Subject: Re: Who will do Fulfillment? (was: Re: Kudos to our moderator) From: docdon@pinn.net (Don Taylor) Date: Sat, 22 Apr 1995 03:36:00 -0500

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Outstanding perception Bob. This is how technology like the Net brings major
shifts in the world. And to think the subject came up on a news list rather
than a marketing one.

At 02:41 PM 4/21/95 -0700, Bob Wyman wrote:
>
>It has been suggested by some that the fulfillment demand that will be 
>generated by the online transactions will actually be responsible for 
>spawning a new companion business to the online world. This would be the 
>business of local fulfillment vendors who provide wharehousing and order 
>fulfillment services as an out-sourced function. Vendors would set up 
>accounts with these folk, provide them with inventory and then have them 
>take the orders, ship them, bill for them, etc. as a service.
>
>There are probably other businesses that will find that an increase in 
>online ordering will shift the sands just a bit. We will probably also see a 
>number of businesses created that compete with walk-in stores without 
>actually offering any walk-in service themselves. These new businesses would 
>be operating with much lower fixed costs of course. (i.e. cheaper buildings 
>in cheaper locations, many actually remote from the customers they serve.)
>
>The point here is really just to say that we must all remember that 
>technological changes are almost always followed by systemic changes -- many 
>of which cannot be anticipated. It is not sufficient for newspapers to 
>provide access to online transaction processing systems. They will also have 
>to be involved in training vendors to deal with a new business model -- one 
>which is based on new technologies and assumptions about customer service. 
>Newspapers may even find that to make the transaction business work, they 
>will have to partner with or even help create the required fulfillment 
>houses. (How is that for convergence? Not just telphone and television... 
>Now, we've got newspapers, online services, and mail-order all in the same 
>business plan!)

    Don

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