As I see it (one man's observation), the real deal is the real deal. There is nothing going on behind the scenes. It's exactly as FedEx says it is. There is no need to read between the lines. The lines themselves say it all.
Sales leads are being referred across divisions. And yes, they are expecting sufficient growth to add 400 EXPEDITING trucks. The cheaper freight (non-exclusive-use) they are talking about that is to go on FedEx Freight Trucks is freight Custom Critical would not have had anyway, because the customer balked at the price. Now, those customers are referred to FedEx Freight instead of sent into the wind.
One point to keep in mind is the 400 trucks are not being added instantly. FedEx has experimented with the program in limited markets with enough success to make the decision to take the program nationwide. Fleet size is about 1,400 now. I believe it will be some time before it reaches 1,800.
I've said it before. The most exciting part of this program for me is the addition of 600 FedEx Freight salespeople to the FedEx Custom Critical mix, and to Custom Critical's existing sales force of 60. Now that the 600 have been trained up on the Custom Critical story, a story few of them previously knew, that can only help Custom Critical.
I believe FedEx Custom Critical's competitors have a lot more to be worried about than FedEx Custom Critical's contractors. A sales force of 660 people going to work every day to put freight on our trucks is nothing to sneeze at.
Diane and I once met one of these sales people at a pickup. He had developed this new customer who would be shipping high-end, lots-of-accessorial-charges freight about once a month. It was new-technology medical research equipment being made for universities.
This stuff had never before been shipped because it had never before been invented. The customer was not a customer before because they never before needed the services Custom Critical provides. But somehow, OUR salesman got wind of these folks and made the sales calls necessary to develop the account.
We happened to be the first-ever truck to haul this freight. The sales rep was there to make the point to the customer that he'd be just a call away if the need to call arose; over and above the rest of the support FedEx provides. He wanted to point out to the shipper the kind of truck and team they get when a Custom Critical truck arrives.
While we had no clue he'd be there when we arrived, I thought his being there was a very heads-up move on the sales rep's part. We were there to do our part and haul the freight. He was there to reinforce the customer's buying decision and make more likely that the customer would use FedEx as a matter of course in the future.
Such sales reps are are a tremendous asset to those of us who haul freight for a living.
Another thing I like about the new program is it makes me confident that Custom Critical - a teeny-tiny slice of the FedEx empire - will play a key role in FedEx for many years to come. I used to worry a little that the Custom Critical division may be one day sold off. My concern all but disappeared when the new program was announced.
