Extending the Supply Chain : How Cutting-edge Companies Bridge the Critical Last Mile Into Customers' Homes

Why have so many "e-commerce" companies failed in the last few years? In many cases, it's the failure to figure out how to extend the supply chain directly to customers that keeps a company from succeeding. Using cutting-edge delivery practices and technology-based order processing, companies can minimize costs, customize their products, provide increased service and convenience, and increase customer loyalty-all leading to a more robust bottom line. Extending the Supply Chain examines in-depth some of the most high-profile practitioners of telephone and Internet-based order processing and fulfillment. The authors bring you detailed looks Dell, and FreshDirect, which use the decoupled extended supply chain model to take custom-assembled or custom-packaged orders from an assembly plant or distribution center to the delivery destination using third-party delivery specialists like FedEx and UPS. The semi-extended supply chain model used at companies like Lowes Foods and Best Buy involves processing orders over the Internet or phone and packing the customer's order at their chosen local retail outlet for pick-up at the customer's convenience. This strategy is often the most economical for brick-and-mortar retailers, since it primarily involves the use of existing physical assets and personnel.The fully extended supply chain is more cost-intensive, but may be the most customer-centric option. Orders are picked and packaged not at central locations, but at local stores, then delivered to the customer's home, improving on the old-fashioned "delivery boy" that local grocers employed a century ago. Online retailers such as Albertson's and Tesco have developed a base of customers who will pay for the convenience and level of service that are the hallmarks of the fully extended model.The centralized extended supply chain employs regional distribution centers instead of local stores, but is still able to provide more personalized delivery service (including pre-specified delivery times) than the decoupled model. An in-depth study of Office Depot, the third-largest online retailer (which has stores but does most fulfillment of Internet orders through its regional DCs) shows just how effective this model can be when customers require elements of speed, service, and cost control. Extending the Supply Chain features dozens of clear examples, charts and graphs, and practical tools to help you establish and maintain a dynamic, customer-focused fulfillment operation, and offers proactive strategies for seamlessly integrating marketing and technology initiatives into your supply chain strategy. Examine the four models, and the authors' recommendations for adapting and implementing each one, to determine which one will help your supply chain stretch all the way to its only acceptable destination -- the home of a happy and loyal customer. Companies like Dell, Office Depot, FreshDirect, Tesco, Best Buy, Amazon, Ocado, and Lowes Foods are revolutionizing supply chain dynamics. Extending the Supply Chain shows how these companies are minimizing costs and increasing customer loyalty by using new technology as a critical part of supply chain strategy. Based on the authors' in-depth field research, including a three-year National Science Foundation grant awarded by the Information Technology Research and Decision Risk & Management Science programs, Extending the Supply Chain encompasses models and methods used at leading companies with exceptional supply chain programs, and shows how to create a more profitable program in your organization.Why have so many "e-commerce" companies failed in the last few years? In many cases, it's the failure to figure out how to extend the supply chain directly to customers that keeps a company from succeeding. Using cutting-edge delivery practices and technology-based order processing, companies can minimize costs, customize their products, provide increased service and convenience, and increase customer loyalty -- all leading to a more robust bottom line. Extending the Supply Chain examines in-depth some of the most high-profile practitioners of telephone and Internet-based order processing and fulfillment. The authors bring you detailed looks at: Amazon, Dell, and FreshDirect, which use the decoupled extended supply chain model to take custom-assembled or custom-packaged orders from an assembly plant or distribution center to the delivery destination using third-party delivery specialists like FedEx and UPS.The semi-extended supply chain model used at companies like Lowes Foods and Best Buy involves processing orders over the Internet or phone and packing the customer's order at their chosen local retail outlet for pick-up at the customer's convenience. This strategy is often the most economical for brick-and-mortar retailers, since it primarily involves the use of existing physical assets and personnel. The fully extended supply chain is more cost-intensive, but may be the most customer-centric option. Orders are picked and packaged not at central locations, but at local stores, then delivered to the customer's home, improving on the old-fashioned "delivery boy" that local grocers employed a century ago. Online retailers such as Albertson's and Tesco have developed a base of customers who will pay for the convenience and level of service that are the hallmarks of the fully extended model.The centralized extended supply chain employs regional distribution centers instead of local stores, but is still able to provide more personalized delivery service (including pre-specified delivery times) than the decoupled model. An in-depth study of Office Depot, the third-largest online retailer (which has stores but does most fulfillment of Internet orders through its regional DCs) shows just how effective this model can be when customers require elements of speed, service, and cost control. Extending the Supply Chain features dozens of clear examples, charts and graphs, and practical tools to help you establish and maintain a dynamic, customer-focused fulfillment operation, and offers proactive strategies for seamlessly integrating marketing and technology initiatives into your supply chain strategy. Examine the four models, and the authors' recommendations for adapting and implementing each one, to determine which one will help your supply chain stretch all the way to its only acceptable destination -- the home of a happy and loyal customer.

"Why have so many “e-commerce” companies failed in the last few years? In many cases, it’s the failure to figure out how to extend the supply chain directly to customers that keeps a company from succeeding. Using cutting-edge delivery practices and technology-based order processing, companies can minimize costs, customize their products, provide increased service and convenience, and increase customer loyalty—all leading to a more robust bottom line.

