Amazon delivers amazingly

This week , we speak about forecasts in a supply chain. Recently I ordered a laptop sleeve at amazon and they charged me for it… also confirmed the payment ..  The day that they had promised the delivery, I got an email from them telling me that my shipment had been cancelled and that they had refunded the amount citing the reason that the desired inventory is out of stock.

Whilst researching on the supply chain at amazon, ref : www.supplychainbrain.com , an article read  -

‘A big advantage for Amazon is that it manages and ships not only its own inventory but that of other retailers such as Eddie Bauer and Target, giving it an economy of scale that dwarfs its rivals. As it stands, Amazon can currently ship some 10 million products, compared with Walmart's 500,000.
Using drop shipping, Amazon also has real-time links to manufacturers, which ship goods directly to consumers on the internet-company's behalf. Amazon keeps the most popular products in inventory, but uses a mix of techniques to deliver good. This gives Amazon an advantage that its rivals find hard to replicate’

Inspite of these perks , what stays true is that possibly, inspite of forecasting, consumer dissatisfaction can arise out of misrepresentation of these forecasts. Though forecasting is essentially for the good of the suppliers, one also needs to take into consideration the demand aspect of it and live up to it by providing the necessary information about stock availability. Forecasting accurately and interpreting it in a way that the consumer gets an exact idea would lead to flawless consumer satisfaction.