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Amazon - Strategic Capability

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Amazon - Strategic Capability
Executive Summary
This report has been designed to identify Amazon's strategy between 2007-2010 and also to pinpoint the company's strategic capabilities. Internal and External analysis reveals Amazon's position against its competitors as well as sources of value creation and cost reduction in its value chain.
Amazon.com is a leading e-retailer and is a globally recognized brand, but is facing increasing competition from bricks and mortar companies setting up an online presence and current e-retailers increasing their geographical and product scope. Amazon.com also faces strong rivalry in its Web Services Business where more specialized web services companies are able to offer more products and have a broader geographical presence.
The report finds that Amazon's weakness as an e-retailer arises from the cost of delivery and its reliance on outsourced firms to fulfill its product delivery. To improve the customer experience that Amazon is focused on, this report suggests that Amazon enters into a joint venture with delivery companies to have better control over delivery costs and delivery service levels.

Amazon.com founded by Jeff Bezos in 1995, is the top E-commerce store worldwide in terms of revenue. Amazon.com has a market capitalization of US$29.4 billion, an operating income of $1.406 billion and employs 33,700 employees across the globe. It started out as an online bookstore but has expanded and diversified its services and products to cater to a diverse customer base ranging from retail customers to business customers through two strategic business units, its retail strategic business unit and its software business unit. Amazon.com has established itself as a global company and has websites catering to foreign customers in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and China. Foreign sales contribute 47 per cent of the company’s consolidated sales. Amazon’s early growth came from its ability to redefine the way bookstores sell its books to



References: Vranesevic, T. et al (2006), Marketing and Retailing Strategy Johnson, G., Scholes, K Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy Collis, David and Cynthia A Amit, R. & Schoemaker, P. (1993). Strategic assets and organizational rent. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 14 Conner and C.K.Prahalad: 1996 A Resource Based Theory of the Firm Higgins, R.C. and L.D. Schall, “Corporate Bankruptcy and Conglomerate Merger,” Journal of Finance 30, 1975 Lewellen, W.G., “A Pure Financial Rationale for the Conglomerate Merger activity,” Journal of Finance 26, 1971, Teece, D. (1982), "Towards an economic theory of the multiproduct firm", Journal of Economic Behavior and organization Bhide, A.v (1993) ""The Hidden Costs of Stock Market Liquidity," Journal of Financial Economics C. Markides and C. Ittner (1994), "Shareholder benefits from Corporate International Diversification: Evidence from US International Acquisitions," Journal of Laseter, T., et al. (2001). "The Last Mile to Somewhere" strategy+business

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