Back Office


Do Business

Corporate Headquarters/Office/Call Centers

Over the past few years, Memphis has been chosen as the location for two of the nation's largest companies. In 2005, International Paper relocated its global headquarters from Stamford, CT to Memphis. In 2006, ServiceMaster announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Memphis. These great companies joined others like FedEx, AutoZone have discovered the advantages of calling Memphis home. 


DID YOU KNOW?

  • FedEx employs over 31,000 Memphians.
  • Memphis is the corporate headquarters for six Fortune 1000 companies.
  • Corporate real estate rates in Memphis are some of the lowest in the nation.
  • Memphis' low cost of living and low taxes means corporate workers have more money in their pockets.
  • 235 Headquarter Companies employing more than 110,000 people
  • 10,470 IT Workers
  • Memphis International Airport offers non-stop domestic flights to 53 destinations.

 

Quick Links
Corporate Headquarters Corporate Shared Services
Back Office Operations Workforce and Average Wages

 

Corporate Headquarters

A rich tradition of entrepreneurship combined with Memphis’ business climate produces a long and diverse list of companies calling Memphis home. “Home-grown” companies like FedEx and AutoZone started small and discovered that Memphis is a nurturing place for talent and business growth.

FedEx

FedEx, Memphis’ largest private employer employing 31,000 people and ranked 63rd on the 2013 Fortune 500, moved its corporate headquarters to Memphis from Little Rock, AR in 1973.

Memphis was selected for its geographical center to the original target market cities for small packages. In addition, the Memphis weather was excellent and rarely caused closures at Memphis International Airport. The airport was also willing to make the necessary improvements for the operation.

In 1978, Federal Express Corporation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. FedEx has evolved and grown as a company, originally a package courier, to a highly diversified entity offering an array of services through its family of companies.

International Paper

In 2005, International Paper decided to relocate its global headquarters to Memphis. International Paper has significant global businesses in paper and paper distribution, packaging and forest products, including building materials. This Fortune 500 company has operations in nearly 40 countries, employs approximately 70,000 people worldwide and exports its products to more than 120 nations.

Sales of around $26 billion annually are derived from businesses located primarily in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia/Pacific and Canada. International Paper employs almost 2,200 people in the Memphis area.

AutoZone

AutoZone is a Memphis-based auto parts chain that opened its first retail store in Forrest City, Arkansas on July 4, 1979.  Ranked 306th on the 2013 Fortune 500, AutoZone is opening more stores per year than any other retail auto parts chain in the nation.

AutoZone had sales of more than $8.6 billion in fiscal 2012 and has over 3,600 stores in 48 U.S. states and Mexico. All stores are company-operated. Locally, AutoZone employs more than 1,300 people.

ServiceMaster

ServiceMaster Consumer Services has their operational headquarters and headquarters for ten of their corporate divisions in Memphis.

[BACK TO TOP]
 

Back Office Operations

With an IT, financial and customer service workforce of more than 40,200 people, 621,000 square feet of available class A office and a robust fiber optics network, Memphis is the choice location for the back operations of cost conscious companies.

Call Centers

More than 160 call centers operate in the Memphis metro area across all industries including mail-order pharmacies, help desk, government services and hotel reservations. These companies employ over 100,000 people and provide customer service to patrons throughout the globe.

  • Central Time Zone location provides longer incoming and outgoing calling hours allowing companies to reach a broader customer base.
  • More than 68,000 full time and part time college students available as a labor pool for call center operations (within a 50-mile radius)
  • State training assistance and dollars available for customer service representatives and technical service representatives

The interconnectivity of the world’s global market now requires your call center, data center or headquarters to hire employees that speak a variety of languages. In 2011, over 94,000 adult Mid-Southerners were able to speak a foreign language. Languages spoken in Memphis include Spanish or Spanish Creole, Indo-European languages, Asian and Pacific languages, and other languages.

