the.world.is.flat-第76部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


Airborne　got　bought　out　by　DHL。　Airborne　announced　that　as　of　January　1；　2004；　its　
tracking　and　tracing　system　would　no　longer　be　available　to　its　former　alliance　
partners。　See　you　later。　Good　luck　on　your　own。　
While　the　flattening　of　the　world　enabled　Airborne；　the　big　guy；　to　get　flatter；　it　
allowed　Ghandour；　the　little　guy；　to　step　up　and　replace　it。　〃The　minute　Airborne　
announced　that　it　was　being　bought　and　dissolving　the　alliance；〃　said　Ghandour；　〃I　
called　a　meeting　in　London　of　all　the　major　partners　in　the　group；　and　the　first　thing　
we　did　was　found　a　new　alliance。〃　But　Ghandour　also　came　with　a　proposal：　〃I　told　
them　that　Aramex　was　developing　the　software　in　Jordan　to　replace　the　Airborne　
tracking　and　tracing　system；　and　I　promised　everyone　there　that　our　system　would　be　
up　and　running　before　Airborne　switched　theirs　off。〃　
Ghandour　in　effect　told　them　that　the　mouse　would　replace　the　elephant。　Not　only　would　
his　relatively　small　company　provide　the　same　backroom　support　out　of　Amman　that　


Airborne　had　provided　out　of　Seattle　with　its　big　mainframe；　but　he　would　also　find　
more　globalpartners　tofill　in　the　holes　in　the　alliance　left　by　Airborne's　departure。　
To　do　this；　he　told　the　prospective　partners　that　he　would　hire　Jordanian　
professionals　to　manage　all　the　alliance's　back…office　needs　at　a　fraction　of　the　
cost　they　were　paying　to　have　it　all　done　from　Europe　or　America。　〃I　am　not　the　largest　
company　in　the　group；〃　said　Ghandour；　who　is　now　in　his　mid…forties　and　still　full　
of　energy；　〃but　I　took　leadership。　My　German　partners　were　a　1。2　billion　company；　
but　they　could　not　react　as　fast。〃　
How　could　he　move　so　quickly？　The　triple　convergence。　
First　of　all；　a　young　generation　of　Jordanian　software　and　industrial　engineers　had　
just　come　of　age　and　walked　out　onto　the　level　playing　field。　They　found　that　all　
the　collaborative　tools　they　needed　to　act　big　
348　
were　as　available　to　them　as　to　Airbome's　employees　in　Seattle。　It　was　just　a　question　
of　having　the　energy　and　imagination　to　adopt　these　tools　and　put　them　to　good　use。　
〃The　key　for　us/'　said　Ghandour；　〃was　to　come　up　with　the　technology　and　immediately　
replace　the　Airborne　technology；　because　without　online；　real…time　tracking　and　
tracing；　you　can't　compete　with　the　big　boys。　With　our　own　software　engineers；　we　
produced　a　Web…based　tracking　and　tracing　and　shipment　management　system。〃　
Managing　the　back　room　for　all　the　alliance　partners　through　the　Internet　was　actually　
much　more　efficient　than　plugging　everyone　into　Airbome's　mainframe　back　in　Seattle；　
which　was　very　centralized　and　had　already　been　struggling　to　adapt　to　the　new　Web　
architecture。　With　the　Web；　said　Ghandour；　every　employee　in　every　alliance　company　
could　access　the　Aramex　tracking　and　tracing　system　through　smart　PC　terminals　or　
handheld　devices；　using　the　Internet　and　wireless。　A　couple　of　months　after　making　
his　proposal　in　London；　Ghandour　brought　all　the　would…be　partners　together　in　Amman　
to　show　them　the　proprietary　system　that　Aramex　was　developing　and　to　meet　some　of　
his　Jordanian　software　professionals　and　industrial　engineers。　（Some　of　the　
programming　was　being　done　in…house　at　Aramex　and　some　was　outsourced。　Outsourcing　
meant　Aramex　too　could　tap　the　best　brains。）　The　partners　liked　it；　and　thus　the　Global　
Distribution　Alliance　was　born…with　Aramex　providing　the　back　room　from　the　backwater　
of　Amman；　where　Lawrence　ofArabia　once　prowled；　replacing　Airborne；　which　was　located　
just　down　the　highway　from　Microsoft　and　Bill　Gates。　
Another　reason　Ghandour　could　replace　Airborne　so　quickly；　he　explained；　was　that　
he　was　not　stuck　with　any　〃legacy〃　system　that　he　had　to　adapt。　〃I　could　go　right　
to　the　Internet　and　use　the　latest　technologies；〃　he　said。　〃The　Web　enabled　me　to　
act　big　and　replicate　a　massive　technology　that　the　big　guys　had　invested　millions　
in；　at　a　fraction　of　the　cost。　。　。　From　a　cost　perspective；　for　me　as　a　small　guy；　
it　was　ideal。。。　I　knew　the　world　was　flat。　All　my　preaching　to　our　employees　as　the　
CEO　was　that　we　can　compete；　we　can　have　a　niche；　the　rules　of　the　game　are　changing；　
you　don't　need　to　be　a　giant；　you　can　find　a　niche；　and　technology　will　enable　us　
to　compete　with　the　big　boys。〃　
349　
When　January　2004　rolled　around　and　Airborne　began　switching　off　its　system；　Aramex　


