“Modern wars are won by grinding, not by genius” – Cathal J Nolan. This may apply to the e-commerce war between Walmart and Amazon. News from the RILA Supply Conference and other sources show Walmart exceeded expectations with comparable e-commerce sales up in Q4 2018, and in 2018 overall. Amazon remains at the top, but it appears that the momentum in e-commerce growth may have shifted for now.
Why?
- Walmart focused investment on pick-up (in-store or curbside) – leveraging their ‘best-in-class” supply chain and massive store network
- Amazon is countering with cost-cutting – in-sourcing logistics, including last-mile delivery
Time will tell, but I predict the company that invests long-term in their people, technology, customer experience, and culture of ‘grit’ (not leadership genius) will come out on top.
Written by Guest Columnist Mike Green
Written by Guest Columnist Mike Green