We didn't have enough warehouses, and now there's a space race
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Illustration: Peter and Maria Hoey

 

Dear reader,



After World War II, executives at a small Japanese car company named
Toyota developed a system for manufacturing that became known as
"just-in-time" logistics. It aimed to deliver component parts of an
engine or other features "just in time" before they were needed for
assembly.

This philosophy grew to become the dominant way of thinking about
manufacturing and retail. If you're predicting exactly how many people
will buy your products, produce and ship only that amount of demand, you
don't waste money on storing inventory, and earn higher profits. It
works great-until it doesn't.

Prospect senior editor Gabrielle Gurley writes in our latest issue about
how just-in-time failed in the supply chain crisis, leading to a mad
scramble for warehouse space. Rents for warehouse space are soaring, and
Amazon in particular has massively upscaled its warehouse locations,
setting a disturbing standard in the industry for backbreaking work,
constant surveillance, and hostility to labor.

You can read Gabrielle's story here.

You can read all the stories in our special issue, How We Broke the
Supply Chain, as they are released, at
prospect.org/supplychain

And, you can help support this work by becoming a member today
. All of the reader support we receive
funds our editorial mission: illuminating stories about ideas, politics
and power.

If you're already a Prospect member, THANK YOU!

We can't do special issues like this without you. And if the Prospect
doesn't do it, there aren't many other places that will.

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Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
David Dayen, Executive Editor
The American Prospect

 

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