Introduction
Information system plays an integral role in the effective performance of the contemporary organization. One of the most important success factors for Amazon corporation has been implementing innovative information systems (Alshmrani, 2021). The use of information system is a crucial role in decentralizing decision-making processes. For example, Amazon provides an information management software solution that promotes e-commerce platform access. Customers can also utilize the online service to create user accounts and personalize their profiles, which helps speed up transactions (Alshmrani, 2021). Through an evaluation of Amazon’s competitors, they are using information technology to improve the efficiency of their activities. For example, Alibaba depends on technology to ensure that clients can order, pay, and give feedback on their platform. Therefore, the effective performance of Amazon in the e-commerce business is largely based on information.
Description of The Organization
Amazon is a worldwide technology corporation that provides online retail buying services. Jeffrey P. Bezos started the company in July 1994, and it is headquartered in Seattle, Washington (Alshmrani, 2021). The four main client groups are clients, retailers, and content producers. Digital marketing and co-branded credit card agreements are among the company’s other promotional services. It provides clients with various options, affordability, and efficiency through retail websites. In addition, the corporation has a website that enables the firm and third parties to sell its products in a variety of product lines. The firm exist to provide clients with the best deals by offering low-cost items and free shipping promotions, such as Amazon Prime membership. Thus, the corporation provides a platform for the sale of products produced by firms across the globe.
The three main sectors of Amazon are North America, Overseas, and Amazon Web Services. The sale of products via North American-based websites makes up the North American division (Forbes, 2022). Retail sales of consumer products and subscriptions via global-based sites make up the international component. AWS provides developers and companies worldwide with access to a technological platform that allows any business. It is a multibillion-dollar cloud-based provider to thousands of business customers worldwide, including government agencies and academic institutions. As a result, the three segments enable the company to operate locally and internationally effectively.
Moreover, Amazon has significantly transformed itself since its inception in 1994. The corporation began as an online bookshop after a conversation between John Ingram of Ingram Book and Keyur Patel, who still owns Amazon stock. Within months of business, Amazon was able to sell its products in all the 50 states in the US and more than 45 regions across the globe. Amazon’s weekly sales had climbed to $20,000 in just two months (Biography, 2021). Although the best brick-and-mortar bookstores and mail-order catalogues may have 200,000 titles, an online with access to an essentially infinite virtual warehouse may have many times the amount (Biography, 2021). In addition, Amazon now has customer service, inventory, and logistics that enable it to provide everything from clothing to garden furniture to cleaning products.
Description of IT System
The IT system combines human activities and information technology (IT) that uses current technology to support operations. It integrates software, hardware, data, people, and processes designed to generate activities that support the activities performed. In contemporary organizations, managers and leaders cannot afford to overlook information systems because they play an important role in improving the efficiency of operations. What is more, business organizations are being transformed by information systems, which are helping in the creation of a growing number of value-added systems within businesses. Moreover, by establishing information systems, organizations can leverage complex and extensive databases that include all credible information about the corporation.
Table 1: Types of IT Systems
Table 2: IT personnel in Amazon
Description of The IT Systems as They Relate to Amazon
Amazon has made a series of technological advancements to achieve a competitive advantage. The progressive advancement of the internet from the early 1990s has led to a surge in e-commerce (Alshmrani, 2021). Amazon, for example, relies on safe cashless payment enabled by information systems. IT systems in sales and marketing have progressed to the point where IT professionals are urged to be creative. The need for the internet or the web for marketing is vital to Amazon’s performance in basic business processes. A market study will be carried out using the internet to gather crucial data and aid in formulating well-informed decisions.
Transaction processing at Amazon is a vital part of the firm’s information system, enabling users to transact securely. The system also allows the company to encrypt critical credit card information before sending it, along with the customer’s order details, to a delivery system (Alshmrani, 2021). It is a type of information system that gathers, saves, modifies, and obtains data transfers for a company. However, the IT system that gathers, stores, edits, and retrieves an enterprise’s data transactions, strives to provide predictable response times to requests. For instance, it ensures that transactions are completed efficiently. As a result, like real-time systems, the systems strive to provide predictable response times to queries.
Amazon uses a combination of web services, middleware, groupware, and networking technologies. For example, it is usual to integrate logistics, accounting, and human resource systems with the internet (Alshmrani, 2021). The corporation’s IT system enables it to convert data into information to enhance decision-making. When a company deploys an integrated system through the internet, it becomes successful if it is well managed and the technical and application architecture is kept up to date. Therefore, Amazon Web Services makes it possible for the corporation to maintain a vast number of products and millions of customers at any one time.
