e-SC

[e-Supply Chain]

Online Shoppers Want More Convenience comScore Inc. and UPS released the global study in the UPS Pulse of the
Online Shopper series, revealing online shoppers are looking for more control over their shipping and delivery experiences. The study includes data from more than 14,000 frequent online shoppers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and Mexico.
According to the report, shoppers in the U.S. are the most satisfied with online shopping experiences at 83 percent, while consumers in the Asia Pacific are least satisfied at only 50 percent. The flexibility around delivery and returns were among the areas with the least satisfaction across the globe.
As mobile and social channels continue to change the way consumers shop, the study found creating a mobile app can help prevent comparison shopping in all markets, especially in Mexico and Europe, nearly half in the U.S., but not as much in Asia. Global consumers are connected to social media channels and are open to promotions from retailers. “Liking” a brand through Facebook is most prevalent in Asia (81 percent) and Mexico (76 percent), but least common in Europe. The majority of shoppers in Asia and Europe (79 percent) prefer to access retailers through mobile or digital channels, while more than 1/3 of shoppers in Canada and Australia prefer to shop in-store.
Canadian consumers trade speed for cost, as do U.S. shoppers, but in Asia they’re less patient, only willing to wait four days for their purchases to arrive. More than half of consumers around the world said they would shop more with a retailer offering a hassle-free returns policy.
For more information on the report, visit comscore.com.

CIA Cloud Decision
Stands
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has received a favorable decision from a U.S. court in its dispute with
IBM over a contract awarded to
AWS by the Central Intelligence
Agency.
Following oral arguments, U.S.
Court of Federal Claims Judge
Thomas Wheeler ruled against
IBM in a dispute that started when the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) awarded a cloud computing contract to Amazon
Web Services (AWS).
The initial IBM protest led to a review and recommendation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). That recommendation called for the CIA to modify parts of the contract and allow IBM to submit another bid.
At stake was a $600 million
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contract for public cloud services.
AWS received certification under the Federal Risk and
Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) in May, and the
CIA contract bid is part of the company’s increasing effort to attract government agencies to cloud computing.
IBM expressed its disappointment in the decision and said it planned to appeal.

The PHA App
The Port of Houston Authority is introducing a smart-phone mobile application that enables customers to check on the status of containers and their availability for pickup at the Port Authority’s Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals.
The application has a number of practical features, includ-

ing the display of any and all terminal announcements; container status; summary of booking details; vessel schedules and cutoff dates and information related to transiting through the terminal gates.
The application is designed for easy installation on smart phones and mobile tablets. Users may access information to choose Barbours Cut or Bayport container terminals through the following link: mca.poha.com.
For nearly 100 years, PHA has owned or operated the public cargo-handling facilities of the
Port of Houston — the nation’s largest port for foreign waterborne tonnage. The port is an