Truck Topics
Moving Forward: FedEx Custom Critical
At the recent Mid-America Trucking Show, Expediters Online.com had an opportunity to sit down with Ms. Virginia Albanese, VP of Services for FedEx Custom Critical. Ms. Albanese is an expedited trucking veteran who has witnessed the growth and maturation of the emergency freight industry.
EO: I believe you're about to celebrate twenty years with FedEx Custom Critical. Would you relate some of your history with the company and the changes you've seen?
Albanese: I started with FedEx Custom Critical in December 1986 when it was a relatively small company. I was hired as a customer service agent then moved into a management training position. I've been very fortunate to move around between departments such as safety, recruiting, contractor relations, operations and the like. This gave me a good idea of how the company works, both on the customer side and the contractor side of things.
I've seen unbelieveable change over that time period. When I came to the company in 1986, drivers were making four-hour log calls (checking in by phone). We would type in their city and state and hope they were running on time. Just look at the evolution of the Qualcomm-the Customer Link in the trucks; we've come so far.
EO: In your early years with the company, when it was still a regional delivery company, did you envision it becoming a national/international business?
Albanese: It's really been something to see! Obviously, no one can predict the future, but we knew that we had something good going on. We knew that if we could reach more customers, we could grow the company. When we were acquired by FedEx, it was the most positive thing that ever happened to this company. Think of all the collaborations that are in motion with the FedEx Custom Critical Surface Expedite Network. Who would have dreamed that when we were Roberts, that we would be affiliated with FedEx and that we would be doing all of these collaborative things with these companies? I think that we're just beginning to come up with ideas of how to leverage the entire FedEx operating company environment.
It's been great for our company and it's taken us to new levels. With the FedEx Custom Critical Surface Expedite Network, for example, that's taken us from 60 sales contractors to 660 salesprofessionals . I can't wait to see what the next five to ten years has in store for us!
EO: Over the past few years, some expedited carriers have made an effort to diversify their customer base, primarily away from automotive freight. What new industries do you see replacing that freight and what new areas is expedited trucking moving into?
Albanese: Of course, when we developed back in the early '80's, we were very automotive-intensive because we were in the automotive world, being located in Ohio. We did a lot of short haul freight in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, taking supplier freight into the automotive plants.
Over the last five to eight years, we've certainly diversified and I think that's key to an organization, to have that diversity in the customer base. If you have a diverse customer base, you can smooth the peaks and valleys in the business and keep the independent contractors busy. So, I think that it's important for us to continually look to diversify that base.
For example, in regards to our Temperature Validation service, we're looking at one industry that uses that service predominantly, but we're also stretching out and asking ourselves what other industries are going to require that kind of service? Diversification is key.
EO: FedEx Custom Critical has offered its special handling services for a number of years with its White Glove division which now includes temperature control. Other carriers have followed suit and now offer similar special handling and reefer services. Will these premium services continue to expand as part of expedited trucking?
Albanese: I still believe that White Glove Services is the top-of-the-line in special care and handling. Another thing is that we have a really nice density of trucks and it's difficult to get in this game unless you have enough trucks.
We have a lot of people who have been with FedEx Custom Critical White Glove Services for a long time and they're very dedicated and absolute professionals in their field. Because we have a large number of those professionals in our fleet, we're able to cover our customers' demands. We've seen the Temp-Assure and T-Val products continue to grow and expand so we will be adding to those fleets.
EO: The question of industry over-saturation sometime arises. Has expedited trucking reached a saturation level, that is, are there too many carriers all vying for the same freight or is manufacturing's demand for expedited trucking keeping pace with the growing number of carriers in the field?
Albanese: I don't know that it's "saturated" because I think that each of us takes a different approach. Some of our competitors play very heavily into the automotive business and that's their bread and butter. I think that there's a lot of freight out there and you have to understand what is "hot", really critical freight and what is what we would determine to be warm" freight.
There are different segments of expedite, but there is a lot of freight out there and each carrier works in their own niche. We have a sizeable fleet and that makes a big difference. There are a lot of carriers out there with a hundred truck fleet or a hundred-fifty truck fleet, but we have 1,400 trucks, and that's soon to be 1,800 trucks. We have a lot of trucks and we can cover a lot of ground in this country with our fleet.
The bottom line is, you have to have a density of trucksin order to make it work, unless you're going to run dedicated or run in a very small region. But to do what we're doing on a grander scale, you have to have the trucks, you have to have the systems in place to track and monitor the trucks and you have to have a sales force out there that is talking about what it is you're doing.
We have guarantees of service on our products and the mom-and-pops (small carriers) can't do those kinds of things. One thing we hear from our customers all the time: "There are a lot of players out there, but when we know the chips are down, and it MUST be there with no margin for error, we immediately call Custom Critical."
We stand behind what we do. If we're talking to the customer, there's a problem and we're not going to make that delivery,we'll go all the way up to chartering an aircraft at our expense to make that delivery. Can the small carrier really afford to charter that $10,000 plane at their expense to keep that customer satisfied?
It doesn't happen often because of the great systems we have in place, but when the chips are down, that customer will likely call us again.
EO: In the late '90's, Expediters Online asked this question and it's been the topic of several articles since as well as being a question that is often posed by the expedited owner-operators on our forums. In expedited trucking, does the cargo van have a future or are its days numbered?
Albanese: I think there is absolutely a place for an Econoline or Sprinter-type of van. Absolutely. We still get a nice level of that business - people always have one or two skids to ship. We do not want to sell a customer a tractor-trailer when all they needed was an Econoline van. I would definitely say that there is a place for that type of equipment.
FedEx Custom Critical Online Application