華爾街的賺錢經(jīng) 第63期:隔夜快遞之父(5)

The early days of Federal Express were marked by extreme frugality and enormous financial losses. It was not uncommon for FedEx drivers to pay for gasoline for their vans out of their own pockets. But despite such problems, Smith always showed concern for the welfare for his employees (as he has continued to do ever since). "Even when we didn't have the money, even when there weren't couches in this office and electric typewriters, we had a good medical plan for our people." He recalled.

早期的聯(lián)邦快遞經(jīng)營非常困難，虧損嚴重。送貨員們不得不經(jīng)常自掏腰包出油錢。盡管問題重重，史密斯卻一直很關心職員的福利(至今仍是如此)。他回憶道，“即使我們沒有錢，即便辦公室里沒有沙發(fā)，沒有電子打印機，我們?nèi)砸獮槊棵麊T工提供完善的健康計劃。”

Today, FedEx is a $32 billion global transportation and logistics company, serving over 220 countries and territories. Operations include more than 670 aircraft and 70, 000 vehicles. Some 260, 000 employees and independent contractors worldwide handle more than 6 million shipments each business day.

如今，聯(lián)邦快遞是一家擁有320億美元資產(chǎn)的全球運輸、168物流公司，業(yè)務遍及220多個國家和地區(qū)，擁有超過670架那且飛機和70，000輛運輸車。每個工作曰，在全球范圍內(nèi)，大約260, 000名遍及全球的職員和獨立承包商都要裝運600多萬批貨物。

Along the way, FedEx pioneered the "hub and spoke" system, which has since been adopted by almost all major airlines. The phrase "FedEx it" has become as much a part of the language as Xerox or Google.

在發(fā)展過程中，聯(lián)邦快遞率先建立了“車輪式中心輻射”系統(tǒng)，之后被幾乎所有的大航空公司所采用。“選擇聯(lián)邦快遞”已經(jīng)成為與施樂公司和谷歌齊名的流行語匯。

注釋：

1. enormous adj. 龐大的，巨大的;兇暴的，極惡的

例句：And the Internet is not the only tool we have. But it has enormous potential. 互聯(lián)網(wǎng)也不是我們所擁有的惟一工具，但它卻有巨大的潛力。

2. logistics n. [軍] 后勤;后勤學

adj. 有價值的;貴重的;可估價的

例句：And because 80% of the parts were common to all three versions, maintenance and logistics would be simpler and cheaper. 由于所有三種型號飛機共用80%的零部件，所以維護和后勤將變得更加簡單和廉價。

3. handle vt. 處理;操作;運用;買賣;觸摸

例句：Do you know how to handle the machine? 你知道這機器應怎樣操作嗎?