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Christopher Mims
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Arriving Today: From Factory to Front DoorWhy Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy Audio CD – Unabridged, September 14, 2021

by Christopher Mims (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 328 ratings
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[ MP3 CD Format ]

The Wall Street Journal technology columnist reveals the fascinating story behind the misleadingly simple phrase shoppers take for granted -- "Arriving Today" -- in this eye-opening investigation into the new rules of online commerce, transportation, and supply chain management.

We are at a tipping point in retail history. While consumers are profiting from the convenience of instant gratification, rapidly advancing technologies are transforming the way goods are transported and displacing workers in ways never before seen.

In Arriving Today, Christopher Mims goes deep, far, and wide to uncover how a single product, from creation to delivery, weaves its way from a factory on the other side of the world to our doorstep. He analyzes the evolving technologies and management strategies necessary to keep the product moving to fulfill consumers’ demand for "arriving today" gratification. Mims reveals a world where the only thing moving faster than goods in an Amazon warehouse is the rate at which an entire industry is being gutted and rebuilt by innovation and mass shifts in human labor practices. He goes behind the scenes to uncover the paradoxes in this shift -- into the world’s busiest port, the cabin of an 18-wheeler, and Amazon’s automated warehouses -- to explore how the promise of "arriving today" is fulfilled through a balletic dance between humans and machines.

The scope of such large-scale innovation and expended energy is equal parts inspiring, enlightening, and horrifying. As he offers a glimpse of our future, Mims asks us to consider the system’s vulnerability and its resilience, and who shoulders the burden, as we hurtle toward a fully automated system -- and what it will mean when we are there.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    1 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing
  4. Publication date
    September 14, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    5.4 x 0.6 x 6.7 inches
  6. ISBN-13
    979-8200741816
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Readers will be hooked by Mims's ability to turn what could've been a dry supply-chain explainer into a legitimate page-turner." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0959B7GCR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged MP3CD edition (September 14, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8200741816
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.6 x 6.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 328 ratings

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Christopher Mims

Christopher Mims

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
328 global ratings
How Do Supply Chains Work?
5 Stars
How Do Supply Chains Work?
Most people do not understand the enormous coordination problem that must be solved in order to make the world around them possible. In Arriving Today, Christopher Mim's attempts to correct that problem by explaining the supply chain for a deceptively simple product in terms that anyone can understand and relate to. It reminds me of the definition for a supply chain my son came up with 5 years ago, when he was 9 years old and asked me one day, "What is a supply chain."The book is great because Chris weaves in important conversations about Economic Systems, Technology, and Social Systems. This matters because supply chains are formed from a complex and interconnected network of social, environmental, and economic systems and changes in technology and the need for the world to respond to the climate crisis means that the supply chains we take for granted are entering an extended period of sustained change and transformation as humanity refashions them to make them fit for the purpose of meeting the challenges of this century.This is a topic everyone should understand. I own the ebook and the audiobook, and I bought two extra copies for my teenage son and his cousin.
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Top reviews from the United States

Bill Johnston
5.0 out of 5 stars For Shame! Buy This Book From Amazon!
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022
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This book is billed as a supply chain story: how does a battery charger, made in Viet Nam, reach the front door of a home in Connecticut? Beyond this imagined journey, it is by turns a detailed explication of various advances in AI and automation, a history of the container revolution, an awestruck recitation of the scale of the world’s logistics network, and a history of scientific management, aka Taylorism, Fordism, and Bezosism. It is also a vehicle for Mims’ enthusiasm for numerical analogies, his sympathy for the plight of long-haul truckers, his outrage over Amazon’s treatment of its warehouse workers, his admiration for labor unions, and his speculation about the next big things in robot delivery, driverless trucks, and automated warehouses. Quite a package.

Despite the scope, the occasionally tedious repetitions, and the periodic run-on, riff-on writing style, it’s a great read with a cogent message: we are well on our way to a global, fully-automated goods-distribution network that will make traditional retailing largely superfluous.
4 people found this helpful
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Drew Holmes
4.0 out of 5 stars Arriving Today - But at What Cost?
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
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In Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy Christopher Mims asks the question: Is our culture of instant gratification worth the price workers pay with their health and humanity? Through an in-depth examination of the global supply chain, his answer is a resounding no.

Christopher Mims began his examination of the global supply chain on January 21, 2020, the day after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States. He originally intended to marvel at what human ingenuity had created: giant factory we all live inside that fulfills our desires in two days. Instead, he had a front row seat to the unraveling of our fragile web of interdependence.

The main character of the book is a fictional USB charger, which he follows from manufacturing in southeast Asia to delivery at our doorstep. He examines every link in the supply chain from containers and ships to trucks and distribution hubs. We meet the humans that power these systems with their blood, sweat, and tears as well as the ever-evolving machines they integrate with to meet consumer demand for faster fulfillment.

The most crucial concept Mims explores is the importance of predictability over speed. The collapse of the supply chain as we knew it prior to 2020 can be most directly attributed to the lack of predictability caused by COVID-19. When retailers rely on just in time delivery of products (as opposed to just in case purchases which require additional expenses like warehousing) meeting customer expectations with major disruptions to the supply chain is nearly impossible. Or, to use a baseball analogy, if a pitcher can throw a 103 mile per hour fastball but not consistently locate it in the catcher’s mitt, he will not be a pitcher for long.

