I’ve been thinking about the power of Amazon since I facilitated an APICS tour of their San Bernardino 1.2 million square feet facility on Friday. It was quite impressive from several viewpoints: 1) warehouse automation. 2) simplicity 3) how they treat their people. 4) the power of continuous improvement. 5) their focus on the customer no matter the position. 6) quick deliveries
Amazon has enormous power yet it didn’t exist until 1994. They certainly are the epitome of innovation and a customer-focused philosophy. What can we pick up from Amazon to boost our customer focus?
One tip to implement this week:
Although Amazon has many intriguing aspects, their focus is on the customer – and therefore the employee (as smart companies know that it is impossible to have unhappy employees providing exceptional service to happy customers) stands out in the crowd. No matter your position at Amazon, you are thinking about how your job relates to the customer. We can all try that out for size.
We ALL have an affect on the customer. Think about how – and think about how you can improve upon your customers’ experience. It could be a direct correlation or an indirect one – meaning, if you help the next person in line perform better, it will carry over to the customer.