Category Archives: Ecommerce

Amazon’s drone delivery plans within 30 minutes

Posted on December 7, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (December 9,2013) titled “Why Amazon’s Going Up in the Air”, describes the announcement of plans to use drones to deliver individual items to customers within 30 minutes of placing their order. The range of these drones, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations | Tagged Amazon, Consumers, Cost, delivery, drone, Ecommerce, Supply Chain | Leave a comment

Tracking retail customer movements using their cell phones – a prerogative or intrusive ?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (July 14, 2013) describes an experiment at Nordstrom, after informaring customers, that tracked customers “using the wi-fi signals from their smartphones”. But the cell phones unique signature also permits tracking customer repeat trips, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged coupons, Ecommerce, privacy, retail store, smartphone, tracking | 1 Comment

On to the next legal round regarding Apple’s role in ebook pricing

Posted on July 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (July 10,2013) describes the judge’s ruling that Apple coordinated with competing publishers to increase ebook prices. Apple is said to have offered publishers an agency pricing scheme by which it would be paid … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged agency pricing, Amazon, Apple, collusion, competition, Consumers, Coordination, Cost, Ecommerce, Efficiency, prices, publishers, Suppliers | Leave a comment

Ecommerce in Nigeria – motorcycles, tuk tuks and vans to deliver goods and collect funds

Posted on May 15, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the Financial Times (May 14, 2013) describes ecommerce companies in Nigeria like Konga.com and Jumia.com, that permit internet ordering of goods, delivery to the customer and collection of money on delivery. Given worries about fraud, Nigerians prefer … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Capability, Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, Global, Nigeria, Retail, Risk, Service, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

Same day delivery options, pricing and retail competition

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (December 28,2012) describes same day delivery options offered by stores to compete with Amazon. For $ 5, Ebay Now offers delivery options to coffee shops, homes etc same day. Amazon offers same day … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations | Tagged Capability, competition, Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, Retail, Service, Supply Chain, transport | Leave a comment

Decoy bottles to track painkiller medicine robbers

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (January 17,2013) describes a plan by PurduePharma to hold fake decoy bottles with tracking capability in drugstore shelves. When thieves steal painkiller bottles, they emit tracking signals that the New York City police … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Coordination, Cost, Design, Ecommerce, Retail, Service, Supply Chain | 1 Comment

The elections, toy introduction delays and preorders this holiday season

Posted on November 23, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times ( November 20, 2012) describes the increased media buys by candidates this election and thus delays in advertising toys. The focus on detecting hits by manufacturers and retailers is thus claimed to require … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, disruption, Ecommerce, Margins, Retail, Risk, Trends | Leave a comment

Same day delivery by the US Postal service and impact

Posted on November 23, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Associated Press (November 23, 2012) describes a plan by the US Postal service to offer same day delivery – with items picked up from retailers and dropped off to customers in the same metropolitan area the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged competition, delivery, Ecommerce, Retail, Service, Supply Chain, US Postal Service | Leave a comment

The retail supply chain impact of Hurricane Sandy

Posted on November 10, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (November 4, 2012) describes the impact of hurricane Sandy on the retail supply chain, action taken by companies and the possible consequences. With fuel supply shortages, FedEx started using fuel tankers to supply … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Coordination, Demand Surge, disruption, Dual Sourcing, Infrastructure, Inventory, manufacturing, Margins, Retail, Risk, Supply Chain, Water | Leave a comment

Can omni channel marketing help brick and mortar retailers compete this Christmas ?

Posted on November 4, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (November 5,2012) describes a decision by Target, Macy’s and Nordstrom to match online prices to compete gainst Amazon, Gilt and Ebay. Offering same day delivery from store inventory, choosing unique items only made for specific retailers … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged Consumers, Cost, Ecommerce, Efficiency, Infrastructure, Inventory, Retail, Service, Suppliers, Supply Chain | 3 Comments