Amazon And Alibaba Bet The Future On Supply Chain Management: eRetailers Invest Big In Logistics
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Companies like Amazon and Alibaba are taking over the business world. Educating themselves and investing is supply chain is exactly how they can achieve their success. Being a member of Amazon Prime and ordering from them frequently, I have to admit, I have a bias towards them. They are able to be fast and reliable at the same time. But, what exactly is supply chain? It can be explained as a network of producers and service providers that work together to convert and move goods from its raw materials stage to its end user. In this day and age, supply chain has become more important than ever.
A big performance dimension of supply chain is time. Normally time is thought to have two dimensions; speed and consistency. Many of us have become accustomed to the "right now" lifestyle. We want things as quick as possible. When it comes to our food or lines at the grocery store, quicker is better. Amazon has done an amazing job of recognizing what the average American wants. It's Amazon's same day delivery that gets anyone hooked. And this is why, supply chain has become such an important part to any business.
But then we start to ask ourselves about the tradeoffs that come with increasing a performance dimension. Does faster delivery come with less reliability? Some may say Amazon needs to worry more about their consistency and reliability as it outweighs the need for speed. In my opinion, Amazon isn't trading off anything. In all my experiences, Amazon has figured out a way to be fast and reliable. Every package has come on time and is always in great shape.
From an online to store to the world's biggest supply chain company, Amazon's investments in more cargo jets will allow Amazon to increase their shipping volume. Faster service equals happier customers. And I don't see Amazon disappointing anyone any time soon. Amazon has figured it out early, that there needs to be more focus in the supply chain within the company and I commend them for it.
