China to AK to IN to CA?
The cryptic post title is meant to be a bit confusing… Earlier this week I ordered a MacBook from Apple and chose the 2-day shipping option. I’ve been salivating ever since, and obsessively checking the laptop’s progress via FedEx’s tracking. Along the way, I’ve noticed two interesting things.
At first, the only information that appeared was that the package info had been sent to FedEx. Then the first location data popped up—the package was “picked up” in Suzhou, China. Normally that wouldn’t be that interesting, but I will be in the area (I’m fairly certain we are visiting Suzhou), MacBook in tow, in about three weeks. As much as I have come to loath references to the flattening world, the laptop’s China to California to China journey in under a month is quite interesting (perhaps only to me…).
The second observation I had came with a bit of frustration. As I continued to remind myself that I paid extra to receive the laptop 2 business days after shipping (it is projected for 4 business days, accounting for the holiday), I couldn’t help but notice the odd flight path my package is following. Leaving Suzhou, it touched down in Anchorage. I thought it a bit weird at the time, but chalked it up to flight time and distance savings. Curiously, though, instead of heading to a destination closer to Southern California (LA or SF, anyone?) the laptop arrived in Indianapolis. Interesting. Perhaps it is now on its way to Atlanta so it can get the corporate FedEx stamp of approval before it heads to it’s final California destination? Or maybe FedEx doesn’t have the super-efficient logistics everyone gives them credit for? Who knows. All I can attest to is that I paid quite a bit of extra money to have my new computer in hand 2 days after shipping, and while I appreciate that it is probably enjoying its world-tour, I’d really like to have received it within that time frame.
TAGS: This entry was posted on Saturday, May 27th, 2006 at 10:57 am and is filed under Business Strategy, China. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
May 31st, 2006 at 6:22 pm
I have a similarly strange FedEx path. I had a camera shipped from Spokane, WA. Last night, it was in Oakland, CA, about 40 miles away from me. Today, it is in Memphis, TN, over 2000 miles away. Definitely makes me wonder about their logistics.
May 31st, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Kamal,
Oakland to Memphis is quite bad especially considering your proximity to the package’s location last night. I actually received my MacBook a day early, though the Anchorage, Indianapolis, Los Angeles route still confuses me.
I checked out your blog and saw your post about your internship at Intel. I spent about 12 years in Palo Alto and used to live a few miles away from where you are staying (I visited the map link you provided) — I lived off of Emerson and North California Avenue. You are in a great part of town especially if you like walking around. Drop me a line if you ever need suggestions about places to go — my advice might be a bit outdated but not too much has changed since I was last there.
Good luck at Intel!