When a retailing system is operating at peak efficiency, a delivery truck arriving late or carrying the wrong goods immediately triggers messages to a decision maker who can quickly order more.

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To use this method of delivery as a choice or a convenience is wrong.

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That could be because people can't or don't want to wait for a delivery van to show up, or they are in a hurry, or they don't want to bother with a salesperson, or they know they can return what they buy if it goes wrong, or they just want to save on the delivery charge, especially if it is something heavy.

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For Megan and Michael, a Los Angeles couple, the crucial turn of parenthood came not in the delivery room but eight months later, when they started to worry that something had gone wrong with their son.

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