Many e-tail questions, few answers
Online retailing is changing how consumers shop and how supply chains fill their orders. What that all means for the future is anyone’s guess.
Given the number of deliveries each of us receives from Amazon, it’s hard to remember that between 2000 and 2002, the first wave of online retailing crashed as the dot.com bubble burst. Many of the failed online retailers suffered from a lack of basic logistics knowledge that contributed to their demise.
What was taking place in the online retail marketplace at that time? For starters, early online retailers were typically funded by readily available investment capital and supported by financial markets that rewarded rapid growth over sound business plans and profitability.
As online sales exploded, many misguided investments were made in transportation and warehousing assets. Price competition between online retailers was brutal, and free shipping and returns crept into the marketplace as online sellers looked for ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. As this was happening, traditional brick-and mortar retailers were developing their own strategies to cope with the new competitive environment. The fulfillment space became increasingly crowded.
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Given the number of deliveries each of us receives from Amazon, it’s hard to remember that between 2000 and 2002, the first wave of online retailing crashed as the dot.com bubble burst. Many of the failed online retailers suffered from a lack of basic logistics knowledge that contributed to their demise.
What was taking place in the online retail marketplace at that time? For starters, early online retailers were typically funded by readily available investment capital and supported by financial markets that rewarded rapid growth over sound business plans and profitability.
As online sales exploded, many misguided investments were made in transportation and warehousing assets. Price competition between online retailers was brutal, and free shipping and returns crept into the marketplace as online sellers looked for ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. As this was happening, traditional brick-and mortar retailers were developing their own strategies to cope with the new competitive environment. The fulfillment space became increasingly crowded.
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