Built around Netscape Communications Corp.'s directory service product, that enterprisewide directory was rolled out early last month. On top of those infrastructure investments, FedEx is working at integrating all of the core systems on which its businesses run. The unified IT organization, for example, is migrating all business units to the package tracking and invoicing systems used by FedEx Express. That way, corporate customers will need to integrate with only one FedEx system to track packages, whether they go by next-day express or deferred ground. Similarly, FedEx is merging the systems used by the 4,000 customer support agents in its call centers, so that a single team can be trained to sell customers next-day Express, deferred shipping, FedEx Home or any other service.
Customers have a single number to call.
The redesign will, among other things, allow consumers to track packages using a single system, regardless of which FedEx product they are using. BEA Systems Inc. The new technology strategy behind Arise goes well beyond integrating core FedEx back-end systems, however. The project uses e-CRM applications from Youcentric Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., and online product configuration software from Trilogy Software Inc., of Austin, Texas. But FedEx's efforts to deepen its knowledge of customer history and preferences don't stop with the CRM project. As part of Arise, the com pany has also rolled out an 11-terabyte enterprise data warehouse that pulls into one place key operational data, bits and pieces of which had previously been isolated in various data marts owned by individual FedEx business units.