Question one
Over the years, the aspect of e commerce has become popular with large corporations shifting gears towards an emphasis retail website. Amazon is one of the leading organizations that have established a stable customer base through retail websites. The organization was started back in 1996 with the focus being consumer convenience, variety and pricing. The two main segment of operation for the organizations international segment and North American segment. The organization has successfully provided consumers with a wide variety of products and at the lowest prices possible. The organization has diversified its platforms to offer developers as well as enterprises different products through the recently established Amazon web services.
The website faces competition from multiple areas. However, on the online platform the most influential competitors include Apple Inc, Barnes and Noble Inc, eBay Inc, and wall-mart. Apple is known for its revolutionary products that incorporate a wide range of innovations. The intensive investment of the organization in marketing its products online eliminates multiple barriers that exist in the distribution system of its products. On the other hand, Barnes and noble is a leading bookstore with multiple locations and operations in all the American states. Its financial muscle as well as its credibility is instrumental in challenging Amazon efforts to sell books and other information content online.
Wal-Mart is another pertinent competitor offering a wide range of products that are in direct competition with amazon’s market segment. It is key to note that the diversity of the products available on the company’s websites makes it appropriate for many shoppers. EBay is also a worthy competitor with trading volumes surpassing the two thousand dollars every second. The organizations main income stream is advertising and listing fees. For the purpose of this essay, the focus will be on differentiating Amazon and e-bay (Norris, 2010).
Question two
The market space for Amazon incorporates the virtual informational elements and market as well as the physical aspects that represent market operations. However, its intensive investment in information technology makes the virtual market environment the most stable. This allows the organization to focus on packaging and shipping of gods to different geographical regions across the world. However, the focus on consumers interested in informative materials such as books form the core revenue stream for the organization. Purchasing books online offers users convenience and flexibility. The organization also enhances its customer service effectiveness through technology. The size and characteristics of the market of the organization is multidimensional since it is available on the World Wide Web. Moreover, the online services are available on a twenty-four hours seven days basis. With a database of about two million books, the online store is a virtual super store that offers other pertinent services such as book reviews and recommendations. In the late 90s, the organization was controlling over three quarters of the online bookstore business. However, this has reduced to about forty percent. It is pertinent to note that large physical bookstores accommodate not more than two hundred thousand book types. The organization has sustained a revenue growth rate of not less than twenty percent in the last five years.
Question three
The customer needs for the online shopper are multidimensional. Amazon has invested intensively in research and development to ensure that it is the most consumer centric organization in the World Wide Web. Over the years, the organization has incorporated a wide selection of products and functionality within its website. The search functionality of the website is known for its ability to find titles that are rare. Moreover, the organization is sensitive to the prices of the products listed on its website. The organization uses a sales revenue model for its growth. Over the years the organization has target both individual consumers as well as large business interested in listing their products. These companies or publishers are charged some fees for their products to be on the featured list (Dess, 2012).
Question 4
The technology necessary to enhance the company’s performance is multidimensional. On the hard ware platform, the organization requires adequate bandwidth for its websites and adequate back up to ensure optimal functionality of its databases. On the software platform, the organization requires appropriate algorithms to ensure that featured products are easily visible on their websites. Moreover, adequate data mining techniques should be used to ensure that consumer’s trends are always put into consideration. Moreover, the usability of the website should be a pertinent aspect of the development team (Miller, 2009).
Question five
The company’s revenue model is a sales revenue model. With a customer base of more than thirty million consumers, the organization receives revenue from diversified markets. However, in the recent past the use of a multi-level sales strategy as well as business-to-business approach has contributed to increase in revenues. Business to business relationships is appropriate for galvanizing the revenue streams of an organization. It is pertinent to note that Amazon focuses on retailing. The products on the website are charged a small listing fee as either a percentage or a flat rate (Cohen, 2010).
References
Cohen, S. (2010). Amazon income: how anyone of any age, location, and/or background can build a highly profitable online business with Amazon. Ocala, Fla.: Atlantic Pub. Group.
Dess, G. G. (2012). Strategic management: text and cases (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Miller, M. (2009). Selling online 2.0: migrating from eBay to Amazon, Craigslist, and your own e-commerce website. Indianapolis, Ind.: Que.
Norris, C. (2010). A quick start guide to online selling sell your product on eBay, Amazon and other online market places. London: Kogan Page.
