mkt315 week 3 discussion 1 and response

Professor and Classmates,

On the surface classifying the difference between a company that operates its own logistics and one that uses third party logistics facilitators, is a daunting task, and as one gets into the meat and potatoes of the concept, the level of difficulty proved itself, at least to me. The following is my attempt to make a comparison between the two a little simpler and hopefully share some beneficial insight.

A small business, such as a seamstress would operate his/her own logistics practices because considering the personal nature of window coverings or that special quilt for a new grandchild would require personal delivery and consultation. Marketing would probably depend on personal capabilities, such as using social media to create a basis to share his/her creations and acquire consumer reviews and answer product questions.

On the other end of the spectrum however is Amazon. Amazon’s marketing strategies are both sales and customer focused. Using the very real analogy of planes, ships, and trucks, Amazon’s ability to ship an item from both a B2B and B2C perspective begins and ends with channel partnerships. Whether an item is marketed online as shipped and sold by Amazon, or fulfilled by Amazon, dependent up on where an item is getting shipped to, determines where specifically within the company logistics system it is directed. Amazon uses 3PL’S because of the sheer volume of sales that take place through their website, as well as the reach of the Internet by consumers around the world. As of the summer of 2018, though they have their own fleet of airplanes, a strategy of the future of the business is focused on building an airport in Kentucky to aid in gaining even more of the consumer market share, and is developing strategies as a freight forwarder with oceanic logistics steered toward partnerships with cargo ships. Within the US, distribution centers that warehouse items available to cost effectively ship, are directed towards such providers (UPS and USPS) as examples, and the same strategy applies to the companies distribution facilities throughout the world.