Transport is an essential industry in the country as it offers services such as people, goods, or any other infrastructure. Technically, it is observable that transport operates under the stock industry as described under the global industry classification. Transportation includes several groups such as air freight and logistics, airline, marine, road, and rail transportation. Companies operating in the transportation sector operate at the global level, thus requiring the company to adhere to regulations by the Department of Homeland Security (Tvaronavičienė, 2018). Companies that operate in the transport industry experience challenges such as fuel costs, costs of labor, demand for the services, and maintaining border security. Companies are required to create mechanisms capable of ensuring that they fulfill the expectations that the public has on the firm. This paper analyzes the relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and the transportation sector, focusing on the FedEx transportation sector.
Summary of FedEx Transportation Company
FedEx Corporation is a privately owned company that was established in the year 1997. It operates in the transportation sector and provides business services through companies competing collectively and working independently. In the transportation group, FedEx offers various services at the United States domestic and international level (Capital, 2019). For instance, FedEx transportation group offer shipping delivery of packages and freight within the country and across the border. The primary objective of the company is to improve the transport needs of people in the community by offering transport services that connect people across the globe. In an attempt of providing improved services to the society, FedEx believes that people are changing from just requiring transport services to considering the speed and security for their goods. As a result, the company’s team engages in a high rate of innovation to improve customers’ experience.
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FedEx Company operates in the transportation sector, and it struggles to fulfill its obligations in the community as required by the department of homeland security. In the transport sector, it becomes the role of the manager to formulate programs capable of helping the firm to serve the interests and expectations of the clients (Lyster, 2012). As a result, FedEx engages in innovation to come up with technological changes that support the duties performed by a transportation company. As the assistant transport manager, FedEx considers the safety of goods and people using the company’s transport means. Safety also involves offering reliable means of transport such that there are reduced cases of accidents capable of losing lives and products. The overall objective of the US Homeland Security is to maximize the level of security of citizens within the country and across borders (Park et al., 2018). In effect, FedEx should be able to borrow ideas and implement strategies capable of maximizing the level of security for travelers within the country and to the international level.
Internal and External Strategies Applied By FedEx Transportation Inc.
FedEx Corporation has a team of highly qualified professionals dedicated to providing security to customers’ goods and protecting customers. For instance, FedEx operates using a collectively, work independently, and manage strategy collaboratively. This approach ensures that the company offers quality services to customers, thus maximizing their services to society. This information indicates that the company has several segments operating across the globe (Lyster, 2012). The department of homeland security requires companies to consider the health and safety of their activities to the citizens. In effect, transport firms should consider the security of passengers traveling in the domestic or at the international level. FedEx fulfills this expectation by creating a room for companies to act independently in the regions they operate, but they are managed collaboratively. Central management minimizes the opportunities for any branch to break the expectations. Collaborative management creates a chance for monitoring activities happening across the different networks, thus maximizing the level of security. FedEx applies e-commerce technology in ensuring that customers access information and implement mechanisms for avoiding violation of the expectations. There is continuous innovation to maximize the level of security among customers.
FedEx Company focuses on environment protection as a way for improving its reputation and responsibility to society. The department of homeland security focuses on offering general security to the citizens. This responsibility requires companies to identify steps for minimizing the level of environmental protection. FedEx has established a goal to increase FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency by 50% by the year 2025 (Viaene & De Hertogh, 2010). The level of commitment reveals through a situation where the company achieved the previous five-year focus for minimizing fuel emission vehicles by 30%. This strategy is accompanied by reducing the level of aircraft emissions by 30% by the year 2020 (Capital, 2019). This information indicates that people have to remain committed to improving the quality of the environment in which people live. Reducing the level of fuel has the effects of minimizing the costs fines associated with violation of effort by the department of homeland security. FedEx has focused on improving efficiency in flight operation as a strategy for improving the safety of customers by offering modernized airplanes.
Challenges Facing FedEx in Meeting Homeland Security Commitments
FedEx Corporation faces cyber security challenges that make it difficult to commit in offering services that meet the standards of the depart of homeland security. FedEx provides services to customers in different countries where each market segment has rules governing the goods and services received. The company faces challenges in offering security to people in different countries (Birla, 2012). Homeland security department focuses on ensuring that they prevent people from experiencing theft claims. FedEx Company operates at the global level, and it is subject to ever-changing environmental laws. FedEx Corporation makes changing environmental regulations as a source of competitive advantage, but it leads to vulnerability in violating the set laws. In such cases, the company experiences high operational costs.
