Information Management in Corporate Strategy Essay

Information technology (IT) management is an integral part of the overall corporate strategies for many major companies. This is because business expansion, development and growth help in making the company a brand all around the world. Information technology brings with it efficiency, low labor costs, costs cutting, better productivity and higher profits. But for a business to rake in all the benefits it is important that the right strategy is put into place. Information Technology is a huge field benefiting various parameters of a business, it is important to study and analyze policies before implementing them. One of the examples of the use of Information technology as a corporate strategy is Fedex Corporation. It started of as an â€Å"express air delivery company in the 1970’s† later on going on to become a corporation of various smaller companies such as FedEx Services, FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, FedEx Ground, FedEx Supply Chain Services, FedEx Custom Critical FedEx Customer Information Systems, FedEx Kinko’s and FedEx Trade Networks. According to FedEx (2003), the company integrated business processes such as operations, employee training, customer services to all clients and suppliers so that integrated information can be available on the network. They launched their website www.FedEx.com in 1994, which helped in tracking on the package at any point of time. They gave away 100,000 PCs that were loaded with their software which helped in â€Å"to link and log customers† during â€Å"ordering and tracking systems†. They also were one of the first to use hand help scanners which alerted customers when the package was picked up and delivered. In addition they also warehousing techniques, did inventory management, billing, invoicing and even distribution facilities. Netscape (1999) mentioned in the article that, FedEx used Netscape for furthering Information Technology in their intranet services. There were 30,000 employees that accessed the website on various platforms. They company could also â€Å"publish internal technology reports, personnel guidelines, tax forms, employee evaluations, and project-management documentation† along with help desk support applications and customer support applications for their customers and suppliers through their information systems. In 2004 FedEx had announced that their new strategy for India that is an introduction of the FedEx Global Trade Manager (GTM) which is an online consultancy that will help in the paperwork for customs clearance for small and medium enterprises. This would help save time and avoid delays of international shipments. The other technology was the FedEx Insight, which was the web tracking solution to track any â€Å"incoming, outgoing and third-party payer shipments† of customers without the tracking number (Express Computer, 2004). FedEx Investor Relations (2006), their main aim has been to enhance further IT related projects as well as technological architectural decisions, to make use of IT as an effective support system for the all business objectives and strategies. They even have IT security to monitor â€Å"quality and effectiveness†. A periodical review is done to look into the IT â€Å"disaster recovery capabilities†. FedEx has seen an ever growing clientele only because the IT strategy has been effectively used as a part of their Company Strategy. With this plan they have not only made their clients and suppliers happy but also their stakeholders and employees.   References FedEx(2003). FedEx : Competitive Advantage Through Information Technology Retrieved as on 26 February 2008 from http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy3/BSTA063.htm Netscape (1999). Federal express intranet delivers information enterprisewide. Retrieved as on 26 February 2008 from http://wp.netscape.com/comprod/at_work/customer_profiles/FedEx.html Express Computer (2004). FedEx announces technology strategy for India. CIRCUIT EC / Bangalore. Retrieved as on 26 February 2008 from http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20040614/indianews08.shtml    FedEx Investor Relations (2006). Information Technology Oversight Committee Charter. Retrieved as on 26 February 2008 from http://ir.FedEx.com/documentdisplay.cfm?DocumentID=120