answer questions 1 & 2

E-Commerce and Home Delivery Without fulfillment, e-commerce won't exist. This fact exceedingly manifested during the pandemic as people protected themselves by avoiding stores. The experience overwhelmingly proved that the final mile of home delivery is the weakest link in the fulfillment process. Although picking and packing orders are de facto e-commerce fulfillment processes, shipping times and methods remain as third-party logistics operations - Amazon is trying to change that however. The situation with home-delivery end of e-commerce has come to a head as America's biggest food-delivery apps are fighting regulators in their top markets. DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats have sued cities like New York City and San Francisco for imposing limits on what they can charge restaurants. The regulatory snares are complicating the companies' efforts to become profitable, sustainable businesses after years of hefty losses. Delivery, already an expensive end of e-commerce fulfillment, has become costlier as companies compete for market share in overlapping geographies. Observers believe regulatory challenges not only present a long-term threat to food and delivery companies' ability to deliver returns, they will undermine the welfare of home-delivery consumers. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Discuss the dispute between the food delivery apps and regulators futured in the WSJ. Do you think setting a cap on the commissions delivery companies can charge restaurants is justified (economically, legally)? Why or why not? 2. What would be the impact of the proposed regulation on e- commerce fulfillment, home delivery, and consumer welfare? SOURCES