• Jeffrey Preston Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, has been elected to the Logistics
Hall of Fame as a “revolutioniser of e-commerce and logistics”.
• Formal induction ceremony to take place in November at the German Transport Ministry in
Berlin.
Ismaning near Munich, 14 August 2017. The Logistics Hall of Fame will soon have a new member.
Amazon founder and internet pioneer Jeff Bezos has been elevated to the ranks of the world’s most
famous logisticians. He has been honoured as a “revolutioniser of e-commerce and logistics”. Bezos
will be officially inducted in a ceremony at the annual Logistics Hall of Fame Gala in the Erich
Klausener Hall of the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in Berlin on November
9.
“Jeff Bezos has rewritten the history of logistics. His name is synonymous with successful ecommerce
and a generation of entrepreneurs whose business models are based on algorithms and
innovative logistics solutions. Had it not been for him, not much would have moved in logistics”,
comments Anita Würmser, Executive Jury Chairperson of the Logistics Hall of Fame, on the final
decision of the international expert jury.
Jeff Bezos can claim to have revolutionised logistics in the mail order sector. In the words of the jury,
he was the first to realise that software and logistics are key to the shift from purchasing-driven
trading to demand-driven online trading. Thanks to a combination of software, efficient delivery,
automation and long-term strategy, the computer scientist transformed transport logistics and
intralogistics from the ground up, making Amazon a benchmark for the sector as a whole. Almost any
technological development is nowadays influenced by e-commerce and many innovations are geared
exclusively towards e-commerce. Bezos also impressively demonstrated that innovative logistics
make an important contribution to corporate success.
Bezos launched his entrepreneurial career in 1994 with his online-based book store, and turned “the
biggest book store in the world” not only into “the biggest department store in the world” in a
matter of a few years but also into a technology company. In 2016 Amazon had a turnover of more
than 135bn US dollars. However, Bezos’ success is not based on the goods and services offered by his
company. His recipe for success is the way the products are delivered to the customers. He replaced
the push principle with a pull approach. While commerce used to only store a selection of products
with sales statistics only evaluated after the event, the Internet provided real time insights into
current product searches. Bezos was the first to use algorithms for the purpose of pre-estimate
consumer desires and he covered the world with logistics centres in order to deliver almost any
product cheaply, quickly and reliably to the customer.
Innovation is important for Bezos. Working by trial-and-error, Amazon tests new technological
innovations almost on a daily basis in order to optimise the shopping process from customer order to
parcel delivery. The Internet giant has been experimenting with drone delivery since 2013. The first
logistics centre, where some 2,500 transport robots will support the centre’s staff, will open in
Winsen, Germany, in September. Other successful examples for Bezos’ technology-focused approach
are Amazon’s patented one-click order option based on stored credit card data, as well as even more
convenient re-ordering via dash button.
He aims to expand the Amazon Global Supply Chain into a global logistics network in which the
company will act as the mediator between merchant and customer, operating all elements of the
global supply chain – from production of goods all the way to delivery to the front door. In his private
life, Bezos is fascinated by aerospace and is currently working to make space travel possible for
everyone.
Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 12, 1964. He
graduated in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton, launching his career in
1986 at Taiwanese mobile telecommunications company Fitel, followed by a positions at Bankers
Trust and D.E. Shaw. The computer science graduate developed a computer system for the
management of investment funds in the late 1980s. While working at Shaw, Bezos adjusted the
existing computer systems to deal with hedge fund transactions. Bezos now employs more than
350,000 people.
The Logistics Hall of Fame’s patron is Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister of Transport and digital
Infrastructure. The Logistics Hall of Fame is supported by numerous international sector associations,
media and companies such as Duisburg Port, Gebrüder Weiss, logistics insurer Kravag, intralogistics
provider Still, the federal Central Cooperative for Road Transport (SVG) or freight exchange
TimoCom.
The Hall of Fame can be accessed free of charge at www.logisticshalloffame.net and provides
information about milestones of logistics and logistics innovators.
More information about all members: http://www.logisticshalloffame.net/en/members
