Success Stories
FedEx offers fast, reliable and top-of-the-line services for your unique small and medium business needs. Browse through a sampling of our recent success stories and read about how we have teamed up with and help grow our customers’ businesses through individual business analyses, tailored products and services, and overall solid and supportive customer relations.
Success Story - Fabiola MolinaDo you have a success story you would like to share?
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FedEx PyMEx Program
“We have achieved speed in transportation and convenience in documentation. FedEx has provided us a software with which we can print the documents required in destination countries, and track deliveries. There are also varied, high quality packaging sizes, which protects our product well,” says Kelce Molina, in charge of logistics for Fabiola Molina.
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Success Story - Industria de Corte, S.A. de C.V.
FedEx PyMEx Program
"The FedEx PyMEx Program provides businesses like ours tangible benefits we can take advantage of such as fast and on time deliveries. The program helps us lower shipping costs while providing counseling and educational resources for our personnel which is of great benefit and support of our staff”, said Jaime Guillermo Falcon Franco, CEO of INCOR.
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Success Story - Tobado Wild
FedEx PyMEx Program
“FedEx really has allowed me to grow my export business from a one-town operation to any-town operation,” Michael says. “It’s as if my fishermen are taking it right to the table.”
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Complete Stories
Success Story - Fabiola Molina
FedEx PyMEx Program
Swimmer Fabiola Molina is the owner of a sports and beach fashion line that bears her name. A Brazilian Team athlete since 1991, she has always caught the eye at international competitions, wearing her own designs.
Instead of the traditional swimsuit, Fabiola opted for a two-piece Sunkini, always in bright, colorful prints. This unaffected promotion caught the interest of athletes around the world and led her to begin exporting. Today about 35% of the 300 pieces produced every month in a factory in São José dos Campos go to countries such as Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, and South Africa, as well as Canada, Greece, Italy, Denmark and New Caledonia.
Challenges and Opportunities
The beginning was unceremonious. On her travels around Brazil and abroad Fabiola would pick up orders from athletes who liked the pieces she wore. In 2005 exports began with online sales and the option to pay by credit card. Alongside the Sunkinis, she added one-piece swimsuits and swimming trunks to the portfolio.
The launch of exports saw some critical moments for Fabiola Molina, especially delivery logistics and online credit card operations. “In addition to having to manually fill out air waybill forms, we had no way to track deliveries, which took between 15 and 20 days to get to the United States and Europe. We also had problems with lost deliveries, and the high prices were incompatible with the services provided,” says Fabiola Molina.
FedEx Express Solutions
In 2007 the company became a FedEx customer, using the International Priority (IP) service, which delivers packages of up to 68 kg in one to three business days anywhere in the world. To countries such as the USA, Canada, and Mexico, this service guarantees delivery on the next business day, and to the main European cities the delivery is made by 10:30am in two business days. Moreover, International Priority offers a Money Back Guarantee.
Results
Since that time, the company has seen a significant increase of sales. According to Kelce Molina, partner director of Fabiola Molina, their sales increased 230% in June 2008 in comparison to the same period of last year. She adds that FedEx is the only one that offers best services and excellence on the support. “We have achieved speed in transportation and convenience in documentation. FedEx has provided us a software with which we can print the documents required in destination countries, and track deliveries. There are also varied, high quality packaging sizes, which protects our product well,” says Kelce Molina, in charge of logistics for Fabiola Molina.
Kelce adds that the main benefits offered by FedEx Express are speed, reliability, customer satisfaction, company credibility, and the possibility to expand exports. “FedEx is our partner and will always be in our expansion plans. We are 100% satisfied with FedEx Express,” she says.
Fabiola Molina can also count on FedEx PyMEx Membership, a support program for small and medium Brazilian businesses that want to begin exporting, or to increase their exports.
PyMEx offers its members access to free seminars, online and on call consultancy for export processes, strategic agreements, updated news, discounts and other tools, such as free development of special packaging.
Launched in 2005 in Brazil, PyMEx has run free seminars in the States of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Paraná, attended by over 1,500 companies. The program has 2,564 members throughout Latin America.
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Success Story - Industria de Corte, S.A. de C.V.
FedEx PyMEx Program
Industria de Corte, S.A. de C.V. (INCOR) is a Mexican sector leader in the metallurgical industry, founded in 1979 as a business focused on cutting tools and machinery parts (parts involved in the processes such as turning, milling, polishing and welding). INCOR’s main clients are automotive industry companies, equipment and machinery manufacturing companies, reaching the highest levels of requirements not only in the Mexican market but also in the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Ecuador were INCOR products are recognized as products of the highest quality.
The challenge
INCOR needed to export high precision machinery parts mainly to the United States market. The success and operation of the business, as well as its growth in exports, largely depend on the efficiency of the logistic distribution process.
INCOR has been a client of FedEx since 2005 and became a member of the FedEx PyMEx Program a couple of years later, mainly using the “package consultancy” benefit since the parts they were exporting are very heavy and the packaging they used was complicating the export process. Through the use of one of the FedEx PyMEx Program benefits, FedEx was able to help INCOR improve their export process by reviewing their packaging at the FedEx Packaging Laboratory. This service is provided to FedEx customers free of charge.
In this lab, companies simply have to provide FedEx with a sample of the product inside the packaging they currently use to perform the necessary trials, certify the packaging, and obtain recommendations regarding changes these may require to ensure proper delivery of their shipments. They will even be provided with design plans in order to create the correct packaging to export their product.
