FedEx unit always on the move: Exclusive-use, expedited air, truck services facility's forte

Nov 01, 2009 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- FDX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The sign on the large brick building on Boettler Road in Green makes it clear this is a FedEx operation. But it's the rest of the name -- "Custom Critical" -- that hints something out of the ordinary is going on here.

Need a mechanical part to repair a downed assembly line before the 5 a.m. shift arrives? Want to move some fragile museum paintings and don't want them jostled with other deliveries? Need a temperature-controlled truck for a sensitive biomedical shipment?

The phones here ring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This is the delivery giant's headquarters for exclusive-use, expedited truck and air service in the United States and Canada.

The 550 employees of FedEx Custom Critical are like chess players, making 700 to 800 moves a day, using a fleet of 2,500 independent drivers strategically positioned around the country like pawns on the board.

"It's exciting to work around here. It really is," said Canton native Virginia Albanese, who started as a part-time customer service representative for the company's predecessor 23 years ago, and rose to chief executive in 2007.

The company's roots are traced to Roberts Cartage, a delivery service founded in Akron in the 1940s. In 1981, owner Bill Blodgett renamed his company Roberts Express after deciding truck delivery could be as fast as air delivery if the customer thought the cargo was important enough for the price of a truck dedicated to that one shipment.

He proved his point, and a successful Roberts Express was purchased by Roadway in 1994, and then by FedEx in 1998.

Albanese said she hasn't been too surprised, watching the company's payroll grow from the 50 or so people who worked there when she was hired in 1986.

"I knew it would take off because it was such a unique service. We invented it," she said.

And when FedEx took over, "the opportunity broadened even more because we knew we could leverage" the existing network.

In 2002, the renamed FedEx Custom Critical moved into its current home in Green, which it shares with a separate FedEx Freight call center.

But don't expect to see a lot of trucks in the parking lot. The drivers already are scattered around the country, a flexible, fast-moving army poised for marching orders.

The practice of using independent contractors has been challenged. The parent FedEx has been the target of lawsuits saying the drivers should be classified as employees.

But the use of independent drivers was started by Roberts Express and many carriers have patterned their business models after it.

How it works

The journey of a special shipment begins with a call to Green, where customers describe their needs to an agent, marketing manager Ryan Henary explained.

"You call and tell us where it needs to be picked up and delivered, and within 90 minutes usually we can have a truck at your door. The only thing that goes on that truck is your shipment, and it goes direct to delivery," Henary said.

The agent looks for an available driver near the pickup location and even e-mails the customer a photo of the driver.

Once the driver makes a delivery -- say, from Minnesota to Texas -- FedEx agents look for another job to either bring the driver back home, or keep him or her on the road.

"They run the entire country, coast to coast," Henary said, "and a lot of our best contractors are husband-and-wife teams who have come from other industries and this is a second career for them.

"Instead of buying an RV, they buy a truck with us and run around the country, and when they get somewhere they want to be -- say, Colorado -- they can go out of service for a couple of days or a week and go skiing."

Dealing with recession

Albanese said the current economy has affected the company's revenue, although she declined to be specific.

While there have been no layoffs among the hourly staff, about 15 salaried cuts were made this year. Albanese said they were strategic cuts due to process changes.

The call center, in the meantime, is growing. Albanese expects to add a dozen positions in the next few weeks.

Albanese credits diversification for helping FedEx Custom Critical weather the recession.

In addition to its expedited exclusive-use ground service, the company offers air service (using a 650-aircraft network that flies domestically and internationally); a white-glove service that handles sensitive, temperature-controlled or high-security deliveries; and a 2-year-old truckload brokerage service that serves as liaison between clients and some outside carriers.

"Some of the [services] are up, some are probably flat year over year, but the good news for us is we're doing pretty well because we're diversified," Albanese said. "We knew we needed to have a diverse portfolio in order to insulate ourselves and to grow our business."

The competition

Custom Critical has plenty of competition, Albanese said. While expedited service was started in Akron, most carriers have followed suit and launched some form of "hot-shot, hurry-up" delivery, she said.

But Albanese is confident that none offers what her company does.

"Our world is really about communication and custodial control," she said. And the word "no" is not in its vocabulary.

"When the customer calls and is in a pickle, and they need something moved from Point A to Point B and it's time critical, or high security, or temperature-controlled environment," Albanese said, "when they call us and give us the details, they can wash their hands of it and know FedEx Custom Critical has it and will come through for them."

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.

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