With globalization, Multi-national Companies (MNC) has flogged
India to tap lucrative local market. So the FedEx Express has started it
logistics business in India. With investments through FDI, the commerce
ministry has planned to bring best practices in to Indian market. Now, it’s
time to access the situation. The litmus test was done with an international shipping
company FedEx Express. The following are the phenomenon, so fare experienced,
of Multi-national Companies:
1. Disregard
to consumer welfare
2. Deficiency
in service
3. Intention
to delay the service until demanded by the customers to deliver the consignment.
That was true that best practices
were introduced in India with the advent of FDI into local business. But still
the system is skewed enough to create deception of false security. The customers
are still made to run pillar to post to get service from this multi-billionaire
companies. All they want was profit out of Indian consumers.
A consignment which was promised
to be delivered in 7 days turned into an ordeal. Despite
repeated calls and
reminders to the customer care executives of FedEx express, they seem to have
inadequate resource to mobilize a simple 0.1 kgs (100 gram) consignment.
All the tracking system which is
considered as best practices of the world is misleading. They use technology to
deceive customers waiting for the delivery. FedEx own tracking system which is
updated at each stage of logistics is the clear evidence that FedEx has
committed a deficient service. What did take them to wait for two days before
delivery? May be I have settled the bill, so they thought it is not worth
delivering on time!
To add fuel to the fire, the
local customer care says the consignment was delivered. When stated that not received the consignment, she said it is with the local FedEx facility
and the recipient have to wait till 8 p.m. to receive the delivery. When again at 8 p.m., recipient rang up the customer care, again she said recipient have wait till next day to get the
delivery as it is too late to deliver the consignment. Later, a senior
executive called about the query with the customer care, who assured that the
consignment will be delivered within 1 p.m. of next day. But still delivery is
awaited. The customer care executive of FedEx persist that it is the recipient
mistake to have house locked. They never wish to acknowledge the fault on their
part. The time which they mentioned as “customer not available or business
closed”, the recipient was at home. When demanded with explanation, they had a
sweet and short reply that “the recipient mobile phone was switched off”. A blatant
lie was let loose to cover up the issue. They got very good management skill so
that customer can’t speak up in defense.
A renowned shipping company,
FedEx, is not capable of delivering a 100 gram consignment on time as promised
by them. We wonder how they would handle massive goods that are shipped all
day.
Pathetic Customer Care:
The customer care executives
instead of providing useful information to the recipients who expect delivery,
they provide their own story of difficulty in managing the goods. For them who
complain that they can’t handle the large shipment of goods, it is wise to
close their logistic business for good. It is good for them as well to the
public at large. With dysfunctional management, they protract the delivery by
providing false promises day by day for the same consignment. The FedEx has
failed to understand one thing; we don’t need the promises but the
consignment/goods which are to be delivered to the recipient.
For those Multi-National
Companies, they take Indian customers for granted. They think they can bend the
expectation of Indian market at own whims and fancies. The deficiency of
service by FedEx Express is good example what these multi-national companies
would bring to India as best practices. With protracted judicial system, these
companies enjoy at the cost of consumer welfare. For suing these companies for negligence
and deficiency of service, individual consumer will made to run from corner to
corner to prove that these companies have done malpractice. At the end, they
always end with appeal. To deal an issue with judicial proceedings, we will have
to wait for four more years. With all the time and money spent to prove that
the service is deficient, they will claim that FedEx has delivered the goods
hence they are not liable any further.
The symptoms are contagion!
Spread like deadly H1N1, sars to other corporates who step into Indian market.
To make it more worse, European countries trying to enter Indian market with
Non Agricultural Market Access (NAMA). By allowing such favor it would aggravate
the pathetic situation, the vibrant economy will be of no use to its own
citizens.
Multi-billion marketing:
It will make us wonder how good these
services would be in their home country! When a person starts a business, it
will be established at his home country. Later, the corporate flag will be
flouted across the globe to claim the MNC berth. What boost these companies to
setup money poaching camps across globe?! Why politicians lobby for such
corporates! With pathetic service, how did they claim the top spot! Mere
marketing strategy will not fetch the fame. For that, snapdeal must be top e-tailor
provided with their undue advertisements. Yet people remember snapdeal for
soap-bar and wooden sticks which are delivered instead of smartphones. It would
take something more to claim the top spot. With aggressive marketing even
before full-fledged entry has made huge buzz for these Multi-billionaire
companies. Thanks to media for marketing they did it for free of cost. Whenever
a huge enterprise enters Indian market, a business page will have headlines
about that enterprise and their strategy planned for India. Not even the local
big players get that fame prior to the entry. But these corporates receive red
carpet treatment.
Domestic Couriers:
Compared to FedEx, domestic courier
guys are good at logistics. They do real service. The goods deliveries were
done within 2 days of order. They know the reality. Instead of investing
heavily on marketing, these domestic players invest on good service which earns
them the reputation. The only drawback is they lack marketing. Despite such huge
drawback, they stand good when it comes to competition between these
international courier agency and domestic courier agencies.
We wonder how these international
shipping agencies manage consignment to be delivered at international location!
At domestic level they stumble and choke to deliver 100 grams of weight. Then
sure it will be an international drama for sender and receiver of the goods.
At what are they investing?
The real question, at the end of
the day, is in what these international companies invest at. As far as we have
seen, the service was pathetic. All they do is gross mismanagement of
consignments and goods that are to be delivered. So actually what make them to
spend millions of dollars to create a fake illusion of logistics? They call
technology in place to efficiently manage the logistic works. Is it really
worth it? Investing in some technology is going to solve the problem of
customers! None could answer. To come to a just opinion, they spend more for
the employees who don’t actually seem to work. With goods shifting from one
place to another within same city, it is evident that they are inefficient to
handle the goods.
Is FDI necessary?
Foreign Direct Investment,
shortly called as FDI, is considered to important ingredients of economic
development. But not to forget that it is one of the ingredients to cook the
economy. Just feeding on FDI will do no good in long terms. The Multi-billion
companies are not trustable for the investments. Once, they find the market is
saturated they find some new country to spoil with than to improving the present
pathetic situation which they have created.
Flying of capital out of country
will not only affect the Central Reserve banks but also create unstable social.
The residue left would be unemployment, inflation, political crisis, revolts.
So, having a grip over the FDI influence in economy is a key factor. Those who
advocate lassiez-faire policy will still persist for less state control over
the economy will do more good. But with the present state of affairs, letting
loose those multi-billion dollar companies will create havoc at some point in
the future.
The litmus test with a
Multi-national company, FedEx, will stand as good case study of how the world
views Indian market. It is for the state to control the indiscriminate
exploitation with stringent consumer welfare laws. Promoting citizen welfare is
far more important than the multi-billion investments. Still the tug of war
between the FedEx and the recipient continues.
