In terms of business, I come from a high quality background. I have always strived to provide the highest possible quality to our customers, no matter the cost. And regardless of price charged. It is just the way I have done business; I guess it is instilled in my DNA.
There is just no other way to put this: Amazon is solely focused on quantity. More specifically, speed. Speed-wise everything is measured, which is fine and all. But while speed is easy to measure, quality is more difficult to assess. It is certainly possible. Many companies have quality control departments to do just that.
I assure you, there is no quality control at Amazon. None. The closest they come to quality control is to weigh the packed box. And that's the extent of it.
Again, this seems to be a business decision they have made.
Let's use packing boxes as an example – Because that is the department I know best. On the face of it, it is really hard to screw up. A customer orders six items, the six items show up ready to be packed, you put the items in a box, tape it shut, and throw it on a conveyor. Right? And you do this as fast as you possibly can because you know that management is counting both the number of items you pack as well as the number of boxes.
Well by now we've all received Amazon boxes. And in most of them, along with our ordered product, the box contains dunnage. You know, the bubble wrap used to prevent product from being shaken and damaged during shipment. But if a packer wants to increase his or her pack rate, one obvious method is to skip or skimp on dunnage. And why not? Like I said, there is no quality control.
If the combined product does not fit well in the box? Let's say for example, the box is the wrong size. All products have listed dimensions, but it often happens that they are not quite right. Products and product packaging change all the time. In any case, the product(s) and the designated box are not a good match. But it is difficult to realize this until you have attempted to pack the box. And starting over with a different box involves determining which box to use. And...wait for it...extra time.
Hey, just make it fit and get on with it.
Again, no quality control.
And it is not like management is unaware of this. Pick up any box and you know immediately if it is the right size and if it has an appropriate amount of dunnage. And managers pick up boxes all the time – to move them. But never to assess them.
Dunnage is emblematic of the company mindset. The machines that make the bubble wrap are notoriously unreliable. And they need constant service, which is often not forthcoming. And serviced machines are often not available. So while the company proclaims adequate use of dunnage, they don't always make it easy for a packer to do so. In truth, this is simply not a priority.
If you take this attitude and extend it to an entire company, what you have is: The Amazon way. Everything is rushed; start to finish. Which inevitably produces lots of errors. No problem, they have a whole department to solve problems. Really. But solving problems is a far cry from Edwards Deming style quality control. In fact, Amazon is run exactly counter to Deming's principles.
Amazon seems to believe that speed equates to competency and hard work. But this is only half true. Speed can be an indication of hard work. It is also much more likely to be an indication of low quality. At least initially – or, when learning a new process. One should first take the time to master quality, then and only then work on quantity.
Like I said, this seems to be a business decision they have made. I am not naive; maybe it does not matter. Maybe the company has made the correct business decision. Perhaps. I mean the customers want fast, free shipping. Right?
Take their chief competitor, Walmart. Is Walmart any different? I really don't know. What I do know is that I hate shopping at Walmart because of all the corners they cut. The most obvious example: Not enough cashiers. Right? And yet we all put up with this because they are cheaper, slightly cheaper, than Target.
I mean, we're not talking about Nordstrom here....
So is it the American way? Quantity versus Quality...versus Cost.
Maybe so.
Here's a question: Can a firm be low cost and yet focus on quality? I think so. Here's a list off the top of my head: Southwest Airlines, Lidl, Aldi, Toyota, Honda, Dell, Timex, Charles Schwab, Chik-fil-A. Okay sure, your mileage may vary. But notice this: All of these firms are in very competitive markets.
But Amazon has no real competitor. Now I know, the company would take issue with this. They would argue that the entire American retail landscape is their competition. And this is absolutely true.
But it is also undeniable that for what Amazon does and on its scale, Amazon is without competition. And I can't help but think that a little competition would be good for the company. It might even force them to pay some attention to quality.