Zappos com developing a supply chain to deliver wow

This case study illustrates the management of a service supply chain.When reading this case, pay close attention to supply chain issues and the questions below.It is an interesting case because it concerns an enterprise that is provider of both goods and services (with both being very important to their competitiveness).

Provide one response to each of the following questions.Be sure to follow APA guidelines included on the course Blackboard site.

Address the following questions (in at least one case, find an article that supports your statements):

1. List and discuss two threats to the long term sustainability of the Zappos approach.

2. Give two specific examples of how Zappos can grow (more products, more geographies, etc.)?In each case, how would their supply chain need to change?What would be the key challenges?

For the exclusive use of Y. Hsu, 2018. CASE: GS-65 DATE: 02/13/09 (REVISED 01/03/11) ZAPPOS.COM: DEVELOPING A SUPPLY CHAIN TO DELIVER WOW! Our decision was always to focus on service because we got instant feedback whenever we upgraded delivery. Customers were wowed by the experience, and then they told a bunch of people. And word of mouth works a lot faster on the Internet than it does person-to-person because you can just e-mail out a bunch of your friends and say, 'hey I just had this amazing experience.' That was one of the reasons that we wanted to keep upgrading shipping. 1 —Alfred Lin, Chairman, COO, and CFO of Zappos In late 2008, less than 10 years after its founding, Zappos anticipated reaching annual gross sales of $1 billion. When its founder first proposed the idea of selling shoes online, the concept was greeted with intense skepticism. Despite the challenges, the company had achieved dramatic success. It was the world’s largest online retailer of shoes, was profitable, growing rapidly, and had an outstanding reputation for customer service. Its employees were passionately, engaged in their work. While shoes still provided the vast majority of revenues, Zappos had expanded its product offerings based on feedback from customers and the enthusiasm of employees. There was still a huge untapped customer base—only 3 percent of the U.S. population were Zappos customers—suggesting that the company was not close to saturating its opportunities in the U.S., let alone other international regions. However, the collapse of the financial markets, and the prospect of a prolonged recession, created new challenges. Zappos had never been lavishly funded—it had always been intensely conscious of cash. Unlike most retailers, it was continuing to grow, but early signs were that the rate of growth was slowing. As the company’s leadership looked forward, it considered ways that Zappos could sustain the high quality experience that it was known for—to deliver “wow” to its customers, suppliers, and other affiliates. The company’s supply chain management had evolved as Zappos had grown, and was one of its sources of excellence. Yet, perhaps there were opportunities for continued improvement. 1 Quotations are from interviews with the author, unless otherwise specified. David Hoyt prepared this case under the supervision of Michael Marks, Lecturer in Operations,