Working at FedEx

Shipping and logistics company FedEx may not exist if not for a game of blackjack. The company was founded in 1971 by Fred Smith of Little Rock Arkansas as the Federal Express Corporation, but met with little success at the Little Rock National Airport. Soon the company was moved to Memphis Tennessee where FedEx is still currently headquartered. By 1973, Federal Express began overnight operations. They began to offer overnight or two day delivery on packages and envelopes as well as a courier service, but financial difficulties soon arose. Smith went, on impulse, to Las Vegas and won $27,000 by playing blackjack. That moment, he says, was a sign to continue with the venture. He went on to raise another $11 million.

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Over the next two years, Federal Express developed package drop off sites and bumped their parcel handling to an average of 19,000 per day. From there on the company grew rapidly, purchasing seven Boeing 727-100s, the largest aircraft they had purchased to date, and officially became listed on The New York Stock Exchange. Customers were then offered the option to coordinate scheduled pickups of their packages in 1980.

The 1980s also saw a larger serviceable area for the company, 90 more cities, and overnight document shipping, competition for the United States Postal Service. Hand-held, barcode scanning was first introduced by Federal Express in 1986 and three years later the company acquired Flying Tiger Line to expand their service to the rest of the globe.




The name FedEx was officially adopted in 1994 at the same time that FedEx.com, the first web site devoted to shipping transportation, was launched. FedEx Express became the official title for the company's shipping service to distinguish it from the FedEx Corporation.

Today, FedEx.com sees 23 million visitors per month. The company employs more than 280,000 globally, all involved in shipping the average 8 million packages by ground, freight, and air sent daily. FedEx operated 1,057 air station with 10 air express hubs, 32 ground hubs with over 500 terminals for pickups and delivery, another 470 freight service centers, and approximately 2,000 office locations. The company runs out of over 374 worldwide airports with 684 aircraft and operated over 80,000 vehicles. 2010 has seen many awards for the company including Fortune Magazine listing FedEx as the 13^th of the World's Most Admired Companies, and it has made the list as one of Fortune's 100 Best Places To Work For.

Employees of FedEx can receive any number of flexible benefit packages. Medical, dental, and vision care are all offered through Cigna Healthcare. The company also offers disability protection and workers compensation as well as company-paid life insurance. Tuition assistance, stock purchasing, reduced-rate shipping and travel opportunities are also featured. FedEx also purports to be committed to embracing diversity stating that, ''The experience, interests, backgrounds and beliefs of our employees are as diverse as our global locations. We consider this an asset and work hard to promote an environment where individual differences are valued and respected.'' FedEx has received awards for being one of the best companies to work for outside of the United States as well including in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. FedEx offers positions in company support, information technology, human resources, communications and marketing, sales, operations, engineering, package handling, courier positions, supply chain positions, and retail.

FedEx is also dedicated to making a change in the community. The company itself offers their services to charitable organizations at no cost. They focus on organizations that offer disaster readiness, relief and recovery, child pedestrian safety, and environmental sustainability. The company also encourages its employees to be active in their own communities. Each year, the company sponsors FedEx Cares Week with the United Way to benefit a local community.

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