• 😀 FedEx uses data analytics to improve business decisions, with a focus on expanding context and understanding to make better-informed choices.
• 😀 A Hindu and Buddhist parable about blind men examining an elephant highlights the importance of understanding the whole context, not just isolated data slices.
• 😀 FedEx's engagement model with business partners focuses on identifying the business problem, selecting the right technology, and ensuring a shift in mindset when adopting new tools.
• 😀 The process starts with understanding the business problem, followed by helping partners visualize data and ensuring that security and reliability are maintained.
• 😀 Initially, FedEx works as consultants, helping business partners adopt technology. Over time, the goal is for partners to become self-sufficient in realizing business value.
• 😀 A key use case within FedEx involved improving the speed at which shipment information is made available to customers, allowing for faster updates and improved efficiency.
• 😀 FedEx uses machine learning to combat fraud, with the information security team leveraging Hortonworks capabilities to protect customers and team members effectively.
• 😀 Another significant use case involves inbound visibility, where data scientists use analytics to predict customer behavior and proactively prevent shipping delays.
• 😀 FedEx tracks business value using a dashboard that captures both objective metrics (like revenue increases and cost savings) and subjective measures, including data quality and brand protection.
• 😀 The company stresses the importance of understanding the full context of available data across the enterprise, as it enables better decision-making and increases overall value across departments.

Q & A

What is the core philosophy behind FedEx's approach to data and analytics?

FedEx believes that the information about the package is just as important as the package itself. They use data-driven decisions to create opportunities and improve lives, aiming to offer the right context to make more informed business decisions.

How does the elephant parable relate to data analytics at FedEx?

The elephant parable highlights the importance of seeing the full picture. Just as blind men could only feel parts of the elephant, businesses often make decisions based on fragmented data. FedEx uses tools like Hortonworks to broaden the context, helping teams make more informed decisions.

What is the engagement model that FedEx uses to ensure business value from its analytics environment?

FedEx starts by understanding the business problem and then runs it through an analytics decision tree to find the right technology solution. They also educate business partners on how to work with non-relational environments and aim for self-sufficiency in the long term.

How does FedEx ensure its business partners adopt data-driven solutions effectively?

FedEx partners with business teams by first helping them adjust to new technologies, such as non-relational environments, and providing tools to visualize data. The company gradually shifts from direct involvement to becoming a consultant as the team gains confidence and capability.

What were some of the major use cases that benefited from FedEx's analytics environment?

Key use cases include improving the speed at which shipment tracking information is made available, enhancing information security through machine learning, and improving inbound visibility to proactively manage customer shipments.

Can you explain the importance of the machine learning use case in information security?

FedEx's information security team uses machine learning to protect customers from fraud. This approach is automated and runs daily, helping FedEx identify and prevent fraudulent activities, which would be much harder to manage without the analytics environment.

How did FedEx use data analytics to improve customer interactions in the case of inbound visibility?

FedEx used analytics to model customer behavior, which allowed them to proactively contact customers when they predicted freight was still on their dock. This led to more effective customer communication and operational efficiency.

Why is it important for FedEx to capture both objective and subjective business value?

Capturing both objective (e.g., increased revenue, cost savings) and subjective (e.g., improved data quality, better employee satisfaction) value helps FedEx present a comprehensive view of the impact their data analytics environment has on the business, supporting continued investment in these tools.

What challenges did FedEx face when trying to measure subjective value in its analytics use cases?

It can be challenging to quantify things like improved data quality, employee satisfaction, or brand protection in monetary terms. Despite these challenges, FedEx makes an effort to capture these subjective values through dashboards, which help secure continued investment and leadership support.

How does FedEx's data ecosystem benefit the company across different business areas like HR, finance, and operations?

The data ecosystem underpins all business areas at FedEx, providing insights and analytics that support decision-making across HR, finance, and operations. This broad data coverage helps optimize processes and enhances the company's ability to make informed, strategic decisions.