| an enormously high value-to-weight ratio. There is almost
no product except diamonds that has a ratio as high. They are very easily shipped and,
true, they can be damaged, buy they’re fairly sturdy. All over the world
transportation costs of books are artificially low. They are subsidized heavily. In this
country, the best guess is that it costs the post office four times what it charges. So
books are easy, but tractors aren’t quite that easy. And perishables are hopeless. So
I would say there is high probability that you will see develop a system in which selling
is online and delivery is in a physical location. At Japanese 7-Elevens, the online pickup
system already accounts for about 40% of what the store sells. The 7-Eleven gets a
small commission, but it costs them nothing, it’s pure gravy. So I think that is one
of the likely things. Other changes are also profound. Because for the first time selling,
making, and delivery are separated. The center of power has been shifting to distribution
now for 50 years. |
That’s accelerated several orders of magnitude. How
many manufacturing plants will survive? Not many. But so far the distributor has
squandered that power. The distributors already have the brands but only a very few of the
very big manufacturers have brands that have real standing in the consumer market. In
other areas, the design of a product,
its manufacture, marketing and servicing will become separate businesses. They will be
owned by the same financial control but basically run as separate businesses. Ford is
considered a manufacturing company , but they don’t manufacture
anything. They assemble. Which is a radical break with the mass production concept. So the
changes are very profound and very deep and very long lasting. And we are just beginning
to understand what it all means. |
|
Industry
News and Related Topics (as told by Oil Express)
and money transfers as part of a seven-year exclusive deal with two subsidiaries
of First Data Corp. The company will install automated financial kiosks that merge the
capabilities of an ATM with the benefits of the Internet, it says. The kiosks