Amazon’s The Past, Present and Future Information Systems: A Critique of Literature Review
Student’s Name
Course Name and Code
Instructor
Submission Date
Brief
Amazon is a significant player in the international e-commerce industry, offering products such as: consumer electronics, online retail, digital content, computing services including other added services such as local groceries. Amazon has built great brand recognition and over the last few decades, the company’s customer base has grown immensely. The brand’s story began in 1995 when it was founded by Jeff Bezos. Through its website www.amazon.com, the company serves customer types such as: content creators, product consumers, enterprises, and other sellers. Beyond computers, the company has established presence in the mobile phone industry across all internet enabled platforms. Since its establishment, Amazon has placed commitment into focusing on delivering a virtual commerce system for its customers. Amazon ranks as the leading e-commerce in the US market, and among the leading in the global market; the huge success has mainly been due to its integration of most superior management information systems. This research will attempt to break-down and analyze on Amazon’s past, present, and future applications of various information systems.
Amazon and Information Systems
In the 21st century, almost all companies across all industries rely heavily on management systems to achieve efficiency in organizational management, and to enhance achievement of organizational goals. According to Carrer et al. (2017), Management information systems make use of both information and communication technologies to provide managers with ability to do their jobs more effectively in terms of decision-making process and development of competitive strategies. More than ever before, companies have to become globally competitive or lose out; the drivers of competition in today include collaboration, globalization and integration. Amazon is one of the few companies to take advantage of the benefits of implementing management information systems. Amazon aims to be the most customer-centric brand in the global market; according to Sadq et al. (2018), Amazon’s operations work based on four crucial principles encouraged by the founder: obsession on customer needs over keeping an eye on the competitor; passion for creativity and innovation; focus on operational excellence; and orientation more on the future than short-term thinking. Amazon uses both online retail through its website, and also runs brick-and-mortar stores across various physical locations – in both ways, Amazon prioritizes on selection, price, as well as convenience.
Analysis of Amazon Information Systems
As stated, leveraging of superior information systems has been Amazon’s greatest success factor for decades. According to (Dalah and Hajjiab, 2018), through integration of various information systems into the business process, Amazon has been able to decentralize the decision-making process which established efficiency in terms of management of key business processes. Dalah and Hajjiab (2018) further asserts that Amazon runs its operations through a two-piece information management system which consists of Simple Storage Services which is linked to its integrated database, as well as its Amazon Web Service (AWS) which offers customers access to its e-commerce platform. The AWS service allows customers to create accounts and customize their profile to suit transaction processing. According to (Katimi et al., 2007), the AWS services consist of various Management information systems that all serve to enable smooth interoperability between Amazon.com and any internet enabled device to ensure fluent engagement between buyers, sellers and Amazon support department. To serve the millions of its customers with also millions of products, Amazon leverages management information systems such as transaction processing, supply chain, decision support, and executive support management systems.
Transaction Processing System
A transaction processing system comprises of attributes such as collection, manipulation, and retrieval of data during transactions. According to Altındağ and Ongel (2021), at the very least, a transaction processing system must offer reliability and consistency, to assure effective completion of transactions. One of the advantages of integrating a transaction processing system is that it allows processing of huge amounts of data (Katimi et al., 2007). A transaction processing system also enhances hardware management as well as security; more than that, given the increased data-size capabilities and enhanced security, the information system also enables a company to gain access to more markets. Amazon uses a transaction processing system that provides it ability to securely and successfully process transactions between buyers and sellers. According to Ramaswamy and Ozcan (2019), Amazon’s transaction processing system is considered fast and highly reliable due to characteristics such as: 1-click purchase, high security encryption, and credit card payment.
