AMAZON.

COM AND E-COMMERCE 1

In 1994, Jeff Bezos left his job and a year later launched [Link] as
an online bookstore. It had more than 200,000 titles and these could also be ordered
by email. The company would be renamed later as Amazon, by
the Amazon River, and in 1996 it had more than 2,000 visitors per day. One year later
Later they had multiplied by 25. In May 1997 [Link] debuted in the
NASDAQ and in 1999, Time Magazine named Jeff Bezos Person of the Year. In
[Link] is currently fully diversified and offers all kinds of
productos: DVDs, CDs de música, software, videojuegos, electrónica, ropa,
furniture, food or books, among others - [Link] is regarded as the
the world's most important online store, transitioning from book commerce to being
pioneer of e-commerce.

TECHNOLOGY

Being an online store, technology has played a very important role.

important in the success of the company. Therefore, it implemented many services
website administration, search, interaction with clients,
recommendations, transaction, processing and sorting of orders, as well as
other systems, through a combination of proprietary technologies and
other commercially available concessions. In 2003, the strategy of
[Link] focused its development efforts on creating and improving the
specialized and patented software that was exclusive of his/her business and
obtain the license or acquire commercially developed technology for
other applications, as long as it was available and appropriate.

The company used a series of applications to accept and validate orders.

to clients, place orders with suppliers and follow up, manage and assign
inventory to customer orders and ensure proper shipping of the
products that he sold. His transaction systems and processing
they handled millions of items, various status inquiries, requests
of gift wrapping and multiple shipping methods. These systems
allowed the customer to choose between individual or multiple shipments based on the
availability, as well as tracking the progress of each order. These
applications also directed the process of acceptance, authorization, and collection to
the customers' credit cards.

Since online sales were their only means of establishing contact

with its customers, [Link] needed to have the assurance that they

1 Patrick Collins, Robert J. Mockler, and Marc Gartenfeld

1
they could navigate easily and feel safe. In addition to these concerns,
he had to ensure that the process of ordering an item was not difficult.
part, [Link] achieved this objective through the development of the method of
1-Click Orders, which he patented. This method allowed his customers
store information about your billing and shipments on the website of the
company. Customers could choose the way to pay for their purchases, such as
with credit cards, or choose between multiple shipping addresses, like to
personal or work address. [Link] preferred that its customers used
this feature because with the data mining software I could
develop customer shopping habit profiles that would help her
to develop product recommendations and marketing programs in the
future. In order to make things easier for customers, online stores
like [Link] offered various options by shipping means of
important specialized companies, such as the United States Postal Service
United, UPS and FedEx. Shipping costs varied depending on the level and the
speed of the chosen service. To encourage a greater number of orders and
address the concerns about shipping costs, most companies
online, such as [Link] and Barnes & [Link] offered the free
service when customers placed orders above a minimum level and
they chose standard shipping methods, which could take up to seven days.
To help customers track their purchases and determine the
At the time of order delivery, [Link] included links on its site with
other shipping companies, which allowed their customers to easily monitor the
progress of their purchases. To address the concerns regarding the
product returns, the company provided all the information on its site
necessary information about shipments, including postal labels, for
that the client will download and use it.

One of the biggest concerns for online shoppers was that their
billing information and credit cards were not secure and could be
illegally obtained during the course of a transaction. To reduce this fear,
[Link] used Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, a program for
coding technology. This system was the industry standard and was
among the best software available at that time to conduct transactions
secure online commerce. I encoded all personal information of a
client, including their credit card number, name, and address, such
in a way that could not be read as it traveled through the internet.

INTERNET
A very cheap way to present information about product offers is
the use of newsletters, direct mail, and newspaper advertisements, particularly in the
Sundays. Although he suspended his television ad campaign, he continued
inserting advertising to help promote your existing offers and
coupons that offered discounts on future purchases. [Link] had
used the internet effectively to promote herself, both to clients
new as old. Through the use of mining software programs
of data and direct email announcements, had the ability to
promote products that their customers they could be interested in buying.
the company developed these recommendations based on purchases
previously of their clients and in comparisons with similar buyers that
they had the same shopping habits. Through programs like Notices of
[Link], the users could be notified when the last
publications by the authors and artists they were interested in should be available
for sale. Through agreements with internet service providers,
like AOL, and search system companies, like Google,

