Amazon uses aggregated third-party seller data to improve its business but says it doesn't use individual seller data for that purpose, according to a document released by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. Amazon said such usage is standard.
Amazon's shipping ambitions are getting bolder, with executive Jeff Wilke saying 30-minute deliveries will be possible for Prime members in certain areas once the company deploys a full drone fleet. Amazon is already testing self-driving vehicles and sidewalk robots as it works to shave off delivery time.
Webinar - What's on tap in manufacturing and distribution in 2020? It's almost 2020, do you know what you need to be ready? Register for the webinar on Thursday, December 5th at 2 PM EST where experts from Netsuite and Deloitte will discuss what's ahead and what strategies will work best to remain competitive as they head into next year.
Cyberrisk, particularly when it comes to data and supply chain systems, has become a top-level business concern, according to this Zurich Insurance Group analysis. Companies need to consider "cost, security and speed" when thinking about creating businesses that are resilient.
Salespeople should stop focusing on price when they sell and instead concentrate on metrics such as total cost of ownership, return on investment and business value, writes David Brock. "Price never addresses the business return, productivity improvements, or economic value we produce with the customer," Brock writes.
For small businesses dealing with high shipment volumes or complex products, having to fulfill every new order in-house can quickly become overwhelming. But given their limited resources, how can small businesses grow more efficient without depleting their budget or overwhelming their staff? The answer might just be on-demand warehousing.
As businesses like Amazon and Walmart introduce streamlined services for e-commerce fulfillment and distribution, customer expectations are evolving in-kind. But without equal funding, how can small and mid-sized companies optimize their supply chains to remain competitive? For a growing number of firms, the answer is on-demand warehousing.
Leaders need to set a "commander's intent" that gives team members a clear sense about why a task is important, what it will result in and where the boundaries are, writes Scott Eblin. "Remember, that although you're not giving explicit directions, you are providing clear direction," he writes.
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Two things are clear: Major portions of the sales process will be digitized, and the sales force isn't going anywhere. What portions will be digitized and what new value-add will be created? What will remain in the hands of the sales force? Find out the answers to these questions and more by joining this cutting-edge NAW and Texas A&M University consortium, and you'll be ahead of the rest of the industry. Get details and sign up.
This study brings together best practices from leading distributors and their suppliers that were developed through a consortium on Optimizing Channel Compensation. The resulting Channel Alignment Framework is the first-of-its-kind map that seeks to build optimal manufacturer-distributor channels. Distributors need to read this book and buy it for their manufacturer partners. Then they need to sit down with those suppliers and properly plan effective processes to get the supplier market access while meeting distributor investment needs.
