The Next Phase of the Retail Apocalypse: Stores Reborn as E-Commerce Warehouses
It&#x27;s going to happen, this is actually why I&#x27;ve re-focused on Supply Chain&#x2F;Logistics as there is so much room for potential growth and re-capturing losses within them as I saw working in the Automotive side of Logistics and Supply Chain a few years back.<p>We&#x27;re going through a very unique, but much needed, transition right now that will likely bring about the automated warehouses, distribution hubs, and transport depots we always read about in books and and sci-fi lore--and that so many feared. It also re-enforces the need for UBI now more than ever, something that not long ago was though to be impossible, yet is being pilot tested by Andrew Yang and Jack Dorsey as well as other places in the US, and even by YC itself!<p>I&#x27;m actually optimistic, and believe if we play it right it could in fact be the seeds that allow for a Post-scarcity economy one day on Earth, as so much is lost in critical supply chains, and having these over-extended international based ones may have done more harm than good, as they accelerated a race to the bottom system in terms of price and quality (even on critical things like Medical Supplies&#x2F;Drugs) as so much went to China but also made most countries entirely dependent on the CCP and has way more Geo-political consequences than we can predict.<p>Right now I&#x27;m taking a course in Supply Chain Operations and my final will be analyzing the consequences from the displacement of critical manufactured goods (PPE) to China and the affects it has had during the onset of COVID, and now also recently due to the massive flooding in Wuhan and the surrounding areas of China [1].<p>The most optimistic delays in lead-time are 2-3 weeks, but if COVID showed anything, as we saw with Medical staff in the US and even Australia having to go months without PPE and wearing trash bags in lieu of actual medical grade PPE, is that its best to actually double that to get an accurate time.<p>But it wasn&#x27;t all bad as it also saw many 3D printing hobbyists use the technology for ACTUALLY MEANINGFUL potential instated of printing trinkets you use to clutter a work desk. And some other companies, mostly in the automotive Industry, pivoted to making breathing apparatuses.<p>1: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.msn.com&#x2F;en-us&#x2F;weather&#x2F;topstories&#x2F;record-china-flooding-impacts-ppe-supply-chain-to-us&#x2F;ar-BB16VX4L" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.msn.com&#x2F;en-us&#x2F;weather&#x2F;topstories&#x2F;record-china-fl...</a>