Amazon and the ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme!’ Economy

Waiting is SO last year.

Here’s the dilemma: You have got to get your hands on the new Jawbone UP24. I mean—there are precious calories being burned that you need to know about. But the store that sells them is wayyy down the street, and you’ve been sitting in your Ninja Turtles pajamas all day, with no wardrobe change in sight. Plus, there’s a ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ marathon on, so let’s be honest—you’re not going anywhere. The solution? Order it online. Hmm…that could take a while though, and you want your new swag by Monday so you can show it off to all your coworkers. If only there was a—wait a minute! What’s this? Sunday delivery? Praise Jesus!

It’s not an act of God—it’s Amazon (yes, there’s a difference). The former online bookstore has unveiled a new partnership with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver online orders on Sundays, which started last weekend in Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas. The company plans to expand out to a large portion of the country in 2014—including Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix.

“Adding an additional day is all about delivery speed.” — Dave Clark, Amazon VP of worldwide operations and customer service

Well, duh.

This news shouldn’t be a surprise though, as Amazon has been spending billions of dollars for some time—building new warehouses around the world with the goal of delivering products more quickly. Ever heard of AmazonFresh? The service has allowed customers to select from more than 100,000 non-grocery items, along with their Gatorade and Tylenol PMs (what, just me?). And get this—it’s been offering Sunday delivery for a while now. So think of this USPS deal as a formally validated next step into a world where you never have to wait.

“The future of package delivery is a seven-day-a-week schedule. We’ve got the capacity to do it.” — Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe

Everyone’s doing it.

And it’s not just Amazon. Google is partnering with Whole Foods, Staples, REI, Target, Walgreens, and others in the San Francisco Bay Area under Google Shopping Express to offer a similar service. As of now, people can have thousands of items delivered to their door with no shipping fee. And eBay has a similar service with eBay Now, which has promised to expand into 25 cities by next year.

All in the name of winning over customers through quicker delivery.

And why not? The benefits could span far beyond instant gratification. In fact, it could be the first step in a push to overhaul how companies manage their supply chain.

Instant gratification = instant feedback.

Look at it this way: The sooner consumers get their hands on a product, the sooner they know if it sucks or not—and the sooner they communicate to the world (via facebook, twitter, blog, etc.) whether it’s something worth buying. This helps the company that released the product react—by either increasing or decreasing production. In other words, the sooner a consumer gets a product, the sooner the company can make educated decisions on its supply chain management. Until then, they’re making million dollar decisions based on guesstimations.

Ok, so what have we learned? That companies like Amazon, Google, and eBay are leading the charge in modernizing the tail end of the supply chain. But who will lead the charge in modernizing the rest?

Glad you asked…