...of Tables..............................................................................................IV 1 Introduction.................................................................................................. 1 2 Market Leadership as a Strategic Goal in Electronic Commerce ................ 1 2.1 Value Chains and Actors in EC............................................................. 1 2.2 Principles for Success in Electronic Commerce.................................... 3 2.3 Porter’s Branch Structure Analysis applied to EC Markets ................... 4 2.4 Context Factors and Value Creation Potentials in EC Markets ............. 8 2.5 First Mover Advantage and the Role of the Pioneer ............................. 9 3 Amazon.com – The Road to Market Leadership ....................................... 10 3.1 Company Portrait ................................................................................ 10 3.2 Redefining Book Retailing: Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble .................... 11 3.3 Realizing the...
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...Amazon Evolution Amazon Evolution Amazon.com, Inc. first debuted on the web in 1995, but the company did not go public until 1997 when it became the first Internet retailer to secure one million customers ("Amazon.com, Inc.," 2004). Amazon’s original mission statement states: “We seek to offer the Earth’s Biggest Selection and to be the Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online.” ("Amazon.com, Inc.," 2004). Unfortunately, Amazon.com is struggling to reach that goal; competition is increasing in the online retail sector and Amazons profits are falling under such companies as Wal-Mart. Amazons infrastructure is among the biggest and most reliable in the world. However, the company only uses 10% of its processing capacity (O'Brien & Marakas, 2009). Amazon has decided to branch out to utilize more of its infrastructure by offering three services that will make the infrastructure available to companies and individuals to help with running the technical and logistical parts of their business. The first service being offered is called, Simple Storage Service (S3). The S3 service will charge a customer 15 cents per gigabyte per month to store a company’s data and applications on Amazon disk drives. This service is in a competitors market just like online retailers; companies like Dell, Trend Micro, and many more offer companies or individuals to purchase storage space online. The second service that...
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...(Lindgrin, 2012). Both the companies Yahoo and Amazon are constantly implementing such strategies to maintain a reputation that stays ahead of the market trends, information system and globalization. This study will evaluate the success of both companies’ corporate-level strategies in terms of horizontal integration, vertical integration, strategic outsourcing and diversification, and will determine the type of strategy that contributed most effectively to the creation of a successful and profitable multibusiness model. Additionally, this paper will recommend an appropriate new strategy for each company that may maximize profitability and improved competitiveness in the industry. Yahoo!, Inc. Competitive analysis To better understand Yahoo’s internal and external opportunities and threats, in order to better estimate Yahoo’s ability to capture value, our starting point would be a quick analysis of operating and financial performance of Yahoo comparing to its peers in the industry during the last four years. We already studied around 10 on-line based service providers with AOL having the closest business model, size and shared markets. One of the most important industry features observed was the ability of taking the advantage of economies of scale, the larger the revenues a company can generate, larger profit margins could be realized and so more value created to shareholders. Although no...
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... Also the total income has been on a roll and has been showing a constant upward trend from 2002. Also, the total assets of the company has been showing a similar trend. | | Comparison of Walmart with its Competitors: The competitors of Walmart includes Target Corporation, Kroger Co., Costco Wholesale Cop., Safeway Inc, Amazon.com, Dollar General, Dollar Tree Inc, Big Lots Inc, Fred's Inc, Sears Holding Co., Walgreen Co., CVS Caremark Corporation, Carrefour and Tesco Plc. To study the relative performance of Walmart vis-a-vis its competitors, financial statements of all the companies given in Exhibit-3 were analyzed for each of the parameters as mentioned below: (a) Inventory Turnover Ratio (ITR)- Inventory turnover ratio is an important metric in retail industry as it shows how many times the inventory was sold through during a period. Higher value of the ratio indicates better performance if lost sales are taken care of by a company. This ITR has been calculated for Walmart and its competitors from their annual financial statements from Exhibit-3. INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIO (ITR) | | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | Walmart | 8.68 | 9.19 | 8.87 | 8.14 | 7.84 | 7.47 | 7.46 | 7.47 | 7.71 | 7.59 | Target-Corp | 6.04 | 6.02 | 6.14 | 6.59 | 6.18 | 6.30 | 5.98 | 5.84 | 5.95 | 6.15 | Kroger Co | 11.61 | 11.04 | 10.33 | 10.35 | 9.85 | 9.91 | 9.33 | 8.91 | 8.82 | 9.06 | Costco | 11.71 | 12.06 | 11.53 | 12.60 | 11.57 | 11.54...