was　up　and　running　for　a　seamless　handoff。　And　because　Aramex　was　able　to　run　its　
new　system　off　an　Internet　platform；　with　software　designed　primarily　by　lower…cost　
Jordanian　programmers；　installation　of　the　new　system　took　place　virtually；　without　
Aramex　having　to　send　its　engineers　to　train　any　of　the　alliance　partners。　Eachpartner　
company　could　build　its　own　client　base　over　the　Internet　through　the　Aramex　system；　
do　its　own　tracking　and　tracing；　and　be　part　of　the　new　virtual　global　air　freight　
network。　
〃So　now　we　are　managing　this　global　network；　with　forty　alliance　partners；　and　we　
cover　every　geographic　area　in　the　world；〃　said　Ghandour。　〃We　saved　so　much　money。　。　。　
With　our　Web…based　system　all　you　needed　was　a　browser　and　a　password　to　get　into　
the　Aramex　network；　and　suddenly　you're　inside　a　global　shipment　management　system。〃　
Aramex　trained　many　of　the　employees　of　the　other　alliance　companies　how　to　use　its　
system　by　using　various　online　channels；　including　voice　over　the　Internet；　online　
chatting；　and　other　virtual　training　tools　available　on　Aramex's　intranet…making　the　
training　incredibly　cheap。　
Like　UPS；　Aramex　has　quickly　moved　into　insourcing。　Arab　and　foreign　banks　in　the　
Middle　East　have　outsourced　the　delivery　of　their　credit　cards　to　Aramex；　mobile　phone　
companies　are　using　Aramex　delivery　men　to　collect　bills　on　their　behalf；　with　the　
delivery　men　just　scanning　the　customer's　credit　card　and　then　issuing　a　receipt。　
（Aramex　may　be　high…tech；　but　it　has　not　shrunk　from　using　donkeys　to　cross　military　
roadblocks　to　deliver　packages　in　the　West　Bank　when　Israeli…Palestinian　clashes　have　
closed　roads。）　
〃We　are　a　very　flat　organization；〃　Ghandour　explained。　〃This　is　not　traditional；　
because　Arabinstitutions　in　the　private　sector　tend　to　look　like　the　governments…very　
hierarchal　and　patriarchal。　That　is　not　how　Aramex　works。　There　are　no　more　than　two　
to　three　layers　between　me　and　anyone　in　the　company。　Every　single　knowledge　worker　
in　this　organization　has　a　computer　with　e…mail　and　Internet　access。　Right　here　from　
your　computer　I　can　access　my　intranet　and　see　exactly　what　is　happening　in　the　
organization　without　my　senior　people　having　to　report　to　me。〃　

