Obscene Amount of Stuff

 This week's learning was about operational management. I read numerous articles about Amazon and their amazing logistics and state of the art supply chain. I discovered the obscene amounts of vehicles of transportation they have in their employ. One variety is shipping containers. 10,000 of them. They are very useful as they are able to be filled by suppliers overseas, loaded onto trains at docks and then lastly put on semi-trailers. It was September 2023 when my husband and I were on an overlanding trip through Arizona, Utah and Colorado. We were in Utah when we first saw the long train carrying shipping containers bearing the familiar Amazon Prime logo. It was an astounding amount of containers. We counted 85 rail cars, each carrying 2 containers, all Amazon. We pondered what was in them and where were they headed. Then in Southern Colorado, we saw another one. That time we lost count. Once again, we discussed the possible contents. We couldn't decide if it was just an obscene amount of stuff or so many necessary items that people are waiting for. Either way, seeing that long snaking train on the beautiful desert landscape was awe inspiring and thought provoking. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How many water bottles does one need?

Image
I grew up in Chicago. One of those kids that played outside all day, came in when the street lights came on and drank water from the hose. There were no water bottles when we went to the store, went to the park and not at school. There were water fountains. Was that a good thing? Who knows. Now I'm almost never without a water bottle. I started out with nalgenes. I have lots of them, some with stickers all over them, most all scratched up, wide mouth small mouth, 1 litre, 32 once and on and on. Stuck with those for years. Now, it's a Yeti. She goes everywhere with me. I still love my nalgenes for any hiking or kayaking. What I don't own is a Stanley. I think I'm the only one.  When I think of Stanley, I think of my dad taking his thermos and lunch box to work. I think they are cool looking but I can't see the extreme appeal. I'd say 90% of the people I work with have them. They have multiples, one to match each color of their scrubs. Marketing is extraordinary.
Read more

Social Media's gift to Stanley

When a woman's car caught on fire, her Stanley cup didn't burn and actually still had ice in it when the fire was finally extinguished.  So, the Stanley company not only gave her a new cup, they gave her a new car! After the fire, the woman whose car was destroyed, took to social media about the cup. It went absolutely viral. This my friends, is the greatest marketing gift the Stanley company could have ever dreamed of.   The viral social media post was the best free advertising they could have ever asked for. This woman did the positioning and differentiation for them. She positioned the Stanley cup by knocking out all other products in her mind when it was still there, untouched after the fire. She differentiated the cup by promoting the fact that it still had ice in it.  I'm sure the cost of the car was only a slight blip in Stanley's budget but it that kind of free promotion is hard to monetize. I say good for them and good for her.  (I promise next blog won't b
Read more

If bleeding out is the end goal, the insurance company wins

In Klines lecture, he talks about Kant's interpretation of utilitarianism, and the "right" what we ought to do is determined by performing a cost benefit analysis. Insurance companies take this deeply to heart. But unfortunately they are dealing with real human lives. Insurance companies are looking for the greatest good, yes, that is their goal, but at what cost? Is the greatest good for their financial sake or for the sake of the members health? We learned in the lecture that there are two moral rules for Kant. In the second rule, never treat someone solely as a means, but also as an end in themselves. To treat someone solely is a means is just to use them. People pay premiums to the insurance companies that is a means. In return the insurance company provides the member with an opportunity to get medical treatment when needed and not to pay the full amount that is billed. This sounds great on paper. The insurance companies make it sound and look like they are always ou
Read more