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...IT ELECTIVE (E-BUSINESS) Chapter 1 Case 1 AMAZON.COM Angeles, Catherine Marie Cabral, John Kevin Pangilin, Kristel Mae Sabater, Shenalou 1. New Jersey judge ruled that Amazon.com Inc. violated its agreement to give toy retailer Toys"R" Us Inc. the exclusive right to sell toys and baby products on Amazon's Web site. In the ruling,New Jersey Superior Court Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh said Toys "R" Us can sever theagreement it signed with Amazon in August 2000, in which it agreed to sell toys on Amazon.com'sWeb site, effectively putting Amazon in control of the Web address www.toysrus.com. The rulingpaves the way for Toys "R" Us to operate the Web site independently. Judge McVeigh deniedmonetary damages to both parties.Toys "R" Us filed suit in the New Jersey state court in May 2004 alleging Amazon breached thecontract. Amazon countersued in June 2004, alleging the toy retailer failed to keep items in stockand otherwise adhere to their agreement.The Amazon was disappointed to the judge findings they said that they strongly disagree with the judge's ruling, and they are in the process of reviewing a number of different options Regardless of the outcome and they remain committed to ensuring a great selection of toys for our customers atgreat prices. For its part the Toy R Us said that the company are preparing for the decision and iscommitted to providing customers online access to its web store. The Amazon spokesman said that the company disagrees with the suggestion...
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...of industry. I will define each concept in their business implications, and compare and contrast all three. Creativity is explained by the text Managing Innovation (2003) “creativity is not something where someone who has never worked in that field suddenly gets this marvelous idea. Creativity is relating a concept to a particular body of knowledge. The existing body of knowledge is as vital as the novel idea and really creative people spend years and years acquiring and refining their knowledge base-be it music mathematics, arts, sculpture or design” (pg1). Creative people have certain traits and personalities. Having a team of creative people is important because one person may not have all the needed traits. Creative Intelligence (2004) supported the idea that “personality is a major factor contributing to the success of productive creative people. Identified are the following key personality attributes that contribute to creativity; being imaginative, having insight or intuition, being open and perceptive, being willing to take risks, and having a high tolerance for ambiguity”. Innovation is defined in the textbook Managing Innovation (2003) as creativity and implementation combined. Creativity is coming up with the idea, but implementation is needed for success. Implementation is about being organized, using specific methods to get the idea into action. Design as defined by Managing Innovation (2003) “is the conscious decision- making process by which information...
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...The Internet Business Review Issue 1 – October 2004 THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY TURMOIL ON AMAZON.COM: A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE Russell Casey - Clayton State University, USA William Carroll - University of Phoenix, USA Edited by Faith W. Smalls Abstract Internet retailers face intense competition in their quest to gain market share due to the large number of competitors, ease of entry, low switching costs and the strength of existing multi-channel retailers. To survive, it is critical that online retailers create a sustainable competitive advantage in their e-commerce strategy and plan for long-term strategic positioning. The article uses a case study analysis of Amazon.com's strategy to develop an understanding of the e-commerce competitive environment and the importance of building a sustainable competitive environment to create value for the firm, its customers, and its shareholders. © 2004 The Internet Business Review The Internet Business Review Issue 1 – October 2004 Introduction Is the Internet a leech that sucks a company’s assets dry? Many investors, entrepreneurs, and managers pondered this billion-dollar question as hundreds of dotcoms collapsed over the last two years. Companies, such as Boo.com, Etoys, Onsale, @home, and Webvan, are extinct and many more cling to existence. The dreams of consumers, shareholders and other stakeholders have been shattered. From their inception, these dotcoms were going to revolutionize the world and...
