Digital Competition - Laurie A. Tucker

The only choice is ... choice.

"Customers have to be able to have it their way," Tucker says. "We can provide them with turnkey systems -- APIs for those who want to integrate [FedEx software] with their own systems; FedEx Ship; and FedEx interNetShip, which facilitates shipping over the Web." The result: 70% of the 3 million packages that move through FedEx's network every day have been processed online, without paper forms.

You can't move fast if you plan slow.

One enemy of innovating on Internet time is budgeting. Tucker's unit can seek "contingency funding" if it wants to chase hot opportunities: "We're not forced to get everything into the business plan at one point in time."