The Syracuse Online Business blog recently published my article, “At Amazon, Supply Chain Innovations Deliver Results.”
This is a detailed look at how Amazon has steadily improved its supply chain efficiency and delivery speed to habituate customers to faster, more convenient shopping.
Brought to you by MBA@Syracuse: MBA@Syracuse’s Supply Chain Management specialization
Third-party logistics?
As the company grows ever larger, Amazon increasingly invests in assets–buildings, trucks, planes and “gig economy” delivery workers–that allow it to control its own logistics, setting up a situation where it may eventually rival its main supply chain partners, UPS and FedEx. Many wonder if the company will turn excess capacity and institutional expertise into a marketable logistics service, in the same way it turned Amazon Web Services into a cash cow.
Whether you love the company or hate it, there is no denying it is drowning its competitors. With a huge head start on Wal-mart, Target, Alibaba and others, it’s hard to see how they can catch up. Only time will tell whether anyone or anything–changing technologies, market preferences, or internal mistakes–can halt or even slow Amazon’s advance.
