Digital Distribution: Effects on the supply chain industry
September 16, 2006 by SwizStick
Filed under 3PL, Supply Chain Management
Dan Gilmore from Supply Chain Digest has some “first thoughts” on the impact of digital distribution coming on the news that Apple this week unveiled its DVD video-on-demand download service:
What it means ultimately is that supply chain and logistics professionals involved in the physical movement of products than can be digitized (mostly media and software-related products now: CDs, DVDs, music, desktop software, etc.) should be looking to broaden their skills sets, as it just seem inevitable that most of that movement will just go away. Books, magazines, newspaper, financial documents, etc. – the huge relative cost of physical distribution and the overwhelming preferences of younger customers for digital media means more and more goods that can be distributed digitally will be.
I occasionally wonder too whether supply chain and logistics/distribution professionals should play any role in electronic distribution. Once a product becomes digitized, are its distribution processes and decisions now only under the province of IT and marketing?
Probably so, but a new discipline of “electronic distribution†will probably emerge somewhere…do any traditional logistics concepts apply?
Until someone invents the equivalent of the Star Trek teleporter for freight, there will always be the need for physical distribution of products. However, these are relevant questions to ponder as mass-media and other products become increasingly digitized.
Rob on Mon, 18th Sep 2006 7:20 am
Being an early adopter of these types of services (MovieLink, Guba, Vongo), I have to put in my two cents. Obviously these services will reduce the need for physical distribution, but the environmnental benefits are well worth it. Not only does the truck not deliver the goods (reducing air pollution), but trees and petroleum (plastics) are saved. And finally, no trip to the video rental outlet further reduces environmental impact. All good outcomes, though perhaps not so good for the logistics work force.