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How FedEx and Fred Smith Made Information the Package

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How FedEx and Fred Smith Made Information the Package Fred Smith, who died Sunday, leaves behind more than a logistics empire—he leaves a template for how information shapes the physical world.

Best known as the founder of Federal Express (now FedEx) and father of overnight delivery, Smith also introduced the hub-and-spoke model that transformed global shipping. But it was a lesser-known insight that arguably reshaped the industry most fundamentally: “The information about the package is as important as the package itself.”

First expressed in the late 1970s, the statement read as a logistics dictum, but it carried a deeper resonance. It anticipated the coming information age with uncanny precision. Smith understood that information wasn’t merely a descriptor of reality—it had become part of its very fabric and value. A package untethered from its data trail is functionally inert. In a networked world, context creates meaning.

This belief spurred a series of decisions that pushed Federal Express years ahead of its rivals. In 1979, the company launched COSMOS, an online system coordinating its fleet and tracking packages in real time. It replaced unreliable paper logs with digital accountability. By the mid-1980s, Federal Express couriers carried barcode scanners—the now-ubiquitous “SuperTrackers”—to register every movement of a parcel, transforming tracking from lagging paperwork into a continuous data stream.

In 1984, Federal Express went further still, placing desktop shipping terminals inside customer offices. Suddenly, businesses could print their own labels, manage logistics, and trace shipments independently. It was a radical gesture—handing control to the customer, powered by real-time data.

That philosophical shift—that information and object are inseparable—now underpins global commerce. The certainty we take for granted when watching a parcel move across the map began as a radical notion from an ex-Marine with a vision. Smith didn’t just move goods faster—he made them visible, knowable, and dependable.

Competitors lagged. UPS caught up only in the mid-1990s. The U.S. Postal Service didn’t seriously modernize until the e-commerce wave forced its hand. International carriers followed Federal Express’s lead throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Fred Smith’s real triumph wasn’t speed. It was trust. Federal Express didn’t just deliver packages—it delivered certainty. And by giving customers visibility and control, he tapped into something more durable than speed. Trust, once earned, is one of the most scalable assets in business.

FedEx’s ZapMail: A Bold Bet on the Future That Changed Too Fast

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The Federal Express ZapMail Service: Innovation is always a wager against the unknown Fred Smith, the visionary founder of Federal Express (now FedEx,) passed away this past Sunday. His legacy was forged in audacity—first with a Yale term paper proposing overnight delivery, then with a weekend at the Las Vegas blackjack tables that kept his faltering company alive. He didn’t just dream big—he bet on it.

In 1984, he placed one of his boldest wagers yet: ZapMail. Years before email and office fax machines became commonplace, ZapMail offered near-instant document delivery—up to five pages, in under two hours, for $35. It was a pioneering attempt to leap beyond physical logistics into the realm of electronic communication, powered by Federal Express’s own couriers, custom-built fax machines, and a private digital network.

For individuals or companies with low volumes, the process was hands-on. A Federal Express courier would collect the document and deliver it to a local depot. From there, it was transmitted over the company’s proprietary network to another depot near the recipient, where a second courier printed, packaged, and hand-delivered it. For higher-volume clients, Federal Express streamlined the process by installing a “Zapmailer” fax machine directly on the customer’s premises, enabling direct electronic transmission to other ZapMail-equipped locations.

But ZapMail collapsed under the weight of rapid change. Fax machines soon became affordable, allowing businesses to bypass Federal Express and send documents themselves. The middleman role—and its premium fee—no longer made sense. Add privacy concerns about documents being handled by third parties, and ZapMail’s fate was sealed. The service shut down just two years later.

It’s a powerful reminder that innovation is always a wager against the unknown. Even in failure, ZapMail embodied the spirit that defined Fred Smith. He glimpsed tomorrow’s possibilities and pursued them with conviction. Innovation demands nerve—and Smith had it in spades.

Kickstart Big Initiatives: Hackathons Aren’t Just for Tech Companies

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Kickstart Big Initiatives: Hackathons Aren't Just for Tech Companies In the late 1990s, hackathons emerged as compressed events on university campuses. Open-source software teams organized these gatherings to bring together enthusiasts and drive progress forward over a few days. Yahoo! introduced its inaugural “Hack Day” in December 2005.

In its early days, Facebook popularized the concept by hosting daylong hackathon events every four to eight weeks. At each event, around 300 employees gathered in the morning to brainstorm and form teams. By the day’s end, these teams churned out 50 “first-stage-done” prototypes, ranging from backend engineering upgrades to small product features that could be easily implemented. Notably, Facebook’s iconic ‘Like’ button originated from one of these hackathons.

