Fred Smith, the visionary founder of FedEx, died Saturday in Memphis. He was 80. Smith created a package delivery enterprise that not only changed the world’s concept of shipping parcels, it also fundamentally changed the way most business was conducted. Before FedEx became the freight delivery standard in the 1970s, businesses had to keep large inventories of products or raw material to make products to carry them through the lengthy periods between large shipments. Smith theorized that many businesses could operate more efficiently by getting the supplies they needed in small amounts every day or every few days. He was right, but proving it would be a daunting challenge.
To launch FedEx, Smith needed a fleet of aircraft scheduled to fly interconnecting routes across the country from its first day of operation. He said he relied on skills he learned in the Marines to pull it all together. The service was quickly adopted, and now FedEx has about 700 aircraft serving more than 650 airports worldwide. Smith never talked much about his creation, but he was a big believer in philanthropy and called the U.S. “the most generous country in the world.” He said giving back is foundational to that. “I think if you’ve done well in this country, it’s pretty churlish for you not to at least be willing to give a pretty good portion of that back to the public interest. And all this is in the great tradition of American philanthropy.”
Fred Smith, made my life a bigger dream than I could ever have imagined. I only met him twice. The second time was in the Paris Crew room as we were preparing to leave on a flight. He had the US Ambassador to France with him. He came in shaking hands asking how things are going of course never expecting any of us bring up anything….. I regret I wasn’t prepared and if I had a 5 minute alert we would have had some fun! I was on a tear about the American flag required on airplanes in US registration. Many had deteriorated flaking off etc and needed replacement. We would have jumped in a golf cart and toured the line and I guaranteed that we would see several sitting on the ramp needing attention. I would write them up whenever I had a plane that needed them replaced. Remember, everything is critical to block out on time, Mechanics really loved me writing them up as there couldn’t be an open Item in the log book before we blocked out. So it was a 3-5 minute deal to get it on the OIL (open Item list). Later I met a guy while jumpseating and while my job was obvious (pilot) the other, non pilots job not so. I always was curious about what part they played in "the making of the sausage” He said he was working in supply ordering parts and such, I’m sure every nut bolt and washer was tracked to make sure they had replacemnst and identify any trends before it was a problem. One thing led to another and I asked about the American flag decal on the airplanes. He suddenly got real quiet and then said ”Your the Guy” We ended up changing vendors that had a more resilient vinyl decal.
I was told that Fred used to hang out in the crew room early on in the company’s growth. Big business and pilot unionization brought an end to that before i arrived on the scene.
Fair winds Fred!
I was a controller at LGB in the early '70s when this all began. I can so clearly remember around 6 am, a couple of Falcon Jet popping out of the fog, stopping on the ramp, and everyone including a truck swapping cargo. Small packages, and fast and furious. They’d button up the big cargo door on the little Falcon and soon be off and running. How it all began. FedEx Falcon Jets.
I was privileged to have spent my professional career helping Fred achieve his dream: starting as a part-time courier in 1981 to retiring from management in 2021, he gave me the opportunity to see the world, meet fascinating people, work on/accomplish remarkable projects, and fulfill my passion for aviation. His management philosophy also taught me about servant leadership, maintaining high standards for ethics and accountability, and developing character . While I could wax nostalgic for days, it was truly an honor to have worked for such a visionary and mentor.
A great example of smarts versus bureaucratic thinking.
His college perfessor only gave him a C on paper proposing such a service, because he didn’t think it would work.
Fred Smith proved him wrong - people would pay for assured timing of delivery of documents.
One big notch in weakening US Postal Service which continues to decline, Canada even worse - serious financial trouble, prices have increased greatly in both - small packages now too expensive.
I gather FedEx became bureaucratic itself.
Was copied - by UPS (who never thought of the concept despite many decades in delivery services), and someone from Puget Sound area (Airborne Express, hub though was in Wilmington OH in line with Fedex and UPS).