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Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

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Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#291

Post by anonu »

__d__ wrote: post #220

I sold to Walmart for 4 years. In the beginning we believed we were lucky to become vendors. Then we realized how much stress they created. Every single year they would short pay our invoices. We would have to submit a claim with Walmart accounting. This process was completely and utterly time consuming. But the worst of it, they wouldn't pay the invoices owed until a year later. It's hard to float a $100,000 short p…

I remember in an accounting class long ago discussing Walmart's relationships with their vendors. They would defer payment to vendors as long as possible while earning the cash from selling in their stores. So effectively they would have an interest-free loan on their balance sheet...

What you're describing obviously sounds different - but somewhat an extension of holding off payment for as long as possible, to the point were it becomes onerous to the vendors.

edit: for clarity, typos

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#292

Post by randcraw »

mschuster91 wrote: post #171
Analemma_ wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon does exactly the same thing though: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/17/cheap-words (focusing specifically on books, but they do it across all sectors)

When companies are able to do this, they should be broken up, period. Unfortunately we are in a system that's essentially the worst of capitalism with none of the good (and especially not with regulations), so there is no hope left and more jobs will migrate to China. That's what Trump should tackle if he wants to stop job migration, but it seems like he's focused on anything but regulating BigCos.

I've long wondered, with the rise of the internet, is prosecution really necessary to address unsavory business practices like these? Why not force the company into the light, posting this information in a useful form that informs the public and shames the malefactor?

I'm a strong proponent of open . If shady behavior arises in business, government, public services, and even public discourse, I'd love to see a moderated form of public disclosure become the standard way to reveal and address such 'discrepancies'. Now that the 'net is ubiquitous, I don't see why age-old small town arbitration principles can't be applied to redress virtually all forms of grievance, as long as the public exchange is conducted decorously, as a judge or strict moderator rules could ensure.

IMO, the state of AI is getting pretty close to enabling this sort of moderator service, making it impossible for 'conduct unbecoming' to persist out of the public eye. What cellphone videos are doing to police/perp misbehavior ought to be possible for general business practices too.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#293

Post by bubblethink »

Kocrachon wrote: post #209
bubblethink wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon decided to fork Android, and create fire phone, their own app store, and a bunch of other attempts at cutting Google out. They decided to not support other streamers because they again launched their own stick. So instead of explaining to customers, or dealing with returns, about why they can't play amazon content on chromecast, they just banned chromecast from the store. And to emphasize, it's not about not s…

I mean, this isn't that unusual. Its the same Reason Netflix, last I checked, makes you sign up for its services on the website and you cant do it on the App. Netflix would then be required to give something like 20 something percent of its revenue to Google. If Amazon were to have to give 20% of all transactions made through any of its Apps to Google, considering Amazon runs on making no retail profit, how do you th…

This is not directly comparable to the app store fees that apple/google make. The cast API is free to use AFAIK, although still within google's ecosystem. Amazon's content app itself is available on google's store. The decision to not support the cast API would be due to the direct conflict with their own stick. Even that is not so bad in itself, but meddling with the sales of chromecast is pretty low.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#294

Post by dkrich »

randcraw wrote: post #288
dkrich wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think concerns about Amazon becoming a monopoly are greatly exaggerated. They are getting attacked from all sides, by Microsoft in the cloud and Wal-Mart in ecommerce. As Microsoft grabs share from them in web services it'll reduce Amazon's ability to cross-subsidize its ecommerce business. As Wal-Mart and Costco continue to catch up in ecommerce and free two-day shipping becomes table stakes in ecommerce, Amazon's…

A few points in refutation. I see Amazon as far ahead of Walmart in all ways that promise growth: 1) Walmart may be the biggest retailer in the US, but they don't have half of the US homes as subscribers. Amazon Prime does. I doubt Walmart.com attracts any where near as many e-tail visitors as Amazon, and I suspect the gap is widening. 2) Amazon is decades ahead of Walmart in the online shopper experience. I grit my…

Try buying a nice watch or high-end stereo equipment there. No such ceiling applies to Amazon, probably because Amazon welcomes re-sellers (which can span all market niches), while Walmart doesn't.

Ha- as it happens I just bought a nice watch, today, and after perusing the options on Amazon I found the same watch I was about to buy direct from the retailer. However after considering the number of knock-off items I've received from Amazon, I simply refused to trust that the watch was authentic, and ended up paying more for the peace of mind that I got from buying it direct from the manufacturer.

