Food Logistics, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The emergence of Amazon.com as a quintessential online retailer has experienced challenges along the way. However, the organization continues to grow and thrive in its efforts to be a successful business with a critical online presence. There are significant advantages associated with Amazon’s business model; as a result, the organization has experienced significant growth and opportunity in recent years. E-commerce solutions are no longer the wave of the future; they are the status quo. Therefore, it is imperative that companies such as Amazon are effective in their efforts to expand their business models to accommodate the ever-increasing demand for these services throughout the world.

Analysis

The sale of goods on the Internet provides a high level of convenience for many consumers who do not wish to visit their local retailers, which they may perceive as a waste of time and an inconvenience in their lives. However, online shopping does not provide any tangibility in that a consumer cannot see the item in person, assess its quality, and assess its value. This is perhaps the primary reason why brick and mortar retail locations will never disappear, as there will always be a need to view and touch a tangible product in person. This process is essential to the successful delivery of quality for many products that might not be observed in the same fashion through an online purchase. From this perspective, Amazon and other retailers are weaker because a picture of a product does not always tell the entire story.

In spite of the tangibility of products, books have become an increasingly popular choice to purchase online through a variety of retailers, such as Kindle and iBooks, whereby books may be read through a tablet device rather than in a physical form. Although some might argue that this has hurt Amazon’s business, its production of the Kindle line of products demonstrates the company’s relentless efforts to achieve success with its business model and its willingness to make changes to the model in order to accommodate consumer demand (Marcial, 2007). Under these conditions, Amazon has achieved great success with its Kindle products and downloads, thereby keeping up with current demand and consumer needs in an effective manner.

Amazon has expanded its business model in other ways, including the food business, which may be considered an unlikely area of focus (Doherty, 2007). Nonetheless, the E-commerce site has discovered the value and convenience of purchasing food products and having them delivered to the doorstep without having to step foot in a grocery store, which is often a harrowing and stressful experience (Doherty, 2007). This venture has been largely successful to date, albeit unconventional, as some consumers do not find this type of approach appealing because of the lack of tangibility to purchase food products in person (Doherty, 2007). Nonetheless, Amazon’s profits continue to soar through its expansion efforts and the introduction of new products and services for its customers (Stone, 2007).

Conclusion

E-commerce is a force to be reckoned with and is here to stay; therefore, it is in the best interests of many traditional stores to support their physical locations with online retail websites because many consumers are likely to take advantage of these offerings for their convenience. In addition, selling some products online that are not available in retail locations provides added appeal and focus. Therefore, traditional retailers must continue to be open and amenable to these concepts as a means of expanding their business focus and their efforts to achieve higher levels of success for the foreseeable future. Jumping on the E-commerce bandwagon is no longer an option for many retailers; rather, it is a necessity to remain afloat and in business over the long term.

References

Doherty, K. (2007). The new kid in town. Food Logistics, retrieved from http://www.foodlogistics.com/article/10315853/the-new-kid-in-town

Marcial, G. (2007). The unplumbed depths of Amazon. Bloomberg Business Week, retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-10-28/the-unplumbed-depths-of-amazon

Stone, B. (2007). Amazon says profit jumped in quarter. The New York Times, retrieved from  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/technology/24amazon.html?_r=0