Airborne Express: Harvard Business School case.

     In early August of 1997 the United Parcel Service (UPS) had a predicament on its hands, a teamsters strike. UPS, the world’s largest package distribution company was coming off a year [1996] in which they reported sales of $22.4 billion. UPS Employed 75,000 management and non-union employees compared with 185,000 teamsters who are part of the AFL-CIO that were going on strike. The teamsters rejected a contract extension offer from the company leaving the fate of millions of packages carrying everything from lobsters to laser printers up in the air (Johnson).

In the US Express Mail industry, the buyers fit into two segments: businesses and individuals. Express Mail has become the industry standard in some industries such as banking, consulting and financial services since the items inside the package had a high ratio of value to weight. Businesses needed to be able to track the packages and be assured that it arrives on time. That being said, businesses were often high-volume buyers since the shipping managers identified which firm to deal with and concentrate the high-volume of shipments to that firm for a particular project or for the time being. Sales representatives from the firms had to negotiate with stingy shipping managers who sometimes demanded the upwards of 50% or more discounts. The existence of many large volume buyers meant that the buyer power is high. Similarly, individuals also held high buyer power since the Big Three and other second-tier postal services offered largely undifferentiated services.

In 2009 FedEx launched a multimillion –dollar campaign aimed at its rival UPS, “Why is mega-corporation UPS trying to use its political clout to get a bailout from the U.S. Congress, leaving you to pay the tab”. Rival UPS calls FedEx the only company in the transportation industry with ‘ground’ employees covered by a railroad and airline law. Most of the forces are from moderate to low besides the threat of intense rivalry which signals that this is an attractive industry to be within.

Q1. How and why has the express mail industry structure evolved in recent years? How have the changes affected small competitors?

a) Economies of scale—the top three carriers (Federal Express, UPS, and Airborne Express) serve slightly more than 85% of the domestic express mail market. All three carriers deliver a high volume of packages, and thus, are able to spread fixed costs over more units. Also, each carrier has integrated technological systems that improved operational efficiency. In addition, intensive training programs of employees increase service and delivery efficiency.

Airborne Express the current underdog in the express mail business has been able to compete with market leaders due to innovation and optimization strategy. The company built on cutting cost and emphasizing reliability now faces pressure from the leaders UPS and FedEx to change their pricing strategy. This change from standard rate pricing to distance-based pricing puts Airborne in a dilemma in which they must choose to match the competition which will make them lose what sets them apart in the market or stay with the current strategy. Changing will increase their flexibility and could open them up to new consumers while staying the same

FedEx has not fared as well as UPS in financial performances. FedEx¡¦s total revenue has grown 60% from 1996 to 1999 while their net income has doubled in the same period. FedEx¡¦s acquisition of RPS will challenge UPS for the ground delivery business and affect the sustainability of UPS¡¦s advantage in the ground deliver business. FedEx has been competing well in the higher-end, high-service segment of the package delivery market. Although, digitations of documents and emergence of electronic signatures is threatening the express business which FedEx has the advantage over UPS.

Provide examples of three businesses (from the MOS book) that faced the same economic issues by Airborne.

In the past there was no thing as overnight express delivery for packages or freight. Then the top 3 competitors in the delivery service industry that held 85% of the market were Airborne Express (AE), United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx) and, the remaining market share was among six second-tier companies. In the past few years, the express mail businesses had grown extremely fast due to the ability to provide and fulfill overnight shipping accompanied by next-morning delivery services for both individuals and businesses customers. By 1996, this segment of the expedited shipment delivery had grown to a $16-17 billion dollar industry business in the US alone.

Buyer Power: The major consumers in this industry are basically anyone who intends on sending a package or letter to someone urgently or with the most convenience. It seems as if businesses use this industry the most, considering the importance of delivering and receiving products and other necessities to keep a company stable and on top of their game. Because there is barely any differentiation in this industry, it allows customers to easily shop around for the best prices. This raises price sensitivity and gives the consumer more customer power.

This paper is about United Parcel Service (UPS). The company is described, with specific reference to the nature of its service offering. UPS is an international firm, and as such there is discussion of the different countries in which it operates. The focal point of the paper is an analysis of UPS using the marketing mix, and with special attention to the way that the marketing mix is implemented differently in the different markets UPS serves. The four markets given the most attention are the four countries in which UPS has major hubs the US, Canada, Germany and China.

Question 2: How is the industry structure changing in 1979? Are the changes for the better or the worse?

JetBlue Airways, the latest entrant in the airlines industry has gone through the initial stages (entrepreneurial and collectivity) of the organizational life cycle rapidly under the successful leadership of David Neelman. JetBlue Airways is currently in the formalization stage of the life cycle where in it needs to create procedures and control systems to effectively manage its growth. Also as it proceeds to grow further to reach the elaboration stage, JetBlue needs to continue to align itself with the environment in order to maintain its sustained growth.

United Parcel Service, a logistics company has established itself through its strong corporate culture, continuous ability to innovate, and its far-reaching global network. The company has maintained a competitive advantage over the years by implementing continuous growth strategies—the first was geographic expansion, next the early adaptation of electronic tracking technologies, and then came a series of acquisitions. Although UPS is financially strong and is able to maintain its role in the courier and delivery industry—it is vital that UPS continue to act strategically as to strive for long-term success. UPS is heavily dependent on the U.S. economy and it is important that it find greater and more profitable ventures

In this report we focus on the two main competitors in the package delivery industry: Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) and United Parcel Service of America, Inc.