Amazon.Com_Evolution

Amazon.com Evolution Shanina Barnwell, Shrell Brooks, Sarah Calvert, Nick Karaba and Christine Shawger July 19, 2010 University of Phoenix BIS 219 Business Information Systems Bud Stinson Amazon.com Evolution Jeffrey P. Bezos had a vision of creating an online bookstore that would surpass all competition and revolutionize the retail industry. The result was Amazon.com, which was found in 1994 and what a success it has become. Amazon began as the basic idea of retailing millions books, music, movies online and because of Amazon’s growth and rapid changing of times it has evolved into a retailer of many products from toys to groceries to auto parts. As a result, there has been much discussion on whether Amazon has moved away from its core competency. In this paper our team will discuss Amazon’s revolutionary moves and the effects its moves have had. Core Competency Amazon has moved in a new market and direction, however has obeyed their core competencies: Customer Convenience and accessibility, massive selection, personalized service, quality search tools, price and the quality of their website. Customer’s across the world has the convenience to purchase anything from a New York best seller novel to the newest technology for your car. Their website offers a vast selection of products and now are expanding into new markets and building competencies within. Amazon is now venturing in the markets of on-line auctions, electronics, customization of customer needs and greeting cards. Due to Amzaon.com being an on-line based company, they must ally themselves with internet technology companies such as Exchange.com, Accept.com and Alexa.com to assist with the quality of the search tools and the overall flow of the website. These companies are developing tools for the Amazon’s internet market and are assisting them with leverage and growth within their existing core competencies and help expand services and selections to customers worldwide. It is important for Amazon to maintain their core competency because it deals directly with their business. The satisfaction of their customers is substantial to business, if their website isn’t user friendly it can lead to lack of people visiting the site which leads to lack of sales. Data Management Amazon has many programs it uses to store customer data. Technological innovations is key. “Technological innovation drives the growth of Amazon, offering our customers more types of products, more conveniently, and at even lower prices. We offer a personalized shopping experience for each customer, book discovery through "Search Inside The Book", convenient checkout using "1-Click® Shopping," and several community features like Listmania and Wish Lists that help our customers to discover new products and make informed buying decisions” (About Amazon, 2010). When someone logs onto Amazon’s website it has a list of products from searches from the last time one searched on that computer. A problem that may occur is that the system does not log out. Anyone who uses the computer can have access to personal account information, which can create problems because the personal account also stores personal billing information. Amazon is always looking into new systems and applications to improve their data management. At this time, Amazon follows and uses the searches that interest their customers to connect them with new products/releases. Online Commerce Amazon also uses e-business and e-commerce for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) as a way of business to help consumers buy or sell over the Internet. Because e-business and e-commerce are so similar, they can be used in place of one another (Rainer & Turban, 2008). Amazon uses e-commerce for business-to-business by allowing companies to sell their products on their website. For example, a Paslode cordless 16-gauge straight finish nailer at the Home Depot is $299 (Homer TLC, 2000-2010). The same Paslode at Amazon is $277.80 (Amazon, 1996-2010). The company Paslode allows Amazon to sell their product at a price in which they think consumers will buy. Amazon will use e-commerce for business-to-consumer by letting the consumer purchase some products and give free delivery. At Amazon consumers can shop by store departments and use cyber-banking to purchase products. Conclusion Amazon’s strategy has been effective in revolutionizing the online retail market by providing new products and services to their new and existing customers. Amazon has been successful using each component of their database while identifying data management issues successfully to implement their strategic plan. Amazon successfully has addressed the relationship between data, information, and knowledge while using both E-business and E-commerce for business to business and business to consumer. In the end, businesses who maintain high customer satisfaction revolutionize the industry. Amazon has not only revolutionized the online industry but also has sustained the ability to understand its customers while pioneering new and exciting services. References Amazon.com (1996-2010) About Amazon, Technological Innovations. Homer TLC (2000-2010). Tools and Hardware. Retrieved July 16, 2010 from http://www.homedepot.com/Paslode/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xkkZ14n/R 100039803/h_d2/ProductDisplay'langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 R. Kelly, Rainer, and Efraim Turban. (2008). Chapter 6: E-Business and E-Commerce. Retrieved from R. Kelly, Rainer, and Efraim Turban, BIS219 website.