Amazon's Strategic Evolution: Unveiling Global Operations, Supply Chain Dynamics

Introduction

Improvement in the technologies and the globalization along with the improvement in the supply chain has changed the way each business organization works. The procedures of the working have been changing rapidly with time as every sector is trying their best to take the number one position in the global market with their high-quality product and magnificent and classy services that attract their customers for a longer period of time (Nagy et al.2018). The analysis would be helpful in bringing forth the ways Amazon retail sector of the USA works and the methods that it adapts to spread its sale and the procedures it uses to improve its functioning. As seen in the study, Amazon has been an online brand that has been serving the customers with their best quality products and most importantly has a wide diversity which attracts its customers the most (Amazon.co.uk.2021). The study would focus on the facts and the facets of the ways that it intakes to improve its global operations and the supply chain during the time of the recession and the period of the pandemic. The people got more aligned to online marketing which made the organization put attention on the increasing of the supply by improving the supply chain.

The study would be reflecting on the goals, target and the challenges that the firm has been facing and the ways that the organization takes to improve and resolve the issues (George et al.2016). The literature review would present the theories and the strategies that the company would be taking or have taken to make the procedure of the business run in a smooth way. The well-established technologies that have made the working of the firm easier and more uplifted. The critical evaluation and the in-depth analysis on the working procedures and the groundwork that has been influenced by the Amazon online retail sector and how it has improved its way of planning and organizing their business to enhance the profit margin and improve the work of the supply chain (Li et al.2018).

The analysis would be focusing on the awareness of the strength and the weakness that the firm had been recording and maintaining the data through customer’s feedback. The personal contribution of the team effectiveness and improvement of the personal skills of the employees. The comprehending of the issues and the challenges that Amazon retail brand had been facing and at the same time the ways they had been using to eradicate the issues and challenges. The lean efficiency and the sustainability along with the quality upgradation in the operations and supply chains through the argumentative analysis is given a clear detail.

The study would also reveal about the six-sigma strategy and the quality management models and strategies, the sustainability in the global supply chain and the process by which the organization uses the techniques and the tools to uplift the global operations and the supply chain improvement. The practical contribution of the organization and the focus on the objectives that the firm targets and achieves through different perspectives.

Discussion:

Amazon has been a renowned online organization that has been supplying their trusted customers with the best quality services and the variation of the products with price diversification. This in turn makes them incur more responsibilities and for doing this they have to rely on few theories and strategies that makes their working progress even more compatible. The strengthening of the supply chain through the SCM or the supply chain management, as it has been seen that globalization has broadened the market and brought in new customers as well. Another important fact that has played a crucial role in strengthening the supply chain of the organization is that the outbreak of the pandemic which has made the customers more aware of the health issues and alignment to the use of the online application which has positively affected the market.

Literature review:

According to Tseng et al. (2019), the literature review would bring forth the rationale of the analysis of strengthening the supply chain and improving the global functioning, at the same time it would shed light on the fact that how the mentioned foundation works on the improvement in the working field and at the same time the focusing on the elements of question followed by the strategies and the theories used to make the business a successful one. The aim of the research is to focus on the development of the global operations and the supply chain of the Amazon brand (Garrett et al, 2019).

The Research Objective:

The research objective focuses on the few perspectives:

• To critically evaluate the working process of the supply chains
• To focus on the global issues that have impacted strengthening their work in accordance.
• To access the effectiveness of the proper working of the supply chain operations.
• To recommend ways by which the procedures of the work get more improvised and bring in more impact on the financial growth of the organization.

The Research Questions:

• What are the changes in the working process of the supply chain system initiated by the Amazon brand for its proper work?
• What are the global issues that have impacted on strengthening the work of Amazon accordingly?
• What is the effectiveness of the global operations and the supply chains of Amazon?
• What are the recommendations for Amazon to develop the supply chain and the global operations?

The significance of the analysis:

The significance of the analysis puts focus on the ways by which Amazon improvises the supply chain management process considering the theories and the strategies and effectively processing the ways of improvement (Sambal & Tsui.2017). It would further signify the global operations with excellence and efficacy through the quality management model, Six Sigma, Lean and agile supply chain, Performance measurement, Forecasting and location decision making. It would also signify the supply chain partnership with the information technology to improvise the activities. The significance of sustainability in the global supply chain and the challenges that the supply chain suffers from improvising the work of providing the best quality service to their valued and trustworthy customers (Cagliano, Worley & Caniato.2016).

Supply Chain Management Processes

The supply chain management process deals with the matter of producing the best quality products from the raw materials (Genovese et al.2017). It also consists of the supply planning, groundwork of the product, proper evaluation of the demand, planning of the sales and operations and the process of the supply management.

The supply chain management includes few procedures like planning, developing, making, delivering and returning at the same process again.

