Amazon Logistics

Amazon has changed the face and the way we experience shopping as we know it. Many companies can push the slogan “customers first” but Amazon makes you believe it with the way they cater to your ever needs. An average consumer does not to go through all the hassle that normal brick and motor stores put you through we want to go the Amazon way and have everything at our fingertips from the comfort of our homes, cars, school desk, and even work place. With the advancement of technology and our ever changing economy it was only a matter of time before retail and logistics had to change. I myself use Amazon Prime and admit I was taken in by the free two-day shipping and instant video access. However what I realized was what i was actually paying for was to be a dedicated loyal member to Amazon.

Many people may be confused to the notion that I am paying Amazon to be loyal but it is the basic truth. When you become a prime member you are always searching for that prime deal that includes the free shipping or even same day local delivery that I have experienced and become addicted to. So not only has amazon annually collected a loyal membership fee from me it has wired my brain to be an online shopping addict with Amazon being my first choice. To understand the way business has changed if you do a google search for “amazon effect on small business” you do not get any articles of Amazon crushing the competition or practicing unfair business tactics. What do you get as your first result is a link to a page where it shows you how Amazon can assist and help you out if you are a small business, they even give you a 30-day trial and create a website for you.

By doing this and integrating multiple choice selections for one item they have made the customer aware of the total price breakdown per item from tax to shipping to transit time. Tompkins said it best about the new customer Today’s customers expect good value for the money and have a strong awareness of the total price (item price + shipping cost + sales tax) of the items they want to buy. The customer’s ability to have total price transparency presents a clear expectation for price competitiveness. The expectation today is that on orders over $25, shipping will be free on “normal” delivery time frames. So what is Amazon? What is their business and what are the plans. That is something I believe Amazon does not know themselves.

However one things connects Amazon and everything that it tries to accomplish and that is: making everything about the consumer. Amazons biggest assets and what is sales better than anyone else is people. The customer drives Amazon and is the company’s biggest bargaining chip. The internet may have brought information from around the world into peoples hand but Amazon has brought people to business with the click of a mouse. So as people evolve and change. They will be looking towards Amazon for what’s next.

Works Cited

Tompkins, Jim. “Retail at the Crossroads.” Future Hangs in the Balance as Retail Industry Passes Tipping Points Apr. 2013: