The thought of ordering an item online and receiving it the same day, just a few hours later seems unrealistic. With technology becoming more integrated in our world and the demand for instant gratification, this unrealistic idea is now a reality. Major corporations like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and EBay have adopted this new service of same-day delivery. It is really testing the limits of supply chain management, and now a whole new look on logistics is being placed in the hands of these corporations.
Wal-Mart , is sitting at an advantage because of its massive fleet of stores across the country. They use their 4,005 locations as inventory holders and distribution centers, so now when you order something before noon you can receive it by that evening. Workers will literally go down the aisle and collect the item you want, which is later delivered to your door. Even though this service is only in the test phase in five major cities, Denver, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, northern Virginia and San Francisco/San Jose, it has proven to be a huge success thus far.
Amazon has a new technology that now sends your order to the closest of its 40 massive and highly efficient distribution centers that has same day service available. From here a robot find your item and places it in a place where a human can package it and ship it to you just in time before the day is over. This is pretty crazy, right? Wait till read this next corporation’s new strategy!
EBay, a dominant online seller has a brand-new beta service that brings same day delivery to an even new level. It currently operates in beta form in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose. This service involves personal shoppers, or “valets, that EBay will send to pick up a good you have just ordered. They will literally drive to the outlet from which you ordered it from through EBay, and deliver it to your doorstep that same day, sometimes even within only few hours! If this doesn’t impress you then this will. EBay now even offers an iOS app that you can use to buy, and track your item for same day delivery. This app tracks your “valets” progress in real time so you know exactly where he/she is, what step of the delivery they are on, and how far away they are from your home. This tracking app will even give you a picture of what the “valet” looks like so you can recognize them when they arrive. Once they have arrived, all you have to do is simply swipe your credit card, or pay with PayPal. The best part about this service is that it costs only $5, yes that’s it!
With this extremely gratifying service from these corporations how do you think it tests the limits of supply chain management and inventory management? Could this be the future for online shopping or delivery? Do you think implementing the service that EBay has in many other corporations could add a lot of jobs to the economy?
Sources:
http://www.wired.com/insights/2013/05/once-refined-same-day-delivery-will-be-commonplace/
http://blog.apptricity.com/bid/283436/How-Walmart-and-Others-Are-Achieving-Same-Day-Delivery