PART II: CASE STUDY

 

 

 

Amazon Rekindles Its Flair for Technology

 

Directions: Read Amazon Rekindles Its Flair for Technology from Chapter 15 (page 460).  Amazon.com is an Internet retailing phenomenon.  It has revolutionized the industry ever since its inception in 1995.  As the case describes, Amazon uses a variety of operations techniques to allow their customers to order on the Internet and deliver the products to their doorstep.  It has made good use of its software expertise to automate a number of processes, so much so, that it offers software consulting to other organizations.  The case also describes Amazon’s newest product, Kindle, which enables users to read books electronically.

 

After you have read the case, please provide detailed and elaborate responses to the following questions.  Your responses should include examples from the reading assignment.

 

You will write a two to three page essay that includes at least two (2) in-text references to the text book.  For the assignment on Amazon, you will discuss operations management and organizational technologies and their role in operations management.  After you have read the case, please provide detailed and elaborate responses to the following questions.  Your responses should include examples from the reading assignment.

 

 

Please ensure that your essay contains the following components:

 

·         Introductory paragraph that has a general topic sentence

 

·         Five subtopics (each of the questions below will constitute one of your main points)

 

·         Conclusion

 

 

Body Paragraph #1: What types of decisions common to manufacturing firms does Amazon make?  Find at least one sentence from the textbook that supports your premise.  Be sure that you cite it appropriately.  What types of decisions common to service firms?  How do both types of decisions relate to the marketing of Kindle?

 

 

Body Paragraph #2: Describe Amazon’s entire supply chain.  From which activities in this supply chain does Amazon make money?  At what points in the supply chain does Amazon outsource or contract activities to outsiders?

 

 

Body Paragraph #3: Go online to Amazon.com and select an item that comes from Amazon itself rather than from a drop shipper.  What product did you choose?  What kind of purchasing decisions were necessary to make this product available at Amazon’s price?  What kind of inventory control decisions?

 

 

Body Paragraph #4: What facets of Amazon’s operations allow it to offer a high-quality shopping experience to customers?

 

 

Body Paragraph #5: Give three or four examples of ways in which Amazon’s operations contribute to high productivity.