Karen Reddington foresees the next evolution of the manufacturing and logistics sectors, with the advent of digital solutions and electronic commerce. She calls it the fourth industrial revolution, or ‘Industry 4.0.’
“Industry 4.0 is shorthand for applying new, digitally-driven capabilities to manufacturing and at each subsequent stage in the value chain. At its simplest, it can mean applying technology to a single stage in the chain,” says Reddington, who serves as the president of the Asia Pacific division of FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company.
“Once viewed purely in terms of its potential to yield cost efficiencies, supply chain management has evolved. Thanks to big data analytics and changing customer expectations, demand forecasting is more sophisticated. This means that modern supply chains now have a vital additional role in ensuring customer satisfaction and retention,” she says.
As head of FedEx in the Asia Pacific since January 2015, Reddington works from the company’s headquarters in Hong Kong to lead the FedEx business across the region, including overall planning and implementation of corporate strategies and operations across 30 countries and territories with more than 17,500 employees.
Reddington says the rise of e-commerce has created a new and large market of shippers with different needs for bulk shipments. She says e-tailers need to handle large numbers of smaller shipments to their customers and they need different shipping solutions to cater to their customers’ needs.
“To respond to their needs, we’ve transformed our core international express business into a portfolio of solutions. These include flexible options for the speed of delivery, electronic tools to automate documents for customs clearance, and shipping solutions that simplify the product return process,” she says.
Reddington, who holds a PhD in operations research from The London School of Economics and Political Science from University of London, also knows the Philippines, which she says has a crucial role in the regional operations of FedEx.
“The work we do here in the Philippines is critical to the success of our business across a much wider area,” she says.
“The Philippines plays an important role supporting our Asia Pacific network. FedEx recently opened the Philippines IT Center in Taguig to support software development in the region. Our Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Center in Clark assists in clearance and documentation work for Japan, Singapore and Taiwan,” says Reddington.
She says FedEx is also in the position to help Philippine large and small businesses become more successful. “To make international shipping more convenient, we continue to open new FASCs [FedEx Authorized Ship Centers] throughout the Philippines via local logistics provider 2Go. Currently we have over 400 outlets nationwide. By providing local businesses with the right logistics support that they need, we can help them navigate the global marketplace,” she says.