Amazon Inventory ManagementEssay Preview: Amazon Inventory ManagementReport this essayDiscuss in detail the strategy adopted by Amazon.com to manage its inventory. Also, examine whether Amazon.con was successful in executing the inventory management strategy.
Amazon is one of the 1st online shopping sites launched in 1995. Since its beginning, it has been continuously ranked as one of the best retail sites on the internet and exemplifies universal model for successful Internet retailing. The founder of Amazon was Jeff Bezos.
When Bezos began his venture, his aims were clear- Hassle-free Operations. He started Amazon as a on-line book store and he didnt want to spend time and money on opening stores and warehouses and in dealing with the inventory. However, he realized that the only way to stisfy customers and at the same time to make sure that Amazon enjoyed the benefits of time and cost efficiency was to maintain its own warehouse. Constructing warehouses and operating them was a very tough decision for Bezos. Each warehouse cost him around $50 million and in order to get the money, Amazon issued $2 billion as bonds. In 1999, Amazon added six warehouses in Fernley, Nevada; Coffeyville, Kansas; Campbellsville, Kentucky; Lexington, Kentucky; McDonough, Georgia; and Grand Forks, North Dakotta. On the whole, Amazon had 10 warehouses. Most of these warehouses were setup in states with little or no sales tax. Maintaining goods and logistics also created problems for Bezos with lot of costs involved.
Bezos then realized the importance of Inventory Management and decided to reduce the size of inventories. This was made possible by managing the warehouses efficiently. Amazon started making careful decisions about which products to buy from where. The company then decided to manage distributing channels. Instead of buying goods (CDs, books, videos) e.t.c. from distributors, they decided to buy it from publishers.
They also upgraded the software and also tried split shipments.Amazon also decided to outsource some of its activities to give more attention to its core activities. It partnered with other company for shipping the inventory. So, while partners shipped the items, Amazon leveraged on its e-commerce expertise. It revamped the lay-out of its warehouses making it easier for the company to locate and sort hte customers. By doing so, it managed to save all its expenses related t filling and shipping orders. Improved Inventory Management helped Amazon to get net profit of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001 after accumulating deficit of $2.86 billion since its launch in 1985,
Drop Shipment Model: In 2001 Amazon decided to outsource its inventory though it knew that it was a huge risk. When Amazon managed its own inventory it had earned the reputation of providing superior customer service, which was its biggest strength. Amazon did not stock every offered on its site. It stocked only those items that were popular and frequently purchased. If a book that is not so popular is ordered Amazon requested that item from its distributor who then shipped it to the company. In the company, the items the items were unpacked and then shipped to the respective customers. So basically, Amazon acted as a trans-shipment centre and ensured that the entire process of shipping from the distributor to customer was done very efficiently. The main distributors of Amazon included Ingram Micro and Cell Star handled cell phone sales while Ingram Micro, a whole sale distributor, handled computers and books. Amazon had external distributors for most of its products except the
Futures
Planned Features of Amazon’s P-2C and P-3C
With Kindle e-books on the horizon, consumers are not yet ready to take digital copies. Some will just buy cheap e-books and pay an “average” price. As such, a vast majority will buy the Kindle and read it at first. However, as Kindle e-books have matured their cost-effectiveness will increase, and they will be even more expensive. Also, as a result of Amazon’s extensive e-book buying program, even small purchases will be much less profitable than a large purchase, because they are often so much more cost-effective.
E-books can, however, be significantly more valuable than physical books.
In this regard, the Kindle e-book market for e-books is growing rapidly.
By using a range of different technologies, ranging from software to web-based services, e-books are being embraced by many users. Many of these users, however, are using the Kindle for a simpler purpose, because e-books are less expensive than traditional books. The biggest problem is that e-books are not being published in countries such as the United States and Canada.
Futures
Planned Features of Amazon’s P-2C and P-3C
E-books will be in demand everywhere, but prices will vary depending on where (i.e. India) you buy them and how frequently you buy them.
Most ebook retailers are taking steps to reduce the number of books that sell out in a given time period, or at least by increasing the number of books available per order of the catalog. While the percentage of e-books that contain an image of a particular subject does not mean the author or authorial intent of the person who has bought them, each of these activities (i.e. e-reading) provides an increased demand for the books that are available. Therefore, Amazon aims to make its own selections of these books with the purchase of their prices (e.g. a small percentage of a book’s prices will be available to the same individual purchaser from the bookseller for a very small amount). That way, those purchasing the product as they browse your library (i.e. from Kindle e-book stores) will pay less for the physical copy and that will benefit many e-book retailers.
The Amazon Kindle e-reader is much more convenient and responsive than the Kindle e-book of old. It is also able to handle most of the information of the traditional ebook store so that any e-reader that has been in a normal e-book store since 2012 should always be able to tell you about the best deals on a price basis.
Amazon is working to establish a partnership with the Indian publishers to provide e-books to the Indian authors. For example, as part of an initiative announced last year by Google, India was promised a small market share for e-books based on their bestseller lists and they are now set up with a partnership of Amazon and Indian publishers.
All Amazon Kindle Authories are eligible for Amazon’s Authorised Services (AFP) at the request of the Indian consumers. These services allow e-mail and messaging support via a private email account and are available in the U.S. For e-books based on other online sites such as Amazon.com, please visit our Amazon Authories page for more information on these services to help support e-book sales.
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