17 million. A number that represents customer experiences and business promises met, an army of people working hard, and billions of data points collected and used. More precisely, it represents the number of packages handled by FedEx each day.
In 2020, FedEx joined forces with Microsoft and set out to redefine commerce. Fast-forward to 2022 and this partnership was solidified with a multi-year collaboration to deliver a cross-platform “logistics-as-a-service” solution.
In this Acceleration Economy “Lightning Strike”, John Siefert, Bob Evans, Aaron Back, Wayne Sadin, Kenny Mullican, and Pablo Moreno analyze:
- Who are the winners and losers in the fight to win commerce wars?
- What does this mean for consumers?
- What’s the global impact for supply chains and logistics?
- What new opportunities does this open up for decision-makers?
Highlights
01:30: There are four players that factor into this partnership: FedEx, Microsoft, the customers, and a loser.
- FedEx is a winner as they have the data, and they have an opportunity to sell or give it away.
- Microsoft is a winner with a new logistics-as-a-service product called “Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management”.
- The customer is a winner because the visibility of the whole supply chain has been expanded beyond the loading dock.
- The loser in this equation is Amazon. Amazon cut off FedEx a while back and now it’s come back to bite them.
04:01: The move by Microsoft feeds into Industry 4.0 and creates massive value for the shipper and the business consumers. By capitalizing on its Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management solution, Microsoft can kill the stodgy old ERP ideas of yesteryear and along with it declare that Industry 3.0 is dead.
06:31: This is a prime opportunity for data scientists to uncover vital data which can transform the business. AI can be utilized to optimize supply chains, improve inefficiencies, and streamline automation.
09:52: Microsoft will look to maximize the Power Platform capabilities with the Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management solution. They can slice and dice the features and functionality to empower organizations of all sizes. Further, Microsoft recognizes that 56% of companies need machine learning and AI to increase supply chain agility.
12:35: The key opportunity here is that organizations can buy data from an established international vendor as part of this package. FedEx has now made it possible to leverage the data that has been hard to access previously.
15:41: The continued innovation from tech companies and customer co-creating is opening up phenomenal opportunities across multiple industries.
18:29: Now, the entire supply chain has the potential to further optimized with stronger sustainability efforts. Further, this opens new areas to explore with the metaverse through digital twins, intelligent management, and much more.
20:01: Long gone are the days of disparate technologies that don’t talk to each other and only have one purpose. Microsoft has created a full ecosystem to take advantage of multiple technologies that easily plug into existing infrastructure.
22:02: Simulations within the metaverse provide augmented reality or situations to improve scenario analysis. This leads to an evolution of new technologies for industry cases or commercial cases.
24:16: There is a continued overlap and blurring of lines across industries from healthcare to retail to manufacturing. This creates better self-service experiences for consumers which drive future expectations.
27:19: Microsoft’s pivotal vision switch started with Bill Gates in the 90s by moving the whole corporation to the internet. Fast-forward to CEO Satya Nadella vision of being cloud-first which has led to a new world of digital business.
This has changed the rules:
- The game is different.
- The equipment is different.
- The partnerships are different.
Final note: Microsoft is #1 on the Cloud Wars Top 10 for a reason, from the internet to the cloud to the Metaverse. Microsoft is jumping ahead and it’s evident by its huge revenue.
The cloud is powering the current business and future innovation with no stopping in sight. Moreover, the cloud is creating personalized experiences and opportunities across businesses, consumers, investors, and communities.
You can immerse yourself in the cloud and define your future by attending the Cloud Wars Expo.