Controlling of the inventory and manufacturing processes where the organization tries to match with the supply and the demand and act accordingly (Aoki & Wilhelm.2017). For proper planning of the acquiring of the raw material the study of the market is very much necessary as it is a very crucial factor that deals with the matter of fact of customers' change in mood. On the other hand it has been seen that improper planning results in making the whole project a failure.

The identification of the vendors who would be supplying the best raw materials with the production of the goods that would satisfy the customers. A proper way of execution and distribution of the raw materials and the finance help the organization to develop the working process results in delivering the quality goods to the clients (Flanca et al.2017). On the other hand the suppliers are to be treated in a very tactful way so that they bring in the best quality raw material at an affordable price.

Amazon focuses on making the customers happy by transforming the raw material to the final product according to their preferences. The process includes the improvement of the product operation rapidly from the manufacturing to the packaging. The making helps to satisfy the customers as they find it rather easily accessible with a variety of production at a diversified price (Shah & Ganji.2017).

Another crucial factor of the supply chain management is contributing directly or indirectly to the amalgamation along with the customers. It is a true fact that the finished goods and services are required and demanded by the customers to meet the expectations of the clients (Savelsbergh & Woensel.2016).

As Amazon has been a well-known brand to the customers for their valued services, they keep it into keen focus to take feedback from their customers after delivery of the products at the same time return the product one it has not met the expectations of the customers.

Purchasing and strategic procurement:

The procurement puts into focus on the strategic process of product and service delivery likewise the investigating parlaying and with proper groundwork whereas the purchasing process deals with the acquiring and ordering of the products and services followed by the payment procedures (Thomas.2017). These all help in the proper execution of the supply chain which focuses on the matter improving the strategies and the policies. Amazon has been focusing on the customer's demand and producing their products according to their preferences keeping a record of the cost price that the customers would easily avail. Henceforth the procurement of the strategic and the purchasing procedure is required for the enhancement of the business.

Logistic strategies:

Strategic global supply chain and operations aids in the delivery of the products and the services to their valued customers in accordance with their time preferences making them happy and satisfied (Ayers & Odegaard.2017). Amazon also keeps record of the fact that the delivery procedures are done in a proper planned way and if not satisfy the customers the return policy is initiated and the refund policy is also strong to make their customers happy and rely on the Amazon brand.

The Total Quality Management models:

Based on the total quality management models Amazon has been improving with the global operations and the supply chain functioning for the growth and the development of the organization in the situation of the global pandemic as people outside are taking precautions like social distancing and other methods to improve the process, product, services and the ambience in which they work (Stevens and Johnson.2016).

Total quality management models have been contributing to the improvement of the business sectors for many years. It helps the organizations to detect the ways and the methodologies of how to work and from where to start, keeping record of what is necessary and what could be expelled to reduce the cost of production and the ways of improving the process of the delivery (Khanam, Siddiqui & Talib.2016).

Six Sigma and TQM:

Amazon relies on the six-sigma model and the TQM to improve the global operations management and at the same time make it a point that the vendors in the supply chain are supplying the best quality raw materials at a reasonable price (Bumjaid & Malik.2019). The Six Sigma model aids the firm to kick out the unnecessary procedures in the progress of the work hence resulting in the lowering of the production price in turn making the end selling price low making the customers happy and satisfied. It has been recorded that the six sigma model has contributed to the cross functioning in a broader way also bringing variable results and returns on the investment. On the other hand, the TQM has been helping in the team work practice and at the same time it initiates the quality (Zaman.2016).

Lean and agile supply chain:

Bringing into limelight the lean and the agile supply chain in the execution of the business procedures are the lean supply chain focuses on the production of the quality goods to the customers with a lower price required for production (Reid & Sanders.2019). On the other hand the agile supply chain initiates the production of items in small quantities according to the demands and requirements.

Amazon thus focuses on lean business management where it keeps the cost of the production low by cutting the stages that are unnecessary for the production of goods (Dennis.2017). The supply is done in a bulk as the organization has a huge demand in the market globally. Moreover, the firm could make the cost of production even lower by availing raw materials from the vendors who provide best quality raw materials at a considerably lower price.

Performance measurement and benchmarking:

The benchmark is always required for the proper performance of the organization to give their best and the level of improvement that they have been ensuring focuses on few criteria likely the cost of the raw materials, time taken to produce, quality of the products, effectiveness in the market, customers satisfaction, loyalty and brand recognition (Morawska et al.2018). The benchmark declares whether these criteria are being fulfilled or not to focus on the global improvement in the business. There are 4 types of benchmarking categories and they are as follows: internal, external, performance and practice that the Amazon retail sector follows to improve its processing. The internal issues that deal with the effectiveness of the internal functioning and henceforth makes it a point that the individual work is efficiently done in the business internally.

