Airborne Express
Airborne Express
Written Case Analysis
Express Mail Industry Structure
The environment of the express mail industry has experienced drastic changes over the past decade, let alone since its inception in the 1900’s. As a result of changing tastes amongst consumers, the industry has adopted practices that have allowed it to perform more efficiently in terms of geographic scaling, product assortment of goods being transported, meeting customers varying needs, as well as enhancing the range of service options that carriers offer.
Prior to 1997, the concept of “express delivery” was a new phenomenon to the marketplace and served as a small and marginally profitable business venture. Traditionally, a small proportion of mail and packages were collected, consolidated, shipped, and finally delivered to their destinations as freight within the holds of passenger airplanes. This system was ineffective and lacked fluidity in terms of shipper requirements, carrier costs, pricing policies, and regulatory constraints.
Innovation & Competition Within the Marketplace
It wasn’t until the inception of Federal Express in the 1960’s that helped to challenge both industry officials and consumers alike to envision a more efficient, effective and reliable system of transporting mail. The invention of systems such as “hub-and-spoke routing,” where packages from across the nation were lifted to a single airport and sent to their respective destinations, changed the way that express mail was perceived. As a result, almost every business began to use express delivery services, exponentially increasing overall consumer demand.
With increased consumer demand came new entrants into the marketplace including industry players such as UPS and Airborne Express. This new competitive landscape challenged corporations within the mail industry to look beyond the simple delivery of a package. It forced firms to not only look at differentiating themselves on price and
Written Case Analysis
Express Mail Industry Structure
The environment of the express mail industry has experienced drastic changes over the past decade, let alone since its inception in the 1900’s. As a result of changing tastes amongst consumers, the industry has adopted practices that have allowed it to perform more efficiently in terms of geographic scaling, product assortment of goods being transported, meeting customers varying needs, as well as enhancing the range of service options that carriers offer.
Prior to 1997, the concept of “express delivery” was a new phenomenon to the marketplace and served as a small and marginally profitable business venture. Traditionally, a small proportion of mail and packages were collected, consolidated, shipped, and finally delivered to their destinations as freight within the holds of passenger airplanes. This system was ineffective and lacked fluidity in terms of shipper requirements, carrier costs, pricing policies, and regulatory constraints.
Innovation & Competition Within the Marketplace
It wasn’t until the inception of Federal Express in the 1960’s that helped to challenge both industry officials and consumers alike to envision a more efficient, effective and reliable system of transporting mail. The invention of systems such as “hub-and-spoke routing,” where packages from across the nation were lifted to a single airport and sent to their respective destinations, changed the way that express mail was perceived. As a result, almost every business began to use express delivery services, exponentially increasing overall consumer demand.
With increased consumer demand came new entrants into the marketplace including industry players such as UPS and Airborne Express. This new competitive landscape challenged corporations within the mail industry to look beyond the simple delivery of a package. It forced firms to not only look at differentiating themselves on price and