Amazon : An Effective Delivery System

Amazon has earned a great reputation in customer service for allowing customers to shop without face to face, avoiding talking to a customer’s service representative agent on the phone, everything it done online. Sales clerk does not exist, everything is ordered with a click of the mouse, and arrives extremenely quick in the mail (Cohen, 2009). Amazon at interval has gotten involved with the customers when they can have too. According to Green, H. (2009), “Amazon stands out most markedly from other companies, and helps explain how the company earned the No. 1 spot on Business Week’s customer service ranking this year”( para. 1).

​Competition within the internet sales industry is fierce and innovation is the way internet retailers are looking to grab the top spot. Internet retailers such as Walmart are following in the path of competitors and building fulfillment centers left and right to allow for faster delivery to customers. Many internet retailers have explored the possibilities of drone delivery, using customers to deliver products to other customers on their way home, and allowing customers to pick up products out of lockers in stores so they don’t have to wait in line; these competitive strategies internet retailers are seeking to implement illustrate how far firms are willing to go to gain the upper-hand on one another (Forbes, 2012).

“When you dream for it, you will get it” is an acclaimed quote of Walt Disney, which is considered as one of the best motivational quotes. “Search for it, you will get it” is what Amazon promises with its latest initiative, which is named as “Anticipatory Shipping“. Anticipatory shipping is exactly what it sounds like: Products are shipped to your geographical vicinity before hand, and in some cases straight away to your door without you actually ordering them. With tremendous growth in technology, today there are innumerable techniques for companies to improve their offerings and thereby enhance their odds of garnering customer attention. Amazon, lately, has been the master in coupling their innovation with technological advancements. The outcome was revolutionary in terms of

In the process of developing its network to support its services, Amazon.com has built out an infrastructure that includes 145 warehouses around the world (84 in the United States, 29 in Europe, 4 in Canada, 10 in Japan, 15 in China and seven in India) that together account for more than 40 million square feet of space. Additionally, Amazon has made significant investments in material handling systems, including the acquisition of Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, which is working now as an Amazon subsidiary designing robots, developing software and other hardware that has been used in the distribution facilities of companies such as The Gap, Office Depot, and Staples (Lieb, 2014).

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer that was launched in 1995 (Rouse, 2014). Amazon was mainly a book selling company that has enlarged its’ business by selling a variety of goods. The company sells all types of technology devices such as cell phones, games, televisions, movies, cameras, computers,

Amazon is using different operating models to provide products and service to customers. There are three distinct models that Amazon.com offers, each with a different supply chain. The three models are Amazon.com as seller, Amazon.com as intermediary, and Amazon.com as full-service e- commerce provider.

Amazon 's two largest competitors are EBay and Wal-Mart. Like amazon, E-Bay and Wal-Mart stores specializes in selling a large array of products. Wal-Mart has an edge however, in the area of prompt gratification of the customer. In society that is characterized by speed and convenience, Amazon has searched for a way to reach their long desired goal that could potentially leave their competitors in the dust. Amazon wants the ability to deliver items on the same day they were ordered. In an attempt to achieve their lofty goal, Amazon has set in motion plans to place fulfillment centers closer to metropolitan areas, allowing them to deliver items in one day to 50% of the U.S. population.

The number one greatest cost that any supply chain will incur is transportation. Every company must use some sort of transportation to move items from warehouses to stores to the customer. To help you understand you must first know what a supply chain is. A supply chain is a network between a company and the suppliers to produce and distribute a product. A supply chain is the steps you use to get your product or service to the customer. The steps required to get your product to the customer involves transportation. Technology is transforming the way plan, design, build and even how to operate transportation systems. Some agencies use them to count traffic, detect crashes, collect tolls and fares, and manage transit operations and traffic signals. One major technology that could change transportation is the use of drones. A drone is known as an unmanned aerial vehicle basically a flying robot. They can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously by the way of software controlled flight plans along with a GPS (Global Positioning System). They are mainly associated with the military but can be used as search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting, and many other things. The unmanned aircraft have come into consideration for commercial uses such as delivering items. In late 2013. Amazon announced a plan to use drones to deliver packages. Drones have become a hobby for a lot of people. The military use them a lot but drones are also

