BUS7B27 Implementing Strategy Assignment Sample
Overview of the Company
- Amazon Inc. is an American multinational technology company that focuses on cloud computing, e-commerce, digital streaming and artificial intelligence
- Listed as the Big Five corporation around the globe among Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft
- Amazon holds a market capitalization of $1.681 Trillion as of October 2021
- Through the implementation of technological innovation and mass scale, the company is known for its disruption of well-established industries
- Amazon and its board of directors plans to innovate their product selling strategy by eliminating the use of plastic in every segment led by Amazon
Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company that focuses on cloud computing, e-commerce, digital streaming and artificial intelligence (Amazon, 2021). The company is listed as the Big Five corporation around the globe among Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Since 1994, Jeff Bezos along with his team has made promising development within the organisation that made it reach a market capitalization of $1.681 Trillion as of October 2021 (Amazon, 2021). Through the implementation of technological innovation and mass scale, the company is known for its disruption of well-established industries. Hence, with the growth in GHG (greenhouse gases) around the globe, the company and its board of directors plans to innovate their product selling strategy by eliminating the use of plastic in every segment led by Amazon. Moreover, to support the new plastic reduction strategy different modes and methods that can be implemented by the company will be discussed in the following slides.
Explanation of current strategic statements (Mission, Vision, Objectives)
- Vision statement- “Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
- Mission- “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.”
- Objective- “To continually raise the bar of the customer experience by using the internet and technology and bring in sustainability to protect the environ from further depleting”
The vision statement of Amazon is to develop and integrate effective platforms that are more customer-centric and a place where customers can easily find and discover everything that they plan to buy online. In short, Jeff Bezos has always planned to make Amazon a “one-store” point that will be effective to bring products to the customer doorstep (Amazon, 2021). On the other hand, Amazon’s only mission is to offer customers with best quality and selection of products and services at the lowest prices possible with utmost convenience. In other words, the mission statement mainly demotes that the company plans to always keep customer satisfaction at the utmost priority and achieve marginal growth in the market with a high margin of profit. Whereas, in case of objectives, Amazon aims to implement technologies and develop an operating structure that will be more sustainable and maintain customer satisfaction (Amazon, 2021). In accordance with the case scenario, the company has a prime objective of implementing a new plastic reduction strategy.
PESTLE Analysis
| Political | ● Initiation of environmental reforms
● Establishment of environment-friendly regulations
● Directives to reduce the use of plastics |
| Economical | ● Growling global GDP
● Increased expenditure on eCommerce platforms ● Increased cost of non-renewable energy |
| Social | ● Increased awareness regarding the environment
● Increased preference for sustainable products ● Growing demand of various products and Items |
| Technological | ● Better and more energy-efficient technology
● Increased prevalence of carbon-friendly operations
● Increasing use of renewable energy ● Development of plastic alternatives |
| Legal | ● Emission regulation
● Implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/631 by EU (Europa, 2021) ● Clean Air Act (CAA) of USA (Diselnet, 2021) ● Emission regulation implemented by UNECE (UNECE, 2021) |
| Environmental | ● Waste management
● Reduction of plastics in packaging ● Reduction of carbon footprint ● Reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy |
Governments around the globe are initiating environmental reforms that are aimed towards reducing the overall carbon footprint even penalties are imposed on companies if they increase the overall emissions. Especially in the EU and western countries, governments are focusing on reducing the use of plastics mainly in the eCommerce sector where the majority of the deliveries are wrapped in plastic packaging (Zhao et al. 2019).
Growing GDP has also increased the number of sales generated in the eCommerce division and this has created a problem in terms of reducing the use of plastics. At present, there is no particular alternatives for plastic packaging therefore the immediate reduction of plastics is not quite possible (Kitukutha et al. 2021). Furthermore, the increased cost of non-renewable energy is another matter of concern for Amazon and it needs to shift from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
In terms of social factors, consumers in the current market have expressed their attention towards sustainability and therefore the preference for sustainable production items have increased over time. However, demand in the market has also increased quite consistently during the covid-19 pandemic due to which companies like Amazon operating in the eCommerce industry are unable to take necessary measures which can reduce their emissions and carbon footprint (Aniqoh, 2020).
