How our home delivery habit reshaped the world

Global supply chains force retailers to gamble on inventory far in advance and to spend too much time and money overseeing the entire process.

Then one of his deputies, a finance vice president named Greg Greeley, mentioned how airlines had segmented their customers into two groups—business people and recreational travelers—by reducing ticket prices for those customers who were willing to stay at their destination through a Saturday night. Greeley suggested doing the equivalent at Amazon.