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The Wal-Mart vs. Amazon battle continues to become increasingly intense (see “Price War Brews Between Amazon and Wal-Mart,” New York Times, November 23, 2009). These two competitors have already engaged in price wars over toys, books, and DVDs this holiday season.  Now Wal-Mart is cleverly using one of their strengths relative to Amazon — their physical stores — to their advantage.  This a nice example of competitive advantage, SWOT, and logistics.  Check out “Wal-Mart Uses Its Stores To Get an Edge Online” (see The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2009 – subscription required, or search the net using the article title).

“Whirlpool Cleans Up Its Delivery Act,“ The Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2009.  It can be tough to find good articles about distribution and logistics – it is even my research area and the few I find are usually pretty dry.  Even though this is a short article, it’s interesting to see that even a big name company like Whirlpool can find opportunities for significant savings and improved customer service in its distribution operations.