Does this happen to you? For your household and personal items … dishwasher soap, ketchup, contact lens solution, toothpaste … when you need an item (because you are empty), you look in the closet and the item is not there. And of course, it’s either 6am or 10pm at night. Bad timing.
The solution is clear … consumers need a better supply chain management system to manage their busy households. Or is it?
A 2014 study by Deloitte found that the IoT has value for many solutions. Whether it be smart home or smart car, the majority of smartphone owners and consumers are clearly speaking. They want to be connected! Recently, Samsung will be investing $1.2B for IoT startups and research in the US over the next four years.
Enter Dash. Amazon’s new consumer, home-based supply chain management system. Assisting consumers to manage their household supply chain inventory. Call it Just-In-Time Household Inventory.
What is Dash? A small device that looks like a garage door opener. A product logo and a button. Can be affixed to a wall or shelf. With over 70 Dash buttons currently available, each dash is “branded” with a specific product. A Dash (for a specific product) is purchased ($4.95 w/credit for first purchase) and setup.
The scenario? You open the kitchen cabinet to make breakfast. To brew a pot of coffee. You open the coffee container and you are running low on coffee. Oh no, some bad mornings on the horizon!
You press the Maxwell House coffee Dash. The order is processed through your wireless router. To Amazon. An order is automatically created and shipped to your address. BAM! You move on to the pot of java!.
So why would Amazon develop and market Dash?
Consumer Efficiency. Clearly, the consumer only needs a few seconds to order the product. Right then … while the need has been determined. No grocery list. Seamless. Ultimately, the Amazon integration is simple. It’s an extension of their “1-Click” order process without the fuss of a computer device, login and searching for the product. All time. Now, just a button push … move on to the next household task. Finish brewing the coffee!
Consumer Lock-In. Thanks to the good research of Michael Porter’s Five Forces. Consumer lock-in of a product or service. The sheer ease of the ordering and fulfillment process (amazing that we are using that term with a household entity) gains a competitive advantage with a company and product.
Amazon Lock-In. After the previous thought, it now becomes the supplier lock-in. A strong link between the value added (instant shopping and delivery) to a product sold. Increased sales. An attractive, successful strategic model and benefits for Amazon. Another potential blow for brick and mortar retail.
Consumer adoption and technology implications? A subject for a future blog article.
Clearly, an inverted, but fascinating concept. As “texting” to donate to a charitable organization during a disaster has created a seamless and easy method of donating … so is this new method of connecting the household to a supplier for the needs of its ‘operation’.
Supply chain and inventory management for the household? Any different than your car ‘telling’ you that you need an oil change and make an appointment?
The only unanswered question … What will we do with all this extra time?!?