Being a Fortune 500 company, Amazon, started by Jeff Bezos in 1995, is the global leader in e-commerce. Amazon offers a wide variety of products, ranging from hardcover books to jewelry to electronics, as conveniently as possible to its customers (About Amazon, 2009). Although Amazon has begun to revolutionize retailing, the company’s competitive advantage and evolution has been put into question. The competitive advantage and evolution of Amazon can be analyzed by determining if the company if moving away from its core competency as a leading online retailer, presenting areas where Amazon is competing with Google and Microsoft, addressing the company’s databases and its uses, and describing how Amazon uses e-Business and e-Commerce for …show more content…
Based on the recent news in 2009 regarding Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, web platforms competition is a must. It appears it would be unwise not to compete in such a growing industry where everyday some new form of technology is created. Every company is trying to top the other by incorporating the newest technology, which others may have created, into their next new application or product. As Amazon struggles to maintain market share and increase profitability for the company in general, one has to wonder whether they are spreading themselves to thin. The key question is can Amazon be everything to everybody. This certainly seems to be the direction Amazon is pursuing. Amazon’s IT infrastructure is not running at full capacity and as a result of this, has led to innovative ideas to generate more revenue by allowing customers to pay for and utilize Amazon’s infrastructure on a pay as you go concept. CEO Jeff Bezos (2007) stated, “What we 're doing is levelling the playing field so that small companies can have access to the same low-cost structure as big companies for very reliable backend infrastructure, and to do that in a pay-by-the-drink way -- so that you don 't have these big fixed-cost steps that you have to subject yourself to" (Information Week,
Amazon.com operates in the Online Retail Industry. The sector is one of the fastest growing globally and is outperforming the ordinary retail marketplace. It was created after 1995 and it was only the Internet that made it possible for such an industry not only to be established but to become one of the most flourishing sectors in the business environment. What is interesting is that Amazon.com, together with eBay is the pioneer in the field. Both companies were launched in 1995 and are still extremely successful. The creation of e-mail in 1996 had a huge impact on the development of online retail by introducing a fast and easy way to communicate with customers. For this two-year period Internet usage
Amazon understood firsthand that the competitive advantage of a company originates immediately from how distinctive the organization's resources and competencies are. Amazon is able to both engage in production at a lower cost and generate a superior product at a standard cost. This is accomplished mostly via Amazon's strategy of having a wide variety of goods and competitive pricing. Customers know they can find basic products at slashed prices or high quality goods at standard prices and this is all achieved via the enormous range of products and product brands and types available on their massive marketplace. For example, the depiction displayed in the case study which shows how growth was related directly to: lower cost structure- lower prices customer experience traffic sellers -selection and convenience. While this is a grave oversimplification of the Amazon business model, it demonstrates how many aspects of the strategy reinforced one another.
Also, Amazon has emphasized on building “several distribution centers around the world to hasten deliveries”(Hof and Himelstein, 1999). Coupled with its software it provides a “laser-like focus on the buying experience”(IT Business Edge, 2012). Such a system and service is what draws customers towards Amazon and subsequently retains them.
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 Inc. was initiated by Jeff Bezos in 1994 after realizing the rapid rate at which the internet and websites were growing in popularity among business organizations and individuals. In 1995, the company started operating its website for selling books, videos, compact discs, computer software and computer hardware before being incorporated in1996 as an e-commerce company (Reuters, 2015). Apparently, the company offers may products and services for sale; these products include merchandise for resale products offered by third parties. In this regard the
One of the companies that exploits opportunities and business ventures to create growth and sustainability is Amazon, Inc. Amazon was founded in 1994 and since then it has opted to take its business online and thus develop a global strategy that has paid off and turned the company into a technological business hub that serves consumers by offering an assortment of products and services in a noteworthy customer service. These strategies have made Amazon one of the leading online retailers with a revenue of US$ 88.988 billion as of 2014. This paper thus seeks to describe Amazon’s grand strategies of product development, market development, and concentration as part of its long-term growth strategy.
Amazon.com is a customer centric company. They put more effort in improving their system to make the experience of customer more comfortable so that he keeps on returning to the website. Jeffery Bezos who is the founder of the Amazon.com started this company after seeing the use of internet increasing rapidly.
One of America’s greatest start-up success stories is Amazon. Jeff Bezos launched the website in 1995 and he is now having revenues of $61 billion. At the start of e-commerce, Amazon was an innovator of delivering supreme customer service, which at that times was very rare. Amazon is an illustration of massive organising skills, the company sells an enormous range of products, all day, every day, for 365 days a year and is able to maintain over 80 warehousing and fulfilment centres.