It is never too early to be concerned about the future. Especially if the argument and the justification for concern can be made now. Jeff Bezos’ of Amazon has proposed a drone fleet that will venture into an unfamiliar frontier of package delivery, bringing customers all orders under 5lbs their package by one of Amazons specially designed “octocopters”. Though this plan is nothing more than to use drones to deliver packages the idea is extreme and has people up in arms. The reason people are concerned is because they foresee the older and larger issues that are being reintroduced by this new plan. The issue of drone use has been an extremely controversial topic in the US. There has

The potential to reduce delivery times as well as cut costs is highly likely by expanding the use of own cargo planes and Flex drivers nationwide and internationally. As of December of 2016, Amazon is operating a total of 346 global distribution infrastructures, 201 of which are located in the U.S., and 37 facilities in the making. If cargo planes could deliver to these locations and if a Flex driver delivery system is offered directly from each of these facilities, no new distribution centers would be required. Expedited delivery services could be offered within the cities that already have established Amazon infrastructures. Since no new facilities are required, a combination of Prime Air and the Flex driver delivery system could be expanded in a short period of time both national and internationally.

The package comes, but there is no deliverer. A tractor is plowing the field after a successful harvest, but there is no driver. This is the future of technology, and more specifically, unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs, more commonly referred to as “drones,” have been advancing for decades now. Their advancement has not come without opposition though, and while this argument is concentrated behind drones role in technologies' machination over society, the true reality is a shift to mechanization, a progression the United States has seen before. Historically, many economic shifts have affected the US, including the shift from agrarian society to industrialization in the Gilded Age, periods which allowed the US to dominate the world economy,

The company has many strengths. First, Amazon is the world’s leading online retailer. According to the 2016 Annual Report, Amazon had total net sales of US $135, 987 million in 2016. These total net sales include three segments which are North America, International, and AWS. Second, in comparison to many companies, Amazon has a superior logistics and distribution system, which allows the company to actualize improved customer fulfillment. Third, with its prolonged strategic drive on low-cost, differentiation, and focus, Amazon offers a wide range of product at low prices to customers. Fourth, Amazon enjoys global recognition from its customers. As stated earlier, Amazon built a strong brand in very little time. Finally, the

The most recommended distribution network suited for highly differentiated products would be drop-shipping network. It is the process where shipping avoids the retailers, meaning the retailer isn’t informed to hold any type of inventory for the customers, and instead, the products are directly delivered to the end customers from the manufacturers. In this network, the supply chain can divert and expand low level of inventory to a higher level of availability. It also gives an opportunity for manufacturers to reschedule the customization when necessary. This is excellent for sellers that are able to build to order, and for end customers who wants highly-differentiated products that are in low-demand but are highly valued and are willing to wait for delivery.

In 2000, Amazon and Toys-R-Us entered into a symbiotic agreement that would benefit both corporate entities. Both companies had recently had unimpressive fiscal years due to differing issues. Toys “R” Us struggled with poor order fulfillment. Although they were equipped with enough merchandise, other issues kept them from being able to get orders to customers in a timely manner; especially during the busy holiday season. Conversely, Amazon was forced to write off $34 million because of a miscalculation in inventory and had orders that could not be honored (Ouchi, 2004). Following these debacles, both organizations felt that joining

Drone technology is advancing rapidly and it is changing the way in which things are being done. Drones are widely used by many people as a hobby or for career purposes, as well as for military purposes by the United States. Drones provide the U.S military with many benefits, which helps the military to operate efficiently and in a safe manner. Businesses are utilizing this technology as well in order to make their companies run more efficiently, as well as to improve their customer service. Drone technology will positively impact our society; drastically change our culture and political system and definitely advance our economy as well as help enhance our environment.