There are several ways in which businesses arrange distribution to provide customer convenience. The methods used may vary slightly based on what sort of business is being operated.
For example, those who are running an e-commerce business will have different techniques than those who have a standard "real world" business headquarters. Also, different real world businesses may have different techniques dependent upon the size of the business and where they may be dealing with customers.
First, let's look at e-commerce. Amazon.com is a great example of how distribution can be arranged to make things more convenient for customers. Amazon offers free standard shipping for items that are advertised through Amazon. One of the reasons that they are able to do this is because they have distribution centers located all over the place. When you make a purchase from the site, you will receive your packages from a particular distribution center and the location of the center is based on whichever one of the Amazon fulfillment centers is nearest you and contains the item within its standard inventory.
This results in savings for the customer as well as faster receipt of items purchase, as they often do need to travel very far. It also means that packages are less likely to arrive damaged or in poor condition, as they don't have to be in transit as long or switch hands as many times.
Next, there are stores that you can walk into and order from their display inventory. The item will then be sent to you from a local distribution center that is found in another part of your city or state. This method allows stores to cut down on transportation costs as items don't have to be shipped in large quantities to each individual store. They are just housed at a central distribution warehouse instead.
The savings that companies see in their own transportation, warehousing, labor and other costs translate to savings in final prices for customers. They also usually mean that fulfillment processes are more reliable as well, as the network for handling distribution isn't as complex and prone to problems of challenges.
For example, those who are running an e-commerce business will have different techniques than those who have a standard "real world" business headquarters. Also, different real world businesses may have different techniques dependent upon the size of the business and where they may be dealing with customers.
First, let's look at e-commerce. Amazon.com is a great example of how distribution can be arranged to make things more convenient for customers. Amazon offers free standard shipping for items that are advertised through Amazon. One of the reasons that they are able to do this is because they have distribution centers located all over the place. When you make a purchase from the site, you will receive your packages from a particular distribution center and the location of the center is based on whichever one of the Amazon fulfillment centers is nearest you and contains the item within its standard inventory.
This results in savings for the customer as well as faster receipt of items purchase, as they often do need to travel very far. It also means that packages are less likely to arrive damaged or in poor condition, as they don't have to be in transit as long or switch hands as many times.
Next, there are stores that you can walk into and order from their display inventory. The item will then be sent to you from a local distribution center that is found in another part of your city or state. This method allows stores to cut down on transportation costs as items don't have to be shipped in large quantities to each individual store. They are just housed at a central distribution warehouse instead.
The savings that companies see in their own transportation, warehousing, labor and other costs translate to savings in final prices for customers. They also usually mean that fulfillment processes are more reliable as well, as the network for handling distribution isn't as complex and prone to problems of challenges.