the.world.is.flat-第84部分

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out　here？〃　said　Ghandour。　〃We　will　be　your　Middle　East　delivery　arm。　Why　give　them　
to　your　global　competitor；　like　DHL？〃　Airborne　responded　positively；　and　Ghandour　
used　
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that　to　build　his　own　business　and　then　buy　up　or　partner　with　small　delivery　firms　
from　Egypt　to　Turkey　to　Saudi　Arabia　and　later　all　the　way　over　to　India；　Pakistan；　
and　Iran…creating　his　own　regional　network。　Airborne　did　not　have　the　money　that　
Federal　Express　was　investing　in　setting　up　its　own　operations　in　every　region　of　
the　globe；　so　it　created　an　alliance；　bringing　together　some　forty　regional　delivery　
companies；　like　Aramex；　into　a　virtual　global　network。　What　Airborne's　partners　got　


was　something　none　of　them　could　individually　afford　to　build　at　the　time…　a　global　
geographic　presence　and　a　computerized　package　tracking　and　tracing　system　to　compete　
with　that　of　a　FedEx　or　DHL。　
Airborne　〃made　their　online　computerized　tracking　and　tracing　system　available　to　
all　its　partners；　so　there　was　a　unified　language　and　set　of　quality　standards　for　
how　everyone　in　the　Airborne　alliance　would　deliver　and　track　and　trace　packages；〃　
explained　Ghandour。　With　his　company　headquartered　in　Amman；　Jordan；　Ghandour　tapped　
into　the　Airborne　system　by　leasing　a　data　line　that　was　connected　from　Amman　all　
the　way　to　Airborne's　big　mainframe　computer　in　its　headquarters　in　Seattle。　Through　
dumb　terminals　back　in　the　Middle　East；　Aramex　tracked　and　traced　its　packages　using　
Airborne's　back　room。　Aramex；　in　fact；　was　the　earliest　adopter　of　the　Airborne　system。　
Once　Ghandour's　Jordanian　employees　got　up　to　speed　on　it；　Airborne　hired　them　to　
go　around　the　world　to　install　systems　and　train　the　other　alliance　partners。　So　these　
Jordanians；　all　of　whom　spoke　English；　went　off　to　places　like　Sweden　and　the　Far　
East　and　taught　the　Airborne　methods　of　tracking　and　tracing。　Eventually；　Airborne　
bought　9　percent　of　Aramex　to　cement　the　relationship。　
The　arrangement　worked　well　for　everyone；　and　Aramex　came　to　dominate　the　parcel　
delivery　market　in　the　Arab　world；　so　well　that　in　1997；　Ghandour　decided　to　take　
the　company　public　on　Broadway；　also　known　as　the　Nasdaq。　Aramex　continued　to　grow　
into　a　nearly　200…million…a…year　company；　with　thirty…two　hundred　employees…and　
without　any　big　government　contracts。　Its　business　was　built　for　and　with　the　private　
sector；　highly　unusual　in　the　Arab　world。　Because　of　the　dotcom　boom；　which　deflected　
interest　from　brick…and…mortar　companies　like　Aramex；　and　then　the　dot…com　bust；　
which　knocked　out　the　Nasdaq；　

Aramex's　stock　price　never　really　took　off。　Thinking　that　the　market　simply　did　not　
appreciate　its　value；　Ghandour；　along　with　a　private　equity　firm　from　Dubai；　bought　
the　company　back　from　its　shareholders　in　early　2002。　
Unbeknownst　to　Ghandour；　this　move　coincided　with　the　flattening　of　the　world。　He　
suddenly　discovered　that　he　not　only　could　do　new　things；　but　he　had　to　do　new　things　
he　had　never　imagined　doing　before。　He　first　felt　the　world　going　flat　in　2003；　when　
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　
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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。〃　
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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　tradi