Due to the integration of software such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the corporation is known for its effective customer management. Amazon’s CRM software, built in-house, collects customer data at the moment of sale and leverages it to alter its customers’ internet experience quickly. This allows Amazon to keep in touch with individuals and sell to them in the future. Moreover, customers receive customized offers and promotions from Amazon’s CRM based on past orders. The adoption of CRM by Amazon has impacted the company’s ability to expand its products. For example, the Kindle was created due to Amazon’s dedication to its consumers, and the online Kindle Marketplace provides a smooth experience with individual-specific suggestions.
Amazon also uses artificial intelligence to improve customer experience when shopping online. For example, consumers may use Alexa, Amazon’s speech assistant, to procure things and navigate through checkouts, using voice commands instead of clicking or touching a screen. This allows consumers to manage their checkout story with ease. Essentially, this AI program intends to make Amazon customers’ lives easier, from creating shopping lists to getting Alexa recommendations. Thus, Amazon’s initiative allows a company to strengthen its market position through global competitiveness and provide customers with convenience.
Analysis of Systems
Table 3: IT Systems
Literature Search Exploring Similar Organizations
Alibaba
Alibaba is among the leading world’s B2B e-commerce marketplace. Kawa & Wałęsiak (2019) posits that Alibaba is one of the main competitors of Amazon, providing a quality online shopping experience to customers across the globe. Alibaba mainly depends on technology to run its online platform, manage customers and assist the development of knowledge as employees share and learn from one another. The corporation also manages its explicit knowledge through training, seminars, the distribution of manuals, and the patenting of such knowledge (Kawa & Wałęsiak, 2019). Furthermore, information technology has aided the company in personalizing information, capturing and sharing tacit knowledge, and managing social relationships and dialogues. Therefore, a computer-based information system is important to Alibaba.
Like Amazon, Alibaba depends on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to effectively interact with its customers. CRM is a platform for managing a company’s interactions with present and potential customers (Kawa & Wałęsiak, 2019). Sales, marketing, relationship management, and technical assistance are all made easier by technology, which is organized, automated, and coordinated. According to Kawa & Wałęsiak (2019), customer relationship management is essential for any business. CRM attempts to improve customer experiences by automating operations. In addition, businesses leverage consumer information to gain a competitive advantage by providing individualized services to their clients. For example, with this information system, the company can monitor its customers in the market. Thus, CRM has evolved into an important instrument for company competition.
Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft is one of the main competitors in the area of web services. The corporation depends on information technology to provide cloud services to its client. According to Dutta & Dutta (2019), Microsoft Azure is the most popular cloud computing platform (PaaS) provider. In addition, customers can design, deploy, and handle apps more rapidly and effortlessly with Azure because they do not want to purchase or manage the infrastructure. Azure’s cloud platform tools meet all of its security and regulations while being highly adaptable to a corporation’s unique requirements (Dutta & Dutta, 2019). Azure, the world’s second-largest IaaS and PaaS service provider, also has the advantage of being integrated with all Microsoft products. As a result, Azure effectively complements existing software and applications for individuals that already have a Microsoft architecture.
Walmart
Walmart is a global retail chain consisting of supermarkets and grocery stores and is among the leading competitors of Amazon, particularly in the consumer retail and electronics industry. Alshmrani (2021) states that the organization operates through brick and mortar stores and online stores. Walmart’s operation through the internet has proven to be quite a competition to Amazon. What is more, Walmart entered the e-commerce industry with its online store of the same name. The corporation’s online stores encourage customers to buy products from the company without ever leaving the comfort of their homes (Alshmrani, 2021). In addition, they provide customers who shop online with the same discounts as if they visited a local Walmart location. Therefore, the corporation is increasing its effort to adopt information technology to improve its operations regularly.
With the help of existing information technology, Walmart has developed the world’s largest private communication network for its information, allowing two-way audio and one-way video transmission from its headquarters to its stores worldwide. Alshmrani (2021) claims that Walmart’s main goal is for management to employ video and audio conferencing to connect all Walmart locations. Additionally, it enables executives to receive reports on their stores at any time, improving operational management and adherence to corporate laws. This is among the justifications Walmart’s profitability has significantly improved. In addition, whenever management has information for a company, they can quickly convey it rather than travel to the physical geographic spot, reducing efficacy.
Walmart has embraced technology and managed to adopt private data. According to Sheikh & Goje (2021), Walmart can process more than 2 petabytes of data per hour which is critical to the success of the world’s largest retail enterprise. When a large volume of clean and validated data is provided, the Data Café can help reduce data processing time from two to three weeks to about 30 minutes (Sheikh & Goje, 2021). The company experienced an issue when it realized a decline in its sales in the market. Data Café discovered that the goods had been wrongly priced and invoiced at exorbitant rates. In addition, Data Café was effective in identifying a logistical mistake that kept the items from being presented in-store.
eBay
eBay makes use of technology and information systems to let members of the community purchase and sell products online. First, eBay creates and obtains programs and services that assist the community in conducting business more conveniently, safely, and effectively, such as online payment, buyer protection, educational tools, and feedback ratings (Alshmrani, 2021). Second, they are committed to offering a solid technological foundation that allows clients to visit the website from anywhere in the world. Finally, eBay creates community standards and guidelines to enhance safety and confidence in the online platform. Therefore, the integration of information technology has enabled the company to manage its operations effectively.
