Columbia Southern University: Amazon Case Study - Management 5

This case study examines Amazon's remarkable success in the e-commerce industry, analyzing its evolution from an online bookstore to a global retail giant. The study delves into Amazon's effective distribution strategies, highlighting its ability to overcome challenges and maintain a competitive edge. It explores Amazon's innovative pricing model, which emphasizes affordability and customer retention, and compares it to those of its competitors. The case study also discusses Amazon's use of differentiation and positioning strategies, such as its private label products, to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, it considers Amazon's future prospects, suggesting areas for growth and adaptation in response to changes in the macro and micro environments, including advancements in technology and cloud computing. The study concludes that Amazon's customer-centric approach and strategic use of differentiation have positioned it as a leading e-commerce company, but future success requires proactive adaptation to evolving consumer needs and market dynamics.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT 0
ADVANCE MARKETING -
AMAZON

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Amazon Case Study
Initially, Amazon was created as a bookstore in 1995. However, throughout the years
Amazon made their website for more than just books. Amazon’s website is now selling
anything and everything a person needs or wants. It sells movies, electronics, clothing,
groceries, furniture, housewares, and many other goods. These items are sold through the
website either directly from Amazon or as the middleman between other retailers. Amazon
has established a way to revolutionize how people shop in today’s world (Cukier & Mayer-
Schoenberger, 2013).
Amazon’s Success
In relation with the article, Amazon achieves success when so many other
organizations have failed as they are always on their A game. For too many organizations,
larger the size it became, the warehousing and distribution structure became complex.
However, in case of Amazon, the company has taken in the right direction and not only that it
just start off as a book selling organisation they have exceeded that and became a technology
centred organisation. The company keep them updated with the greatest tech and latest trends
and they also have maintained extensive distribution network in extent with various suppliers.
In addition, Amazon allows business and consumers to sale and market their own products on
their website. In addition, Amazon considered their distribution system as a part of their core
competencies and do continuous invest in it to rationalize every expense (Mohammed, 2018).
Hence, the innovative and efficiently controlled distribution allow the company to offer
quicker deliveries, promise the exact delivery date and keep its assurances on product quality.
This aid in immense success of the organisation

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Amazon’s Pricing Model
Considering Amazon pricing model, it is based on low and affordable prices. They
pay customer so that they can market their products on the company website and also
promote their website on their app and page. In context with Amazon prime members, the
company offers two day shipping facilities which ease the way when the user continuously
book order online. These practices are known to be effective as they reached out to more
consumers and they provide a quick and easier process to acquire products. Moreover, getting
products on low prices help Amazon to retain customer over longer period of time. Taking
out Amazon competitor, the company beat their rival with a long shot as these competitors do
not provide the same quality and timely services that Amazon provide and there prices are
also not competitive enough to match out with Amazon. In addition, the Amazon has huge
list of suppliers that help the company to control over the pricing policies and ultimately the
benefit is being transmitted to the final customer (Winn, 2016).
Maintaining a Competitive Advantage
In a differentiation strategy, a product or service is provided with distinctive
attributes, in relation to the competitors to reach to a wider market (Zhou, Brown & Dev,
2009). In relation to differentiation strategy, Amazon offers various products under its private
labels such as kindle, fire stick and echo device. These particular products help Amazon in
gaining competitive advantage due to their affordable nature and features unlike the
competitors can offer. For any organisation, the first and foremost factor for sustainable
competitive advantage is to position the brand in a customer mind. Their positioning can be

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understood as a tech company help in their huge growth and development all over the world
more in comparison when they first initiated just as a company selling books and DVDs.
Amazon’s Next Steps
Taking out all the changes in macro and micro environment if Amazon continues
providing and offering the services that they provide the will remain on top. Being a tech
company, the company needs to do some improvement in relation with environmental
context and help someone with their everyday life. Doing great to environmental aspects help
the company in improving its brand image and this will directly enhance the brand value in
the market and thus benefit in their growth and development. Other than this, the company
needs to introduce more technology related products under its private label and thus disrupt
the market through its offerings. The company can also grow more in cloud computing in
respect with their services like AWS (Amazon Web Services) which is used by various big
companies such as Netflix (Teece, 2010).
Conclusion
In present time, Amazon is doing great as a giant e-commerce company and the
company also expanded its roots by coming up with own brand label products. The company
is also fulfilling its mission statement by being customer centric and with offering products
at lowest price possible. The company also have maintained its competitive advantage and
position by using differentiation strategy. However, to ensure future sustainability, the
company is required to perceive changing needs and requirements of the user proactively and

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build out respective strategies. Overall, Amazon has been developed into one of the most
important and successful companies in the world today.

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References
Cukier, K., & Mayer-Schoenberger, V. (2013). The rise of big data: How it's changing the
way we think about the world. Foreign Aff., 92(1), 28.
Mohammed, S. (2018). How Did Amazon Build Its ‘Sustainable Competitive Advantage’? -
The Key Success Factors. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@shahmm/how-did-
amazon-build-its-sustainable-competitive-advantage-88cfee7fe2c8
Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range
planning, 43(2-3), 172-194.
Winn, J. K. (2016). The secession of the successful: The rise of Amazon as private global
consumer protection regulator. Ariz. L. Rev., 58, i.
Zhou, K. Z., Brown, J. R., & Dev, C. S. (2009). Market orientation, competitive advantage,
and performance: A demand-based perspective. Journal of business research, 62(11),
1063-1070.