Uber’s success in disrupting transportation has led to enormous VC funding of “Uber-for-X” businesses where smartphones are used to connect customers with nearby workers on demand. A number of startups have entered the same-day / same-hour delivery market with the intent of fundamentally transforming how we shop and eat.
Read MoreLast mile delivery is going to change significantly over the next few decades. A sea-change is upon the Logistics industry and as is often the case when an industry is about to be turned upside-down, there are a number of converging factors, both societal and technological, that are accelerating the pace of change.
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The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Amazon is looking for warehouse space in Sydney's west. Reminds me of a great quote from Richard Goyder, Wesfarmer Managing Director, when speaking of the threat Amazon poses to Australia retailers:
"Amazon will eat all our breakfasts, lunches and dinners"
I couldn't agree more; retailers in Australia should be worried, very worried. According to a recent survey, more than 50% of U.S. online shoppers begin their product searches on Amazon.com which is really bad news for U.S. retailers. I would expect the same results here.
Read MoreBloomberg Businessweek recently released a report by Devin Leonard, entitled “Will Amazon Kill FedEx?”. Fred Smith, CEO FedEx from the report:
Concerns about industry disruption continue to be fueled by fantastical -- and I chose this word carefully -- articles and reports,” Smith said on a conference call with analysts and investors. “In all likelihood, the primary deliverers of e-commerce shipments for the foreseeable future will be UPS, the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx.
Reading these words, my mind can't help but track back to to this statement by Research in Motion Co-CEO Jim Balsillie in 2007 following the release of the first iPhone:
Read MoreLast week Uber announced that they would begin testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh and that they had acquired Otto, a 90-person start-up that focuses on technology for self-driving trucks. Otto develops sensors and radars that can be quickly outfitted onto existing trucks. Otto’s goal (for now) is for the truck to be fully autonomous on the highways while the driver rests, and the driver takes over for exits and driving in cities. The technology is pretty compelling as...
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Walmart acquired jet.com, an aggressive eCommerce player founded in 2014 to take on Amazon, for $3.3 bn. Walmart is a distant second to Amazon in online sales in the US - $14 billion compared to $63 billion for Amazon. More troubling, however, has been Walmart's declining year over year eCommerce sales growth. With eCommerce, Walmart has adapted an Omni-channel fulfillment strategy which makes sense on paper - 90% of Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart store so the stores can serve as eCommerce fulfillment centers for the last mile delivery...
Read Moreravel time by warehouse pickers typically accounts for 50-60% of the total order fulfillment costs and considering that Amazon ships upwards of 5 billion items per year , optimizing the order fulfillment process has an enormous impact on Amazon’s bottom line. In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva for $775 million and rolled out robots in their distribution centers in 2014...
Read MoreSpoiler alert, it's Amazon there are no markups, and the service is free to Amazon Prime members. May the force be with Amazon's competitors.
Evan Hoopfer, writing for the Dallas Business Journal:
“Amazon is expanding its produce delivery services in Dallas...The service is part of Amazon’s “Prime Now,” which delivers goods in hours.”
What do you do when faced with a vastly stronger competitor? You team up. This seems like a no-brainer especially for small to mid-size retailers. The breadth and depth of knowledge required to master e-commerce is staggering and not many retailers have the resources, technology, or logistics infrastructure to compete.
Techgistics provides analysis on emerging technologies and startups in logistics and supply chain, focusing specifically on Blockchain, eCommerce, and last mile delivery problems.
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