Last three decades of rapid market development have been characterized as the period of remarkable growth of services sector. Services integrated virtually in every segment of the world market, making a significant shift to a more service-oriented economy. One of the industries in service sector that have seen phenomenal progress was the air express business. Increasing demand for a fast and reliable transportation of packages, including goods, semi- or finished products, and documents, led to air delivery services to become a one of the key sectors in the transportation field; moreover it makes a significant impact on distribution networks in major markets. FedEx, for example, the company network connects 19 major Asian markets during overnight and the rest of the world - within 24 to 48 hours.
1. Considering the magnitude of courier delivery companies, their position in the service sector and value of the services they provide, it is important to analyze the product life cycle (PLC) of the express delivery with pointing out events relevant to each stage of the cycle.
English: N785AX, a Boeing 767-200 in the DHL liver...
Airborne Express 767, reg. N*788*
United Parcel ServiceDue to the nature of the service, air express delivery has a rather long life cycle. It can be explained by the fact that demand for fast and reliable package delivery will not decline neither disappear in any near future, but instead will increase even further. Following stages have been identified during the life cycle of the air express service.
Product development stage of the service has started back in 1971. By recognizing the need for fast and reliable delivery service of small packages, Fred Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx, started working on a new way to collect, process, airlift and deliver parcels. He believed that there was a significant latent demand in the US for overnight delivery of small packages. At that time...