Amazon Case Study (Case Study Sample)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
* Introduction: meaning and elements of E-Commerce
Brief history of Amazon
* Body: warehousing
Technological applications
Issues brought by electronic expansion
Competition strategy, advantages and loopholes
* Conclusion
* References
Introduction
Electronic commerce is a kind of trade which involves sales of products or provision of services using computer networks like the internet. It involves application of different technologies such as mobile commerce, transferring funds electronically, and marketing through the internet, use of emails for transactions and even storage of data in databases. It involves employment of different activities like using emails to contact clients, use of online websites for shopping and also involves exchanging different data using electronic devices. In this case, amazon is a company that has done all its activities by use electronic trade programs and applications. Amazon is a United States company whose headquarters are located in Seattle, a place in Washington DC. The company was founded by Bezos in 1994. He originally formed the company as cadabra.com but later changed it to amazon.com for publicity reasons since it started with letter ‘’A’’ which always appear at the top. It would then get engaged in the sales of books using internet
Products, services, competitors and operations
The company started its operations through online sales of books. It later advanced to sales of different products such as DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays, different software like applications, toys, video games and even jewellery. This has really advanced since everybody in the world can now get access to these goods through different was like using the internet, browsing from different websites in different countries or through advertisements in social media or emails. The company has its operations in different countries making it have separate distinct websites for each country such as Canada, Brazil, China, Spain and Italy among others. It has diversified its operations and services as can now contact customers through their emails and use computers to store data. This report will therefore look at the different ways in which the amazon has integrated and implemented different forms of electronic management, marketing, sales and customer care through support and encouragement. The company has various firms which try their best to compete with them for markets. These include companies like the Walmart, Barnes and Noble and even the apple Inc. they have faced a very fierce competition from amazon.com in terms of getting buyers due to their competitive disadvantage.
Application of different technologies
The company has been able to employ different technologies in its ranks to perform different activities. These have been so beneficial that it has found ease in controlling and managing different departments. The company has developed different websites for specific countries. These websites have attracted uncountable visitors and hence some of them have always been able to find products that fit them for purchase. This has led to increased profits. Among the countries that have their distinct websites in different regions include the following.
continent

country

Name of domain

Europe

Germany
Netherlands
United kingdom
Spain

Amazon.de
Amazon.nl
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.es

North America

United States
Canada
Mexico

amazon.com
amazon.ca
amazon.com.mx

Asia

China
japan
India

Amazon.cn
Amazon.co.jp
Amazon.in

Oceania

Australia

Amazon.com.au

South America

Brazil

Amazon.com.br

It is believed that these websites entice more than 610 million people according to a study carried in 2008. It has been able to maintain these websites during Christmas period when there is much jam on the servers by building a strong server capacity which has passed that of their competitors by far.
The company has employed various electronic methods of warehousing. These have helped a great deal in in maintaining safety and security of goods. It has different warehouses which are big in size so the employees find it really hard in inspection and unpacking of goods and services. The employees are also required to correctly use different computers to set the locations of different goods. This will help when the good is ready for transportation. Furthermore, these computers are able to identify different routes that each good should take when being transported. Another technology in warehousing is warehouse automation which works on a very high level. These helps maintaining the safety of the goods by use of electronic devices. Amazon prime is another important ICT method used. It provides transportation facilities. It also has amazon instant video which ensures direct watching of different movies at instant time and may also include watching of certain TV programs without paying a single penny. There are consumer electronics like E-Book reader which has helped people to read books online. This book reader is called the Amazon kindle. It is also able to download different components using whisper net through the use of certain wireless networks. There was a development of the Amazon mechanical Turk. This is a programming application which ensures that different programs are run in order to assign tasks to the processors that human beings have.
The company has been able to carry out different online management programs through use of technology. For example, the development of the Amazon relationship Management. It also developed the information management. Both of them have been able to take care of their strategies through proper management.it has also been able to use a technology which is based on Linux to run its programs. The company produced architecture technology which has been able to perform different daily operations in the business structure. They also have a database which record all the customer details like their credit card numbers. This is through the use of a Netscape secure commerce server which has a very safe protocol and cannot disclose the card details of a single person.
Issues and criticisms face
Though the company has been able to expand its business globally by use of the electronic trade, this has not come free as it has been faced by different kinds of challenges and other issues which may be positive or negative. Firstly, it has been able to lure different customers from sites of its other competitors like the brick and mortar. This is more pf appositive issue since through this, it has been able to gain more customers and therefore more profits. A major threatening issue is the poor conditions in its warehouses. There are some efforts which are placed in terms of technology in these warehouse they have turned to be the factors which go against unifying employees. When an employee is left to work alone using their computers they will not be able to get more time interacting with their fellows. Some of the best employees in this company have walked away to form other similar companies like Trusera, Wikinest and Vittana. Another issue brought against it is the price discrimination. This is whereby it charges different prices for same goods in different companies. This is a factor which does not encourage competition as it affects competitors much.
Competitive advantages and strategies
The company has been able to enjoy more success over the years due to various reasons. Firstly, it has benefited much from win at discoverage. This is whereby an individual cannot walk away without getting any good which best suits him/her. For example, if one wants a mat and doesn’t get, then the person may get boom or anything related. This has since led to more profits for the firm. A competitive power is employment of fight power with speed which means taking the products to the customers very fast. This encourage the customers who then wish to buy more of these products. It has formed partnership with other different companies such as the United States postal services which works on mail delivery and sending. This has made them take the mails to their owners as soon as possible creating a good image for them. It has also partnered with very popular comics like superman, batman and even the sandman. This has made a company like the Barnes and Noble to stop partnership with these icons and has since removed their images in their bookstore. This is another advantage as the competition has been reduced. Through price discrimination, this company has been able to put at bay some competitors by charging low prices in such markets like in Africa. The company has since surpassed other competitive companies through different elements like total revenues, number of employees, market capitalization while it has also been beaten in various sectors such as net income and earnings per share as shown below.
Comparison element

amazon

Apple Inc.

Barnes and Noble

Employees...