I worked in planning and logistics for consumer goods companies and supermarkets for a while, and the level of control and automation they have to optimize pricing, warehousing, stock and logistics is really something. Tons of it still depends on human decision-making, but even that has been honed into very efficient organizational processes that now only very marginal efficiency gains are possible/what is expected. The only problem is that these systems are set up to maximize profit margins, and to a certain degree other metrics like making sure the shelves are never empty, delivery times, minimizing stock or energy consumption. If you optimized for affordability or eliminating food deserts, the network would follow suit with very little change.
I have always believed that after the revolution, one of the occupations that would be of key priority would be logistics specialists. The capability is there, the only thing that needs to change are the strategic priorities of the system. It’s also an example of allowing flexibility in local decision-making and negotiation between logistical units to handle unforeseen circumstances, while ensuring wider objectives are being tracked and aimed at, without the unwieldiness and slow reaction time of 100% central planning.
I’m not skilled enough for a thorough analysis but I bet it would be interesting to look at Wal-Mart’s rise to dominance through that lens. One of their big things was capturing and analyzing sales data, and using that to inform planning. Of course we know who that ultimately benefited.
Yeah! Essentially all major corporations, using the just-in-time supply chain and lean scheduling, are already centrally planned. Any given Wal-Mart store knows what it needs to stock so that it never runs out and never runs out of space, the exact minimum/maximum number of people it needs to run the store, how to source everything, how much to charge for everything, etc etc.
Real time price and spending behaviour monitoring?
What’s that thing about capitalism laying the foundation for planned economies? I think it was Lenin
I worked in planning and logistics for consumer goods companies and supermarkets for a while, and the level of control and automation they have to optimize pricing, warehousing, stock and logistics is really something. Tons of it still depends on human decision-making, but even that has been honed into very efficient organizational processes that now only very marginal efficiency gains are possible/what is expected. The only problem is that these systems are set up to maximize profit margins, and to a certain degree other metrics like making sure the shelves are never empty, delivery times, minimizing stock or energy consumption. If you optimized for affordability or eliminating food deserts, the network would follow suit with very little change.
I have always believed that after the revolution, one of the occupations that would be of key priority would be logistics specialists. The capability is there, the only thing that needs to change are the strategic priorities of the system. It’s also an example of allowing flexibility in local decision-making and negotiation between logistical units to handle unforeseen circumstances, while ensuring wider objectives are being tracked and aimed at, without the unwieldiness and slow reaction time of 100% central planning.
Can we have Cybersyn??
No we have Cybersyn at home.
Cybersyn at home:
Well I mean if capitalists are willing to expand the foundations of CyberSyn even more…
something something they will sell us the rope something something
(/hj to this whole comment)
I’m not skilled enough for a thorough analysis but I bet it would be interesting to look at Wal-Mart’s rise to dominance through that lens. One of their big things was capturing and analyzing sales data, and using that to inform planning. Of course we know who that ultimately benefited.
The People’s Republic of Walmart: How the World’s Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism by Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski
Haven’t read it (yet) myself, but maybe it’s at least part of that analysis?
Yeah! Essentially all major corporations, using the just-in-time supply chain and lean scheduling, are already centrally planned. Any given Wal-Mart store knows what it needs to stock so that it never runs out and never runs out of space, the exact minimum/maximum number of people it needs to run the store, how to source everything, how much to charge for everything, etc etc.
Seems likely! I’d heard of that book but forgotten about it, thanks for the reminder.
You may wanna check out Paul Cockshott’s Youtube Channel.
Disclaimer: This guy is a TERF. That’s the only thing I wanna change about time If I could. Same with Norm Finkelstein.