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...would become ‘‘Earth’s Biggest Bookstore,’’ Amazon.com. He left New York and went to Seattle, and like so many successful (and unsuccessful) businesses, started out in a garage. The compelling force that drove Bezos was the 2,300 percent annual growth in web usage. He could see that the Internet, which was in its infancy in 1994, would soon become ubiquitous. Features of the book industry made it ideal to focus on selling books, at least initially. The book industry was fragmented, both in terms of the large number of booksellers and publishers. In addition, there were millions of titles and potential customers. The typical bookstore could house a small fraction of all published books, so Amazon.com could market itself as the earth’s largest bookstore. Amazon is the leading online book selling retailer in the USA. Amazon expanded from just a bookstore into selling general electronics, music, videos, toys, apparel, food, and furniture. Amazon has also established separate websites all over the world. (Amazon, 2011) Amazon also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. Amazon focuses on customer satisfaction, and the efficiency of their website. Amazon now provides almost anything you can think of. When Bezos founded Amazon.com, he focused on hiring talented and unconventional managers and employees. Amazon.com had rigorous requirements for new employees and an obsession for customer service. Amazon.com told temp agencies ‘‘send us your freaks’’...
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...segmentation strategies, order sourcing decisions, overall replenishment and fulfillment process flows, intra-warehouse process flows, and transportation policies. This report analyzes the overall Amazon.com supply chain for United States distribution with a specific emphasis on the Media product segment. Amazon.com US Retail Product Segment Books, CDs, and DVDs and magazine subscriptions comprise the media product line at Amazon.com (Amazon.com 2002 Annual Report). Amazon.com began as an online bookseller and its first product line expansions were music and movies. As a result, the Media segment comprises a large percentage of Amazon.com overall revenues. In 2004, Media accounts for 74% of all revenues. Within the US, the Media segment accounts for 67% of all revenues. In dollar terms, the Media segment in the US generated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2004, compared 115 to $3.8 billion generated across all segments in the US (Amazon.com 2004 10-K Report). The pie chart below shows the breakout of revenue percentages by product and service segment. Fig Amazon.com does not provide margin numbers by product segment, so the Media contribution to profit is unknown. JP Morgan estimates that Amazon.com gets 25% gross margins for books and media and 15% for electronics ("US Equity Research: Amazon.com", 2005). Additionally, data regarding important financial metrics such as inventory turnover, free cash flow, and...
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...Amazon.com Team B Assignment University of Phoenix The evolution of Amazon.com has increased the Internet giant’s footing in the e-commerce world, taking the book retailer from the beginnings of providing a shopping experience above the walk in bookstores of the past. Today, Amazon offers services to thousands of businesses as well as the continued service for both sellers and buyers of many products of music, apparel, movies, toys, pet supplies, and more. Amazon’s strategy has moved the Internet business from retail to competing with Google and Microsoft to offer data and information storage retrievable by uncomplicated software. Amazon’s use of e-business and e-commerce in the B2B and B2C realm continues to add services for businesses to reduce operating costs and increase the subscriber’s efficiency that places Amazon in a position unimaginable 10 years ago. Amazon.com is a business whose sole transactions involve the Internet to some extent. Unlike many traditional department stores, Amazon has no storefront from which to conduct business. Its entire operation operates via e-commerce or e-business. E-commerce is the sale, purchase, or exchange of items, including products and services, over a computer network. E-commerce is similar to e-business, but includes all aspects of a business, including developing customer relationships and collaborative efforts between companies. Amazon uses both e-business and e-commerce in its business dealings to achieve...
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...CORPORATE PROFILE Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep into the long tail by housing them all in numerous warehouses and distributing products from many partner companies. Amazon directly sells, or acts as a platform for the sale of a broad range of products. These include books, music, videos, and consumer electronics, clothing and household products. The majority of Amazon’s sales are products sold by Amazon, with the remaining amount from third-party sellers. Amazon was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It has direct international operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Since 2004, Amazon has begun to rapidly expand its web services arsenal. Products such as Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Amazon S3 (Simple Storage System), Amazon Route 53 have been large successes. Some of Amazon’s recent acquisitions include Shopbop (2006), Abebooks (2008), Zappos (2009), LOVEFiLM (2011). As of Q1 2011, Amazon has approximately 137 million active customers worldwide. It was also reported that there are 2 million merchants selling on Amazon equalling a third of the total listings. North America currently represents 55.4% of sales with the other 44.6% in the International market. HISTORY Figure 1 Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Figure 1 Jeff Bezos...
