TASK PERFORMANCE

TNT Express

TNT Express is a global express parcels company which offers time definite and day definite pickup and
delivery. It delivers an average of 4.4 million parcels, documents, and pieces of freight every week to
over 200 countries worldwide. TNT’s origins date back after the Second World War in Australia in 1958.

In 1978, the growth of TNT really began to take off when it purchased County Express in the UK. TNT UK
continued to grow and offer new services and it became one of the most important contributing
businesses to the overall company performance. The culture of TNT was always described as
entrepreneurial with an emphasis on speed of action. This was further developed by the growth of the
company into a major player in the global express parcels market. The strength of the company was a
road and air network which connected the majority of the major economies. The different national
cultures and an entrepreneurial attitude created a successful but reactionary company.

Despite its milestone of success, TNT Express has experienced a major pitfall in 2004. With the
appointment of a new CEO, Marie Christine Lombard, her strategy was to change the company from a
traditional and entrepreneurial transport company to a global customer centric service based
organization. The advocacy of the new CEO will surely improve the overall performance of the company
in terms of logistics since it tries to adopt to the emerging needs of the market in a greater arena.
However, the result of the implemented change initiative does not reflect the goal. Major negative
feedback from customers bombard the management of the company. Some were saying that the
changes in the usual service do not serve its purpose because the shipment of items were relatively late
or out of deadlines. Others stated that TNT marketed itself as a global organization but variation in the
way it operated locally affected their experience. Most of the employees say that the change initiative
affected their performance since they are not prepared enough to face a more complex process in the
shipment of items. Another major reason for this problem was the number of disparate IT systems that
tracks the delivery and pick-up of items. This situation generated enormous maintenance costs and
interface issues. It was recognized that before TNT Express could implement a set of customer service or
operational systems that could be deployed globally, they needed a “common process.” The employees
of the company were relatively empowered and thus suggest that the company developed a graphical
representation of the different inflows and outflows of their logistical processes. Empowered employees
claim that after creating this representation, they will be able to match the existing IT systems to a more
complex system that would be efficient in monitoring the shipment and delivery of items. Therefore, the
CEO of the company decided that TNT, as a global organization, should map the existing processes and
agree to a global standard.

Follow the suggested outline below in answering the case study:

I. Background
 Background TNT Express is a global express parcels company which offers time definite and
day definite pickup and delivery. It delivers an average of 4.4 million parcels, documents,
and pieces of freight every week to over 200 countries worldwide. TNT Express was founded
in Australia in 1946 and was originally named K. W. Transport after its founder, Ken Thomas.
In 1958 the company was renamed Thomas Nationwide Transport, or TNT for short, and
today TNT Express is one of the world’s leading business-to-business express delivery service
providers. Despite its milestone of success, TNT Express has experienced a major pitfall in
2004. With the appointment of a new CEO, Marie Christine Lombard, her strategy was to
change the company from a traditional and entrepreneurial transport company to a global
customer centric service-based organization. The advocacy of the new CEO will surely
improve the overall performance of the company in terms of logistics since it tries to adopt
to the emerging needs of the market in a greater arena. However, the result of the
implemented change initiative does not reflect the goal. Major negative feedback from
customers bombards the management of the company. Some were saying that the changes
in the in the usual service do not serve its purpose because the shipment of items were
relatively late or out of deadlines. Other stated that TNT marketed itself as a global
organization but variation in the way it operated locally affected their experience. Most of
the employees say that the change initiative affected their performance since they are not
prepared enough to face a more complex process in the shipment of item. Another major
reason for this problem was the number of disparate IT system that tracks the delivery and
pick-up of items. This situation generated enormous maintenance costs and interface issues.
The goal of TNT company is to exceed expectations of the customers delivery of the
documents and goods around the globe. The company aims to focuses on providing
customer satisfaction, delivery of goods and services and ensuring good behavior towards
the customers. The topmost objective of the company is to gain profitable growth, to make
the company a better working place for its employees and to be lean, fast moving and highly
effective company, to always respond to change and act with urgency

II. Statement of the Problem

a. How can TNT Express prepare their employees to a more complex work environment using

the 10-step model that lays the foundation for a quality culture? (Refer to Page 3 of 04

Handout 1.)

The first step is to make them understand the quality culture and their role in establishing and
maintaining such a culture. Next is to have comprehensive assessment of the new corporate culture
of quality. Then, based on the assess, develop a plan for establishing a quality culture. A quality-
positive attitudes and behavior are expected all throughout the preparation. Also, the executives,
managers and supervisors must be positive role models for the employees be inspired by them. It is also
important to orient new employees to have a comprehensive quality component.
b. What type of total quality tool/continuous improvement method should TNT Express

employ in order to create a graphical representation of the different inflows and outflows

of their logistical processes? (Refer to Pages 1-14 of 09 Handout 1.)

c. How can ISO 9000 contribute in the overall improvement of TNT Express’ organizational

performance? (Refer to Page 1 of 11 Handout 1.)

III. Areas of Consideration

a. It must include details and facts from the case that contribute to the organizational

problem of the company.

IV. Alternative Courses of Action

a. It must contain at least (2) two courses of action for every point stated in the statement of

the problem. It must also present the advantages and disadvantages of each course of

action in resolving the organizational problem.

V. Recommendation

a. It must present the best course of action among the presented alternatives in resolving

each organizational problem.

VI. Management Lessons Learned

a. It must discuss the takeaways from the case and the relevant things that the company

should do or not do in order to avoid the given organizational problems.