Amazon Versus Walmart

Amazon Versus Walmart

Question 1:  What concepts in the chapter are illustrated in this case?

Answer 1: Ubiquity, Global reach, Digital goods, ERP, Business value chain model, Competitive forces model, and Transaction broker have been illustrated in this case.

Question 2: Analyze Amazon and Walmart.com using the value chain and competitive forces models.

Answer 2: The competitive forces models:

·         Traditional competitor: There is competition between the two in the marketplace.

·         Low-cost leader: Both provide lowest price to customer and keep competing in lowest price.

·         New market entrants: Both are the biggest company in E-commerce. Both offer their products and services online.

·         Substitute Products and Services: Both companies offer substitute products for popular brands.

The value chain model:

Walmart: can lose money selling a hot product at extremely low margins and expect to make money on the strength of the large quantities of other items it sells. Wal-Mart also has a significant physical presence, with stores all across the United States and in many other countries, and its stores provide the instant gratification of shopping, buying an item, and taking it home immediately, as opposed to waiting when ordering from Amazon. Whereas, with Amazon the items are delivered to the customer. Customers don’t have to fight through traffic or find a parking space. They can shop in anonymity and compare prices instantly with other websites.

Question 3: What are the management, organization, and technology factors that have contributed to the success of both Wal-Mart and Amazon?

Answer 3: For both companies; the three major electronic commerce categories are business to consumer (B2C)e commerce, business to business (B2B)e commerce and consumer to consumer (C2C). E-commerce can be viewed as the conduct of business commercial communications and management by using Internet technologies and through electronic methods,...