The solution
INCOR received excellent ideas that helped design and certify its exports with improved packing and packaging. The tangible advantage has been seen in the reduction of losses in the transportation of their products. These benefits have allowed INCOR to trust FedEx with 70% of their exports.
INCOR also benefited from the FedEx Ship and Save Program; which allows members to receive attractive discounts for their exports which has helped INCOR reduce shipping costs by 5%.
INCOR needed a transportation service that would provide fast deliveries, since they required their shipments to be delivered to their clients between 48 to 72 hours, and guarantee the safety of their products. They looked for a special service that would manage fragile products since the finishing and tolerances of these high precision machinery parts are very strict. FedEx provided them with the level of service and guarantee they were looking for as well as the support and assistance of their executives in any situation.
"The FedEx PyMEx Program provides businesses like ours tangible benefits we can take advantage of such as fast and on time deliveries. The program helps us lower shipping costs while providing counseling and educational resources for our personnel which is of great benefit and support of our staff”, said Jaime Guillermo Falcon Franco, CEO of INCOR.
Since becoming a FedEx PyMEx Program member, INCOR has increased its exports from 8-10% to 22-28% of their total annual sales. The growth has been the result of high quality production combined with an improved export logistics method. This has helped them adequately manage the requirements of their clientele who have very high standards while obtaining high quality and homogeneity in the finished product and the delivery.
The exports of this company have been increasingly successful, mainly based on the experience of the FedEx PyMEx Program, which facilitates part of the process. As a result, INCOR showed important growth in the export market which won the company the National Award for Exports in November 2007.
“The main savings are in time and, of course, in cost. Through the FedEx PyMEx Program it is not necessary to have a department with logistic experts as we already have the direct and unconditional support and experience of FedEx employees backing us up,” added the executive.
With FedEx, INCOR has no risks; as they are confident because they have the peace of mind that their products are delivered on time. Thus, INCOR has won the trust of their clients. Now there are 38 people working for the company, it has an environmental management system and FedEx Express is also focused with the integral development of its staff and suppliers in order to improve the quality and services for its clients.
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Success Story - Tobado Wild
FedEx PyMEx Program
Tobago Wild is a Tobago-based hand-lined fresh fish exporter to the finest restaurants in the United States. This three-year-old, family-owned business started by Michael Dimin has flourished for him and the more than 100 local fishermen working the traditional pirogue boats in the pristine Caribbean waters of the West Indian Archipelago.
Tobago Wild promises customers its product will move “from hook to kitchen in less than 36 hours.” From New York City to Los Angeles, Tobago Wild’s never-frozen Wahoo, grouper, black fin tuna, mahi-mahi, amberjack and red snapper make daily appearances on the plates of discerning foodies.
Challenge and Opportunity
On a family vacation to the Tobagonian fishing village of Charlotteville, Michael discovered that by selling directly to the restaurants he could reduce his costs considerably and provide a fresher product.
Moving fresh food across borders requires a certain degree of coordination to maintain the products’ integrity and meet FDA requirements. However, moving sushi-grade fresh fish, which may never be frozen, calls for even greater attention to time in transit and delivery. Discerning chefs rely on daily shipments for their fresh fish supply and shouldn’t have to worry about customs clearance and brokerage.
Tobago Wild needed guaranteed air transportation capacity, customs brokerage, FDA clearance and timely delivery for the business to be successful. A first attempt with a basic commercial airliner in January 2005 limited shipments to New York City, and from there, only as far as its one delivery truck could travel in a day.
Eager to improve the situation for his business after one year, Michael approached FedEx for a solution to his shipping and brokerage constraints.
FedEx Express Solutions
“When Michael approached us, FedEx Express had been serving Trinidad and Tobago for 20 years, primarily providing document services,” said Gamal Hallim, Corporate Account Executive for FedEx Express, based in Trinidad. “This was the first time we had been approached to ship fresh fish out of Trinidad. The amazing thing is we didn’t do anything differently logistically,” Hallim notes. “What was different was the customer’s need to move perishables overnight.”
Beginning in January 2006, FedEx Express worked closely with Tobago Wild to understand its business and what it needed from a logistics provider in order to be successful. Daily flights would begin leaving Trinidad with 1,000 pounds of fish, packed in ice, pulled from the ocean just hours before.
The daily shipments with electronic manifests are pre-cleared by customs before the flight to Memphis even touches the ground, and within three hours the FDA and customs-cleared food is on its way to 20 waiting trucks in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington D.C. Housing its own FDA inspection and clearing offices at the Memphis Hub saves FedEx customers hours or even days of valuable time. And based on the customer’s needs FedEx added capacity to the market.
The Result
By leveraging the capabilities of the FedEx companies, FedEx was able to reduce Tobago Wild’s high daily customs brokerage fees, as well as lower its delivery costs by providing coordination and distribution services – all through a single point of contact. Thanks to the savings and improved logistics capabilities, this company has tripled its volume in its 16 months with FedEx Express.
Tobago Wild can now ship its fish throughout the United States to meet the strong demand being generated by word-of-mouth. And true to its promise, Tobago Wild’s goods reach their destination within 36 hours of being pulled out of the water.
A recent testimonial on Tobago Wild’s Web site from a New York restaurateur calls Michael’s business a “direct connection to the fishermen of Tobago.”
“FedEx really has allowed me to grow my export business from a one-town operation to any-town operation,” Michael says. “It’s as if my fishermen are taking it right to the table.”
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