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Customer Story

FedEx GDX Consolidates its Global Data Teams to Optimize Digital Practices

With Xebia's assistance, the organization's Global Digital Experience team revamps its data practices to facilitate cross-functional collaboration, boost efficiency, and optimize information utilization.
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Related Services
Azure

Industry
Transportation, eCommerce, and Business Services

Company
Xebia Data

Founded in 1971, FedEx is a global courier delivery company that provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services. It offers a range of shipping and delivery options, including express shipping, freight services, and logistics solutions for businesses and individuals.  

FedEx is a well-known name in the logistics industry, trusted to handle billions of domestic and international packages daily. To ensure the company remains a top-notch service provider, FedEx's Global Digital Experience (GDX) team looked to enhance its customers' digital experience. FedEx GDX always seeks ways to optimize its customer-facing products (such as its website and mobile applications) so they remain as intuitive and frictionless as possible. To accomplish this, the wider organization of FedEx recognizes the importance of thoroughly understanding customer preferences through data. 
Why
FedEx GDX aligned its cross-regional teams to ensure efficient and consistent data insights.
What
The company created a revitalized global data strategy that focuses on an integrated operating model and technical architecture.
How
By understanding current and desired states, FedEx GDX built a strategic approach and a consequent roadmap.

The Need for a Global Data Vision  

With FedEx organization’s extensive global presence, the data department organically grew towards a decentralized practice, with each regional unit supporting its own product teams. This made it challenging to share insights and collaborate across the globe.  

To optimize customer journeys using data as an accelerator, FedEx GDX had to ensure that all collected data was fully integrated into a uniform way of working so that cross-regional teams could learn from each other's work. This goal also aligned with the company's strategic initiative to achieve one global brand, ultimately requiring a universal data approach. 
Xebia helped us tremendously in developing a concrete, actionable strategy to improve how we leverage data and analytics in optimizing our customer experience.
1994-to-today-Fedex-logo-min-1024x576
Niels Schenk FedEx GDX Managing Director Data & Analytics (a.i.)

Integrating Cross-Regional Teams  

To build digital experiences that delight customers, FedEx's GDX team needed to produce and act on high-quality, evidence-based insights. This required the team to centralize and scale its strategy globally by introducing a universal data practice.  

To achieve this ambition, Xebia worked closely with FedEx GDX’s leadership to create a shared vision for the company's revised data practices. Once that vision was recognized, FedEx GDX and Xebia conceptualized a high-level strategy that would maximize and accelerate data utilization, building on top of already existing plans. This would involve: 

  • Product Thinking for Data: By applying product thinking to all datasets and data assets, such as data models and dashboards, FedEx GDX ensured all data products provided as much value as possible and were easy to use, well-documented, and up-to-date.  
  • Structuring a Global Analytics Department: This new structure defined two large sub-teams: Analytics and Enablement. While the Analytics teams focus on gaining value from data, the Enablement teams were tasked with empowering their Analytics counterparts by supporting them with the necessary tooling, processes, workshops, and standardization guidelines.  
  • Working with one integrated platform: Alongside this new structure, Xebia also helped the GDX team determine the specifics of building an integrated platform with Azure where all the data could be collected and assessed. The platform supports running analytical use cases, self-serving analytics, and building data products. 
  • Standardizing data practice: FedEx GDX minimized handovers and confusion by defining standardized processes and best practices. 
  • Defining Recruitment Standards: Xebia also helped define recruitment requirements to implement the new structure seamlessly. 

FedEx GDX ensured all data products provided as much value as possible and were easy to use, well-documented, and up-to-date.  

A Thorough Approach   

To ensure FedEx GDX’s new strategy effectively aligns with its strategic objectives, Xebia started by understanding the leadership team’s ambitions and discerning the shared vision.  

Once the direction for change had been established, Xebia started to assess FedEx GDX’s current structure through a Data Maturity Assessment. This involved a 360° evaluation of all influential factors like people, processes, and technology. The team also thoroughly assessed the operating model and revised the technical architecture.  This step would help identify the bottlenecks and areas of improvement.   

To put this conceptual model into action, Xebia also helped formulate the roadmap for implementing this plan. This step-by-step approach allowed for the proper implementation of this model. Xebia is currently working with FedEx GDX to execute this roadmap. 

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