Strategic Initiative Paper

This week, Team C continued to analyze Amazon. The team investigated and described the relationship between Amazon’s strategic and financial planning. Together, Team C was able to find a strategic planning initiative. The proceeding explicates how the initiative affects Amazon’s financial planning in their costs and sales. Like all businesses, Amazon faces risks associated with the initiative and financial effects. It is imperative to plan properly in order to minimize these risks as much as possible.

Strategic Planning initiative

In 1995, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com. The company initially started in Bezos’ garage and within 30 days, had sold books in all 50 states and 45 foreign countries. Eventually, Amazon.com grew to become the online giant we know today. (Jeff Bezos Biography, n.d.). The company’s mission statement is “…to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online” (Amazon.com Mission Statement, n.d.). Bezos’ leadership style along with Amazon’s commitment to its mission statement has proven very successful for the company.

Amazon.com’s current annual 10K report to the SEC reflects Bezos’ original strategic initiative. The consumer is served through the website and various retail websites affiliated with Amazon.com (Amazon Com Inc 10k, 2012, pg. 6). Third part sellers can sell their merchandize on the Amazon website where orders can be fulfilled by Amazon (pg. 6.). Amazon.com also realized that not predicting customer demand accurately could harm the business. Although risk is involved, Amazon.com seeks to expand its operations further in order to provide excellent customer service and availability to the U.S. and International consumers. According to Amazon COM Inc 2012 10k Report, “Capital expenditures were $1.8 billion, $979 million, and $373 million in 2011, 2010, and 2009, with the sequential increases primarily reflecting additional...