CHAPTER 5
LEVERAGING CULTURE FOR INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
WHAT IS FEDERAL EXPRESS’S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE in the air package industry? Not price. Rather, there is a widely shared perception by its customers that it will, in the words of an old advertisement, “Absolutely, positively get it there overnight.” A belief in this reliability is what differentiates FedEx from the competition. One large firm has a corporate contract with a competitor. But managers told us that for really critical deliveries, they relied on FedEx—even if they had to pay for it themselves.
If reliability is a key to competitive advantage at FedEx, what critical tasks ensure it? Undoubtedly, there are many, including the need to invest in the latest technology, ...
Get Winning Through Innovation now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
