6/26

This is a catch-up post that I missed while pre-occupied with Hanjin. The Economist's cover story in the first week of September focused on Uber. As the magazine does so well, this particular case is placed in strategic context:

Investors’ bullishness is bolstered by Uber’s position at the intersection of three linked disruptive trends. First is the emergence of asset-light business models. The cost of expanding is far lower for a startup that does not own its own cars or consider its drivers employees. Second is the shift to the sharing economy, which underlies the success of peer-to-peer services; a system that lets people do as much or as little as they like attracts workers. The third is that consumers, especially young consumers, are increasingly happy to pay for access to things, rather than own them outright.

The piece is, however, entirely focused on the customer-facing opportunity.  The uberization of 3PL is worth more attention.  Here's one take on this issue.