Amazon Ecosystem: a brief overview
Amazon ecosystem of products and services is vast and it comprises retail, transportation, B2B distribution, payments, entertainment, cloud computing, and other segments. Started only as an online bookstore in 1995 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon has become the e-commerce and cloud computing tech giant consistently increasing the ecosystem of its products and services. The e-commerce giant is competent in focusing on what customers need, designing in-house innovative technology solutions and then commercialising these solutions. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a stark example for this. This is how Amazon ecosystem has evolved.
Increasing range of products and services
Today, Amazon is a “retailer, a technology company, an entertainment destination, a growing advertising platform, even a delivery company with its own fleet of planes”.[1] Importantly, consumption of one type of Amazon products and services encourages the usage of other products and services offered by the company and that is the primary aim of developing an ecosystem.
This can be illustrated using Alexa virtual assistant as an example. Amazon smart security camera that is compatible with the Echo smart speakers allows users to stream live video from the camera on the Echo Show or through the Alexa smartphone app. Moreover, Amazon smart glass is based on Alexa voice assistant and can be used only if the device is linked to a user’s smartphone.[2]
Figure 1 below illustrates the essence of Amazon ecosystem.
Figure 1 Amazon Ecosystem[3]
Each of Amazon business segment illustrated in Figure 1 above plays certain role in consumption of other types of products and services belonging to the ecosystem. Let’s take Amazon Kindle for example. As it is illustrated in Figure 2 below, Amazon Fire platform can be used to consume a wide range of products and services belonging to Amazon portfolio. Moreover, Fire platform can also be used to consume other products and services outside of Amazon ecosystem such as social networking sites, entertainment sites and various apps.
Figure 2 The ecosystem of Amazon Kindle[4]
The role of third-party sellers
The online retail behemoth is increasingly becoming a middleman for third-party sellers and sales from third-party reseller on Amazon platform increased from 3% in 1999 to 53% in 2020. It can be argued that increasing proportion of third-party sellers further strengthens Amazon company ecosystem. Specifically, third-party sellers bring in the volume the tech giant needs to leverage its investments in fulfilment and allows it to experiment with innovations in retailing.[5]
The online retailer behemoth offers one of the best online selling tools available worldwide. These include advanced inventory management, payment processes and tracking shipments. Accordingly, increasing numbers of third-party sellers on the platform are set to further the ecosystem for Amazon.
Further diversification through acquisitions
In 2019, the largest internet company by revenue in the world acquired PillPack, a pharmaceutical company that mails individually labelled packs of medicine sorted by date and time. Industry analysts see it as a move to disrupt USD 500 billion global prescription market with positive implications for Amazon company ecosystem.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a key tool to strengthen ecosystem
Astro, a home robot that brings together advancements in AI, computer vision, sensor technology, and voice and edge computing is the latest effort to further strengthen the ecosystem of Amazon. Moreover, The e-commerce and cloud computing company has invested approximately USD 4 billion to acquire AI-orientated startups. Amazon Alexa Fund alone made investments in more than 50 Voice startups.[6] These and other investments are expected to further contribute to growing Amazon ecosystem.
Amazon.com Inc. Report contains the above analysis of Amazon ecosystem. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on Amazon. Moreover, the report contains analyses of Amazon leadership, business strategy, organizational structure and organizational culture. The report also comprises discussions of Amazon marketing strategy and addresses issues of corporate social responsibility.
[1] Morilla, A. (2017) “Is Amazon Making Too Many Enemies?” Kantar, Available at: https://us.kantar.com/business/retail/2017/is-amazon-making-too-many-enemies/
[2] Newman, P. (2017) “Amazon is looking to further expand Alexa ecosystem with two new products” Business Insider, Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-alexa-ecosystem-new-products-2017-9
[3] Morilla, A. (2017) “Is Amazon Making Too Many Enemies?” Kantar, Available at: https://us.kantar.com/business/retail/2017/is-amazon-making-too-many-enemies/
[4] Source: Vision Mobile (2013)
[5] Jacobides, M. (2019) “Amazon’s Ecosystem Grows Bigger And Stronger By The Day. Should We Be Worried?” Forbes, Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusinessstrategyreview/2019/05/09/amazons-ecosystem-grows-bigger-and-stronger-by-the-day-should-we-be-worried/#70a7379d31ea
[6] Nordmark, J. (2020) “Amazon’s Ecosystem Map: Its vast landscape ignores borders and harnesses startups” Medium, Available at: https://medium.com/@jonnordmark/amazons-ecosystem-map-d25abcac9613