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FedEx Archives: 2000 Press Releases

( BW)(TN-FEDEX/NEXTLINX)(FDX) FedEx Teams With NextLinx to Deliver New Global Trade Facilitation Tools and Services

    Business Editors

    MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2000--FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) and its subsidiary, FedEx Trade Networks, Inc. (FTN), have formed a strategic alliance with NextLinx Corporation to market and sell unique Web-based tools and services that greatly simplify international shipping for importers and exporters of all sizes.
    The alliance includes an equity investment by FedEx Corp. and a special licensing agreement with FTN. FedEx will also receive a seat on the NextLinx board of directors.
    The portfolio of trade facilitation tools and services to be marketed under the FedEx-NextLinx alliance will allow customers to easily determine and comply with international shipping requirements such as classification, documentation, license requirements, duties and taxes, landed cost and other information. These tools and services will be part of a larger body of data and technology which FTN will release in the spring.
    "The mission of FedEx Trade Networks is to provide automated Web-based solutions and tools that help customers navigate through the complex maze of global customs and regulatory schemes," said G. Edmond Clark, president and chief executive officer of FTN. "Businesses are increasingly looking for new ways to expedite and simplify the movement of goods across borders and throughout the entire supply chain - from sourcing to selling. By joining forces, FedEx and NextLinx will be able to offer the most robust solutions in the industry."
    A recent Forrester Research report found that 85 percent of e-commerce firms cannot fill international orders because of the complexities of shipping across borders. Yet according to McKinsey & Co., 80 percent of manufactured goods will be sold across international borders by 2020, compared to about 20 percent today. These trends clearly point to the need for simpler and more efficient international trade facilitation tools.
    "This strategic alliance is a win-win for FedEx and NextLinx," said Rajiv Uppal, founder, president and chief executive officer of NextLinx. "It allows customers to access NextLinx's best-of-class trade technology through FedEx's vast global networks."
    In addition to automated trade facilitation solutions, information from a NextLinx database called Global Knowledge(TM) will be available to merge with the database of World Tariff, Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FTN. This will create the market's most comprehensive offering of duty, tax and preferences information.
    Investment details of the transaction were not disclosed.
    Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, NextLinx Corporation is a leading global trade management solutions provider, assisting companies in automating and accelerating the exporting, importing and shipping of any product to any country in the world. It was the first to build the industry's most comprehensive and accurate source of information; applications and transaction services for landed costs, government trade regulations and logistics execution available instantaneously over the Internet. The NextLinx customer list includes Cisco Systems, 3Com, Fairchild Semiconductor, Rockwell Automation, Quantum, Sotheby's, Boeing, ShipChem and Qualcomm. Additional information about NextLinx can be obtained at www.NextLinx.com.
    FedEx Trade Networks is one of five operating subsidiaries of FedEx Corporation. With annual revenues of $19 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including: FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Logistics, an integrated logistics, technology and transportation-solution company; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information and trade facilitation solutions. More than 2.5 million customers are connected electronically through the FedEx information network and approximately two-thirds of its U.S. domestic transactions are now handled on-line.

    --30--DH/na*

    CONTACT: FedEx Corporation
             Cornell Christion
             901/434-7786
             mcchristion@fedex.com
             http://www.fedex.com
             or
             Marci Maged (for NextLinx)
             202/912-4449
             MMaged@fitzgerald.com

    KEYWORD: TENNESSEE
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AIRLINES TRANSPORTATION MARKETING AGREEMENTS