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> Amazon is a logistics company We hear this said of Amazon, and that's also Uber's ambition. But isn't Walmart also a logistics company? Isn't every big com

by neilk 10y ago

> Amazon is a logistics company We hear this said of Amazon, and that's also Uber's ambition. But isn't Walmart also a logistics company? Isn't every big company that makes or moves around physical items?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
adyus 10y ago
Yes. Some are more successful than others.
colechristensen 10y ago
Not as much. Amazon sells it's fulfillment services directly. AWS should be obvious, but they also sell fulfillment services. Not just whitelabel spam products from /r/Entrepreneur either. Amazon can do the entire logistics chain from accepting products shipped from your manufacturer to processing the payment in your own web store. [1] [1] https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.htm https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.h...
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  Trying to understand: WalMart is logistics, but their logistics customer is WalMart, and the only way in is to sell in a WalMart store. Amazon effectively thinks outside the Big Box, and will let anyone sell anything within the Amazon marketplace. I'm not sure if third-party websites w/ Amazon back-end and fulfillment are a thing, but that's a possibility. In which case, Amazon effectively sells a marketplace, ordering, and delivery logistics system to its merchandise suppliers. Maybe. I'm not entirely sure I'm a fan of the "Company X isn't in Market Y, they're actually in Market Z" meme, but it's got utility. The problems I'm seeing with Amazon now are on two fronts. One is that the actual product review/selection process stinks -- too little control over quality and relevance of what's presented. If I go to a third party, one specialising only in the products of interest to me, I can get a far more appropriate selection of items, and I value that. The other is morality. Bezos is an asshole and screws people over -- techies, noncompetes, warehouse workers, competitors, and more. I've got a problem with that. I may be in the minority, but that is something which ultimately matters. Perhaps it's the only thing which ultimately matters.

by neilk 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

adyus 10y ago

Yes. Some are more successful than others.

colechristensen 10y ago

Not as much. Amazon sells it's fulfillment services directly. AWS should be obvious, but they also sell fulfillment services. Not just whitelabel spam products from /r/Entrepreneur either. Amazon can do the entire logistics chain from accepting products shipped from your manufacturer to processing the payment in your own web store. [1] [1] https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.htm https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.h...

dredmorbius 10y ago
Trying to understand: WalMart is logistics, but their logistics customer is WalMart, and the only way in is to sell in a WalMart store. Amazon effectively thinks outside the Big Box, and will let anyone sell anything within the Amazon marketplace. I'm not sure if third-party websites w/ Amazon back-end and fulfillment are a thing, but that's a possibility. In which case, Amazon effectively sells a marketplace, ordering, and delivery logistics system to its merchandise suppliers. Maybe. I'm not entirely sure I'm a fan of the "Company X isn't in Market Y, they're actually in Market Z" meme, but it's got utility. The problems I'm seeing with Amazon now are on two fronts. One is that the actual product review/selection process stinks -- too little control over quality and relevance of what's presented. If I go to a third party, one specialising only in the products of interest to me, I can get a far more appropriate selection of items, and I value that. The other is morality. Bezos is an asshole and screws people over -- techies, noncompetes, warehouse workers, competitors, and more. I've got a problem with that. I may be in the minority, but that is something which ultimately matters. Perhaps it's the only thing which ultimately matters.