By Chris Betros

Executive Impact Feb. 08, 2010 - 05:58AM JST ( 9 )

TOKYO —

When you consider that FedEx Express delivers approximately 3.4 million packages and 10 million pounds of freight to more than 220 countries and territories each business day, using 661 aircraft, you get some idea of the scale and network that the world’s largest express transportation company operates.

But those are just facts and figures. The real heart of FedEx lies in its people who can often be seen driving around the cities of Japan in their familiar pick-up vehicles. For Masamichi Ujiie, 42, FedEx’s Regional Vice President for North Pacific, his team best embody the company’s hallmarks of reliability, speed and global access.

FedEx has had a presence in Japan since 1984 and currently has about 1,600 employees in 22 locations. FedEx operates out of Narita and Kansai airports and services more than 80% of Japan. Documents picked up by 6 p.m. in Tokyo can be delivered to the U.S. by 10:30 a.m. the following day.

Born in Hokkaido, Ujiie moved to the U.S. in 1972 with his family and spent 20 years in Gainesville, Georgia. He graduated with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1990, and received his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2006. Ujiie joined FedEx in 1992 as a service engineer and assumed his position as regional vice president for North Pacific (covering Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Guam and Saipan) in 2005.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros visits Ujiie at his office in Hanzomon to hear more about the business. 

How has FedEx coped with the recession?

As you know, 2009 was a very tough year for the whole industry. The overall air cargo market dropped and FedEx wasn’t immune. So we spent a lot of time really looking at ways to cut down our costs in Japan and Asia, and I think we did a good job in Japan.

But at the same time, we recognized that these are the times when you really need to think about investing in the right places and positioning yourself for the future. We made several investments as well. One of the biggest ones was that we relocated our Asia-Pacific hub to Guangzhou, south China, which is a major production base. That gives us the capability to grow long-term in Asia.

Did the accident at Narita airport last year have an impact on your business in Japan?

The accident itself had a short-term impact on the business but it was a great tragedy. Our community of customers gave us a lot of condolence messages to the families of the crew. 

How do you market FedEx in Japan?

We do a broad range of advertising from newspapers and magazines to billboards to Internet banner advertising. Kinko’s stores carry ads, as well. 

What is the “Team FedEx” campaign?

In Japan, we have sports sponsorship programs with athletes like Koji Murofushi who are very well known and strive for excellence. He appears in the FedEx International Economy service campaign, as the leader of the “Team FedEx” superhero team. The focus of the FedEx International Economy service is cost-effective transportation for less urgent shipments. The campaign, like all our advertising, highlights the attributes of FedEx—reliability, speed, global access and accuracy. In fact, we have been working with Murofushi since 2006. He has been a fantastic person to work with, great with customers and our employees. 

How competitive is the industry?

There is a lot of competition in the Japanese market place and it demands very competitive pricing. However, FedEx has been here since 1984 and we have over 80% coverage of Japan and use partners for areas where we don’t have direct service. 

Is the Japanese market saturated?

I don’t think so. There are lots of opportunities here. Japan has its own requirements and if you can meet those, you can do well.

For example?

The Japanese market is very demanding as far as service quality goes. The expectation of that quality is higher here. Also, we have to offer more options than in other markets, for example, some soft services like advanced notification, special packaging services, pick-up preparations, and so on. 

What sort of items does FedEx carry?

A broad range. Sometimes we’ll ship an aircraft engine for another airline that has an aircraft on the ground somewhere awaiting maintenance. Or it might be a sample shipment of fashion goods. And there is still a demand for documents, even in this era of electronic mail. Some documents and paper materials do need to be shipped, such as contracts, architectural drawings and artwork.

How are customs procedures in Japan?

Over the years, I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the simplification of Japanese customs procedures. We have The Conference of Asia Pacific Express Carriers (CAPEC) that lobbies and provides ideas and requests to the government on how to better streamline the process.

How fast is your delivery?

If you drop off a package here in Tokyo at 6 p.m., it will get to New York by 10:30 the next day. 

Would you like to see Narita become a 24-hour-a-day airport?

Certainly, that would make a big difference to our business. Our customers want the latest cutoff times at night. Narita services a huge market, not just in Japan but in Asia as well, so we hope that one day, it will operate all day.

What about Haneda?

We fully support internationalization and 24/7 services at Haneda. We think that is the right thing to do.

How much autonomy do you get from head office?

It has evolved over time. In the early days, there was a lot of centralized control. As we developed leaders in various markets around the world, the management style started to develop. Now, there is a lot of autonomy but we are a network company, so certain aspects of the business have to be consistent across the world so we can work together. 

As vice president for North Pacific, do you travel a lot?

Yes, I do. It’s important for me to visit the other countries and spend time with customers, getting their feedback. It helps me to stay in touch with the market and make sure we are adapting our services. Not only that, we value our employees, so I want to meet them in all the countries I oversee. The FedEx culture is all about respecting your employees and listening to what they have to say. 

Do you ever go out on pick-ups?

The front line managers go out on pickups and I do, too, sometimes. We all wear the uniform. It is the best way to understand what is going on in the market. Our employees are so energetic and it can be hard to keep up with them.

What CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities are FedEx Japan involved in?

In Japan, we focus on disaster relief, education and eco-related areas. For example, our employees, including myself, collaborated with JEN, a disaster relief NPO, to harvest rice grown in Niigata Prefecture. It was part of an agricultural volunteer program which also involved rice-sowing and grass-cutting to help revitalize the area affected by the 2004 earthquake. 

Elsewhere, FedEx took part in a week-long campaign, organized by Second Harvest Japan, to deliver donated food to 30 facilities in Tokyo. FedEx employees also donated books and CDs to an educational support program to help build schools in Afghanistan and Sudan. Furthermore, we have been teaching our couriers to drive in a more eco-friendly way by minimizing fuel consumption.

What is a typical day for you?

If I am in Japan, I get up around 5 or 5:30. I live out in Chiba, so it is a bit of a commute. On the train, I do emails on my Blackberry. Once I get to Tokyo, I work out at the gym most mornings. Then I start off with meetings and conference calls. I do some networking at ACCJ. 

I go out to Narita at least four times a year to meet employees and airport authorities. The rest of the time, I have to balance my time between the other countries I oversee.

What is your management style?

My door is always open. I personally prefer one-on-one meetings but you have to get people engaged in teamwork and have a shared sense of mission and goals, so we have big meetings as well to make sure everyone is on the same page.

I have a large operational group, but I do have good managing directors. These days, I spend a lot more time on sales, talking with customers, and also on the regulatory side as well.

What do you do when you are not working?

I like to play golf; I started when I was 10. I have three boys at home and they keep me busy. 

Does anything frustrate you about working in Japan?

I wouldn’t say it frustrates me because I am used to it, but the time it takes for decision-making as you deal with other parties is longer than we would like. After all, we are a pretty fast-paced company, always on the move.

For more information, visit http://www.fedex.com/jp