Where this book succeeds is the peek behind the curtain of the global supply chain. The author immersed himself in the journey of our USB charger, traveling with the cargo on container ships and semi-trucks, touring port facilities, and diving deep into the inner working of multiple Amazon fulfillment centers. The interviews with current and former Amazon employees provides unique perspective on how the sausage is really made.

This leads to where the book falls a bit short, as the anti-Amazon agenda hinted at in the prologue is worn on the author’s sleeve throughout. Increased automation has led to “deskilling” the average warehouse worker and reducing their job to repetitive, physically demanding tasks. This has led to a high turnover rate and a hiring process that will accept almost anyone, knowing many will fail quickly. While this does provide necessary context for making his case that workers are sacrificing their body and soul to meet an ever-increasing work tempo, it does feel a bit repetitive and leaves the reader wanting him to get to the point already.

When he does get to the point the case is compelling. The examination of Moravec’s Paradox (computers can perform analytical tasks easily but fail at simple perception and mobility) is fascinating. This one limitation of today’s technology assures that, for the foreseeable future, active human inputs are required in the global supply chain. However, when that challenge is solved the likelihood of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is slim. As history has proven, technological advances do not create less work for humans, but rather alter the nature of that work. The good news is automation typically eliminates low-skilled repetitive jobs humans tend to not want. The bad news is today’s workforce is ill equipped for tomorrow’s work, and retooling and reskilling are slow, tedious processes.

The COVID-19 crisis exposed many flaws in the global supply chain. Christopher Mims’ book is an excellent look into how we got where we are, a peek at where we might go, and a cautionary tale about the human cost of instant gratification. Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy is a not only a must-read snapshot of the COVID-19 era but a primer for what is to come.
4 people found this helpful
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K. Newcomer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wing to Wing View of Shipping
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2022
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I thought the book was well organized and a fascinating read. The author did a great job taking you into Vietnam and other points along the chain. A good view of the container trip, in ports, on the semi across the continent, then the middle or last mile after the package left the fulfillment and distribution centers.

The backdrop is also the pandemic and that impact on the many logistics jobs. A lot of good information on Amazon and what it takes to move billions of packages efficiently and profitably.

A lot of great chapters and information to digest. My favorite was the Inside Amazon’s Warehouse’s. A fascinating and deep dive into their processes that drive serious success. Not for the faint of heart.

A book most of us should take the time to read and understand.
2 people found this helpful
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Ana Jean
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal writing and an important read
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2023
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I am an economic developer in a Rust Belt city, and this book cuts to the core of what I'm experiencing on the ground every day in terms of where jobs are headed and how legacy infrastructure is being repurposed. Christopher Mims is also an excellent writer -- he tells stories, uses beautiful and imaginative language. You walk away smarter, if not a little overwhelmed by the facts and what the future has in store.
One person found this helpful
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small town dude
4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile read, except . . .
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024
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A very informative book, especially the first half and the last quarter, as the pages in between contain what seems to be a requirement in any business related book, meaning the inevitable Amazon business practices bashing. You will know when it starts, and feel free to skip over it as we have heard it all before. We get it; they are mean and ruthless. But don't let this mar your reading of this book, especially the chapters on container shipping, trucking and last mile delivery.
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Wayne
3.0 out of 5 stars It's an OK read but the author seems to have worked to increase the length of the book
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2021
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This book is an OK read written by a Journalist but perhaps less of an Author. He seems to search for thesaurus found words at times and used four letter words at other times. He also seems to get a lot of his information from WWW searches though he does organize it into a book that seems nowhere else to exist. Some of the descriptions are too vague like when he describes a USB charger without explaining how it was made yet he explains how robots in the Amazon Distribution Centers and everything else he can discover through WWW searches, tours and moderated employees and former employees explain to him. There's also no or little mention of bills of lading, banking and other institutions heavily involved in the transport of international goods. All-in-All it's a worthwhile read.
4 people found this helpful
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Spartacus
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2023
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Understanding the complexity of a V logistics system seems boring. But it was the complexity and the problem solving methods used to make this complexity tractable that made this book so interesting.
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Top reviews from other countries

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fdf
5.0 out of 5 stars La tecnologia
Reviewed in Italy on December 24, 2023
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Per vedere come potrà apparire il prossimo futuro dell’uomo in rapporto alla tecnologia che l’uomo stesso mette in moto e in qualche maniera influenza. I risultati o fanno paura o spingono l’uomo a cercare vie differenti per manifestarsi.
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Nicholas G. Berketis
5.0 out of 5 stars N/A
Reviewed in Germany on March 5, 2023
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Feilo
1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty boring
Reviewed in Australia on June 15, 2023
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Dragging on n on with too much unnecessary stuff
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HONG WEI LEE
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!
Reviewed in Singapore on February 2, 2022
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Started the book, currently at Chapter 6, awesome and enticing!
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