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 Head:  EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY     1  

Case  Statement    

Amazon  growth  rates  continue  to  rise,  as  their  revenue,  net  income,  and  profit  

continue  to  increase.  The  successful  company  is  widely  profitable,  as  they  

continue  dominating  the  e-­‐commerce  industry.    

Mission  Statement  

To  be  Earths  most  customer-­‐centric  company,  where  customers  can  find  and  

discover  anything  they  might  want  to  buy  online,  and  endeavor  to  offer  

customers  the  lowest  possible  prices.  (David,  2012).    

Vision  Statement  

Offering  our  customers  the  lowest  possible  prices,  the  best  available  selection,  

and  the  utmost  convenience  within  the  e-­‐commerce  industry.      

Milestones    

• 1995:  Amazon  sold  its  first  product  –  a  book  titled  “Fluid  Concepts  and  

Creative  Analogies:  Computer  Models  of  the  Fundamental  Mechanisms  of  

Thought”  by  Douglas  Hofstadter.  The  book  was  sold  from  Jeff  Bezos’  

garage,  where  Amazon  was  first  running  business.    

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• 2018:  Amazon  raised  minimum  wage  to  $15  an  hour  for  all  US  employees.  

This   pay   increase   will   positively   effect   the   hundred   of   thousands   Amazon  

workers.    

External  Assessment    

 Amazon  is  doing  a  good  job  at  taking  advantage  of  our  opportunities  and  

avoiding  the  threats  that  approach.  Increasing  number  in  Internet  users  

worldwide,  more  items  being  easily  sold  online,  and  global  expansion  are  the  

most  important  factors  that  have  an  impact  on  Amazon.  Amazon  faces  many  

threats  that  can  potentially  harm  the  organization.  Ease  of  entry  into  the  

market,  customers  preferring  to  try  on  items  before  purchasing  them,  and  

facing  an  aggressive  competition  with  large  retail  firms  are  the  most  

important  threats  that  have  an  impact  on  Amazon.    

Internal  Assessment    

Amazon  is  very  strong  internally.  Some  of  Amazons  greatest  strengths  

are  having  the  highest  revenue  in  the  industry,  being  the  largest  online  

retailer,  and  having  a  strong  brand  name.  Amazon’s  strong  brand  name  is  the  

reason  for  their  rapid  growth  and  continued  success  within  the  industry,  

which  has  resulted  in  them  leading  the  e-­‐commerce  brand  globally.  Amazons  
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greatest  weaknesses  are  that  their  business  model  is  easily  imitable  and  they  

have  limited  brick-­‐and-­‐mortar  presence.    

Industry  Analysis    

Porter’s  Five-­‐Forces  Model  is  a  competitive  analysis  that  is  a  widely  

used  approach  for  developing  strategies  in  many  industries.  Just  because  

Amazon  is  the  largest  e-­‐commerce  company,  does  not  mean  that  the  company  

does  not  have  high  competition.  The  intensity  of  rivalry  among  competing  

firms  is  very  high,  as  there  is  an  increase  in  the  number  of  competitors  for  

online  retail.  Amazon  must  take  concrete  steps  to  discourage  new  entrants.  

Amazon  should  be  continuously  identifying  new  firms  entering  into  the  

market  and  monitoring  new  rival  firms  strategies.  Amazon  is  able  to  

discourage  new  entrants  by  offering  programs  such  as  Amazon  Prime.  Since  

there  are  so  many  suppliers,  this  allows  Amazon  to  select  its  own  suppliers.  

This  gives  Amazon  the  upper  hand  over  suppliers.  

Financial  Analysis    

Jeff  Bezos,  Amazon’s  president,  CEO  and  chairman,  has  created  many  

sophisticated  analysis  programs  in  order  to  keep  Amazon  at  an  advantage.  For  

the  fiscal  year  ended  31  December  2018,  Amazon’s  revenues  increased  31%  
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to  $232.89  billion.  Amazon  needs  to  focus  on  using  their  assets  efficiently  in  

order  to  increase  their  ratio.  They  could  also  take  better  advantage  of  the  

increased  profits  that  their  financial  leverage  brings.  Amazon  has  a  steady  

growth  rate,  as  they  continue  to  make  large  amounts  of  capital  investments  

each  year.  With  revenue  and  sales  continuing  to  increase,  Amazon  is  projected  

to  have  a  successful  future  for  2019  and  upcoming  years.    

Competitive  Strategies    

The  quantitative  strategic  planning  matrix  is  designed  to  evaluate  

alternative  strategies  based  on  previously  identified  external  and  internal  

critical  success  factors.  The  alternative  strategies  that  were  used  in  the  QSPM  

were  to  create  and  sell  more  of  their  own  products,  up  website  services  by  

50%,  and  increase  mini  pop  up  stores.    

Recommended  Strategy  

Amazon  is  significantly  leading  in  voice,  with  the  Amazon  Alexa  and  the  

Echo  Dots.  If  they  were  to  introduce  a  cell  phone  that  could  pair  with  the  other  

voice  activated  devices,  they  would  have  a  competitive  advantage.  

Smartphones  are  so  common  in  today’s  world,  as  everyone  seems  to  have  one.  

By  creating  their  own  products,  the  goods  would  be  sold  under  their  name,  
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rather  than  an  outside  vendor.  Therefore,  Amazon  needs  to  take  advantage  of  

this  opportunity  to  create  a  smartphone.    

Implementation  Strategy  

Implementing  strategy  affects  an  entire  organization,  including  the  functional  

and  divisional  areas  of  a  business.  The  implantation  plan  will  begin  with  CEO  

of  worldwide  consume,  Jeff  Wilke,  and  CEO  of  Amazon  Web  Services,  Andy  

Jassy.  All  managers  of  Amazon  will  be  involved  with  establishing  annual  

objectives,  as  this  will  represent  the  basis  for  allocating  resources,  monitor  

progress  towards  achieving  long-­‐term  objectives,  and  establish  

organizational,  divisional,  and  departmental  priorities.  In  order  for  Amazon  to  

implement  the  strategy  successfully,  their  goods  and  services  must  be  

marketed  well.  R&D  personnel  play  an  integral  part  in  strategy  

implementation.  These  individuals  are  responsible  for  developing  new  

products  and  improving  old  products  in  order  to  allow  effective  

implementation.  The  human  resources  department  is  responsible  for  

assessing  the  staffing  needs  and  developing  a  staffing  plan  for  effectively  

implementing  strategies.  The  finance  team  has  the  responsibility  for  figuring  

out  how  Amazon  will  fund  this  new  strategy.  The  finance  team  will  need  to  

create  a  budget  of  the  financial  requirements  for  the  strategy.  Amazon  will  
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need  approximately  $150  million  to  fund  the  project  of  innovating  their  own  

smartphones.  

Ethical  and  Social  Responsibility  

Amazon  has  an  ethical  responsibility  for  their  customers  and  the  

environment.  They  are  responsible  for  providing  their  customers  with  low  

priced,  high  quality  products  with  excellent  customer  service.