Amazon delivers 1-click ordering combined with personalized shopping feature; customers initially prepare their details by filling an order form that is secured in Amazon for future use during order placing. Amazon ensures that the registered details, along with other information collected from credit or debit cards, is securely encrypted to maintain safety during transactions over the internet. More than that, Katimi (2007) asserts that Amazon designed an intelligent system that recommends products based on consumer’s past interests as well as search data. This system is able to collect and store data on consumers day-to-day purchasing habits. For instance, if a customer constantly places an order for a horror genre novel, the system will include suggestions for other related books. The concept behind Amazon’s system is based on two principles: data mining and linking. From the point a client types in Amazon’s search bar, the system analyses and tracks back the information to provide the best suggestion (Katimi et al., 2007). Customers appeal more to the brand since this feature offers great interaction possibilities, boosting their experience as well as satisfaction levels.
Amazon’s Critical Management
Critical management is an important element in today’s management structure. It is a constructive and positive way to bring a better understanding of improved processes ( ). At its core, critical management emerged as an important movement that essentially questions the relevance and authority of mainstream practice and thinking. At Amazon, critical management has helped to bypass the mainstream management practices, including traditional management practices and styles to incorporate new ideas that focus on power and authority. As such, the CEO has introduced a link between social practices and other arrangements that relate to institutions. The idea is to challenge the prevailing systems of hierarchy and domination to promote development of alternatives ( ). With its skepticism of traditional theories, critical management will help to introduce the next generation of management practices and leadership styles. Amazon is ready for this step, welcoming new ideas on how to best manage employees, be inclusive, work with diversity, and maintain competitiveness.
Supply Chain Management Systems
Amazon also includes a supply chain management system to enhance its e-commerce platform. According to Giannakis et al., (2019), a supply chain management system allows companies to efficiently handle the flow of goods, resources, and data concerned with any of the services or products sold, transforming goods from raw materials through procurement and to the final delivery. Giannakis et al., (2019) further asserts that a supply chain management system comprises of network of organizations that facilitate movement of the product from raw material to a ready product for the consumer. While there are many types of supply chain management systems, they all provide benefits such as: purchasing, planning, creation of a service or product, order creation, tracking order features, and tools to manage orders (Giannakis et al., 2019). Giannakis et al., (2019) also adds that unlike traditional tools, the supply chain management system provides an all-round access to all stakeholders across the supply chain. These stakeholders include: manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, logistics, and retailers.
According to Leblanc (2020), Amazon invested heavily in an automated supply chain management system as well as an automated ware house. All the data collected in the AWS is then linked to the enterprise resource management system which utilizes the Oracle database management system; according to Choi et al., (2004), the Oracle database systems allow companies to do automation of orders with the highest level of accuracy, in both scheduling of orders as well as tracking of orders. According to (Imran, 2021) the enterprise resource management system used by Amazon enabled the company to cut down 50 percent of its customer support request since 2000 due to improved accuracy. Beyond this system, Amazon also includes a customer relation management software. According to Imran (2021), the customer relation management software enables Amazon to increase customer loyalty through improved customer satisfaction. The customer relationship management system is responsible for gathering customer data and personal information related to credit cards and previous purchase records in a database.
Impact of Amazon’s Information Systems
Improved Business Process
The success of Amazon’s information systems can be directly related to their ability to create efficiency in terms of delivering key business processes, which include but not limited to: order placing, processing of transactions, delivery of orders, as well as management of customers (Davis, 2021). Through the information management systems Amazon is able to produce intelligent analytics that provides clear view of the market environment; more than that, it ensures Amazon is able to deliver more product units at a time. All this is made possible because the information systems allow decentralization decision making so that processes become more transparent. Also, the systems smoothen the flow of various business processes; and given the streamlined motion in terms of transaction flow, customer requests can easily be managed to offer them with real-time solutions.
Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
For decades, Amazon has used information systems to achieve competitive advantage over other brands; despite the growing competition in the industry, Amazon continues to utilize information systems to defend as well as grow its market share through enhanced business process. Through automation capabilities present in the various information systems integrated by amazon, amazon is able to offer customers with a great shopping experience – by including features like suggestions for most preferred product based on customer profile. According to Davis (2021), Amazon’s information systems offer customers value in various ways such as: customer care – through improved support services, customers can easily receive feedback for queries and concerns. The fact that customers get immediate response makes them attracted more to the service and increase their return rate; endless inventory – as Amazon grew, it moved beyond selling books and committed to highly diversifying its product inventory to maximize its reliability (Davis, 2021); pricing strategy – through the information systems, Amazon is able to segment customers to offer high, medium as well as low pricing strategies.
Decentralization in the company’s Decision-Making Process
For a company with a huge customer base such as Amazon, it is highly crucial that decision making processes be decentralized to save on managerial economies. According to (Davis, 2021), top managers at Amazon rely on speedy access to a wide range of information such as: inventory, marketing, employees and company performance; this information enables quick and informed decision making – informed decisions are gained by assessment of company strengths, weakness, strengths, as well as opportunities. According to Davis (2021), a decision support system allows Amazon to critically evaluate data by including advanced decision aid. Through decentralization, Amazon gains also from the benefits of an integrated decision support system
Conclusion
Amazon is a key player in the international e-commerce market. The company operates with both an online format as well as a brick-and-mortar fashion. With a global footing in most countries, Amazon links many buyers and sellers as well as offers services to various enterprises. More than that, the company handles an enormous amount of data at a time given its huge customer base. Management information systems implemented by Amazon allow the company to sort out the data develop different functionalities such as product recommendations and search suggestions. Amazon’s market environment is characterized by increased competition and trends such as adoption of management information systems. Amazon integrates various management information systems to achieve both competitive advantage and also achieve its founder’s organizational goal to become the world’s most customer-centric organization. The various information systems used by Amazon include: transaction processing management systems, supply chain management systems – which include enterprise management systems, customer relations management systems, and Decision support systems. These systems work to enhance Amazon’s success in the ecommerce industry in ways such as improved business processes, increased customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as the benefits tagged to decentralization of decision-making processes.
References
Altındağ, Ö., & Öngel, V. (2021). Information Management, Organizational Intelligence, and Innovation Performance Triangle: Empirical Research on Turkish It Firms. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211052550Carrer, M. J., de Souza Filho, H. M., & Batalha, M. O. (2017). Factors influencing the adoption of Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) by Brazilian citrus farmers. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 138, 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2017.04.004.
Daher, Z., & Hajjdiab, H. (2018). Cloud storage comparative analysis Amazon simple storage vs. microsoft azure blob storage. International Journal of Machine Learning and Computing, 8(1). http://www.ijmlc.org/vol8/668-LC0040.pdfDavis, B. (2021). What information systems does Amazon use?. MVorganizing.org. Retrieved 30 October 2021, from https://www.mvorganizing.org/what-information-systems-does-amazon-use/#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20common%20types,systems%2C%20and%20executive%20support%20systems.
Giannakis, M., Spanaki, K., & Dubey, R. (2019). A cloud-based supply chain management system: effects on supply chain responsiveness. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JEIM-05-2018-0106/full/htmlImran, A. (2021). A study on amazon: information systems, business strategies and e-crm. Research Gate. Retrieved 30 October 2021, from http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1366.8247.
Karimi, J., Somers, T. M., & Bhattacherjee, A. (2007). The role of information systems resources in ERP capability building and business process outcomes. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24(2), 221-260. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222240209Ramaswamy, V., & Ozcan, K. (2019). Digitalized interactive platforms: turning goods and services into retail co-creation experiences. NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, 11(1), 18-23. https://www.nim.org/sites/default/files/medien/2327/dokumente/ramaswamy_ozcan_vol_11_no_1_eng.pdfSadq, Z. M., Sabir, H. N., & Saeed, V. S. H. (2018). Analyzing the Amazon success strategies. Journal of process management. New Technologies, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.5937/jouproman6-19264
Get FAST homework help. Place a similar order and get a 15% Discount for your first three orders. We have a team of professional tutors to help you with any assignment regardless of the deadline. Contact us for immediate Homework Help.
