Strategic Management of Amazon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Strategic Management of Amazon - Research Paper Example ompanies in the Internet space), Adobe eBook Reader (with this collaboration Amazon beat a major advantage of its competitor, it is estimated that the e-book will be in a few years cheaper than a physical book, and it is already known that this new medium has created its own public, which Amazon.com wants to penetrate). By entering in the European market, it has broadened its customer database, it has compressed transport and distribution costs of orders and it has improved the levels of customer service, thus gaining a significant share of the global market. It expands its customer base to new markets in order to augment its profit margin (the structure exists - it has a powerful customer database - it introduces new products - it penetrates new Internet markets - it improves its profit margin). Amazon is very profitable. ... The decrease in profits was due to special customer promotions. Amazon locks-in the customer by offering him value through original - innovative value added services and it enhances continuously the content of its webpage. Amazon does not sell in the traditional way, it offers customized service. If indeed, we take account of the fact that the confidence-loyalty of Internet customers is for many analysts of a kind of utopia, it is understood immediately that the strategy of Amazon.com is revolutionary. The company has built a large capital value part of which is its strong name - brand in the Internet and with the experience that it has gained, it manages to exploit its reputation to attract both customers and partners - suppliers by concluding strong relations - partnerships with many competitive advantages and benefits. For Amazon.com the customers and the suppliers are simply two different groups of customers who Amazon undertakes to interconnect by providing them with incentives and transaction facilities. The company is essentially an info broker. The company is an undisputed player in the world of on line cooperation, offering a wide range of programs. Through the continuous provision of incentives, it has managed to succeed and achieve various alliances and syndication makes the company ubiquitous in the Internet and so its brand is strengthened. Amazon.com has managed to transform its product markets into an easy and pleasant procedure mainly due to the use of IT and its innovative applications (1-click Technology).The appropriate use of technology favors the increase in sales by essentially contributing to the lock-in of the customer. Communication with the customer is of even greater value through the logistics procedures of

RCM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

RCM - Essay Example RCM covers both the risk of physical and operational failure and considers events that could reasonably cause an asset to cease performing any of its desired functions (Mutual Consultants Ltd 2009). Proper maintenance of assets while important for both households and businesses is fundamental to the operating efficiency of businesses. The failure of a critical asset can have devastating consequences for a business if it cannot be repaired or replaced quickly. In order to ensure that adequate maintenance takes place a maintenance program needs to be implemented for all equipment in use. This program should be capable of predicting the degradation or failure of an equipment before it happens. An RCM program can lead to increased operating performance, reduced maintenance costs and reduced energy bills (Chimack et al n.d.). 2.0 Operating context ‘RCM is a maintenance perspective in an operational context’ and so understanding the goals and needs of the organisation is funda mental in the development of a maintenance strategy to optimise business outcomes in the context of the goals of the business (August 1999). The asset that is being analysed is a Daiken split air conditioning system which is located in an office of 54 square metres. It provides cool air at a temperature differential (TD) of between 8 and 11oC and as a secondary function helps to eliminate or reduce unwanted particulate or gaseous substances from the air being supplied to the office. The office operates six (6) days per week at an average of seven (7) hours per day providing customer service to internet users and students doing research. On average about five to seven customers are being served at any one time and approximately 36 in any one day. The air conditioner is switched on and off using a remote control when the temperature gets too cold. The room temperature normally gets cold when only one or two customers are in the office. However, it is normally set at a temperature gaug e of 26oC. It is flushed once every three (3) months and the air filter is also cleaned by the office staff. The air conditioner is only serviced by a trained technician in reaction to a fault that causes it to malfunction. In addition to its primary function of providing cool air at low noise levels it also removes dust and other particles from the air. 2.1 Working principle Airconditioning-and-heating.com (n.d.), the air conditioning system circulates a compressed gas refrigerant in a closed â€Å"split† system to cool and condition inside air in order to make its occupants comfortable. This refrigerant has to be re-cooled and condensed, and the air outside is generally the medium that is used to facilitate this process. Split airconditioning.com (n.d.) also states that the air conditioning system also controls the purity of the air by reducing or eliminating unwanted particul