Amazon's lack of quality control makes it impossible to trust them for expensive items that can be knocked off. It's funny that you say that Wal-Mart is middle-to-down market, because Amazon is where I buy my household staples and some consumer electronic items and cheap crap that I'm not overly concerned with the quality. Clothing, watches- pretty much anything of quality I look elsewhere.

That said, I do buy clothing from Zappos, and I think Wal-Mart made a smart move to acquire Bonobos to make a serious move into high-end apparel.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#295

Post by bassman9000 »

KirinDave wrote: post #94

This is... Not the best? That Wal-Mart is powerful enough to dictate the internal business practice and tech decisions of it's vendor. On the other hand, Amazon is a massive immoral monster devouring the US economy and replacing it with something vaguely worse, year by year. It's rapidly approaching a "too big to be allowed to fail" status, and that's awful for Americans. Since anti-trust laws weren't written by a ge…

vendor is free to enter in a relationship with WalMart. WalMart is free to dictate their terms, vendor too. No agreement, no deal, part ways.

Explain how this is wrong.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#296

Post by joezydeco »

ControlledBurn wrote: post #126
toomuchtodo wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snapper mowers. https://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart

Interesting read, though it would appear that's no longer the case: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=Snapper&cat_id=5428_11...

But what happens a lot of times is that the US company will produce a low-cost version in China and sell that exclusively in Wal-Mart.

Not sure if this is the case with Snapper (article doesn't say), but that's typically how they get back into the stores.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#297

Post by randcraw »

mindcrime wrote: post #155
empath75 wrote: post #144

If libertarians don't realize that the system they're advocating for is essentially corporate feudalism, they're suckers. I'd rather have a powerful government accountable to voters than a powerful corporate oligarchy that is only accountable to shareholders.

If libertarians don't realize that the system they're advocating for is essentially corporate feudalism, they're suckers In a purely Libertarian world, there wouldn't be any corporations, since corporations are a legal fiction that depend on the State for their existence.

In pure libertarianism, collectives of all kinds ultimately devolve into gangs that perpetuate their place in the social hierarchy through 'by whatever means are necessary' and legal. That's hardly an ideal worth defending, methinks.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#298

Post by 086421357909764 »

randcraw wrote: post #273
cookiecaper wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never worked with Walmart directly, but to be fair, I experienced this kind of thing all the time as a contractor. It seems to be sort of an unspoken thing in accounting departments that you allow vendors to complain before you pay too much attention to the particularities of any given invoice. It doesn't excuse the practice and I always appreciated the clients who paid correctly and promptly, but I don't think…

I work in the IT division of a Fortune 100 pharma. About four years ago I was astonished as a senior business director proudly bragged to us about the company's successful accounts payable strategy of paying all vendor bills as late as possible. This allowed the company to earn a higher yield on overnight investments, despite the continuing outcry from business partners. I imagine most giant corporations now behave t…

I see most firms start with NET30 now, but many have begun pushing NET90. We started putting terms in our contract that show bill due prior to work commencement, most don't pay attention and expect you'll just fall in line. Those are usually customers we don't want. The smart ones that actually pay attention will usually counter with a tiered approach. 50/50 or 40,30,30 with milestones. It can easily make or break a firm. Nothing more frustrating than a small business that has issues with finances not because of money, but because of erratic clients.

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#299

Post by gregatragenet3 »

Seems as if this is a reasonable request, which is being framed as an unreasonable one.

WalMart has asked a Data-Warehousing service (via its customer) to please not do what it does - data-warehouse internal information about sales, revenue, etc - on their retail-competitor's servers. Data which could give Amazon sensitive inside information on WalMart's operations and financials..

I dono if they've made other less-reasonable requests, but the example provided in the article is completely reasonable.

I always find it a ironic when I've interacted with startups which have a plan to bring some disruptive thing to market that potentially competes with Amazon or Google, and yet route all their data and communication through these platforms. :)

Re: Wal-Mart is telling some vendors they can’t run applications on AWS

#300

Post by Kocrachon »

j2bax wrote: post #275
Kocrachon wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Amazon Video really a competitor? Their prime offering is shit. Hulu, to me, is a far more viable competitor. Amazon Video is only good for buying or renting. Their free offerings are terrible.

They've got plenty of great content. A good roster of original shows, lots of classic and new movies and on and on. The fact that you can rent/buy new releases before they are typically on Netflix or Hulu, is a major bonus of the service if you ask me.

Maybe its just harder to parse through then. Whenever I go through the prime videos, I have a hard time finding good content to watch outside of Amazon created series. Where as with netflix, lots of good new, exclusive stand up content and newer videos such as disney classics.

Amazon outside of its own created content seems to lack.

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