In 1973, Frederick Smith launched Federal Express with a proposition that most of the logistics industry regarded as absurd. Guaranteed overnight delivery of packages anywhere in the United States. At the time, shipping a package across the country typically took days or weeks, routed through multiple carriers. There was no reliable way to know when it would arrive or whether it had even been received. The idea that a company could promise delivery by 10:30 the next morning, regardless of origin or destination, seemed implausible at best.