Extending the Supply Chain examines in-depth some of the most high-profile practitioners of telephone and Internet-based order processing and fulfillment. The authors bring you detailed looks at:

Amazon, Dell, and FreshDirect, which use the decoupled extended supply chain model to take custom-assembled or custom-packaged orders from an assembly plant or distribution center to the delivery destination using third-party delivery specialists like FedEx and UPS.

The semi-extended supply chain model used at companies like Lowes Foods and Best Buy involves processing orders over the Internet or phone and packing the customer’s order at their chosen local retail outlet for pick-up at the customer’s convenience. This strategy is often the most economical for brick-and-mortar retailers, since it primarily involves the use of existing physical assets and personnel.

The fully extended supply chain is more cost-intensive, but may be the most customer-centric option. Orders are picked and packaged not at central locations, but at local stores, then delivered to the customer’s home, improving on the old-fashioned “delivery boy” that local grocers employed a century ago. Online retailers such as Albertson’s and Tesco have developed a base of customers who will pay for the convenience and level of service that are the hallmarks of the fully extended model.

The centralized extended supply chain employs regional distribution centers instead of local stores, but is still able to provide more personalized delivery service (including pre-specified delivery times) than the decoupled model. An in-depth study of Office Depot, the third-largest online retailer (which has stores but does most fulfillment of Internet orders through its regional DCs) shows just how effective this model can be when customers require elements of speed, service, and cost control.

Extending the Supply Chain features dozens of clear examples, charts and graphs, and practical tools to help you establish and maintain a dynamic, customer-focused fulfillment operation, and offers proactive strategies for seamlessly integrating marketing and technology initiatives into your supply chain strategy. Examine the four models, and the authors’ recommendations for adapting and implementing each one, to determine which one will help your supply chain stretch all the way to its only acceptable destination—the home of a happy and loyal customer."

Basin Analysis is an up-to-date overview of the essential processes of the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins, and their implications for the development of hydrocarbon resources. The new edition features:

• A consideration of the fundamental physical state of the lithosphere.
• A discussion on the major types of lithospheric deformation relevant to basin development – stretching and flexure.
• A new chapter on the effects of mantle dynamics.
• Radically revised chapters on the basin-fill.
• A new chapter on the erosional engine for sediment delivery to basins, reflecting the massive and exciting advances in this area in the last decade.

• Expansion of the techniques used in approaching problems in basin analysis.
• Updated chapters on subsidence analysis and measurements of thermal maturity of organic and non-organic components of the basin-fill.
• New material on thermochronological and exposure dating tools.
• Inclusion of the important petroleum system concept in the updated section on the application to the petroleum play.

Visit: www.blackwellpublishing.com/allen for practical exercises related to problems in Basin Analysis 2e. To run the programs you will need a copy of Matlab 6 or 7.

An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Please contact our Higher Education team at HigherEducation@wiley.com for more information.

"Extending the Supply Chain examines in-depth some of the most high-profile practitioners of telephone and Internet-based order processing and fulfillment. The authors bring you detailed looks at: Amazon, Dell, and FreshDirect, which use the decoupled extended supply chain model to take custom-assembled or custom-packaged orders from an assembly plant or distribution center to the delivery destination using third-party delivery specialists like FedEx and UPS." "Extending the Supply Chain features dozens of clear examples, charts and graphs, and practical tools to help you establish and maintain a dynamic, customer-focused fulfillment operation, and offers proactive strategies for seamlessly integrating marketing and technology initiatives into your supply chain strategy. Examine the four models, and the authors' recommendations for adapting and implementing each one, to determine which one will help your supply chain stretch all the way to its only acceptable destination - the home of a happy and loyal customer."--BOOK JACKET. "Basin Analysis is an up-to-date overview of the essential processes of the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins, and their implications of the development of hydrocarbon resources. Since the first edition of this important and popular text, there has been an explosion of new data, new technology, and new concepts in the field. This new edition takes account of these developments while retaining the successful structure and philosophy of the original text." "This book is essential reading for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professional earth scientists interested in basin analysis and petroleum geology."--Jacket Preface Table of Contents Part I. Introduction 1. The Great Divide between Customers and Retailers Part II. Strategies 2. Decoupled Extended Supply Chains 3. Semi-Extended Supply Chains 4. Fully Extended Supply Chains 5. Centralized Extended Supply Chains Part III. Transforming the Supply Chain 6. Strategy - Meshing Operational and Marketing Goals 7. Marketing - Tapping Customers' Latent Desires 8. Supply Chain Design - How to Bridge the Last Mile 9. Information Technology - Facilitating Learning and Streamlining Transactions 10. The Future of the Extended Supply Chain Index Basin Analysis is an up-to-date overview of the essential processes of the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins, and their implications for the development of hydrocarbon resources. The new edition (http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/allen) www.blackwellpublishing.com/allen for practical exercises related to problems in Basin Analysis 2e. To run the programs you will need a copy of Matlab 6 or 7. An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Please contact our Higher Education team at HigherEducation@wiley.com for more information. Introduction the great divide between customers and retailers Decoupled extended supply chains Semi: Exteneded supply chains Fully extended supply chains Centralized extended supply chains Strategy : meshing operational and marketing goals Marketing : tapping customers' latent desires Supply chain design : how to bridge the last mile Information technology : facilitating learning and streamlining transactions The future of the extended supply chain