E-commerce and FMCG - Impact on economy, sustainability and network organization of distribution

Due to IT, the role of the end-consumer buying FMGC through retailers changes. Internet-based grocery stores and pre-packaged grocery bags make the physical store unnecessary as an interface towards the final consumer as the industrial distribution system is being “short-circuited”, causing the end-consumer and the distribution system to interact directly.

The overall question that this project address is how e-commerce has changed the organizing of the networks around the distribution system of the grocery sector. This is investigated from an economic feasibility perspective and from a sustainability perspective in a comparison of an e-commerce solution and a physical store solution.