Telecommunications

With hundreds of millions of dollars in investment by public and private organizations into local communications technology, Memphis is an international leader in telecommunications services and one of the first United States cities with broad availability of services, a top quality workforce and incentives to help your company grow:

  • Total self-healing fiber optics network in place.
  • 100% of the city's central offices are served by fiber optics, and a Local Area Network (LAN) encircles the downtown business district.
  • More than 6,100 telecommunications workers
  • 11 Fiber Optic Providers

Local Fiber Providers 

Companies have many choices in the Memphis area for fiber and bandwidth services. Eleven companies – including AT&T, Time Warner Telecom and Zayo Bandwidth - provide large enterprise and small businesses with cloud services for voice and storage as well as internet access and co-location services. 

[BACK TO TOP]
 

Corporate Shared Services

An increasing number of companies are turning to the concept of "shared services" to lower operating expenses and gain competitive advantage. With our low cost of real estate, plentiful universities and training facilities, and extremely low cost of living, Memphis is the ideal location for corporate office, back-office and shared corporate service facilities.

 
Memphis offers the perfect environment for these types of facilities and shows strength in the following areas.

  • Financial shared service centers: These frequently include accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, travel and entertainment expense, purchasing, and other financial and accounting activities.
  • Human resources shared services centers: These commonly include payroll, compensation and fringe benefits, and general human resources administration.
  • Information technology shared services centers: Typically included in these centers are computer help-desk functions, vendor-relations management, and overall IT administration.
  • Hybrid shared services centers: These may combine elements of financial, human resources, and IT shared services as well as other corporate support activities, such as real estate facility management and legal services.

There are more than 20 known shared services and data centers in the Memphis area, providing IT and other services to their branches across the globe. These companies include:

  • International Paper
  • Pfizer
  • NYK
  • Schwan’s
  • TBS
  • FedEx
  • ServiceMaster
  • Autozone

Colocation Centers 

Colocation centers can offer small-to-medium sized companies a solution their network security, maintenance and storage. Memphis is home to six colocation centers that offer their customers access to climate controlled facilities that are equipped with latest security, 24/7 on-site support and ongoing maintenance of servers and the data stored on their networks. If your company is looking for assistance with IT management and data storage without the added cost or square footage, a colocation center may be the solution you’ll need. 

[BACK TO TOP]
 

Corporate / IT / Telecommunications Workforce and Average Wages

Hourly Administrative Wage Comparison by MSA

Occupation
Memphis
Atlanta
Nashville
Austin
Boston
Charlotte
Office and Administrative Support Occupations $15.93 $16.79 $15.89 $16.80 $19.47 $16.57
General and Operations Manager
$47.55
 $56.13 $48.89 $55.13 $63.26 $63.40
Customer Service Representatives $16.21 $17.22 $14.96 $15.53 $19.24 $16.08

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics

 


Memphis Metro Area Wages

Call Center / Headquarter / Data Center Hourly Wages

Occupation
Low
 Average High
Office Clerks, General $9.50 $14.10 $16.45 
Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
$10.50
 $14.90 $17.10
Receptionists and Information Clerks $9.30 $12.25 $13.70
Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants $14.30 $20.00 $22.85

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development


Call Center / Headquarter / Data Center Annual Wages

Occupation
Low
 Average High
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Office and Administrative Support Workers
$32,070
 $50,560 $54,777
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service $19,230 $26,240 $29,750 
Bill and Account Collectors $21,910 $28,710  $32,110
Billing and Posting Clerks and Machine Operators $25,870 $33,880  $37,890
Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks  $27,150 $31,630 $32,021 
Customer Service Representatives  $20,860 $31,870 $37,370
Data Entry Keyers  $19,110  $26,390 $30,030 

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development


Computer / IT Annual Wages

Occupation
Low
 Average High
Network and Computer Systems Administrators  $45,690 $67,150  $77,880
Database Administrators
$44,660
 $73,470 $87,870
Information Security Analysts, Web Developers, and Computer Network Architects $44,190 $67,480 $79,130
Computer Support Specialists $32,460 $49,000 $57,270

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development


[BACK TO TOP]

LEARN MORE