Recently CIO Magazine recognized FedEx with its annual CIO 100 Award for our data storage technology called Common Data Service (CDS). The award celebrates innovative use of technology to deliver genuine business value.

A few weeks ago, I received a wonderful reminder of the importance of intrepid endeavors and the humanistic value they can bring. The event that had me thinking of this was The Lindbergh Foundation's 35th Anniversary celebration, which hosted former U.S. astronauts, Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan - the first man to walk on the moon, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, and the last man to walk on the moon. They were there to talk of their personal involvement with The Lindbergh Foundation. You see, Neil Armstrong helped found the Foundation as co-chair of its endowment fundraising efforts. Captain James Lovell was on its first Board. And, Captain Eugene Cernan was a recipient of the Foundation's Spirit Award in 2007. But, here's the part that really stands out to me - they didn't focus solely on this part of their involvement.

For me, some aspects of great customer service never change, such as wanting to “hear a smile” in the voice of the person helping me.

Cold Chain is a term used to characterize temperature-controlled storage, distribution and transportation. The term can be misleading since it does not refer to “cold” temperatures in particular. Products that are sensitive to temperature variations, whether they be perishables such as fruits and vegetables or more sophisticated drugs and medical devices, are included in the term “cold chain”. However, cold chain is often more narrowly used in reference to temperature and time-sensitive high value healthcare products...