What has been the greatest challenge in adapting to the new economy for FedEx?

The knowledge that we gained by going online through our PowerShip program in the 1980s helped us understand how important it was for companies to be connected to us. The challenges have been to provide connectivity to customers at different levels. We had to create high-end connectivity solutions using servers and APIs 'application program interfaces' so that companies could get access to information about their shipments or their customers' shipments.

What turned FedEx from a shipping company into a supply-chain management company?

Companies were beginning to see that to compete in the new economy, they would compete on their supply chain efficiency. Everybody was taking the Dell model and raising it up as the gold standard. So those companies that were awake were looking for experts to help them move into that new arena. That is when FedEx realized that this was not just a trend among our largest and most sophisticated global customers, but it was something that was going to be required throughout our customer base.

Why does the world need FedEx Home Delivery?

What we didn't have until we introduced FedEx Home was a personalized relationship with residential customers. Now we have a service where the em ployees have a different kind of compensation program, one built around residential delivery. If you haven't had a FedEx home delivery, you need one—the driver stands at the door and actually waits for you to answer the doorbell. No more ring and run. They are in the business to develop relationships with their customers, the consumers.