INNOVATION: FUTURE FORWARD
What do information technology, sustainability and customer solutions have in common? At FedEx, the answer is innovation.
It's a state of mind that connects everything we do. Innovation not only makes life easier for customers, but it also helps us work more efficiently and reduces our environmental impact on the planet. Our commitment to a creative, open culture propels the development of ideas, services and solutions that help our customers compete worldwide.
Whether it's biofuel research or speedy, same-day delivery in select metro areas, we approach innovation as a disciplined, strategic business practice. It makes us even more competitive while saving millions of dollars for years to come.
More sustainable practices
Energy is top of mind at FedEx. We're motivated to connect the world responsibly and resourcefully understanding the challenges that face our planet. That's why FedEx works to achieve our goals through EarthSmart®. It's our road map to find or create more innovative ways to improve our own environmental performance and to lead the way for others.
49 million gallons
Our Fuel Sense program looks for every possible way to save fuel and reduce emissions in aircraft operations. Last year about 40 programs saved 49 million gallons of fuel, avoiding 466,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. We're scouring every phase of aircraft operations from reducing the time an aircraft has to wait on the runway with its engines running to creating new computer technology that determines the most efficient speed of an aircraft during travel.
1,000 miles a day
Alternative energy sources are a focus across FedEx. In a beta test, FedEx Freight tractors powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) are logging about 1,000 miles a day. FedEx Freight also successfully tested a synthetic diesel fuel derived from biomass. We're working with The Nature Conservancy to create a biofuels road map for the long-distance transportation industry. Our own goal is a 30-percent use of alternative fuels in our aircraft by 2030.
30% goal
To help meet our new goal to increase FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency 30 percent by 2020, we now operate the largest fleet of lightweight, composite-body vehicles in the industry. In addition, we've grown the FedEx Express alternative-vehicle fleet by 18 percent, and clean diesel vans now comprise 35 percent of our fleet. At FedEx Ground we're improving efficiency by digitally scanning each package to determine exactly how much room it will take up during shipment. We've eliminated 2,500 trailers from the road so far.
Smarter customer solutions
FedEx was launched with a big idea 40 years ago, and we haven't stopped looking forward. Our motivation is simple: customers depend on us to stay ahead of the game so they can connect to opportunity, whether it's in their own city or another country.
6 sensors in one
Leading the way in sensor-based logistics is SenseAware®, a small multi-sensor device that can sense and transmit data about six key shipment variables: temperature, light exposure, humidity, barometric pressure, shock and location. Initially developed for U.S. shipments, SenseAware can now help customers monitor valuable shipments and inventory in 19 countries. We've also made it available to a growing list of air and ground transportation carriers.
3 hours
FedEx SameDay City is changing customer expectations by offering priority pickup and delivery service in as little as three hours. The new service is ideal for businesses whose products must reach their local customers within the same day. The enhanced service is now offered in 15 U.S. metro areas and is popular with online and brick-and-mortar retailers, the medical industry, manufacturers and businesses that rely on the quick turnaround of packages. We're planning to expand the service to more U.S. cities in the coming year.
100% emissions offset
Anyone using FedEx carbon-neutral envelope shipping has our assurance that all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with their shipment will be offset. FedEx is the first global express transportation company to offer carbon-neutral shipping at no extra cost to our customers. We've given customers other earth-friendly options as well, such as FedEx Office Print & Go. It's easy to send a digital file from a web-connected device or flash drive to be printed in the place where it's needed — a digital alternative to shipping documents.
Industry-leading technology
As global change accelerates, our ability to turn on a dime will differentiate us from the competition. Our transition to hybrid cloud architecture is big because it gives us the agility we need to grow and allocate crucial resources on demand. A cloud platform delivers computing and storage capacity to a community of applications and users as they need it. It's a much more efficient and flexible way of working.
CIO 100 award
CIO magazine recognized FedEx with its 2013 CIO 100 Award for FedEx Web Services, a streamlined e-commerce connection for businesses and consumers around the world that handles more than 25 million tracking requests per day. InformationWeek 500 ranked FedEx Corp. No. 35 among top U.S. technology innovators for our Platinum Core program, which enables an automated, enterprisewide release of hardware and software so IT can respond more quickly to business needs.
30% faster
Thanks to our move to hybrid cloud computing, FedEx customers can now enjoy a 30-percent reduction in the time to ship a package from fedex.com. Technology improvements have streamlined our systems and helped us to introduce new services.