Final Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Systems
One of the most important benefits of an IT system is that it allows for decentralized decision-making operations, which lowers managerial inefficiencies, especially in large firms with a broad customer base. Amazon’s information system manages sub-systems with automated decision-making capability for differential handling of client inquiries and order fulfilment (Alshmrani, 2021). Thus, there is a smooth flow of basic business operations because each function operates autonomously. Different components of the Amazon system gather data from critical business operations and maintain it effectively in a centralized database for analysis in decision-making activities. As a result, the information system enables the organization to collect data in real-time and use the data to make evidence-based decisions.
To handle a varied range of things and cooperate with merchants, suppliers, and customers, Amazon created Amazon web services to manage and analyze data using databases and analytics that leverage cloud computing techniques. Amazon uses AWS for its own needs and offers it to customers (Alshmrani, 2021). The servers used by the company have a large capacity and assure the technology’s overall efficiency. Amazon also uses service-oriented architectures, which allow for effective data management via a web of fragmented tools and applications while maintaining speed and independence. Implementing these systems necessitates a focus on expanding IT capabilities, which includes employing high-quality professionals and teaching personnel how to use information resources.
Amazon proactively employs accessible information resources to influence its competitive edge in the market. To guarantee that the corporation’s websites run smoothly across the globe, the most cutting-edge technology, software, networks, website platforms, and data are used as IT resources (Alshmrani, 2021). In addition, it is vital to ensure that all software and applications are upgraded on a regular basis and that technical support for webpages and their server is always accessible. These measures are required to ensure that consumers can use Amazon’s one-click approach to purchase items and that all webpage filtering technologies work effectively (Alshmrani, 2021). Therefore, the corporation has managed to compete effectively in its industry and achieve its objectives.
Amazon’s IT system produces a virtual replica of the physical marketplace to increase understanding of demand and supply shifts. By integrating communication structures with information systems, business process optimization and prompt handling of client queries and demands are possible (Alshmrani, 2021). Furthermore, the ordering process is integrated with the procurement and dispatch systems to facilitate real-time management of customer inquiries and the flow of business operations. When a customer orders on the website, the system sends a request to the data center and delivers product data to the customers. As a result, the use of information technology has allowed the corporation to track and analyze the trends in the demand and supply of its products and services in the market.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The information technology (IT) system has enabled Amazon to become a leader in e-commerce. Amazon has been able to supply the most innovative IT solutions for its own and customers’ use thanks to IT tools such as CRM, machine learning, operational transaction processes, and many more. In addition, Amazon’s systems for interacting with customers, staff, vendors, and stakeholder information strive to be efficient enough to meet the firm’s demands, despite certain obstacles in applying IT management abilities and processing thousands of requests and activities. As a result, in the sphere of e-commerce, Amazon has developed the greatest system for leveraging data resources.
Amazon should place a greater emphasis on developing creative applications for overseeing staff work, concentrating on developing IT technical and managerial skills. Employee performance metrics and information on newly hired and fired employees should be easily accessible and disseminated through the internal IT system (Alshmrani, 2021). Through various training styles, more focus should be given to the use of digital technology and online platforms in developing employees’ IT competencies. There is also a need to ensure that the HR department ensures a steady process to hire and recruit experienced staff when dealing with IT.
The system should be updated regularly to protect customers’ personal information, gather information on consumers, and ensure that their searches are as fast and reliable as feasible. In addition, Amazon employs the Smart Analytic Search tool, which can identify behavioral patterns to prevent fraud and protect customers and solve concerns related to fraudsters’ operations (Alshmrani, 2021). From this point of view, Amazon’s efficient use of available capabilities, focusing on incorporating the most creative, offers opportunities to address all potential issues involved in handling and protecting its online sites around the world.
References
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Forbes. (2022). Amazon (AMZN). Web.
Kawa, A., & Wałęsiak, M. (2019). Marketplace as a key actor in e-commerce value networks. LogForum, 15(4). Web.
Sheikh, R. A., & Goje, N. S. (2021). Role of Big Data Analytics in Business Transformation. Internet of Things in Business Transformation: Developing an Engineering and Business Strategy for Industry 5.0, 231-259.
Sulianta, F., Rosita, A., Zulpratita, U. S., Heryono, H., Laksana, E. A., & Yuliani, S. (2019). Different kinds of modern technique to develop various information systems. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 28(6), 68-75. Web.