The complete package

For Clifton Chua, who oversees express transportation firm FedEx's operations in six Southeast Asian markets, information technology is a great leveraging tool.

As the world's largest express transportation firm, FedEx currently serves more than 220 countries and territories around the world, with 2010 revenues of US$39 billion.

Based in Singapore, Chua is also responsible for the Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong markets.

These markets are expected to benefit from the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which will become effective in 2015, when trade and investment as well as capital and labour flows among Asean, the 10-country regional grouping, will be freer.

With its own fleet of nearly 700 aircraft, FedEx's express cargo services are provided with money-back guarantee, so as to ensure full customer satisfaction.

The firm is also known for its innovative use of IT to deliver fast and reliable services, as customers can also track and trace their cargoes online at any point in time during the delivery process.

According to Chua, each of the cargoes handled by FedEx is scanned at least 9 to 15 times on average, so tracking and tracing systems are very efficient and effective.

Besides its websites, the firm also has mobile applications for customers who want to keep track of cargo movements while they are on the move. They can also conveniently trigger a cargo pick-up service via the application.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, FedEx also provides a range of digital tools to help them tap global trade and business opportunities. For example, they can get precise information on cargo delivery and transit times on various international routes, as well as on customs and other paperwork requirements in each of the foreign markets.

Customers can also get price quotations on delivery charges via the Internet.

Given its global air-and-ground network, the delivery of time-sensitive shipments is done with a definite time and date.

On a daily basis, about 3.5 million packages and 10 million pounds of freight are delivered by the firm's Airbus A300-600s and Airbus A310-200/300s, among other types of cargo planes, in addition to the firm's 42,000 motor vehicles on the ground.

According to FedEx, there is no longer a focus on any single country or group of countries because of increased inter-connectedness.

In the realm of global trade, the drivers are now emerging markets such as China and India, which have contributed to worldwide gains in manufacturing.

With a growing middle class in these emerging markets, with populations of over 1.3 billion and 1 billion, respectively, these countries are transitioning from producing nations to consumer nations.

As a result, their domestic markets represent rich opportunities for global traders due the rising levels of disposable income among the middle-class population.

As an integrated express transport firm, FedEx sees this as a major source of future growth, especially in Asia, where the firm has one of the strongest transportation networks.

According to the International Air Transportation Association, the Asia-Pacific region is now the largest single region for air freight, with an annual growth rate of 24 per cent in 2010.

Based on this trend, the US-based firm foresees a tipping point in which it expects higher-margin revenue to come from international operations, which will then approach US domestic revenues for the first time in the firm's history.