Unit 1, the Business Environment, P1

FedEx FedEx Corporation is an American global courier delivery service. It operates under a public limited ownership as a tertiary business. A public limited company (PLC) means it is able to offer shares to the public. The owners of these PLC’s are the main shareholders. A tertiary business is one that provides a service to other business or individuals. Federal Express (later known as FedEx) was established in 1973. Ten years later, the company reaches $1bn in revenue – the first US business to achieve this status without merger or acquisition. Services extend to Europe and the Middle East by the end of 1989.

Between 1991 and 1999 FedEx launches: Express Freighter® to provide overnight delivery to Europe and Asia, FedEx Ship Manager® – first company to allow customers to process shipments online and FedEx EuroOne®, opening a new hub in Paris. In 2000, FedEx became known as “FedEx Corporation”. Services are divided into different companies that operate independently yet compete collectively. During 2008, FedEx Corp ranks ninth in the business superbrands list. In 2010, the company opened a brand new hub in Cologne airport, the largest solar powered hub worldwide. FedEx Corporation’s revenue during 2011 was in excess of $39. 3bn.

FedEx has one main key activity and that is to deliver goods around the world. FedEx express is an overnight courier, providing next day air service. FedEx Ground provides a door-to-door delivery service. FedEx Freight provides a service which carries large amounts of freight to destinations where it is then transported by FedEx Ground. FedEx Office provides a retail outlet for shipping, printing, copying and binding services. During an average day various departments within FedEx Corp work together to ensure a excellent service is delivered to customers. The marketing department works very hard to ensure people know about them.

They especially target small businesses that are in need of professional connections at far off places. They also target embassies and governmental institutions – although their main customers are businesses/governments they welcome anyone who is in need of a shipping service. Marketing wants FedEx to be the fastest of courier delivery companies, and so advertises this to entice customers – but it has to make sure that this is being met by the various departments within the company. The many distribution centres around the world deal with goods the customers want.

Here they are delivered from the manufacturers, processed, packaged and then sent on the correct freight vehicle or freight plane. Once this first journey has been completed, the goods will reach a hub, where it is then sorted and moved onto smaller delivery vehicles that deliver to a specific area. Once the package is received, the customer signs and it is stored electronically so FedEx knows they have delivered the package. The company’s website hosts an electronic tracking system where customers can enter a code and track the exact location of their goods and the contents of their goods.

Also on their website they promote themselves through marketing. FedEx Corp is a growing company and regularly recruits new employees – this is met by the human resources department at various centres around the world – they recruit a whole range of staff from pilots to delivery vehicle drivers. Along with this their equipment whether it be plane of van/lorry needs maintaining and repairing, so FedEx have their own maintenance department. The whole purpose of this is to make a profit so FedEx Corp can expand and continue to deliver an excellent, on-time service. Aldi Aldi Ltd is a global discount supermarket chain.

It operates under a private limited ownership as a secondary and tertiary business. A private limited company means it is owned by individuals or shareholders with profit as the major driving force. A secondary business produces goods, for example Aldi own-brand orange juice is produced by a subsidiary company for Aldi. This is then delivered to Aldi and sold to customers. This is a tertiary business – a business which sells the finished product. Aldi first store was opened in 1913, and was a quite popular p[lace to shop in the German town of Essen. During the 40s an expansion program was created and more stores were opened.

A celebration was held in 1954 for the opening of the 50th store. By 1960 Aldi had grown to a network of over 300 stores; Aldi was then divided into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. In the 1960s, Aldi became the first company in Germany to adopt the self-service concept. During 1983, Aldi started chilled distribution depots and sol fresh products such as cheese, yoghurt and sausages. Frozen products came in 1998 and were closely followed by fresh meat. Today, Aldi is a rapidly growing company with more than 9,000 stores across 3 continents, serving millions of people. Aldi has many day-to-day activities.

Aldi spend a lot of money on marketing to let customers know of the quality products for low prices. During 2011 more than 1 million customers switched from their usual British supermarket to their German rival due to the low-cost products – this was mainly achieved by marketing. In the UK, TV adverts were introduced to inform customers of their products. Each week a brochure is produced informing of the deals to come the following week. There are various distribution centres around countries which Aldi operate in. Aldi has a “delivered fresh everyday policy”, and each day lorry loads of new goods are delivered to each store around the globe.

Aldi have a small website which gives customers information of latest product deals and upcoming “special buys”. Aldi have their own mobile app giving similar information as their website. Aldi do not regularly recruit main workers – it is their norm to have least workers. When workers are recruited the HR department would take care of this. Cleaners are employed by Aldi to take care of their stores after closing time. Aldi’s purpose is to provide a low-cost quality product service in the form of a supermarket. The main aim is to make profit.