Supply Chain Management at Amazon

In 2024, three decades after its start as “earth’s largest bookstore,” Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was the world’s largest online retailer and operated businesses that were strong competitors in on-demand cloud computing services, advertising, retail grocery, and entertainment markets. Since 2010, the company had taken steps to gain greater control of its supply chain and had expanded into logistics services through the company’s Supply Chain by Amazon business unit. Amazon was employing more than 1.5 million people with a market capitalization of more than three times the value of its closest competitor. Amazon boasted a vast selection and volume of products sold through a wide range of formats. However, the company had to decide if recent changes to its ever-expanding supply chain were adequate to support the company’s strategic goals and objectives. Were more changes needed to maintain Amazon’s competitive edge? What supply chain capabilities would be necessary for Amazon’s continuously evolving business model?

This case can be used in an undergraduate or graduate course on operations management, supply chain management, logistics, business strategy, or marketing. It provides an opportunity to compare and contrast the supply chain of the world’s largest online retailer with that of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. The case can be taught over two sessions with the partner case study, Walmart: Supply Chain Management, to provide students with a powerful illustration of the differences between the two leading companies—Amazon and Walmart Inc. The double session would demonstrate the importance of alignment of supply chain competencies with organizational strategy. This case is set in 2024 and focuses on Amazon’s supply chain strategy. It provides a detailed description of the company’s supply chain network and capabilities. The data provided in the case allows students to compare Amazon’s source of competitiveness with that of traditional retailers and to develop insights into the management of a large, complex global supply chain network. Students will develop an understanding of the supply chain challenges faced by Amazon, in the context of supporting its corporate strategy and objectives. After completion of this case, students will be able to<ul><li>assess Amazon’s supply chain and identify its key competitive advantages;</li><li>quantify Amazon’s ability to generate value from its supply chain;</li><li>evaluate the competitive advantages of Supply Chain by Amazon and third-party logistics services;</li><li>identify potential opportunities and challenges for Amazon to improve its supply chain; and</li><li>analyze the opportunities and challenges facing Amazon during its growth and evolution.</li></ul>

• supply chain management
• e-commerce
• strategy
• logistics
• retail