Word: expression
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Small businesses have found that overnight mail gives them new markets. The Rendezvous, a Memphis restaurant specializing in barbecued ribs, ships its delicacy to customers in New York and California by Federal Express. "People call in their orders up until 10 p.m., and we get them there by 10:30 the next morning," says Owner Charles Vergos. "This was the answer to our prayers, because if we don't get the ribs out fast, they are not any good." Romantics in a rush to send flowers can dial Roseland Express, a California firm that for $35 will whisk...
Procrastinators and large families are great fans of the service. Traci Laffer of Los Angeles, the wife of supply-side Economist Arthur Laffer, figures that she has used Federal Express 20 times in the past year. Shipments to her traveling husband or the Laffer children away at school have included cufflinks, homework, a party dress and a computer part. Says she: "My husband thinks I'm crazy, but when you need something quickly it's the only way to get it there...
...pays its way, however, by allowing them to keep on hand smaller stockpiles of spare parts. Says John C. Emery Jr., chairman of the firm founded by his father: "Companies are controlling their inventory by relying on us for fast delivery of vital shipments." At its Memphis headquarters, Federal Express stockpiles supplies for 64 of its commercial customers in a giant warehouse called the parts bank. From this source, the company can dispatch items wherever they are needed...
...Federal Express invented the present overnight delivery system. Both Emery and Airborne for decades had shipped freight on commercial airliners. But Frederick Smith, 40, dreamed up the idea of combining a squadron of planes with a fleet of delivery vans. As legend has it, Smith first proposed the plan in a 1965 term paper that earned him a C in an economics course at Yale. After two tours in Viet Nam, one as a Marine pilot, Smith decided to use a $10 million inheritance to try out his idea, and founded Federal...
...Federal Express has created a corporate culture as distinctive as the ones fostered by IBM or Apple Computer. Indeed, Apple Co-Founder Steven Jobs last month cited Federal's Smith as one of his business heroes. Smith runs Federal with a military zeal that rubs off on his staff. He sometimes rewards outstanding work with Bravo Zulu stickers, which refer to the Navy signal flags meaning "job well done." Says Robert Sigafoos, author of the corporate profile Absolutely, Positively Overnight: "They have a 'kill or be killed' mentality, which permeates the ranks from top to bottom...