FedEx Corporation focuses on improving a public image by offering quality services and offering security to services provided by the company. Some activities such as natural disasters such as weather events become a source for violating the resources required in improving the quality of transportation services (Viaene & De Hertogh, 2010). Weather disruptions cause freight accidents capable of interfering with the quality of services and information needed in meeting the expectations of the US department of homeland security. In some cases, some employees may not be loyal to the company, thus posting information likely to interfere with the company’s public image.
Effects of Collaboration between FedEx Corporation and DHS
The collaborative efforts between FedEx Corporation and the Department of Homeland Security increases have an opportunity for addressing the challenges faced by FedEx. For instance, the Homeland Security Department can help the company in establishing a portal for information sharing between the company and the homeland security (Lyster, 2012). This portal could help facilitate the flow of information between FedEx Company and government agencies across the essential infrastructure sectors. The flow of information creates a possibility for the firm to understand changes such as taxation and environmental laws.
The collaboration can also help by creating a vulnerability assessment tool. The postal and shipping sector creates an opportunity for creating a self-assessment tool capable of addressing all the challenges that would face the company (Reese, 2012). As a result, FedEx would be able to access changes in technology and weather changes, thus preventing the effects associated with natural disasters. In situations where such inherent risks occur, there will be strategies in place to minimize adverse outcomes.
Collaboration between FedEx Corporation and the US Department of Homeland Security may also lead to the creation of site assistant visits, thus tracking any risks likely to occur (Ani, Shami, & Ani, 2012). The organization faces a challenge in monitoring the information posted by disloyal employees and people trying to tarnish the name of the company. Collaboration with the DHS may increase the level of creativity, thus coming up with a strategy for monitoring the content posted on the company’s websites. As a result, the movement of goods through shipping and tracks will be controlled, thus avoiding any form of information sharing likely to cause threats to people and the products.
Conclusion
FedEx Corporation has strategic efforts in an attempt of meeting the commitments by the Federal department of Homeland security. For instance, FedEx Corporation has high profile professionals capable of monitoring the flow of goods and services from one region to the other. FedEx improves its public image by creating innovative approaches likely to reduce the level of vehicle emissions that cause environmental pollution. Challenges such as cybercrime and changes in environmental laws cause threats to the company. The collaboration between FedEx Corporation and the department of homeland security creates an opportunity for fulfilling the commitments for increasing the level of protection to the citizens. For instance, there will be a creation of a tool for accessing the company’s vulnerability to risks and site assessment tool for reducing the cybercrimes.
References
Ani, N., Shami, S., & Ani, F. (2012). U.S. Patent No. 8,253,557. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Birla, M. (2012). FedEx Delivers: How the World's Leading Shipping Company Keeps Innovating and Outperforming the Competition. John Wiley & Sons.
Capital, G. (2019). FedEx Corporation. Retrieved from: https://s1.q4cdn.com/714383399/files/doc_financials/quarterly/2018/FDX-10-K-BMK-and-Hyperlinks.pdf
Lansford, T., & Pauly Jr, R. J. (2016). To protect and defend: US homeland security policy. Routledge.
Lyster, C. (2012). Learning from FedEx: lessons for the city. Journal of Landscape Architecture, 7(1), 54-67.
Park, Y. S., Lim, S. H., Egilmez, G., & Szmerekovsky, J. (2018). Environmental efficiency assessment of US transport sector: A slack-based data envelopment analysis approach. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 61, 152-164.
Reese, S. (2012, April). Defining homeland security: Analysis and congressional considerations. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Stewart, M. G., Ellingwood, B. R., & Mueller, J. (2011). Homeland security: A case study in risk aversion for public decision-making. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 15(5-6), 367-386.
Tvaronavičienė, M. (2018). Towards Sustainable and Secure Development: Energy Efficiency Peculiarities In Transport Sector. Journal of Security & Sustainability Issues, 7(4).
Viaene, S., & De Hertogh, S. (2010). Enterprise-wide business-IT engagement in an empowered business environment: the case of FedEx Express EMEA. Journal of Information Technology, 25(3), 323-332.
