Fedex Video

FedEx video

After watching the video, please answer the following questions:

1. List the business processes displayed in the video.

A business process is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer(s). In FedEx case, the business process is the packages sorting in order to ship them to customers in many destinations inside and outside the U.S. As displayed in the video, first, a FedEx agent picks up a package and scans it, entering it into the system under a unique identification number. It is then transferred into a hub, or sorting center, via a truck containing other similar packages. Once it reaches the nearest sorting center, which are over two football fields long and have everywhere from five hundred to a thousand workers, the packages are stored via a system on conveyor belt. FedEx uses several types of technology to sort the packages it ships. A dimensional scanner gets the length, width, height and weight of packages to determine their size and eventual cost of shipping. Another multidimensional scanner reads the barcode from any location on the package except the bottom. Then, paddles nudge the packages onto different slides depending on the eventual destination. Some packages require manual sorting instead of this automated method. Once the packages have been sorted, they are placed into boxes together. The boxes are shaped in such a way that they will fit into a plane with maximum efficiency. A FedEx air control center coordinates the arrival of trucks and monitors airport and airplane conditions. Once the planes take off, travel and reach their destination, a FedEx courier delivers the package by hand, and scans again to signify the completion of the transaction.

2. List the types of information systems shown in the video. Can you describe how systems that were not shown might be used at FedEx?

a. Transaction Processing Systems in the form of the FedEx Sorting System that generates data about each package's weight, width, length, volume, destination, etc.

b. Management Information Systems and Decision Support Systems in the FedEx Control Center that serve the middle managers in this center and help them coordinates the arrival of trucks and monitors airport and airplane conditions based on data provided from TPS to make sure that they made the appropriate routing and each package goes to its right destination.

The type of information systems that was not shown in the video is the Executive Support System. Executive Support System (ESS) is a reporting tool and might be used by FedEx by allowing it to turn the data provided from the TPS and MIS into useful summarized reports. These reports can be used by executive level managers for quick access to reports coming from all FedEx levels and departments such as billing, cost accounting, staffing, scheduling, and more. In addition to providing quick access to organized data from departments, some Executive Support System tools also might provide analysis tools that predict a series of performance outcomes over time using the input data. This type of ESS is useful to executives as it provides possible outcomes and quick reference to statistics and numbers needed for decision-making.

3. The system displayed in the video is an enterprise system. Why is this true? Explain your answer.

The FedEx system displayed in the video is an enterprise system because it permits the integration of data generated and held in FedEx system, and permits the integration of the computer systems that run all phases of an FedExe's operations to facilitate cooperation and coordination of work across the enterprise. The intent is to integrate core business processes (accounting, finance, human resources, sorting and shipment, etc.). The ideal enterprise system could control all major business processes in real time via single software architecture. In other words, this system collects data from different functions and stores data in single central data depository. As was clearly shown in the video, the FedEx system enables coordination of daily activities. For example, scanning a package after picking it up enters