Reference no: EM133154934

1.In 1995, UPS's Chairman and CEO Oz Nelson made the following comment: "It's becoming popular now to talk about mass customization. I thought it was impossible ... how can you pick up from 1.35 million customers a day and deliver 12 million packages a day and talk about any kind of customization? But I found out you can. One way is with technology." What signals can you read from this statement of UPS's Chairman?

2.What kind of market signals can FedEx's competitors pick up from the statement of its founder and CEO, Frederick W. Smith: "[I]nformation about the package will soon be just as important as the delivery of the package"?

3."By mid-1990s, FedEx and UPS found themselves in the midst of a 'virtual' online war" (p. 2) -- the series of actions by either side are not just serious competitive moves (to be covered in the next chapter), but also loud and clear signals. Discuss what signals you interpret here (need not be from the list that Porter shares in the Market Signals chapter).

4.From a market signals point of view, why did UPS announce that the company was working with several major tech companies, such as IBM, Pandesic, SAP, Icat, Harbinger, Lotus, and Microage?

5.What kind of market signal is FedEx giving when it started distributing its own Application Programming Interfaces (API) one year after UPS launched such a campaign in collaboration with other tech firms?

6.What's the purpose of the following statement from Tim Zach, the director of e-commerce for UPS: "[W]e want to empower the buyer and give them the capabilities they need for self-service"? [note how the statement focuses squarely on one stakeholder, and says absolutely nothing about its main competitors]

7.Besides competing with their internet-based functions, FedEx and UPS also competed at the broad operational level. In terms of internal operations, both company pushed heavily for efficiency. At some point, UPS made an announcement of its plans to deploy its LAN network and also revealed its plans to establish bluetooth technology to replace the need for corded sorters. What kind of market signal is UPS sending here?

8.Satish Jindel, Principal of SJ Consulting, interprets what UPS is signaling with its 2001 acquisition of Fritz Companies, a freight services firm. Reflect on the interpretation provided and offer your assessment.

9.Assess FedEx's announcement that it would stop conducting business with the former Mail Boxes stores that were now UPS Stores.

10.Discuss UPS's actions to chip away FedEx's lead in the express air shipment business. What should FedEx do to make this a Cross Parry signal?

11.Elaborate on FedEx's Cross Parry signal (detailed on p. 7 of the case). Why is the FedEx spokesperson talking about the company giving to customers what customers asked for, when the actions seem more about responding to UPS?

12.Why did UPS tay away from a price war when it came to responding to FedEx's encroachment to its residential services (i.e., home delivery) business?

13.What kind of market signal can FedEx read from UPS's labor relations chief Chris Maloney's statement: "[T]he closer we get to the expiration of the [Teamsters'] contract, the most customers are going to be concerned ... and we don't know if we'll get those packages back"?

14.What kind of signal did FedEx read from UPS's claim that Sunday delivery was too small a market to be profitable?

15.Despite making losses in its European operations, why did FedEx make a publicized re-entry into the business in 1999 with its expanded intra-European flight schedule and its new overnight delivery service (i.e., EuroOne)? What market signal is FedEx trying to give here?

16.According to FedEx CFO Alan Graf, FedEx's new approach in Europe had no plans to reenter the ground delivery market. Why is he making such a statement? Why is the CFO explaining in very specific terms what the new FedEx strategy for Europe was all about?

17.Discuss the market signal UPS is relaying to FedEx by opening a branch office at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Why does the managing director of UPS conclude his statement by saying "Competition is healthy for businesses"?

18.MBE franchisees announced plans to bring a class-action lawsuit against UPS. Discuss this particular market signal.

19.FedEx and UPS both opposed DHL's acquisition of Airborne Express and asked the Department of Transportation (DOT) to examine DHL's ownership structure. What kind of market signal are they relaying and to whom?