Arriving Today : From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy

Very Nice Book for Avid Readers.

‘Arriving today’ by Christopher Mims gives a detailed account of what happens when we place an order for an item and the connected processes that this event sets in motion. He uses the example of a small hypothetical item—an USB charger—and takes us the on the journey of it right from Vietnam ports to the last mile delivery centres and the final destination, the end user’s home. More importantly, he touches upon several aspects related to the humans involved in the whole process, and how their lives are intertwined with metrics and machines, for better or worse. The book showcases several companies, related to logistics (Fedex, UPS, Amazon, DHL, USPS, MSC etc), e-commerce and retail (Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Staples, Officemax etc)and AI & Robotics (Kiva Systems now Amazon Robotics, Starship Technologies, Plus One, TuSimple etc). He gives us a glimpse into the future with all these companies holding a part of the puzzle, with their moves in AI & Robotics, with Amazon leading the pack.If one contrasts this with non-physical enterprises like Netflix, Facebook and Youtube, the implementation of AI& Robotics takes a new meaning. While automation is in full swing across the physical behemoths, the humans are not replaced as of yet and most of the processes still have human intervention, unlike most of the delivery processes in online companies. But it has to be seen in the ages to come, if this intervention will be limited to managing, and coordinating machines, as opposed to handling a process in its entirety. Eventually, will humans be a part of redundancy management while robots do everything? This is a question that the author leaves in the reader’s mind.Overall, the book provides a detailed account of various topics, with a lot of cross references to technology, management, economics and politics, and at times might appear a bit tedious. But the patience is rewarded, as one would gain a comprehensive outlook of the global shipping which is the back bone of the delivery of any physical item.

Wonderful book, the style of writing is simple yet captures the image perfectly. Highly recommended to understand the world of logistics and how the industry is going currently...

Na

The subject of the book attracted me and so does the first few pages of reading. But the detailed description soon starts to get boring and i left reading at page 50 or so.

I thought the book was well organized and a fascinating read. The author did a great job taking you into Vietnam and other points along the chain. A good view of the container trip, in ports, on the semi across the continent, then the middle or last mile after the package left the fulfillment and distribution centers.The backdrop is also the pandemic and that impact on the many logistics jobs. A lot of good information on Amazon and what it takes to move billions of packages efficiently and profitably.A lot of great chapters and information to digest. My favorite was the Inside Amazon’s Warehouse’s. A fascinating and deep dive into their processes that drive serious success. Not for the faint of heart.A book most of us should take the time to read and understand.

N/A

Dragging on n on with too much unnecessary stuff

Started the book, currently at Chapter 6, awesome and enticing!

In Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy Christopher Mims asks the question: Is our culture of instant gratification worth the price workers pay with their health and humanity? Through an in-depth examination of the global supply chain, his answer is a resounding no.Christopher Mims began his examination of the global supply chain on January 21, 2020, the day after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States. He originally intended to marvel at what human ingenuity had created: giant factory we all live inside that fulfills our desires in two days. Instead, he had a front row seat to the unraveling of our fragile web of interdependence.The main character of the book is a fictional USB charger, which he follows from manufacturing in southeast Asia to delivery at our doorstep. He examines every link in the supply chain from containers and ships to trucks and distribution hubs. We meet the humans that power these systems with their blood, sweat, and tears as well as the ever-evolving machines they integrate with to meet consumer demand for faster fulfillment.The most crucial concept Mims explores is the importance of predictability over speed. The collapse of the supply chain as we knew it prior to 2020 can be most directly attributed to the lack of predictability caused by COVID-19. When retailers rely on just in time delivery of products (as opposed to just in case purchases which require additional expenses like warehousing) meeting customer expectations with major disruptions to the supply chain is nearly impossible. Or, to use a baseball analogy, if a pitcher can throw a 103 mile per hour fastball but not consistently locate it in the catcher’s mitt, he will not be a pitcher for long.Where this book succeeds is the peek behind the curtain of the global supply chain. The author immersed himself in the journey of our USB charger, traveling with the cargo on container ships and semi-trucks, touring port facilities, and diving deep into the inner working of multiple Amazon fulfillment centers. The interviews with current and former Amazon employees provides unique perspective on how the sausage is really made.This leads to where the book falls a bit short, as the anti-Amazon agenda hinted at in the prologue is worn on the author’s sleeve throughout. Increased automation has led to “deskilling” the average warehouse worker and reducing their job to repetitive, physically demanding tasks. This has led to a high turnover rate and a hiring process that will accept almost anyone, knowing many will fail quickly. While this does provide necessary context for making his case that workers are sacrificing their body and soul to meet an ever-increasing work tempo, it does feel a bit repetitive and leaves the reader wanting him to get to the point already.When he does get to the point the case is compelling. The examination of Moravec’s Paradox (computers can perform analytical tasks easily but fail at simple perception and mobility) is fascinating. This one limitation of today’s technology assures that, for the foreseeable future, active human inputs are required in the global supply chain. However, when that challenge is solved the likelihood of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is slim. As history has proven, technological advances do not create less work for humans, but rather alter the nature of that work. The good news is automation typically eliminates low-skilled repetitive jobs humans tend to not want. The bad news is today’s workforce is ill equipped for tomorrow’s work, and retooling and reskilling are slow, tedious processes.The COVID-19 crisis exposed many flaws in the global supply chain. Christopher Mims’ book is an excellent look into how we got where we are, a peek at where we might go, and a cautionary tale about the human cost of instant gratification. Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy is a not only a must-read snapshot of the COVID-19 era but a primer for what is to come.