Supply Chain Briefing

April 19, 2018

While sitting in a conference today, I received several updates from Amazon Prime – that my mom’s subscription service to a cleaning product would be delivered; that my cat Smokey would be able to eat well this week since his food is ‘on the way’; a confirmation email for an order I placed with ‘1 click’ for a book that a colleague recommended and more.  

In the last week, how many of us have placed an order using Amazon Prime?  Over 100 million most likely.  If we consider how often we take out our phone to order an obscure or quickly needed item via Prime using free 2-day shipping, it is frequent.  

10 years ago, I had zero thoughts about receiving Amazon updates on my phone, let alone that I could do anything about time sensitive needs that arose at the last minute.  Amazon went from selling books to transforming into a subscription and e-commerce powerhouse, driving continual disruption!  Are you thinking about the value of subscription services?

What Should We Consider and/or What Impacts Could Arise?

Have you put thought into what has become commonplace – subscription services like Prime?  What has Amazon actually achieved?  Are you more likely to go to Amazon because you already belong and get free shipping?  Are you excited that you have a special video and music subscription service for free as a Prime member?  Do you go to Amazon because it is easy and they seem to know you and what you need?  Perhaps we’ve become subscription junkies….

Now take a step back and think about what type of subscription service your company could offer?  What value would your customers come to expect that they might not even know they ‘need’ at this point?  After all, who knew they needed to be Amazon Prime before it came out?  

Would your customers be more loyal and likely to go to you as a first priority if you developed some sort of subscription / value-add service?  Gather your team, ask customers, talk with suppliers, attend industry events, brainstorm with people who have nothing in common with your industry – you never know where the best subscription/ value-add service idea might come from.  I just got back from dinner with a consultant that overlaps 0% with my market, and I got more ideas from him than anything I heard in the conference thus far.