Amazon managed to go from online bookseller to the largest retailer in the United States. Today, there's almost nothing Amazon doesn't sell. Today, online commerce saves customers money, and precious time, Bezos knows that by personalization it would create real value for its customers and, by doing so; I feel each of the efforts he selected were successful because his hopes to build an enduring franchise worked, even in established and large markets. Bezos has inspired a willingness to continually learn and adjust, which has helped Amazon rise to the top. There were risk factors identified in the report and suggested a long-term strategic solution to help mitigate it. Success doesn't happen overnight. Bezos original 1997 letter to shareholders provides a glimpse into the extraordinary focus the famous founder has maintained through the years, along with some excellent lessons for all who reads it He stresses those to keep moving forward look to the future and look for the long term. He believes that a fundamental measure of success will be the shareholder value we create over the long-term (Quittner, J. 2008). He understands the stronger the market leadership is; the more powerful our economic model
In 2002 Amazon launched a web services platform. Perhaps it was risky for a young company that had only reached profitability in that same year to invest its innovation resources in new business models rather than stick to its core, but within five years the site used by Amazon 's web-services platform had grown into the seventh-largest in the world. And Amazon kept going. In late 2007, it set up Lab126, whose first product, the Kindle e-book reader, came to market wrapped in a business model not only foreign to Amazon 's DNA but also potentially disruptive to the entire publishing industry. To launch this high-margin, product-based offering, Amazon had to become an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It wrapped this technology in a seamlessly integrated iTunes-type digital media platform that combined both transaction- and subscription-based content delivery. It partnered with content producers in innovative ways and created an open back-end that allowed independent publishers to generate new content for the Kindle. In its first year, Amazon sold an estimated 500,000 Kindle. Amazon has greatly expanded the market for e-books and positioned itself for success not only in this market but in newspaper and periodical distribution as well. Amazon at its roots is built to transform. When it finds opportunities to serve new customers, or existing customers in new ways, it conceives and builds new business models to exploit them. Amazon has
With the advent of the information technology, specifically the internet, it is said that more and more companies are existing in the online world. The changes in the business market also allows customers to change and become more dependent on online stores and online shopping than go and find something in shopping malls or retail store. One of the existing and considered as the largest and competitive online shopping in the world is Amazon. In this report, the goal is to analyse Amazon based on the case study provided. The analysis includes the discussion of Amazon’s s strategic intent, main resources and capabilities. In addition, this will also include analysis of the resources and capabilities that give
Amazon’s core competencies are in its ability to effectively use and develop technology to drive site traffic and enhance the customer experience. Their distinctive use of website real estate coupled with their ability to leverage their brand and effectively use that leverage to deliver low prices and high quality products, makes them a leader in online retailing. Their partner brands and their ability to adapt and recognize deficiencies enable them to effectively cut out the middle man, or at the very least, partner with them.
Retailers have adapted to the online marketplace out of necessity and opportunity. The great recession placed many retail companies in financial hardship and while some failed, others innovated and became some of the largest companies in America such as Amazon. A recent trend is consumers are buying more products online than ever before. As a consumer, I enjoy shopping in the convenience of my home and having the items delivered to my doorstep in 48 hours or less. Global internet access continues to increase, with mobile devices and affordable internet for the home, consumers will continue to shift and buy products online rather than in retail brick and mortar locations. Online sales in the United States have increased over 250% in the last ten years, accomplishing $250.0 billion in 2012 (Tehrani, 2014). Therefore, Amazon is in a solid market position to capitalize on the future trends and booming ecommerce
Introduction: Amazon.com has become the largest customer friendly online retailer and provides one click purchase facility to its wide range of products including books, music, toys, gifts, electronics etc. For 2011 Amazon’s net sales documented the value of $48077 million to earn net income of $631 million (Annual Report, 2011). Currently, Amazon is serving more than 137 million of its customers with its 56200 employees all over the world. Moreover, International traffic also ranks Amazon at 16th
With the proliferation of communication and information technology, particularly the Internet, most business organizations have been at the forefront to join the e-commerce platform. Amazon is considered as one of the existing and largest e-business platform in the world. This report outlines Amazon’s strategic intent and key resources and capabilities. In addition, the report will also include an analysis of the company 's assets and capabilities that have provided it a sustainable competitive edge as well as, the recommended future strategy of the giant online organization. Amazon defines its line of business operations based on product and service sales, fulfillment, digital content subscriptions, publishing, and co-branded cards. The company 's line of business is defined as an online store, Internet service provision, and the Kindle ecosystem. This project will explore the truth that has made the online company to be considered as the top online retailer, which mainly focuses on strategy. This report also outlines how inventories play a fundamental role in the organization 's business or corporate strategy. The other issues covered in the report include the approach used by the online company deal with the supply chain and the reason behind fast shipping fast. The paper will outline the finance statute of the company and whether the finance effect will bar the organization from developing in future. In order to achieve the answer to the questions