Reply W/150 Wrds

The wide-spread advances in technology such as smart phones and applications are increasing everyone's ability to have visibility over supply chains and items that they are in need of. Currently, there are numerous ride-sharing apps that allow users to request a pick-up immediately and allows the customer to see how many cars are in the area, where they are, and when a driver is assigned, the customer can track the progress of the vehicle to the pick-up location (Agatz, Erera, Savelsbergh & Wang, 2011). These apps expanded from ordering a car, to pooling with other riders to save on cost, to having bicycles and scooters identifiable on the app in the event that a car is not the best means of transportation. Additionally, companies like Uber have also taken on the delivery of meals and groceries, all while tracking when your food is being picked up and how long it takes for the food to be delivered.

These efforts would not be as successful as they have been over the past decade if not for the clear communication that the technology provides to the customer (Rodriguez-Esoindola, Chowdhury, Beltagui & Albores, 2020). Amazon's Key program is another game-changer in the last-mile delivery as it allows for the driver to directly deliver the item into the property of the customer whether it be their car or their house. This is going to assist in eliminating packages from being stolen porch deliveries, ensuring more reliability in the delivery system. As 3-D printing progresses, customers will be able to get items even faster. If the item can be 3-D printed, the process of taking materials and turning them into a product can be slimmed down and sped up. This could be used similar to the way that Domino's displays their pizza making and delivery process. Customers would be able to see their 3-D printed product being made, quality checked, and then sent out for delivery while also being able track that driver.