Реферат: AmazonCom Case Analysis Essay Research Paper AMAZONCOM
TOTAL 1.00 3.10
The above chart would indicate that Amazon is responding to existing opportunities and threats in its industry slightly better than the average competitor, as indicated by a EFE Matrix score of 3.10. Several factors have varying levels of effect upon the online shopping industry. For instance, the number of Internet users is continuing to rise exponentially. In 1996 and 1998, there were 61 and 147 million worldwide users of the Internet, respectively. Projections for 2002 are 300 million worldwide Internet users. Growth such as this obviously has a dramatic effect upon the online retail industry, as evidenced by a weight of 0.15 on the EFE Matrix. Additionally, companies, such as Amazon, that have an established platform (technology, distribution centers, customers, brand, etc.) have an increased ability to monetize their platform through partnerships like Toys “R” Us and Borders Group. “After all, what if [Amazon] becomes the online commerce partner (customer service, order fulfillment, inventory management, marketing services) for a wide swath of brick-and-mortar partners: Blockbuster for videos, Ace Hardware for tools, Tower Records for music, Best Buy, Circuit City for electronics, etc.? Then, in aggregate, those deals could hasten profitability (slightly) and/or make steady-state profitability larger” (Reamer, p. 2). This platform monetization can have an enormous impact upon this industry, as evidenced by a weight of 0.15 on the EFE Matrix.
“Amazon posted $410MM in U.S. books, music, and video (U.S. BMV) sales. At 58% of total revenue, U.S. BMV remains the single largest contributor to total revenue. Growth in this sector continues to be fairly anemic: U.S. BMV grew just 2 [percent year over year]” (Reamer, p.2). Moving into other segments of the online retailing industry (i.e., consumer electronics) could dampen this negative trend. Lastly, “the growing number of bankruptcies among pure-play e-commerce companies should enhance the competitive position of companies, such as Amazon, longer term. In other words, fewer industry participants should lead to increased potential scale for survivors such as Amazon. Not only will fewer companies lead to less distribution of e-commerce revenues among smaller e-tailers, but [surviving companies] should also benefit from less price competition over time. Note that less discounting among pure-play e-tailers should result in higher gross margins longer term” (Patel, p. 10).
However, “one could argue that the rapid e-commerce growth over the last few years reflected more of a fad that is losing momentum than a powerful secular trend. This is not to say that e-commerce is going away, rather that the overall e-commerce market may not be as large as once was projected” (D’Eathe, p. 3).
Another potential threat for Amazon is that the barriers to entry in the online retailing market are minimal. Start-up costs are minimal, and anybody can start their own Internet shop. “According to Mr. Bezos, Amazon differentiates itself from potential rivals in many ways, besides just marketing and aggressive brand promotion. He observes (Fast Company, 1996): People who just scratch the surface of Amazon.com say-’oh, you sell books on the Web’-they don’t understand how hard it is to actually be an electronic merchant. We’re not just putting up a Web site. We do 90% of our customer service by e-mail rather than by telephone. Fourteen of our 110 employees do nothing but answer e-mail from customers. There are very few off-the-shelf tools that help do what we’re doing. We’ve had to develop lots of our own technologies. There are no companies selling software to manage e-mail centers. So we had to develop our own tools. In a way this is good news. There are lots of barriers to entry” (Kotha, p. 10).
Some additional threats, while not as threatening, do exist. For instance, online e-tailers are being sued over shipping delays. “The FTC alleges that some online stores did not give shoppers enough notice of impending shipping delays or that they continued to promise deliveries they could not make during the holiday season” (Farmer, p.2). Lastly, security concerns are limiting the growth of online retailing. Consumers often “surf” the Web to obtain information about a product, but do not purchase the product online for fear of putting their credit card number and other personal information on the Web. However, encryption technology is so advanced today, that it is actually safer to give a Web page your credit card number than it is to give your number to a salesperson over the phone.
