This paper reviews the supply chain management practices of Amazon.com (AMZN) and highlights findings in the framework of a Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats (SWOT) framework.
AMZN opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 as a web based bookseller and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection according to the company’s 2012 annual report to shareholders. AMZN’s vision statement is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators. AMZN has organized its operations into two principal segments: North America and International. Figure 2 below shows AMZN’s net sales for the last three years reported. Figure 1: AMZN Net Sales
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AMZN serves consumers directly via its retail websites, which offers millions of unique products across many categories sold directly by AMZN or via its vast network of third party sellers. Regardless of who is actually providing the product AMZN provides excellent user interfaces, seamless fulfillment, and world class customer service. Similar to Wal-Mart’s everyday low price strategy, AMZN strives to offer its customers the lowest prices possible through low everyday product pricing and shipping offers.
AMZN fulfills customer orders through US and International fulfillment centers and warehouses as well as via digital delivery for media products. AMZN’s multi-tier inventory model also allows for order fulfillment through partner suppliers and third-parties. This enables AMZN to offer a vast product selection to its customers without the risk of large inventory carrying costs. AMZN’s multi-tier inventory model is depicted in figure 2 below. Figure 1: AMZN multi-tier inventory model. Source: Chiles and Dau, 2005
AMZN has competed on selection with traditional retailers since its inception. AMZN is able to support this selection through its multi-tier inventory network. The following is a description of the three tiers or echelons that comprise AMZN’s inventory network. The website www.amazon.com is the consumer interface and owns the
Although retailers such as Walmart and Target do have loyal customer bases, they are not sitting idle as Amazon and other eCommerce firms obtain a greater market share. They are expanding their online profiles and offering similar shopping experiences. However, they hold one major advantage over Amazon. Every store can serve as a distribution center. Walmart is a perfect example. It has expanded its online profile to provide eCommerce services to its customers (Thau, 2014). Because every store serves as a distribution center, customers can receive their order much faster than Amazon can deliver it.
As of January 2010, Amazon.com has three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples. By offering a large amount of varied categories through its website and other international ones (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.co.fr, and so on), it has managed to grow to a customer based company with over 30 million people. In addition, the online retail format enables the company to reduce costs of managing inventory (Amazon.com; online bookstore, 2008).
Amazon.com has built the relationship with its customer based on a particular shopping experience that is tight to three levels in the supply chain
Supply chain management is a practice that involves the planning, supervision, and implementation of strategies and controls to direct the movement of goods and services provided to customers. The intent of this essay is to incorporate a synopsis of existing literature and to provide the reader with a general understanding of how supply chain management correlates with the organizational design and structure of modern firms. The essay comprehensively reviews the components of supply chain management and their integration with functional areas within an organization. The information presented in this essay
Amazon.com creates value for its customers by offering customers broad array of products to select from through their website and ensuring timely delivery of products to exhibit high level of commitment towards their business and customers
With all those areas of sales, it could be safe to assume to say that Amazons has made itself a competitor of nearly every consumer based industry in retail. Amazon directly competes with Netflix, Apple, Barns and Noble, Overstock, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and many others. In competing with so many various companies, in so many industries, Amazon must keep focused on their quality of service, and supply chain management to maintain their
Amazon.com is an On-line retailer of, originally, books. The company was established as a micro enterprise in the US in 1994. Since then it has enjoyed rapid expansion in all aspects of its operations, including business turnover, and a spectacular rise in share value since public floatation in 1997. New on-line sites based in Germany and UK and a distribution center in Amsterdam were established in 1998 to cater for European markets. On August 30, 2000 Amazon.com launched its third site outside the US, Amazon.fr in France. Amazon.com sells only on-line and is essentially an information broker. It holds a relatively small, though increasing, inventory and outsources most aspects of its operations. Almost every aspect of amazon
With very little doubt, Amazon has become the most feared competition amongst traditional retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and Best buy. To support this growth, Amazon has built one of the world’s largest supply chain distribution systems spanning 148 centers around the world, totally more than 17 million square feet in North America alone (Stone, 2009). However, in the midst of the massive growth of that Amazon has experienced in the last few years, many workers of rural Amazon distribution centers in Nevada, Indiana and Pennsylvania are shockingly finding themselves without jobs as their centers of employment close, while Amazon looks to shift its supply chain strategy (Stone, 2009). In this paper we will further look at Amazon’s new strategy with ideas for distribution that no longer call for having fewer, larger warehouses which ship all over the country, to multiple more, smaller warehouses located near population centers to allow for multiple shipping and delivery programs. Lastly, this paper will look at the effect this will have on Amazon’s supply chain, as well as its effect on the world market as a whole.
