delivery – OM in the News

Target Focuses on Last-Mile Delivery Efficiency

Target aims to boost its competitiveness in e-commerce with a revamped delivery system.

As its e-commerce business continues to grow, Target has opened sortation centers to group orders. Packages are loaded into the trunks of contract drivers’ cars for same-day delivery. This is part of a trend among retailers to boost profits with lower labor and transportation costs. The system may require fine-tuning, and the company continues to experiment with new options to improve the efficiency and agility of last-mile delivery.

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2022-08-11T20:22:04+00:00August 12, 2022|Tags: competitivness, delivery, short term capacity, strategy|

Is Amazon Pushing Its Warehouse Workers Too Hard?

Fast delivery can be taxing for Amazon workers.

The Feds are investigating possible safety issues and failure to disclose injuries at Amazon. Their findings could spell legal trouble for the company. One of the safety hazards allegedly involves an unrealistic pace of work, which resulted in physical injuries. Work pace is often tied to performance standards. Is Amazon guilty of setting an unrealistic work pace or is it unrealistic to assume that all employees can achieve the standards?

Video Spotlight:

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2022-08-03T19:03:59+00:00August 6, 2022|Tags: competitivness, delivery, job design, lead time, productivity|

Fresh and Tasty Airline Food. No Joke!

If you thought that airline food was prepackaged and frozen, you were mistaken.

This article showcases the food preparation at the DC kitchen of Gate Gourmet, the world’s leading provider of airline food. The process is meticulous, and many steps are taken to ensure that the food is made no longer than 24 hours before its delivery to inflight crews. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased safety requirements and has posed new challenges to ensure that the right quantity of the right […]

By Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.|2022-04-09T22:15:21+00:00April 10, 2022|Tags: delivery, inventory management, layout, product safety, safety stock, service quality, strategic capacity management|

The Dark Side of Online Returns

Returning online items is so easy. And wasteful.

Before their delivery to your home, products may have already left a substantial carbon footprint: production, packaging, shipping through a network of distribution centers, and last-mile delivery to your doorstep. When the items are returned, they enter the reverse supply chain: further transportation to middlemen, reprocessing and redistribution, or in many cases, incineration or a trip to the landfill. Under pressure to be more environmentally and socially conscious, Amazon has launched new initiatives […]

By CMKaruppan|2022-02-11T00:29:09+00:00February 15, 2022|Tags: carbon footprint, delivery, logistics, respsonsive supply chain design, supply chain management, sustainability, transportation|