These three flows have sequentially built upon one another over UPS's 92-year history. Further, this example illustrates the evolution of e-commerce. I recently ran across another interesting perspective of how commerce has evolved. It was authored by the Boston Consulting Group's Philip Evans and Thomas Wurster. A key premise of the book states that traditional business strategy either focused on richness, or reach.
Richness favors services tailored to a narrow audience, and traditionally built strong brands.
Reach, on the other hand, favors a broad, general appeal. Ninety-two years ago, UPS began its business focused on richness. Our predecessors focused on doing one thing very well, package delivery. Our founders drove bicycles to serve delivery needs of department stores and business customers in Seattle. From the beginning, they emphasized exceptional customer service.