Arriving Today — But at What Cost?

a book review by Drew Holmes

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.

Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door — Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy

by Christopher Mims

Harper Business (September 14, 2021)

336 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006298795X