Supply Chain Logistics
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As more and more businesses turn to on-line purchasing, their means of supplying the customer with those goods has undergone a drastic change. No longer does the consumer have to drive to a store in order to purchase a wanted item, all that is needed is a computer, in internet connection and the url for the company. By logging onto a web site hosted by a company a consumer is able to browse on-line catalogues of items offered, select which item or items appeal to them, place the purchase request and pay for the purchase without having to leave the comfort of their home or office.
In todays market we are seeing a much easier flow of upstream information, consumer to producer and of downstream information, producer to consumer (IEEE, 2005). In order to facilitate a downstream flow of information so consumers can make informed decisions there will be a continued need for information aggregators. A single manufacturer wont be able to perform all of the processing steps for a consumer but there will no longer be a need for a middle man to basically repackage the order.
Packages are now able to go directly from the business to the consumer without the hassle (or extra cost) of a warehouse, or retailer. Point-to-point shipping is available from web based markets using such shipping services as Federal Express, United Parcel Service and the United States mail. Since businesses doing a large amount of shipping are able to negotiate better shipping costs than a consumer could often the shipping of a product is free or at least at a greatly reduced rate. Free shipping is simply another bonus to the consumer along with the ease of on-line purchasing.
References
Singh, Munidar (December, 1999). The End of the Supply Chain? IEEE Internet Computing. Retrieved September 28, 2005 from the World Wide Web: