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| AMAZON – ONLINE SALESMGMT 5010 | PROF. JAISON MATHEWS | 3/10/15 | SUNDARESH NATARAJAN 4234175 | |

| AMAZON – ONLINE SALESMGMT 5010 | PROF. JAISON MATHEWS | 3/10/15 | SUNDARESH NATARAJAN 4234175 | |

1. Why is Amazon building more warehouses as it grows? How many warehouses should it have and where should they be located?

Amazon, started as an online bookstore, has evolved to an online retailer selling anything possible under the sun. The business model that Amazon operates is pretty easy to replicate and hence the differentiating factors would decide the winner. Factors like price, delivery time and ease of usage of the online portal. For a company that has is completely online, Amazon has invested more than $14 billion since 2010 (Bloomberg, 2013) in brick and mortar warehouses. Amazon is expanding its warehouses (called as fulfillment centres) in order to reduce the response time. Hence more warehouses means better response times (same day delivery being the new benchmark) which in turn leads to more new customers and retaining old customers and hence increased profit.
Location of warehouses is based on proximity to major target markets, delivery time and cost of setting up warehouses (based on real estate). For example, Amazon need not have a warehouse in New York city since that would mean unimaginable expenses. Instead these customers can be serviced from New Jersey warehouses.
Number of fulfillment centres around the world is 139 with many more to operate. As long as inbound transportation economies of scale are maintained, increasing the number of facilities decreases total transportation cost.

2. What advantages does selling books via the Internet provide over a traditional bookstore? Are there any disadvantages to selling via the Internet?
A traditional mega book store can hold around

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