the.world.is.flat-第42章
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the 1990s； as more and more UPS customers became empowered and comfortable with the
Internet； and as its own tracking and tracing system improved with advances in
wireless technology； UPS invited its customers to track packages themselves over the
Internet； at a cost to UPS of between 5（2 and 100 a query。
〃So we dramatically reduced our service costs and increased service；〃 said UPS vice
president Ken Sternad； especially since UPS now pulls in 7 million tracking requests
on an average day and a staggering 12 million on peak days。 At the same time； its
drivers also became more empowered with their DIADs …driver delivery information
acquisition devices。 These are the brown electronic clipboards that you always see
the UPS drivers carrying around。 The latest generation of them tells each driver where
in his truck to load each package…exactly what position on the shelf。 It also tells
him where his next stop is； and if he goes to the wrong address； the GPS system built
into the DIAD won't allow him to deliver the package。 It also allows Mom to go online
and find out when the driver will be in her neighborhood dropping off her package。
Insourcing is distinct from supply…chaining because it goes well beyond supply…chain
management。 Because it is third…party…managed logistics； it requires a much more
intimate and extensive kind of collaboration among UPS and its clients and its
clients' clients。 In many cases today； UPS and its employees are so deep inside their
clients' infrastruc
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ture that it is almost impossible to determine where one stops and the other starts。
The UPS people are not just synchronizing your packages…they are synchronizing your
whole company and its interaction with both customers and suppliers。
〃This is no longer a vendor…customer relationship；〃 said Eskew。 〃We answer your phones；
we talk to your customers； we house your inventory； and we tell you what sells and
doesn't sell。 We have access to your information and you have to trust us。 We manage
competitors； and the only way for this to work； as our founders told Gimbel's and
Macy's； is 'trust us。' I won't violate that。 Because we are asking people to let go
of part of their business； and that really requires trust。〃
UPS is creating enabling platforms for anyone to take his or her business global or
to vastly improve the efficiency of his or her global supply chain。 It is a totally
new business； but UPS is convinced it has an almost limitless upside。 Time will tell。
Though margins are still thin in this kind of work； in 2003 alone insourcing pulled
in 2。4 billion in revenues for UPS。 My gut tells me the folks in the funny brown
shorts and funny brown trucks are on to something big…something made possible only
by the flattening of the world and something that is going to flatten it a lot more。
Flattener #9 In…forming
Google； Yahoo！； MSN Web Search
My friend and I met a guy at a restaurant。 My friend was very taken with him； but
I was suspiciously curious about this guy。 After a few minutes of Googling； I found
out that he was arrested for felony assault。 Although I was once again disappointed
with the quality of the dating pool； I was at least able to warn my friend about this
guy's violent past。 …Testimonial from Google user
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I am completely delighted with the translation service。 My partner arranged for two
laborers to come and help with some demolition。 There was a miscommunication： she
asked for the workers to come at 11 am； and the labor service sent them at 8：30。 They
speak only Spanish； and I speak English and some French。 Our Hispanic neighbors were
out。 With the help of the translation service； I was able to communicate with the
workers； to apologize for the miscommunication； establish the expectation； and ask
them to come back at 11。 Thank you for providing this connection 。 。 。 Thank you Google。
…Testimonial from Google user
I just want to thank Google for teaching me how to find love。 While looking for my
estranged brother； I stumbled across a Mexican Web site for male strippers…and I was
shocked。 My brother was working as a male prostitute！ The first chance I got； I flew
to the city he was working in to liberate him from this degrading profession。 I went
to the club he was working at and found my brother。 But more than that； I met one
of his co…workers 。 。 。 We got married last weekend ＇in Mexico＇； and I am positive
without Google's services； I never would have found my brother； my husband； or the
surprisingly lucrative nature of the male stripping industry in Mexico！！ Thank you；
Google！
…Testimonial from Google user
Google headquarters in Mountain View； California； has a certain Epcot Cen
ter feel to it…so many fun space age toys to play with； so little time。 In one corner
is a spinning globe that emits light beams based on the volume of people searching
on Google。 As you would expect； most of the shafts of light are shooting up from North
America； Europe； Korea； Japan； and coastal China。 The Middle East and Africa remain
pretty dark。 In another corner is a screen that shows a sample of what things people
are searching for at that moment； all over the world。 When I was there in 2001； I
asked my hosts what had been the most frequent searches lately。 One； of course； was
〃sex；〃 a perennial favorite of Googlers。
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Another was 〃God。〃 Lots of people searching for Him or Her。 A third was 〃jobs〃…you
can't find enough of those。 And the fourth most searched item around the time of my
visit？ I didn't know whether to laugh or cry： 〃professional wrestling。〃 The weirdest
one； though； is the Google recipe book； where people just open their refrigerators；
see what ingredients are inside； type three of them into Google； and see what recipes
come up！
Fortunately； no single word or subject accounts for more than 1 or 2 percent of all
Google searches at any given time； so no one should get too worried about the fate
of humanity on the basis of Google's top search items on any particular day。 Indeed；
it is the remarkable diversity of searches going on via Google； in so many different
tongues； that makes the Google search engine （and search engines in general） such
huge flatteners。 Never before in the history of the planet have so many people…on
their own…had the ability to find so much information about so many things and about
so many other people。
Said Google cofounder Russian…born Sergey Brin； 〃If someone has broadband； dial…up；
or access to an Internet cafe； whether a kid in Cambodia； the university professor；
or me who runs this search engine； all have the same basic access to overall research
information that anyone has。 It is a total equalizer。 This is very different than
how I grew up。 My best access was some library； and it did not have all that much
stuff； and you either had to hope for a miracle or search for something very simple
or something very recent。〃 When Google came along； he added； suddenly that kid had
〃universal access〃 to the information in libraries all over the world。
That is certainly Google's goal…to make easily available all the world's knowledge
in every language。 And Google hopes that in time； with a PalmPilot or a cell phone；
everyone everywhere will be able to carry around access to all the world's knowledge
in their pockets。 〃Everything〃 and 〃everyone〃 are key words that you hear around
Google all the time。 Indeed； the official Google history carried on its home page
notes that the name 〃Google〃 is a play on the word 〃'googol；' which is the number
represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros。 Google's use of the term reflects
the company's mission to organize the immense； seemingly infinite amount of
information available on the
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Web；〃 just for you。 What Google's success reflects is how much people are interested
in having just that…all the world's knowledge at their fingertips。 There is no bigger
flattener than the idea of making all the world's knowledge； or even just a big chunk
of it； available to anyone and everyone； anytime； anywhere。
〃We do discriminate only to the degree that if you can't use a