The external benchmark helps Amazon to compare the working capabilities with the external organizations to find out where they are lagging behind. The performance benchmark aids Amazon to focus on the working capabilities of the employers, employees and the vendors at different levels (Frey & Osborne.2017). This benchmarking also improves the working progress of the stakeholders at the various levels. The practice benchmark keeps focus on the qualitative knowledge of the activities that are executed through the people, procedures and the use of technologies.

Forecasting:

The process of forecasting aids the corporation of Amazon in highlighting the data of the past to ensure that they improve in the future working condition.

The forecasting process aids in determining the allocation of the budgets and the determination of the ways by which the expenses would be made in the future to bring out the best result. The forecasting statistics thus bring forth the ways that Amazon would be relying on with the focus on the past mistakes and regulating the methods that would work in favor of the company.

Location decision making:

As globalization has affected the business sectors by a huge margin, making the appropriate selection of markets for business has become difficult for the managers as the market has grown in a rapid way (Garyson & Hodges.2017). Henceforth the location decision making is quite helpful for the organizations like Amazon to get acquainted with the market and deliver with the best possible quality products to ensure happiness for the customers and making them loyal to the brand.

The supply chain partnership and Information Technology:

The cross functional activities in the supply chains bring in individuals from different sectors likely the marketing, production, sales and customers that affect the working of the organization in a pragmatic way. It in fact focuses on extracting the best from every individual to make the process worth executing as all the people responsible dedicate their best in all aspects.

Collaborative supply chain:

Amazon has been adapting the collaborative supply chain to bring out few benefits:

The benefits of the collaborative supply chain includes the lessening of the transportation and costing charges helping to lower the rate of the final product, lessening of the out of stock level by producing a lot of stocks with proper execution of the demands in the market, improved customers service metrics by providing with the products in accordance with the preference of the customers and the clients and lesser lead times which the organization ensures to take lesser time to produce the finished goods as the customers appreciate on time product and the suppliers get ready as they get the opportunity to supply with lot of raw materials at a single time (Dolgui, Ivanov & Sokolov, 2018).

Information technology:

The improved information technologies help in the improvising of the working procedures as the keeping of record through data analysis and the advertising improves the global operations and the supply chain production and at the same time keep track with the past and the present functioning along with the betterment of the procedures in the future.

Global supply chain challenges:

It is a true fact that there are many challenges that the Amazon organization faces as it prosecutes with the present planning and groundwork (Taplin.2017). The issues and the challenges faced in the market by Amazon are listed below:

The supply chain intricacy as a lot of channels into the market.

Risks in the supply chain that ultimately created pressure. The customers demand that drives the supply chain to produce with ample raw materials

keeping the quality of the product high and with the punctuality of time. Increase in the cost brings high challenges in the supply chain (Ferney & Sparks, 2018).

Sustainability in the global chain supply: The supply chain sustainability deals with the issues or the problems related to the logistic networking in terms of the environment, risks, and the waste costs. Global sourcing/ re-shoring/ off-shoring: Amazon has been keeping the record of the budget cutting approach to bring down the cost of production further lowering the final selling price so that they could provide their trusted customers with the best quality products and services at a reasonable price.

Conclusion

Amazon being a renowned brand that has been offering A-class services for many years have retained the brand name with its magnificent supply of products at a reasonable rate that makes the customers happy and satisfied. The overall study gave a clear comprehension of the matter of fact that to improve the global operations and the work of the supply chain in a proper planned way. The method that the organization used to uplift their business and furthermore the strategies that could even make the working process better.

It could be concluded that the proper comprehending of the procedures enhances the organization to perform even better in the future days by giving importance to workers in the supply chain and at the same time encouraging and motivating them to work in a better way. The global chain that has improved and would be required to improve in the future days as it has been read in the analysis that globalization has acted as a bigger source through which the market gets open to more customers globally increasing the demand and also the production rate. Another factor that has played a crucial role is the outbreak of the pandemic as people started to rely on the online business as amazon had to focus immensely on the vendors of the supply chain to provide with the raw materials that would be required to produce products on a larger scale to meet the demands of the customers internationally.

By uplifting the supply chain visibility, to keep a record of the necessary processing and keep into account all the details done regarding the supply of the raw materials along with its price and get into analysis the effective ways to keep pace with the needs and requirements, by making the information technology department update the records related to the supply chain execution, implementation of good plans to make the supply of the products and the services going at the same time satisfying both the customers and the suppliers and incurring profit at the end of the day.

The future works planned by the organization that makes Amazon a more effective firm in realizing the demands and producing the products at the same time giving equal importance to their suppliers and valuing them the most as they make the brand name renowned and upgraded with their best performance. Improvement in the global functioning through the proper advertisement and acquaintance with the social media and spread the news of the proper improved functioning of the supply chain and at the same time uplift the work progress.

The practical implication of the procedures improves the future working criteria in a huge way. Hence it could be concluded that improvement in the global operations and working procedures of Amazon would attract more customers globally and at the same time give the organization to gain fame worldwide.

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