Amazon.com is greatly concerned with customer desires that are why one of its objectives is the personalization of clients’ wishes, therefore offering products that may meet their likeness. Amazon.com is aimed to provide the best buying experience on the Internet.
The Company offers its customers the lowest prices possible through low everyday product pricing and shipping offers, including through membership in Amazon Prime, and to improve its operating efficiencies so that it can continue to lower prices for its customers. The Company also provides easy-to-use functionality, fast and reliable fulfillment, and timely customer service. It offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its websites and their own branded websites and to fulfill orders through them.
Amazon.com is one of the world’s largest online retailer as well as a consumer centric company. Amazon.com began as an online book store and now it has grown to start selling much more products like DVD’s, VH’s Cd’s, Video and Mp3, Software Video Games, Electronic, Apparel, Furniture, Food, Toys and jewellery. Amazon has grown across the world and is working on behalf of customer centers. This way Amazon is able to provide fast and reliable shipping straight from their website. The products that are sold through the Amazon website is not always stocked at their facility. Amazon doesn’t stock everything that is sold through its website. Amazon launched the sale of used products through its seller marketplace. The seller marketplace provides another retail revenue stream for the company without the need to stock products in its warehouse. Seller’s handles advertising and shipping. Amazon separated retail websites for other countries. Amazon offers international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. One of the reason amazon has expanded more is because it offer consumers different types of products at more conveniently and lower prices.
Industry: Amazon’s business concept not only helped Amazon grow, rather it developed a value network for all the industry
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon.com) is an e-commerce company. The Company sells a range of products and services through its Websites. The Company 's products are offered through consumer-facing Websites, which include merchandise and content that it purchases for resale from vendors and those offered by third-party sellers. It designs its Websites to enable products to be sold by the Company and by third parties across various product categories. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo and Fire phones. Amazon.com operates in two segments: North America and International. The North America segment focuses on retail sales earned through North America-focused Websites. The International segment focuses on the Company 's operations done through its international Websites. It serves developers and enterprises through Amazon Web Services (AWS). It serves authors and independent publishers with Kindle Direct Publishing. (Amazon.com Inc.) When Amazon opened its virtual doors in 1995, it was with the mission to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where shoppers everywhere can discover anything they might want to buy online. (hourly fulfillment associate jobs)
As we have mentioned above we have analysed and discussed the various stages that Amazon went through in terms of their business strategy, which also affected their logistics management. We identified that Amazon had different motives for modifying their logistics management when moving from one stage to another. When Amazon went from having no inventory to building warehouses, was primarily to grow their business as they wanted to offer a larger range of products to their customers. From there, Amazon then decided to enter into partnerships with distributors. The main motive behind this move was to improve its logistics efficiency.
Amazon is a pioneer in online retailing. Through 3 third party agreements, the company offers the world’s largest choice in consumer products including but not limited to books, CDs, DVDs, electronics and office furnishings. The company has offices in 138 locations in 32 countries. Initially, the company’s purpose was to offer customers the opportunity to purchase books quickly and cheaply. Amazon has however grown since then to offer a wider variety through partnerships with more established companies such as Yahoo, Inc., America Online Inc., Netscape. They allowed the companies to use their website to promote its services and reach a greater audience. The company is worth 29.7 Billion Dollars and is traded on the US stock