FedEx vs UPS | When in Rome... | 4

Business Wars

Wondery

History, Business, David Brown, Management

4.6 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

UPS decides it’s time to expand its market outside North America and makes a big push into Western Europe. But it’s harder than expected to integrate its corporate culture with European norms.

FedEx CEO Fred Smith eschews European expansion and goes all-in on a risky new service called ZapMail, much to his executive team’s dismay.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to business wars, add free on Amazon music.
0:04.8	Download the app today.
0:07.0	It's 1985, Milan.
0:17.5	A team of UPS executives is striding down a cobblestone street.
0:22.6	UPS has recently bought Alimondo, the largest delivery service in Italy, and the team is
0:28.4	here to train their new employees in the UPS way.
0:33.6	The executives push open the office door, whip off their sunglasses, and strut in.
0:39.0	Inside the Italian workers' glower from their desks.
0:42.6	But the UPS team fails to read the room.
0:45.7	The team leader throws his arms out wide.
0:48.8	Bonjour, no.
0:50.0	Welcome to UPS.
0:51.4	We're so excited to be here and add you to the big brown family.
0:56.5	He pauses for applause, but there's an awkward beat as nothing happens.
1:01.6	Finally, a few UPS team members start clapping and the Alimondo workers slowly join in.
1:08.9	He continues,
1:10.0	We're here to show you what works in the delivery business.
1:13.9	An Italian executive stands up, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
1:18.2	Excuse me, but we were quite a successful company here in our country.
1:22.7	We already know what works.
1:24.9	The UPS executive holds out his hand, trying to keep the peace.
1:28.9	Of course, of course.
	...

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