Chapter 32 Examining the British Market

John thought that the so-called "nationalization plan" that Randolph was interested in was simply stupid and tantamount to drinking water to quench his thirst. Writing "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info Although this could temporarily improve the efficiency of railway transportation, it fundamentally shook the foundations of British warfare.

Once this plan is passed, all British capitalists will be in danger and the entire country's economic order will be in turmoil. Randolph was too young to be interested in this project. John believed that any mature politician, such as Winston Churchill, would never agree to do so.

John even felt that the reason for this rumor was probably that the British government was deliberately releasing smoke as a means of putting pressure on the railway companies.

As for the War Secretary Belisha, who was pushed to the front of the stage, John heard that he had recently been boycotted by the senior British Army generals because of some strategic principles and the welfare of the Army. Nine times out of ten, this hapless guy is a scapegoat for being "repurposed".

However, John only vaguely reminded Randolph of the risks involved, and did not go too deep. Anyway, Randolph is not his son, and his "infantile disease" should be left to Churchill to worry about, and John will not overstep his responsibilities.

On the contrary, John spent a long time detailing the supply chain logistics concept promoted by FedEx to Randolph, and even explained some specific details, including how to manage efficiency and how to implement container intermodal transportation.

None of this is a secret anyway, and the British can always find out if they have the heart. Instead of hiding it, it is better to take it out happily, at least it can be a personal favor.

Randolph listened attentively, but he was a layman after all. Some things are difficult to understand and how to integrate them into the actual situation in the UK.

Seeing his sad face, John helped him come up with an idea. "Otherwise, I don't know much about the specific situation on the British side. It's hard to say whether what I've just said is applicable or not. Why don't I send a few experts in this area from FedEx and go back with you. Let them go to the field and come up with an improvement suggestion, how do you say? ”

"That's great, I'll report back to Sir Freeman when I get back." Randolph was overjoyed that John's "service" was simply too thoughtful and caring: "Thank you so much, John. Tomorrow, how about I do it tomorrow night? ”

"You're welcome, Randolph." John, in turn, extended an invitation to him: "I haven't thanked you for the last time we stayed at Chatwell Manor for causing your family a lot of trouble. How about this Saturday, come to my house in the evening. Adele and little Ella also miss your mother, so let them meet you. ”

"That's it. I miss little Ella too. Randolph happily agreed.

By the time John got home, it was almost ten o'clock, and Adele had fallen asleep. John washed up and crept into bed. He was already careful in his movements, but Adele was still woken up by him. Seeing her husband come back in a daze, Adele naturally fell into his arms.

Probably because the heating in the house was too hot, Adele's little face was a little ruddy from the heat, and the pink was very attractive. She is 30 years old this year, but she still looks as cute as a little girl when she sleeps. John put his arms around his wife, couldn't help but kiss her on the cheek, took her earlobe in his mouth, and blew mischievously into her ear.

"Don't make a fuss, I'm sleepy." Adele, who felt an itch in her ears, pushed her husband's head aside with her hand and muttered dissatisfaction with her eyes closed.

"Why did you go to bed so early today?" John asked softly as he tightened his wife's arms into his arms.

Adele has been chairman of the supervisory board of FedEx since the second half of last year. Although she was not in Detroit most of the time, the company sent various documents to Washington every week for her to review. During this time, Adele usually waited for her daughter to fall asleep, and waited for John to come back while reading the papers in the study.

"I just feel a little tired and tired." Adele buried her head in her husband's arms and prepared to go back to sleep.

"It can't be sick, do you want the doctor to come to your house?" John touched her forehead with his hand with concern, the temperature was normal, and there was no fever.

"I'm fine, maybe I've been tired for the past two days, just get some sleep."

John had wanted to talk to her about Randolph's visit to his house on Saturday night, but when he saw that his wife was already sleepy, he gave up. It's only Wednesday, so it's too late to wake up tomorrow morning.

Soon, Adele fell asleep in John's arms. With the sound of her even breathing, John began to wonder who would be the right person to send to England for an investigation.

He sent people to England this time, not only to help Randolph, but also to include his own selfishness. The UK's transport market is very different from the US. Even the rules of the road (vehicles drive on the left side of the road in the UK) and the unit of measurement (using imperial units) are different from those in the United States.

Whether it was his future involvement in the implementation of Lend-Lease at the Army Staff or FedEx's post-war expansion into the European market, John needed to conduct a detailed investigation of the British transport market. Now it is equivalent to the British government taking the initiative to cooperate with him to research his local transportation market. How could John let go of this great opportunity?

But who should be sent? McNamara was an excellent candidate. However, once there is an echo from the Maersk side, as soon as the joint venture is established, FedEx will test the water surface container intermodal business between New York and Houston. At this time, McNamara is obviously inseparable. Without him, who would take the lead in developing the operational norms and standards for new businesses?

At this time, John thought of a man. McNamara's classmate at Harvard Business School. Some time ago, when John was recruiting for the Statistics Control Office, McNamara recommended Leith to him. This guy was supposed to go to work for a company in Europe, but because of the war, he didn't make the trip and stayed at home for the time being.

After some investigation of him, John did not bother to get him into the statistical control office, but sent him to the system analysis office of FedEx to work as a deputy for McNamara.

Historically, Leith was also a member of the "Blue Blood Ten", and although not as famous as Thornton and McNamara, he was also an indispensable and important part of them. During World War II, the young man, who spoke as fast as a rapid-fire gun, earned the nickname "Magician" in the Army Air Corps' Statistics Control Office for his outstanding data analysis and communication skills.

Leith's greatest strength was his ability to "translate" various regression equations and statistical terms in the hands of Thornton and others into reports that the Army Air Corps generals could understand. Let those commanders know exactly where and exactly how many tens of thousands of aircraft, hundreds of thousands of ground crews, millions of parts, billions of gallons of gasoline are in the Army Air Corps.

Tell them how many planes are grounded every day, what the reason for the grounding is, what parts are needed to fix them, where are those parts, how to get them as quickly as possible, etc.

After the war, Leith joined Ford along with McNamara, and later became president of Ford's European region for successfully saving Ford's branch in France.

However, although there is no problem with Leiss in terms of ability, the time he has joined FedEx is too short, less than a month. I don't know much about the situation of FedEx, and it's hard to say whether it can do the job. John decided to consult Walter and McNamara tomorrow.