In　sum；　Fadi　Ghandour　took　advantage　of　several　new　forms　of　
collaboration…supply…chaining；　outsourcing；　insourcing；　and　all　the　steroids…　to　
make　his　little　200…million…a…year　company　very　big。　Or；　as　he　put　it　with　a　smile；　
〃I　was　big　locally　and　small　internationally…and　I　reversed　that。〃　
Rule　#3：　And　the　big　shall　act　small。。。　One　way　that　big　companies　learn　to　flourish　
in　the　flat　world　is　by　learning　how　to　act　really　small　by　enabling　their　customers　
to　act　really　big。　
Howard　Schultz；　the　founder　and　chairman　of　Starbucks；　says　that　Starbucks　estimates　
that　it　is　possible　to　make　nineteen　thousand　variations　of　coffee　on　the　basis　of　
the　menus　posted　at　any　Starbucks　outlet。　What　Starbucks　did；　in　other　words；　was　
make　its　customers　its　drink　designers　and　allow　them　to　customize　their　drinks　to　
their　exact　specifications。　Starbucks　never　thought　of　offering　soy　milk；　Schultz　
told　me；　until　store　managers　started　to　get　bombarded　with　demands　for　it　from　
customers；　to　the　point　where　they　were　going　to　the　grocery　store　across　the　street　


in　the　middle　of　the　day　to　buy　cartons　of　soy　milk。　Starbucks　learned　from　its　
customers；　and　today　some　8　percent　of　all　the　drinks　that　Starbucks　sells　include　
soy　milk。　〃We　didn't　dream　up　the　different　concoctions　with　soy　milk；〃　said　Schultz；　
〃the　customers　did。〃　Starbucks　just　collaborated　with　them。　The　smartest　big　
companies　clearly　understand　that　the　triple　convergence　allows　them　to　collaborate　
with　their　customers　in　a　totally　new　fashion…and；　by　doing　so；　to　act　really　small。　
The　way　that　big　companies　act　small　is　not　by　targeting　each　individual　consumer　
and　trying　to　serve　that　customer　individually。　That　would　be　impossible　and　
impossibly　expensive。　They　do　it　by　making　their　business；　as　much　as　possible；　into　
a　buffet。　These　companies　create　a　platform　that　allows　individual　customers　to　serve　
themselves　in　their　own　way；　at　their　own　pace；　in　their　own　time；　according　to　their　
own　tastes。　They　are　actually　making　their　customers　their　employees　and　having　them　
pay　the　company　for　that　pleasure　at　the　same　time！　
One　of　those　big　companies　that　have　learned　to　act　small　in　this　way　is　E*Trade；　
the　online　bank　and　brokerage　house。　It　did　so；　explained　

Mitchell　H。　Caplan；　the　CEO　of　E*Trade　as　well　as　a　friend　and　neighbor；　by　recognizing　
that　behind　all　the　hoopla　around　the　dot…com　boom　and　bust；　something　very　important　
was　happening。　〃Some　people　thought　the　Internet　was　going　to　revolutionize　
everything　in　the　world　with　no　limits…it　was　going　to　cure　the　common　cold/'　said　
Caplan。　Sure；　it　was　hype；　and　it　led　to　crazy　valuations　and　expectations；　which　
eventually　came　crashing　down。　But　meanwhile；　with　much　less　fanfare；　the　Internet　
was　creating　〃a　whole　new　distribution　platform　for　companies　to　reach　consumers　in　
a　whole　new　way　and　for　consumers　to　reach　your　company　in　a　whole　new　way；〃　Caplan　
said。　〃While　we　were　sleeping；　my　mom　figured　out　how　to　use　e…mail　and　connect　with　
the　kids。　My　kids　were　instant…messaging　all　their　friends。　My　mom　figured　out　how　
to　go　online　and　check　her　E*Trade　balances。〃　
Companies　that　were　paying　attention　understood　they　were　witnessing　the　birth　of　
the　〃self…directed　consumer；〃　because　the　Internet　and　all　the　other　tools　of　the　
flat　world　had　created　a　means　for　every　consumer　to　customize　exactly　the　price；　
experience；　and　service　he　or　she　wanted。　Big　companies　that　could　adapt　their　
technology　and　business　processes　to　empower　this　self…directed　consumer