Next, a competitive profile matrix (CPM) will be performed to demonstrate how well Amazon performs relative to its competitor group. The CPM follows:
Amazon.com Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble eBay
Critical Wtd. Wtd. Wtd.
Success Factors Weight Rating Score Rating Score Rating Score
Market Share 0.20 4 0.80 4 0.80 4 0.80
Management 0.15 2 0.30 3 0.45 3 0.45
Financial Position 0.25 1 0.25 2 0.50 2 0.50
Product Quality 0.15 3 0.45 3 0.45 2 0.30
Consumer Loyalty 0.25 3 0.75 3 0.75 3 0.75
Total 1.00 2.55 2.95 2.80
The CPM score of 2.55 indicates that Amazon performs slightly worse than its competitor group. The above chart indicates that market share, consumer loyalty, and financial position are the most important critical success factors, as indicated by a weight of 0.20, 0.25, and 0.25, respectively. Amazon’s financial position is the critical success factor that hurts its long-term viability the most. However, Amazon “has created the leading online shopping hub – from both the customer-experience vantage point and market share – that over time should harness the efficiencies of the Internet and could become highly profitable. Amazon’s robust technology platform and 30 million unique users make the Company attractive to traditional offline merchants via its “virtual storefront”" (Legg, p. 3).
A financial comparison of Amazon and the competitor group follows:
Amazon continues to focus on developing its business, which has translated into market share gains. Amazon’s sales growth is exceptional, as evidenced by a 5-year growth rate of 457.91%. Additionally, the Company’s turnover ratios are excellent compared to its competitor group. However, the Company’s net profit margin is atrocious at (37.98%). “The Company’s fulfillment costs as a percentage of revenues remain well above traditional retailer levels making it difficult for [Amazon] to compete in the long-term as it would hold a significant competitive disadvantage in terms of outbound distribution costs” (D’Eathe, p.2).
“However, Moody’s believes that management’s focus on achieving profitability, and a clearer strategy to harvest investment in existing operations rather than expend capital on new businesses, holds the potential for positive cash flow within the medium term. Amazon invested heavily in distribution capacity during 1999, well in advance of need. Moody’s believes that Amazon is unlikely to grow sales rapidly enough to cover the costs of carrying its current infrastructure. However, Moody’s believes that Amazon may be able to generate cash from sources other than retailing. The Company has an opportunity to use its reputation in fulfillment, bolstered by the initial success of its recent alliance to fulfill online orders for Toys “R” Us, to generate high-margin fee revenues and absorb operating costs” (Reamer, p. 5).
The aforementioned opportunity will not come without challenges. Amazon has been facing increased competition. The Company’s primary competition is Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) and eBay Inc. (EBAY). “The site that is rapidly becoming known as The Place To Find Anything is eBay. Trouble is, it doesn’t have the simplicity that Amazon does. That’s still the image that many people have of eBay. They see it as a Turkish bazaar, where the stuff is garbage, you have to haggle for a price, and no one can be trusted. eBay is taking steps towards creating simplicity, however” (Lund, p. 2). Additionally, eBay and Barnes & Noble both are financially sound to compete with Amazon. “Amazon has done a solid job of aggregating products and making the experience simple, but its debt has put itself into a position of weakness” (Lund, p.1).
Lastly, Barnes & Noble is in the somewhat enviable position of being a “bricks-and-clicks” or “clicks-and-mortar” establishment. This mitigates the threat of security concerns. If a consumer did not feel comfortable purchasing online, he/she could go into the physical store location and make the purchase. However, since Amazon only has “virtual storefronts”, the Company does not have the high overhead associated with having physical sites. So, there are advantages and disadvantages to only being online.
Next, an internal factor evaluation (IFE) matrix will be performed that summarizes and evaluates the major strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business at Amazon. The IFE matrix follows:
IFE MATRIX FOR Amazon.com
Critical Success Factors Weight Rating Weighted Score
Strengths
Powerful brand name 0.15 4 0.60
Management experience 0.05 2 0.10
Distribution and technology infrastructure 0.15 4 0.60