For long time e-commerce and operations observers, it was no surprise that Amazon was opening its “shipping” business: It was as predicable as a bowling ball on the lane slowly rolling to the pins. Much earlier, in 2014, Amazon had invested in a British shipping firm, Yodel. In 2016, Amazon had purchased a 25% stake in the French parcel Delivery company Colis Prive. Through FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), Amazon already handles “logistics and shipping” for third party sellers – currently at 51% of all sales units (in 2017 Q4). It has been at that proportion for several quarters now. So no surprise, really. However, let’s talk about who is absolutely critical for Amazon to compete with UPS and FedEx. Compared…
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Leave a CommentIt has been a quiet hiatus here on the blog (work and other commitments), as we had the pleasant interruption of Superbowl finally making its way into Philadelphia. I haven’t watched an NFL (National Football League) game in two years now (will explain why at a later point). So, I write this entire post from the position of an amateur and a long time center-city resident in the City of Brotherly Love. Like Thanksgiving, Super Bowl is perhaps a uniquely American cultural event. I am not alone in thinking that most Americans watching on TV were rooting for the Eagles, who were fighting against unforgiving odds. It is perhaps safe to say that the support for the underdogs, exceeded any previous…
Leave a CommentGrowing up in India, one saw the image of Gandhi everywhere. Gandhi was Mahatma (“great soul”), whose aura soared above the martyrs of struggle for Independence. Gandhi’s bespectacled visage is still a universal presence on rural committees, on non-profit logos, in drawing competitions, and in children’s “fancy dress” parades on his birthday celebrations. He is etched on the Indian currency bills and sketched in collective memories, but always with the same imagery: the charkha (the wheel), the round spectacled bald head, the walking stick on which his spindly weight rested, the white khaddar fabric and time-piece, and the ever-present smile. Even as Gandhian lifestyle fades into the distant past, with memories being re-layered in celluloid hues of Kingsley’s face, Gandhi’s round spectacles…
Leave a CommentEarlier last fall, walking in San Francisco, from the Caltrain station to Embarcadero, I came across a scene that is now etched in my memory. It was about 430 pm before the rush for evening dinner began. A group of restaurant workers, most of them Hispanic, stumbled out of a side door and were settling on the pavement of a by-lane, opening up packets of Chinese food that had just been delivered. They were clad in prim white kitchen wear, clean and tidy, which only highlighted the exhaustion on their faces, perhaps in anticipation of a long evening of toil. I continued walking around and came across the inviting doors of a Michelin-starred restaurant, emphasizing a contrast that is shockingly…
Leave a CommentI mentioned the news of the author Ursula Le Guin passing away in an earlier post. Here is a note of appreciation. As an Operations Research person, I love hard science fiction (Clarke, Niven, Reynolds, and others). But, it was astounding to read Le Guin the first time, and the sense of mystery has only deepened over the years. She was distinct from every other literary author that I have read. In her writings, Le Guin brought her unique sensitivity in creating imagined worlds with poetic words corralled with a rational curiosity of science. Much has been written on the internet on the social foresight in her writings: the physical appearance of her protagonists, gender issues, politics of social choice, etc. She…
Leave a CommentI learned that Ursula Le Guin passed away, earlier today. I am a bit surprised how much this news has affected me. Le Guin was one of the best writers that I had the pleasure of reading, first as a teenager, and then through the college years, as the appreciation of her nuanced writing grew unceasingly. Her writing transformed how I thought about Science, Fiction, and the world. She was the SF writer that deserved the Nobel more than anyone. More later, but here is the NYTimes Obit.
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