Supply Chain Management of Amazon Essay - 1620 Words

This paper reviews the supply chain management practices of Amazon.com (AMZN) and highlights findings in the framework of a Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats (SWOT) framework. AMZN opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 as a web based bookseller and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection according to the company’s 2012 annual report to shareholders. AMZN’s vision statement is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators. AMZN has organized its operations into two principal segments: North America and International. Figure 2 below shows AMZN’s net sales for the last three years reported. Figure 1: AMZN Net Sales†¦show more content†¦AMZN serves consumers directly via its retail websites, which offers millions of unique products across many categories sold directly by AMZN or via its vast network of third party sellers. Regardless of who is actually providing the product AMZN provides excellent user interfaces, seamless fulfillment, and world class customer service. Similar to Wal-Mart’s everyday low price strategy, AMZN strives to offer its customers the lowest prices possible through low everyday product pricing and shipping offers. AMZN fulfills customer orders through US and International fulfillment centers and warehouses as well as via digital delivery for media products. AMZN’s multi-tier inventory model also allows for order fulfillment through partner suppliers and third-parties. This enables AMZN to offer a vast product selection to its customers without the risk of large inventory carrying costs. AMZN’s multi-tier inventory model is depicted in figure 2 below. Figure 1: AMZN multi-tier inventory model. Source: Chiles and Dau, 2005 AMZN has competed on selection with traditional retailers since its inception. AMZN is able to support this selection through its multi-tier inventory network. The following is a description of the three tiers or echelons that comprise AMZN’s inventory network. The website www.amazon.com is the consumer interface and owns theShow MoreRelatedAmazon : Supply Chain Management3034 Words   |  13 PagesUniversity LGMT 683 – Supply Chain Management July 25th, 2015 Introduction With very little doubt, Amazon has become the most feared competition amongst traditional retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and Best buy. To support this growth, Amazon has built one of the world’s largest supply chain distribution systems spanning 148 centers around the world, totally more than 17 million square feet in North America alone (Stone, 2009). However, in the midst of the massive growth of that Amazon has experiencedRead MoreAmazon s Supply Chain Management Essay1187 Words   |  5 PagesEvery company has their own supply chain in order to sort or produce goods. However, the company needs to manage supply chain to maximize its highest benefits. 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