[Link] could market its products directly and effectively

internet services. Because it had registered over 900,000 sites
web in their [Link] Associates program, the company could advertise on
many individual sites at a minimal cost. Due to the cost of doing
advertising campaigns on radio and television and concerns about their effectiveness
in this type of advertising, the company focused its attention on advertising through
internet. Through the use of data mining software programs and
purchase patterns, developed extensive profiles of their customers, which they utilized
to develop a successful direct email marketing program,
in which I announced the articles that might interest them. In addition, I was working
with search engine companies, such as Google, to ensure that
that their ads had a prominent place on the web pages when
people obtained search results. Through their partners
online, [Link] continuously promoted its own website and its
products. Due to the low cost of this type of advertising, I could use the money
that he had previously invested in advertising campaigns to offer
free shipping to your customers on many orders of 25 dollars or more.
The 'rumor' of offering free shipping was better than the 'rumor' of any campaign.
advertising.

PRODUCTS
Since its beginnings, [Link] sold a wide variety of products in
line both from its own and from its retail sales partners. The company divided
its product line in four areas. The first area was named
Segment of Books, Music, Videos and DVDs or BMVD (for its initials in English,
Books, Music, and Video/DVD). The second area was called Equipment Segments
electronic, tools and kitchen utensils or ETK (for its initials in English,
Clothing and toys were integrated into the two areas.
remaining.

CLIENTS

[Link] has focused on people of all ages and types, as

offers a wide range of products and services that represent something for
everyone. Although [Link] did not keep a record of the data
demographics of their customers, had noticed signs that purchases in
lines began to be more conventional. This fact could be observed in
their lists of best-selling books that reflected more generalized tastes, in
comparison with its beginnings, when the titles of the best-selling books
they reflected a more technological approach.

Elderly people: born before or during World War II

Worldwide, elderly people made up more than 12% of the population.
American in 2002. To encourage them to buy, [Link] offered prices
low prices and excellent customer service.

Baby boomers: The generation baby boom formed by individuals

born between 1946 and 1964, was made up of about 77 million
people. In 2002, baby boomers were in their fourth and fifth decades of life.
life. The product lines that appealed to this category included books,
house and garden products, kitchen utensils, and clothing.

Generation X: The 'X' generation comprised approximately 45 million

people born between 1965 and 1976. These individuals had arrived at the
adult age in the mid-1980s and, in 2002, they were in their
second and third decades of life. The product lines that appealed to this
category included books, kitchen utensils, and clothing.

Generation 'Y': Generation 'Y', which included people born between 1977 and
1994, represented about 25% of the population in 2002. The categories
The products that interested this group were clothing, music, books, and toys.
in particular electronic games like those of Xbox and PlayStation.
Customer service

One of the reasons why [Link] achieved success was the enormous
importance that the company placed on customer service. Since its foundation, the
the company tried to become the most customer-focused on the planet, that is,
where they could find and discover anything they had wished for
buy online. Due to customer participation, it was necessary to maintain a
high level of service. Being a store that operates solely online made it easier
the task. Some of the ways in which [Link] managed to provide a
excellent customer service was:

I informed them, when they made their purchases, about the shipping times.
projected and actual. In large orders, they were asked if they preferred
waiting for the complete order or receiving it in parts as the items
they were ready.

2. It allowed them to review the products, which helped generate a sense of

loyalty among its users.

3. I was sending emails with suggestions about other products that

they might be interested in buying, based on past purchases.

4. The company made its website very user-friendly, as it offered

products (by title, theme or author).

5. By developing and patenting cutting-edge technology such as its Ordering process with
1 click facilitated the online shopping experience. [Link] had the
ability to differentiate itself from its competition, as it had this level
high level of customer service, along with an easy-to-use website.

Product recommendations: As a way to promote the

sales and at the same time inform their clients when it was
certain product available, [Link] was sending them emails,
in which I included possible recommendations. I offered this service to
to ensure that a customer did not lose the perfect item. On the other hand,
determined the interests of a client through a thorough examination of the
items that he had acquired, the items that he informed [Link] that
he possessed and those he valued; then, the company compared the activity of
client on their website with that of other clients. Based on this
comparison, could recommend other items that might interest you. These
recommended articles would appear in various areas of the website. If the customer
I needed information about a particular area, I could click on the link
suitable. These recommendations would change when the customer bought or
will qualify a new article. The changes in the interests of other clients too
these recommendations could be affected. As the recommendations fluctuated,
[Link] suggested that a customer add items of interest to their List of
wishes or shopping cart.

