Thanks to an alliance with the ASQ (American Society for Quality) and its enterprise affiliate ASQExcellence (ASQE), FedEx has certified more than 1,815 experts in the company’s unique quality methodology, Quality Driven Management (QDM).

FedEx team members who have gone through training in QDM — an approach to quality created by FedEx — can receive certification by passing the QDM Expert exam. With expertise in 19 unique quality certifications, ASQ provides the exam development and support. FedEx provides the subject matter experts familiar with the QDM body of knowledge covered in the exam.

Ever since 1990, when the company became the first service business to win the Malcolm Baldrige Award for quality, FedEx has been recognized for a robust quality focus. In 2008, the company took that dedication even further with the introduction of QDM.

QDM, which draws from the best of Six Sigma, Lean Six and other continuous improvement methodologies, creates a customer-focused approach tailored to a service-based industry like FedEx.

“Through QDM, thousands of team members have helped FedEx generate significant cost savings, boost revenue and continuously improve processes,” says Rebecca Yeung, vice president, Advanced Technology & Innovation. To date, there are more than 8,500 team members well-versed in QDM across the global organization. 

In 2011, FedEx decided to formalize that expertise and became an ASQ Organizational Member. ASQ provides expertise, knowledge, networks and solutions to a global membership of individuals and organizations spanning more than 140 countries. ASQ gives its members vital resources to concentrate on quality for powerful top-line and bottom-line results.

“For us, the most important resource was ASQ’s work in quality certification,” Yeung says. Within a year of joining, FedEx was able to begin offering the QDM Expert exam.

As of 2021, there were more than 1,815 certified QDM Experts across FedEx. With an annual pass rate of approximately 70%, 230 new experts are certified per year on average.

“We’re incredibly pleased with how the program is growing," says Yeung. "And none of this would be possible without our team members, who are relentlessly focused on quality and dedicated to making every FedEx experience outstanding.”