Internal Hackathons Unleash the Innovation Mode

Hackathons offer clear advantages over traditional innovation management processes, bringing a sense of urgency and focus that stems from working under strict deadlines. This intensity ensures that motivated individuals come together to refine their ideas into actionable plans.

Sometimes referred to as “FedEx Days,” a term popularized by the Australian enterprise software company Atlassian, hackathons encourage creativity by allowing employees to team up quarterly and work on ideas outside their regular duties, such as fixing bugs or developing new features. Teams are expected to deliver proof-of-concept prototypes overnight, hence the reference to the quick delivery service FedEx.

Hackathons have become mainstream, with organizations using them as an enjoyable and cost-effective way to drive innovation. For instance, in 2011, New York hosted a “Reinvent NYC.gov” hackathon to redesign the city’s official website. Similarly, in 2014, toy company Hasbro held a with 150 designers, generating 45 new ideas in just a few days. More impressively, in 2018, the Vatican organized a three-day hackathon to address global issues such as social inclusion, refugees, and interfaith understanding.

Why You Should Give Hackathons a Try (& Advance Your Side Projects)

Try a Personal Hackathon---Conquer 'Someday' Projects Now Could your organization, community, or home use an internal hackathon? It’s an excellent way to shake things up, break routines, and foster innovation. A hackathon can also tackle those lingering “someday we’ll get to this” projects—like spring-cleaning, organizing, refining processes, and enhancing best practices.

During a hackathon, you can pursue initiatives that fall outside anyone’s core responsibilities and often get overlooked amid the chaos of schedules and deadlines. In the week leading up to the event, gather for a whiteboard session to brainstorm and refine ideas that might not have surfaced otherwise. A hackathon provides a fun opportunity to recognize talent, promote cross-team collaboration, and accomplish tasks quickly.

Similarly, could you benefit from a personal hackathon? Consider dedicating a full day or even just an afternoon to clear backlogs, reorganize your space, kickstart a passion project, or tackle something you’ve been putting off.

How to Manage Overqualified Employees

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Some employees are overeducated and overqualified—or think they are—for the jobs they are doing.

Such employees will find their roles not demanding enough to keep them occupied. They may not feel fully engaged in those tasks and responsibilities that they judge “beneath” them.

Toffee-nosed employees can create team tension. They can develop negative attitudes, such as a sense of entitlement about their skills (remember the FedEx “Even an MBA Can Do It” advert?) or resentment through boredom. That frustration and disillusion can ripple out and bring everyone else in the team down.

Here are two guidelines for managing overqualified employees:

  1. To keep overqualified employees engaged, allow more autonomy, and assign them more creative assignments. Delegate longer-term projects or have them collaborate with other teams within the company. Though, be mindful that this may create even more resentment in the team towards the perceived overqualified employees. Discuss with the team why some people have been chosen for those special assignments.
  2. Work together with the human resources staff and help the overqualified employees chart out individualized paths for climbing the corporate ladder and reach their potential. Find ways to help them acquire new skills and get exposure to other parts of the organization. Coach them to apply for roles that possibly do not yet warrant their experience and expertise. Expand their leadership capacity by assigning training and mentoring responsibilities.

Idea for Impact: Nurturing and keeping overqualified employees can create a strong foundation for tomorrow’s management team.

Philanthropy: Collaborative Initiatives to Transfer Corporate Values to the Social Sector

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Traditional philanthropy, whether personal, institutional or corporate, takes three forms: cash capital, volunteer-time in programming support, and cause-related sponsorship. I believe a fourth avenue, corporate and non-profit collaboration, can make an important difference in the society.

Following last year’s Katrina hurricane, Wal-Mart [WMT], Home Depot [HD] and FedEx [FDX] reached out to vulnerable victims by providing hundreds of truckloads of vital supplies, thanks to their immense supply chain infrastructures. These companies highlighted one promising area of effective corporate outreach and community collaboration. Can the corporate sector transfer logistical knowledge to relief agencies and aid them to set-up an infrastructure to support nimble disaster planning in the future?

One of the most significant characteristics of successful corporate leaders is their ability to clearly recognize new social, political and economic influences and to adapt their enterprises to developing circumstances rapidly and economically. These corporate leaders possess the dynamism, the ability to innovate and the mechanisms for spurring efficiency and allocating resources in entirely new channels.

Non-profits have limited access to such visionary individuals and the expertise necessary for social investments to overcome barriers in resources and operational efficiencies. Therefore, there is a pressing need for corporate leaders from all levels to collaborate with the social sector. I expect innovative corporations to launch and expand their philanthropy programs to create partnerships for sustainable initiatives and transfer corporate practices, values, oversight and accountability measures to non-profits.

*Keyword(s): Philanthropy, outreach, non-profits, Katrina, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, FedEx