“The secret is we are on our seventh generation of fulfillment centers and we have gotten better every time,”

explains Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, Inc. The global online retailer is a pioneer of fast, convenient, low-cost shopping that has attracted millions of consumers. Of course, while Amazon has changed the way many people shop, the company still faces the traditional and daunting task of creating a seamless flow of deliveries to its customers—often millions of times each day.

THE COMPANY Bezos started Amazon.com with a simple idea: Use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest, and most enjoyable shopping experience possible.

The company was incorporated in 1994 and launched its website in July 1995. At the forefront of a huge growth of dot-com businesses, Amazon pursued a get-big-fast business strategy. Sales grew rapidly and Amazon began adding products and services other than books. In fact, Amazon soon set its goal on being “Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover virtually anything they might want to buy online.”

Today Amazon.com continues to grow by providing low prices, vast selection, and convenience. Its selection of products covers a broad range of categories including: Books; Movies, Music & Games; Electronics

& Computers; Home, Garden & Tools; Beauty, Health & Grocery; Toys; Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry;

Sports & Outdoors; and Automotive & Industrial. In addition, Amazon offers digital music, an app store for Android, Amazon Cloud Drive, Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon Fire TV, and the Amazon Fire phone. Other services allow customers to:

• Search for a product or brand using all or part of its name.

• Place orders with one click using the “Buy Now with 1-Click” button on the website and the

“Mobile 1-Click” button for phones.

• Receive personalized recommendations based on past purchases through opt-in e-mails.

Questions 1 How do Amazon.com’s logistics and supply chain management activities help the company create value for its customers?

2 What systems did Amazon develop to improve the flow of products from suppliers to Amazon fulfillment centers? What systems improved the flow of orders from the fulfillment centers to customers?
3 Why will logistics and supply chain management play an important role in the future success of Amazon.
com?