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FedEx Archives: 2000 Press Releases

( BW)(TN-FEDEX-CORP)(FDX) FedEx Strengthens Leading Technology Foothold; New Data Centers to Support E-Commerce Solutions

    Business Editors

    MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 2000--FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX), the industry pioneer in functional web-based shipping and tracking capabilities for customers, is expanding its technology presence that supports e-commerce solutions and other customer services. FedEx Express has concluded negotiations to build a new state-of-the-art technology center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and recently opened a new center in Dallas.
    Strategic software development at both facilities will strengthen the company's leading role as a major provider of e-commerce and logistical services to small, medium and large customers worldwide. In recent weeks FedEx has introduced additional Internet-based services to provide U.S. customers access to the world of international commerce and to enable small- and medium-size businesses to create their own Web stores.
    "Our unmatched level of customer-focused business solutions will be enhanced through the software applications that will be at the forefront of activities at these new cutting-edge technology centers," said Robert B. Carter, executive vice president and chief information officer, FedEx Corp.
    Construction of the 156,000 square-foot Rocky Mountain Technology Center in Colorado Springs will begin Sept. 1 and is scheduled for completion in early August 2001. The three-story facility, located on a 28-acre site that can accommodate future expansion, will contain software and digital lab spaces, offices, training facility, multi-use trail, fitness center and cafeteria. It will house about 600 employees, primarily programmers, software developers, project managers and technical staff.
    In addition to development of e-commerce supply-chain software, the center will be responsible for FedEx applications used in critical-package tracking and customs clearance for international shippers.

    Dallas Center Opens Doors

    The company officially opened its new FedEx Dallas Technology Center in Irving, Texas, on Aug. 28. The 109,000 square-foot facility, which is situated on a seven-acre site and is similar to the Colorado Springs center, also supports software development for e-commerce and supply-chain services. Its focus includes development of applications used by FedEx to schedule its worldwide fleet of more than 600 aircraft and movement coordination of over-the-road trucks in the company's express transportation network.
    Developer for both the Dallas and Colorado Springs centers is Koll Corporate Development/Koll Development Company of Dallas.
    Domestically, the FedEx data-center network includes other facilities in Memphis, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Fla., and Akron and Hudson, Ohio. Collectively, in tandem with the company's international data centers, they serve as the electronic connection that drives the company's dynamic global shipping system and serves as the direct customer link to the wide range of FedEx services. The network also functions as the base for development of the company's strategic technology initiatives.

    Technology Innovator

    Each year, FedEx invests about $1.5 billion in its information network. Such investment has led to numerous technology milestones. Among them, FedEx is the first transportation company to:


--	Introduce an integrated technology network in transportation;
--	Equip couriers with hand-held microcomputers and optic scanners used to track packages;
--	Launch point-of-sale computer terminals to allow large customers to process shipments electronically -- 10 years before the Internet opened to commercial use;
--	Develop functional online customer services, such as shipment preparation and package tracking, on the web.

With annual revenues of $18 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including: FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Logistics, an integrated logistics, technology and transportation-solution company; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade facilitation solutions. More than 2.5 million customers are connected electronically through the FedEx information network and approximately two-thirds of its U.S. domestic transactions are now handled online.

    --30--LR/na*

    CONTACT:  FedEx Media Relations, Memphis
              Jim McCluskey, 901/395-4768
              http://www.fedex.com

    KEYWORD:  TENNESSEE TEXAS COLORADO FLORIDA CALIFORNIA OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD:  COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS E-COMMERCE TRANSPORTATION
AIRLINES SOFTWARE