AMAZON-Natalie Berg & Myya Knights

1. Key notes: 
- 500 million products on offer
- one-click shopping, same-day delivery, pre-paid returns
- Founder: Jeff Bezos
2. Who is it?
- Founded as an online bookstore in a garage in Seatle in 1997
- Functions: vendor; selling & handling products, a marketplace
- 100 brands of its own: fashion labels to coffee labels: Kindle and Echo voice assistant, credit card...
- Strategy: Flywheel-Low price and good service attract more customers (expand its entertainment offerings)  => More sales => Third party sellers (Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA-Manage the storage and delivery) => More money => Further low price and good services.
- 14 leadership principles:
+ The most important is customer obssession => 6% of annual profit to improve its online shopping system
+ Invent and Simplify
3. The PRIME membership: 100 million prime members worldwide
- Launched in 2005 and cost $79/year with main advantage of free 2 day delivery
- Cost of $119/year: Speedy (even same day delivery); receive special deals and offers, add on services and unlimited access to streaming services; Annual "Prime day"-Summer time with exclusive offers and saving.
- Spend 5 times more than other customers
- Principle: Attract regular, high-quality customer service, convenience
4. Key innovator in merging online and offline shopping
- In 2015, it opened a bookstore in Seatle
- In 2018, it Premiered Amazon Go, a cashierless supermarket - Just walk out system
- Physical shopping can't be replicated online, such as in groceries and fashion. It means of instant delivery and brand visibility as well as walk-in traffic.
- In mid-2017, it bought Whole Foods, the famous US organic supermarket chain => 3 logic reasons:
+ Specializes the things at which Amazon needs to be better: Fresh produce and other perishables.
+ Current loyal and high income customer base
+ 500 stores in the US and UK => sizable
- In the coming years: test blending online and offline grocery shopping
5. Invent and Simplify:
- Invent futuristic-sounding tech like AI, robots, drones, 3D scanning, Virtual reality and driverless cars
- In 2012, it bought the robotics company-Kiva Systems => robots make up 20% of total workforce
- In 2015, Amazon Echo voice Assistant (Alexa-the device allows customers to listen to music, take notes and shop on Amazon)
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)-The cloud storage service
- Sortation Centers - Pre-sort packages for carriers/area code => Smaller Prime Now Hubs in metropolitan areas.
- In 2015, it launched Amazon Flex App, allows independent contractors to make Amazon deliveries within their area.
- Amazon Lockers where package can be stored
- Click & Collect service allows customers to pick up their packages in participating stores.