Case Study on the Information Management System of Amazon.com

The last twenty years have witnessed Amazon.com’s speedy growth into a powerhouse in e-commerce. First formed by its founder Jeff Bezos as a virtual store for book lovers in 1995, it has changed over the years and enlarged to offer a wider diversity of goods. It presently provides services to diverse consumers, customers, content creators, enterprises and sellers through both its website and applications for various interface. Its place as the leader in provision of business-to-consumer transactions entails that it has an thorough way of managing its information database and linking all sphere of it supply chain according to Demir. This paper examines Amazon’s information management system (IMS) and its function in the company’s supply chain as it showcase the importance of such a system in enhancing an organization’s competitiveness.

Literature Review

Initially at its founding, Amazon established a website system and a separate order fulfillment system to ensure the safety and integrity of their system. The database quickly grew and had to be replaced with more advanced technology soon after. These systems included new logistics, analysis and DBMS software from various mainstream software firms such as Oracle, Epiphany, and Manugistics (Imran, 2014). It also reinforced its business-to-business integration system from Excelon. With these enhancements amazon was able to create an incredible foundation that facilitated the rapid growth the company was facing. The Web Service (AWS) and the Simple Storage service (SS) make up the main system central to Amazon’s e-commerce strategy. This system enables amazon to maintain its expansive customer base.

The success of Amazon in markets all over the world through the implementation of its robust, reliable and scalable web service is a testament to the importance of an efficient information management system. Nonetheless, the large number could pose a challenge to many companies due to the strain in resources that may result in a bid to cater to all of their needs. However, Amazon has various measures in place to ensure that they optimize their service provision in the most efficient way possible.

Amazon’s IMS as incorporated in the system ensures that transactions, customer relations and supply chain management are overseen in the most efficient way possible. The transaction processing system that is part of the IMS facilitates purchases by clients (Imran, 2014). It is designed to ensure that every client needs to create a password protected profile before making any purchases. This ensures that Amazon has data on each and every user of its services. Through features such as one-click purchasing, and personalized shopping services on the web and application platforms. This system also ensures this information is also stored for later use in developing new products. Similarly, it also ensures that the payment channels are secured to prevent illegal access from unauthorized third parties.

The IMS also has a recommendation system that recommends purchases based on a user’s previous purchase history while also offering an interactive search menu that provides the consumers with access to a wide variety of goods in Amazon’s catalogue. Similarly, the IMS also has various supply chain management features. These include the Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) and the Customer Relation Management (CRM)(Demir, 2017). The ERP enhances the efficiency of the automation process in the supply chain that enables seamless movement of goods to customers once ordered. It fastens the order fulfillment while reducing chances of delivery mistakes. The CRM incorporates features such as feedback,wish list, customer interest, and product reviews in the system to facilitate collection of customer information to aid in improving the services for the purposes of optimizing customer experience when using their services(Imran, 2014).

The role IMS plays in Amazon’s supply chain is immense. It enhances provision of services to customers alongside improving its logistical operations. With the database containing information on consumer purchasing trends and feedback, Amazon is able to come up with definitive products to enhance user experience. It is also able to share this information with suppliers of various commodities to adjust their products accordingly (Demir, 2017). Additionally, Amazon may use the data to adjust their inventory accordingly to meet demand. The Information Management System may also be useful in the creation of custom platform access sites and applications from different regions all over the world using feedback from customers in the respective regions. This information can then be used to adjust the applications and websites accordingly to meet the needs of the users from those regions; both third party suppliers of products and the consumers.

In a similar light, it is worth noting the importance of managing information in an organization. Companies and organizations such as Amazon need as much useful and relevant information to ensure that they run without inefficiencies (Imran, 2014). Information is especially important in the modern age where the average consumer has a great variety of firms willing to offer similar services at competitive rates (Xu & Quaddus, 2013). Thus for an organization to stay ahead, it must always be ahead of its competitors by using available data to ensure it is able to tailor services and market them in a way that attracts and retains customers. This is because competitive strategies are drawn from information collected regarding the target market by various information channels (Xu & Quaddus, 2013). Amazon’s IMS is an example of a system that has been implemented well.

In conclusion, Information Management systems are just as crucial as supply in the success of an organization’s business strategy. In the face of stiff competition from other players in the same market, a firm needs as much competitive advantage as possible. By using information management systems, an organization can study the needs of its target market and enhance the efficiency of its supply chain to ensure that it capitalizes on the market and its customers; both regular and prospective ones.

References

Demir, A. (2017). Management Information System: Case Study of Amazon.Com. Journal of Research in Business and Management Vol. 4 ~ Issue 11 (2017),11-17

Imran, A. (2014). A Study on Amazon: Information Systems, Business Strategies and e-CRM. Univ. of Malaya. ResearchGate.

Xu, J., Quaddus, M. (2013). Information Systems for CompetitiveAdvantages. Managing Information Systems, 27-40.