Streamline, Inc.: A Lifestyle Solution Through Information-Smart Logistics

By Hau Lee , Terry Taylor, Seungjin Whang
1999 | Case No. GS16
Consumer-direct, i.e., getting products directly to the consumers, is becoming a dream of a lot of companies. The internet has been used by these companies as a front end to receive and process customer orders, with the idea that the products can then flow directly from the supply side to the consumers without stopping at intermediary channels. Although it is relatively easy to operate the front end of consumer-direct, the backend remains difficult and challenging. The organization of the backend operations, it turns out, could be the differentiating factor for the success of a company. This case describes how one home delivery company, Streamline, used innovative logistics concepts so that the backend operations of the company could be as efficient as possible.
This material is available for download by current Stanford GSB students, faculty, and staff, as well as Stanford GSB alumni. For inquires, contact the Case Writing Office. Download
Available for Purchase