Amazon to open another Fulfillment Centre in US

 Amazon opens the forth fulfillment center in the US as the need for more capacity to continue to satisfy high expectations of online shoppers for on-time, fast product deliveries become central for the giant online retailer and a network of small businesses that use its logistics services.

Fulfillment centers are giant warehouses that help online retailers to store and ship products and handle returns quickly. These are important for providing the level of customer service that customers have come to expect of Amazon.

Over the past few years, Amazon has invested heavily to set up fulfillment centers across the country to reduce shipping costs and speed up delivery to its customers. To further automate its order fulfillment, Amazon agreed to buy warehouse-robot maker Kiva Systems Inc. in 2012 for $775 million. This was the company's biggest acquisition since the buyout of shoe retailer Zappos.com in 2009.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/amazon-to-open-fulfillment-center-in-washington-analyst-blog-cm337490

Amazon's venture into 3D printing retailing

This past year Amazon partnered with 3DLT and several other 3D printing companies to offer their products through Amazon's digital store front. At the time, the industry is still in a nascent state of development offering limited options to consumer in terms of variety of products they can get via 3D technology. However, this technology in the not so distant future can change the way consumers think of product purchases. Furthermore, it may turn traditional supply chain upside down and permanently alter how manufacturers and retailers operate.

In the future 3D technology will allow people to buy digital designs of products, the material to make the products from and printers to print them on all in the comfort of their homes, thereby eliminating the need to travel to a retail location or wait for a delivery of an online product. Instant gratification and reduction of scarcity are the some of the consumer benefits this technology offers.

Read more about this topic here...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/03/13/how-3d-printing-could-transform-amazon-and-online-shopping/?tid=hpModule_79c38dfc-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394