Logistics & Transportation · SD-WAN Deployment · FedEx Corporation
SD-WAN Deployment Project Manager Simulation — FedEx Corporation
Deploy Cisco SD-WAN across 2,200+ sites spanning three FedEx operating companies — Express, Ground, and Freight — each with its own network ops team, its own priorities, and its own definition of 'critical site.' Coordinate three parallel workstreams under a single vendor engagement while managing a shared MPLS backbone that cannot tolerate downtime, automated sorting hubs that demand guaranteed bandwidth, and a hard peak-season freeze that blocks all network changes during FedEx's busiest quarter. The technology is straightforward. The coordination is not. Gain hands-on project management experience over 27 days of real decisions, stakeholders, and PMO deliverables — no prior experience required.
The scenario
FedEx Corporation — $94B in annual revenue, 500,000+ employees, 2,200+ facilities across three operating companies — is deploying Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela platform) to replace its legacy MPLS network backbone. The project spans FedEx Express (650+ stations and 12 air hubs handling international and overnight shipments), FedEx Ground (600+ facilities including 39 automated sorting hubs processing 12M+ packages daily), and FedEx Freight (350+ service centers, many in rural locations with limited ISP availability). The business driver is threefold: MPLS costs are $47M annually and rising, the legacy network cannot support the bandwidth demands of FedEx's IoT and real-time tracking initiatives, and each operating company is independently evaluating network solutions — creating a fragmentation risk. Rob Carter, EVP & CIO, secured board approval for a unified SD-WAN deployment to modernize the network, reduce costs by 35-40% over 5 years, and create a single, software-defined network fabric across all three operating companies. The challenge is not primarily technical — Cisco SD-WAN is mature technology. The challenge is coordination. FedEx's three operating companies have operated as semi-independent entities since the 2000 acquisition of RPS (now Ground) and the 2001 FedEx Freight formation. Each has its own network operations team, its own priorities, and its own definition of 'critical site.' The PM must run three parallel deployment workstreams under a single programme umbrella, with a shared vendor (Accenture) whose 14-person team is being asked to context-switch across three OpCo environments. A migration failure at any site affects the shared MPLS backbone — meaning one OpCo's problem can cascade to all three.
What you'll do as the project manager
- →Deploy Cisco SD-WAN to 2,200+ sites across three operating companies — Express (650+), Ground (600+), Freight (350+) — replacing legacy MPLS as the primary WAN transport
- →Achieve 35-40% WAN cost reduction ($16-19M annually) by transitioning from dedicated MPLS to broadband + LTE underlay with SD-WAN overlay
- →Deliver guaranteed bandwidth and application-aware routing for Ground's automated sorting hub systems — 4K camera feeds, conveyor sensors, and sort-plan downloads require sub-50ms latency
- →Complete Phase 1 (pilot + first 400 sites across all three OpCos) before the November peak-season freeze, establishing the deployment playbook for Phase 2 scale-out
- →Establish a unified network operations model with centralized vManage visibility across all three operating companies — breaking the OpCo silo for network management
Project management skills you'll build
The challenges you'll navigate
- •Cross-OpCo coordination failure — three independent network teams with no history of joint operations could delay or block integrated deployment
- •Ground bandwidth validation — Marcus Thompson's team has not confirmed that SD-WAN can meet the 500Mbps/sub-50ms SLA for automated sorting hubs. Failure here blocks 39 critical sites
- •Accenture resource contention — 14-person team quoted for sequential deployment being asked to run parallel tracks. Context-switching may degrade quality and velocity
- •Peak-season freeze creates a hard deadline — any schedule slip pushes deployment into a 10-week blackout period, adding 3+ months to the timeline
- •Freight ISP availability — 40% of Freight sites lack dual-ISP options, requiring LTE or satellite backup procurement with uncertain lead times
Technology & stakeholders
You'll manage 7 stakeholders, including Rob Carter (EVP & Chief Information Officer), Jill Brannon (SVP, IT Operations & Infrastructure), Ryan Kelly (VP Network Engineering, FedEx Express), and more.
What you'll walk away with
A verified, shareable record of a completed enterprise project — plus the PMO deliverables you produced along the way (charter, project plan, SteerCo deck, closure document). It's real, demonstrable project management experience you can put on your resume and speak to in interviews.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need project management experience to start?
No. This simulation is built for aspiring and practicing project managers alike — you learn by doing. You make real decisions and get feedback, with no PMP or prior PM job required.
How long does this simulation take?
It runs over 27 days, roughly 25 minutes per day, covering the full project lifecycle from initiation to closure.
What will I learn?
You practice the core of project management — stakeholder management, budget and schedule control, risk, scope, and PMO governance — in the context of sd-wan deployment in logistics & transportation.
Is this based on the real FedEx Corporation?
It's a realistic scenario inspired by FedEx Corporation and the Logistics & Transportation sector. Details and names are fictionalized for training — it's a simulation, not a record of any actual project.
What do I get at the end?
A verified project completion plus the PMO deliverables you produced (charter, plan, SteerCo deck, closure) — proof of hands-on experience you can show employers.
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