Monday, January 20, 2014

Amazon's ambition of fast delivery

Amazon.com, an international electric commerce company, is planning to reform its transportation system for faster delivery. It will start delivery of the item you order before you really order it. This innovative system is patented as "anticipatory shipping".

WSJ: Amazon Wants to Ship Your Package Before You Buy It

"Shipping before ordering" sounds fantastic, but it is not so different from the current scheme in essence. Every venders have to anticipate the contents and amount of orders. Point of Sales (POS) system and related strategies to keep the stock appropriate have been widely spread. Amazon.com is about to reinvent them.

Nevertheless, Amazon's attempt is ambitious. Equipping excessive amount of stock is a great risk for industries. One of the advantages of Amazon is minimizing the stock. If this new system does not work well, losing this merit, Amazon will face to a serious peril.

Nowadays, the absolute importance of transportation is decreasing. In the US, the amount of sales of e-books are larger than paper books in Amazon. There are few people to buy music or computer softwares in an optical disk. In addition, 3D printers will be utilized in the near future. What will Amazon do then?

Of course, Amazon will deal with some other goods which need real delivery. Fresh foods will be expanded if the new delivery methods are established. Perhaps monthly contract will be started. Even cooking service will be accompanied. These services will be useful especially in seniors. Amazon itself will be an infrastructure, or even lifeline.

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