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...vice-president of the Wall Street firm D.E. Shaw, left his job in 1994, moved to Seattle, and began to work on a business plan that would become Amazon.com. After reading a report that projected annual web growth at 2,300 percent, Bezos drew up a list of 20 products that could be sold on the internet. He then narrowed his list to what he felt were the five most promising: compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos, and books. Bezos eventually decided his venture would sell books over the web, due to the large worldwide market for literature, the low price that could be offered for books, and the tremendous selection of titles available in print. A businessman by the name of Nick Hanauer believed in Bezos' idea and invested $40,000 in his venture. When Amazon first debuted online in 1995, its layout was not as flashy as it is today. In fact, the site looked very plain and unattractive to most visitors, causing the business to start on shaky ground. A man by the name of Tom Alburg decided to invest $100,000 in Amazon in 1995, which helped the company fund a better-looking website and hosting capabilities. If he wanted people to come back as customers, Bezos new he had to create more than just a bookstore. The option of buyers to write their own book reviews was added, which is a huge credit to Amazon's success. By 1997, Amazon.com had generated $15.7 million in revenue. The company went public that same year and decided to add CDs and movies to the website. Once...
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...Failure Analysis/Change Strategy Learning Team A LDR/531 Organizational Leadership October 21, 2014 Dr. Nancy Atkins Failure and Change Strategy for a Business Circuit City was one of the top selling electronic retailers in the United States. The company was based out of Richmond, Virginia started by Samuel S. Wurtzel in 1949. Some say bad real estate deals, lack of focus on being the low cost seller, mistakes with its sales force and straying from its core led to their demise in 2009. The success of Amazon has much to do with Jeff Bezos, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His unique combination of character traits and business strategy has driven Amazon to the top of the online retail world. In 2011, Amazon.com was posting revenues of nearly $50 billion per year (Price III, 2013). Part 1: Business Failure/Success Analysis Circuit City Objective (Carolyn Whitaker) Circuit City is dedicated to the highest quality of customer service which is done with the highest respect. With a highly praised customer service and satisfaction, it will improve our sales performance. For Circuit City to effectively sell products to customers, sales representatives will try to understand and fulfil the customers’ needs. With a highly trained team of associates, Circuit City will be successful in the long run. Circuit City Vision/Mission Statement (Carolyn Whitaker) Respect - “Our Associates are our greatest assets. We expect every Associate to demonstrate that they...
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...System) 5 9. Customer Relation Management (CRM) 5 Part 2-Business strategies applied for internet activity 6 1. Smart Innovation Strategy 6 2. Customer Relation Management Strategy 7 3. Jeff Bezos 3 big idea 7 Page-1 A. Limitless inventory 7 B. Customer Care 8 C. High margin, lowest price. 8 4. Marketing and Promotion Strategy 8 5. Associate Program 8 Part 3- eCRM cycle Conducted for internet Activity 9 1. Customer Relationship Management 9 2. Electronic Customer Relationship Management 9 3. How amazon implement CRM 9 4. Customer Selection 10 5. Customer Acquisition 10 A. Customer account 10 B. Wish List, review system 10 6. Customer Retention 11 7. Customer Extension 11 Part 4-Recommendation for Amazon.com 11 1. Competing in the market 11 2. Innovation of new Product 12 3. Integration of New Technology 12 4. Customer Loyalty 12 5. Global Expansion 12 REFERENCES 13 Page-2 Background: For the last...
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...Walmart By Date December 2, 2004 Wal-Mart's.com got off to a shaky start. For the first time they launched their independent Website in 1996 with no online purchase functions. The first time they launched in January 2000 as a joint venture, weak and subsequently fully acquired by Wal-Mart. In 2003 it finally became fully acquired by Wal-Mart and has grown to become one of the leading online shopping destinations. For example, it competes with industry leaders like Amazon.com and eBay.com. This company's latest initiative to revamp the site is about providing more information, broadening their product assortment and improving service to their customers. Wal-Mart overall is great at building the business primarily through organic growth but not necessarily at marketing. The last couple of years, Walmart.com has had their heads down, building infrastructure. It's time for them to look up and get some action. “Up to now, Wal-Mart.com has remained an E-commerce midget. It ranks No. 43 among online shopping venues, according to Media Metrix, trailing such upstarts as eBay Inc. and Buy.com Inc. While Amazon.com Inc. hauled in nearly 10 million visitors in May, Wal-Mart.com welcomed only 801,000. For the year, some analysts expect Wal-Mart's Web effort to generate sales of under $50 million vs. $157 billion total sales for the chain” (Byrnes, 1999). Walmart.com has achieved services that include: Baby Connection, DVD Rentals, Gift Registry...
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