A SWOT Analysis of FedEx - Case Study Example

A SWOT analysis is a managerial strategic program aimed at analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization so that decision-makers can enact policies basing on the information at hand. From the DI case, the weaknesses of the organization are highlighted, and in all, they are internal and based on employees' negligence. This report will highlight that. The table below shows the SWOT analysis of the organization.

Strengths:

It has an automated transportation system that is linked to the internet for efficiency.

It has a strong brand name with a reputation of innovativeness and reliability in delivering clients consignments.

It has a strategic management policy through the money-back guarantee system which refunds clients their money in cases their goods have not been delivered in time.

It has a policy that guides its operations in terms of service provision and profitability.

It has a strong technological innovation for the provision of its services such as the DADS and COSMOS.

It has a strong customer relations policy with over 250 customer service representatives attending to numerous calls per day.

It has a strong workforce of more than 137000 people worldwide.

It has strong financial and logistical capabilities.

Weaknesses:

Poor communication skills from employees of the organization.

Staff inefficiency in conducting their duties.

Its money-back guarantee policy is one-sided with the company determining whether it will refund money for failed deliveries (McDougall and Charles, 51).

Bureaucracy in its decision-making process.

Opportunities:

The opportunity of engaging with other players in new markets through strategic alliances.

Due to numerous awards such as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the company faces growth in its business operations.

Potential to meet its objectives through its wide pool of human and financial capital.

Due to its customer relations department, the company has an opportunity of receiving feedback on the nature and quality of its services.

The opportunity of obtaining legitimacy in its operations due to obtaining the quality management and assurance ISO 9000.

Threats:

The world’s economic instability might affect its operations due to its presence worldwide. For example the Eurozone economic crisis.

Loss of client’s goods due to theft arising from shipments witnessed by failure of the FEDEX staff to locate the shipping bill of the client’s shipments.

Lack of qualified staff to manage its technological innovations such as COSMOS and DADS.

Political instability in various countries and regions of its interest might affect its operations. For example, the Arab Spring crisis that started in Tunisia to Egypt led to the overthrow of these governments through mass participation.

Poor judgment by its employees on appeasing aggrieved clients can lead to customer dissatisfaction for example Poor customer relationship skills witnessed by the supervisor sending chocolates instead of offering an apology to aggrieved customers.

Loss of business opportunities due to poor communication skills from its employees.

Failure in its air transportation system to deliver clients packages/goods at the required destination due to employee’s lack of judgment or inefficiency.

Loses arising from inefficiency of their services through paying of refunds and compensations to clients for expenses arising from the company’s negligence. For instance, DI lost $ 600 in paying trade booths which were to be used for showcasing the undelivered goods (McDougall and Charles, 48).

Risk negative publicity and therefore affecting their profitability due to their inefficiency in handling DI shipments. This is portrayed by Anita Kilgour expressing her disappointment and unhappiness at how the organization handled her orders.

 From this analysis, we can conclude that FedEx is a strong company with minimum weaknesses in its operations. It is also a technology-oriented company and because of this, it is a market leader in the provision of courier services. Despite its strengths and position in the market, the company can improve on its weaknesses by improving on the terms of the money-back guarantee system, to give clients a say in the determination of refunds. The company needs to reduce the various communicative channels in the resolution of disputes to involve only one person mandated with such responsibility. Once this is addressed, the company will achieve the status of high growth and profitability.