In 2016, the giant of electronic commerce designs a futuristic store where the
Technology allows for shopping without waiting in line or going through the checkout.

Activity

According to the reading of the [Link] case, solve the following.

1. Identify the main strengths that helped Amazon become

as a benchmark of online commerce. (Argue your answer)

Focus your development efforts on creating and improving software

specialized and patented that was exclusive to his business.
Manage and assign inventory to customer orders and ensure the
proper shipping of the products I was selling
Choose between individual or multiple shipments withbased on the
availability, in addition to tracking the progress of each
order.
Online sales were their only means of establishing contact.
with their clients.
The process of ordering an item was not difficult, he managed this
objective through the development of the Orders method with 1
Click, which was patented.
They offered various shipping options through important
specialized companies, such as the United States Postal Service
United, UPS and FedEx. Shipping costs varied, depending on
of the level and speed of the chosen service.
They offered free service when customers placed orders
above a minimum level and chose normal shipping methods.
Help customers track their purchases and determine
the moment of delivery of an order, [Link] included in its
site links with other shipping companies, which allowed its
customers can easily monitor the progress of their purchases
 One of the reasons why [Link] achieved success was the
enormous importance that the company gave to customer service.
Maintain a high level of service

2. Explain how the following activities are developed at [Link].

. Interpretation and prediction: they developed it according to the standards

of customer satisfaction, according to the needs of the customers
they required to anticipate what the client preferred and wanted it to be more
easy and safe for your comfort and trust on the website, generating
trust and viability of their products, knowing in what state they are.
they found and tracked them, For [Link] to know that the customer was theirs
mayor generador de experiencias, [Link] le brindaba diferentes
options of tranquility to their clients for obtaining the products and
services that the website offered and give them the assurance that it is a
trustworthy page and that it was of utmost importance for the company to achieve its
success with the importance he gave to customer service.

. Personalization of offers: I was monitoring the products that

they were more interested in their clients and making personal notifications to them.
these products in order for the customer to feel drawn to them
product and even more having had the experience of having purchased
a product previously allowed the customer to hook up to
new in a purchase of an item and knowing that it was in good hands
its delivery by the website, with these characteristics the website
it generated trust and tranquility among users.

. Behavior patterns: I carried out this monitoring according to the

tastes and section that each client focused on, what their preferences were and
hobbies to be able to induce it to this same pattern each time without
need for them to be searched on the page rather than being seen by default when
enter the page or they send you notifications to your personal email so that
the customer felt comfortable and knew that they could find the product and
acquire on the website.

. Marketing campaigns: A very... cheap to present

information about product offers is the use of newsletters, email
direct ads and newspaper advertisements, particularly in the Sunday editions,
 inserting audiovisual advertising to help promote your offers
existing ones and coupons that offered discounts on future purchases.

His biggest marketing publicity was promoting himself on the internet.

to gain more recognition and be able to reach all sectors
económicas para poder tener mejor estrategias de ventas y
market positioning.

3. Describe the main challenges Amazon faces in the environment

current, and suggest:
Possible strategies for brand maintenance and positioning.

The main challenges are maintaining the importance of customer service without
neglect the product and its shipping quality, maintain customer satisfaction
end customer, be competitive with the shipping and delivery record of the
products, continue offering benefits to customers to maintain their
level of satisfaction and making them feel important at the moment of value
added.

Strategies for brand maintenance and positioning:

Establish agreements with financial and collecting entities

money to acquire agreement numbers, in order to be able to access the
people who do not use credit cards to be able to acquire them
products promoted by [Link]
Send advertising campaigns to the registered emails of the
clients in the databases so that they are informed of
new products, offers and discounts on products more
sold or desired by the public.
Positioning in new markets.
Carry out the differentiation of the characteristics of the products and
services offered for delivery and payment with other similar sites.
Analyze how the competition is acting in its sales to
analyze their weaknesses for Amazon to turn them into
opportunities for your benefit and personal recognition.