Amazon's $4 Billion Rural Delivery Blitz: Is Jeff Bezos Trying to One-Up My Philanthropy?

Four Billion Dollars Y'all!

Well hello there! Bill Gates here still trying to figure out how to get everyone a toilet that doesn't require plumbing. But in the meantime I see Amazon is throwing around $4 billion to boost deliveries in rural America. Four. Billion. Dollars. Makes my foundation's budget look like pocket change… almost. All jokes aside it's good to see investment in infrastructure even if it's for getting that new spatula to your door in record time.

Tripling Down on Delivery: Sounds Like a Risky Startup Move

Tripling the size of their rural delivery network eh? Classic Amazon. Go big or go home. It's like when I thought 'Hey let's put a computer on every desk and in every home!' People thought I was nuts. Now they're just annoyed by the constant updates. But seriously kudos to Amazon for tackling the 'last mile' problem especially in areas where it's probably cheaper to just hand deliver the package via carrier pigeon.

Faster Than a Speeding… Drone?

Cutting delivery times in half? My first thought went to Drones! I'm sure Bezos has thought about it. I mean he did launch himself into space. The article mentions bringing products closer to customers. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: 'Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.' Perhaps those unhappy customers just really really need their stuff faster.

170 Jobs Per Site? Okay That's Actually Pretty Good

Okay 170 jobs per site is nothing to sneeze at. That's real people real families potentially buying Windows licenses! I wonder if they'll be using Microsoft Surface tablets to track those packages? Just kidding... mostly. But seriously job creation is a positive impact and that's something I can definitely get behind. It is good to see Amazon stepping up when others are backing away. 'We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten,' as I like to say. This move seems to fit that bill.

UPS Feeling the Pinch: Whoops!

Ouch UPS is cutting 20,000 jobs because of decreased Amazon deliveries? That's rough. It's a reminder that in the tech world disruption is always around the corner like a Blue Screen of Death you didn't see coming. It also looks like Amazon is enlisting mom and pop shops in rural towns to make deliveries on the company's behalf. The little guy vs the big guy or the little guy *with* the big guy hard to say. Regardless change is in the air and those of us in the driver's seat need to remember 'Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.'

Tariffs and Tensions: Keep it Simple Stupid!

And then there's the tariff kerfuffle. Turns out Amazon was considering showing customers how much tariffs added to the cost of a product. Simplicity is key folks. As I said in 'The Road Ahead' information at your fingertips is what we're aiming for! 'Information at your fingertips' is not a tariff breakdown on every single product. People just want to buy stuff and have it show up quickly. Leave the trade wars to the politicians Bezos!