In terms of technological factors, better and more energy-efficient technologies have come into being which has allowed organisations like Amazon to save quite a bit of energy in their regular operations. Evidence of carbon-free operations for instance the reduced use of plastics and waste management strategies have allowed organisations to reduce quite a bit of carbon footprint (Rasmussen, 2020). The increasing use and prevalence of renewable energy is another factor that has allowed Amazon to utilise such technical options to minimise its dependence on fossil fuels. Technological advancement has also helped in the generation of biodegradable plastics that can be put to use by Amazon for their packaging purpose.
There are regulations initiated by EU as well as the USA in terms of ensuring that organisations operating on a large scale do not harm the environment due to their activities. International agencies like UNECE have also taken action by implementing stringent regulations against pollution and degradation of the environment in which companies like Amazon need to follow (UNECE, 2021).
In terms of factors linked with sustainability and the environment, it is essential for organisations like Amazon to ensure that waste management is done properly and a lot of recycling and reusing of items can be done to achieve a circular economy. Reusing and recycling most of the company’s items that are discarded as waste can help the company to save a lot of financial and non-financial resources which would help Amazon to be more sustainable in terms of regular operations (de Oliveira et al. 2021). Companies like Amazon that operate in the global context are focusing upon reducing their carbon footprint by reducing the number of vehicles they operate and Amazon needs to follow similar steps in order to achieve higher levels of sustainability and their operations. Moreover, Amazon also needs to increase the use of renewable energy and thereby reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by using alternative energy sources like wind and solar power.
Findings of environmental analysis
- Improve packaging by limiting the use of plastic
- Partnering to reduce waste
- Recyclable paper padded mailer
- Taking the initiative to plant trees with plat-seed packaging papers
- Focus on clean energy by enhancing waste and energy management
Based on the above external analysis of Amazon there are a few things that the company needs to adopt in order to achieve sustainability and reduce the harmful impact of plastic and other non-sustainable operations in which the companies involved. In this regard, Amazon can reduce the extensive use of plastics by other materials like paper or foam packaging. Moreover, it is also essential for the organisation to focus on clean energy and reduce its dependency on fossil fuels (da Silva Souza et al. 2021). Even it can start by reducing the number of deliveries they have and replacing them with fuel-efficient or electric vans if possible. Amazon may start working towards reinventing and simplifying its sustainable packaging options with the help of science-based approaches. The approach combines machine learning, lab testing, manufacturing partnerships and materials science in order to measure the sustainable changes across the supply chain of packaging (DE OLIVEIRA and DE MEDEIROS, 2020). Furthermore, in 2008, frustration-free packaging (FFP) was introduced by Amazon. This program was used to incentivize its manufacturers for using sustainable and 100 per cent recyclable packaging, which was easy to open and can be readily shipped to its customers without additional boxes of Amazon (Amazon, 2021). Although as of June 2021, Amazon has reduced the outbound packaging weight by more than 36% still are planning to eliminate packaging materials of more than 1 million tons which is equivalent to 2 billion shipping boxes. Amazon’s innovative paper padded mailer is offering the same recyclability as their corrugated boxes. This takes up very little space in transportation as well as in recycling bins. The mailer is made up of four layers of paper and a water-based cushioning material. This was designed to easily separate in the same manner by which the paper ink and other coatings are removed in the process of paper recycling (Blasiak et al. 2021). Across North America, Amazon is also expanding the use of paper padding mailers in order to replace the use of a mix of paper and plastic mailers by the end of 2022.
References
Amazon, 2021. About amazon. [Online]. Available from <https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/> [Accessed on 24 October, 2021]
Aniqoh, N.A.F.A., 2020. The Role of Digital Economy to Enhancing Sustainable Economic Development. International Journal of Social Science and Business, 4(4), pp.519-527.
Blasiak, R., Leander, E., Jouffray, J.B. and Virdin, J., 2021. Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting. Sustainable Futures, p.100061.
da Silva Souza, F., Mendes, J.C., Morais, L.J.B., Silva, J.S. and Peixoto, R.A.F., 2021. Mapping and recycling proposal for the construction and demolition waste generated in the Brazilian Amazon. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 176, p.105896.
DE OLIVEIRA, B.O.S. and DE MEDEIROS, G.A., 2020. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE AMAZON: ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, GAPS, AND CHALLENGES. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 245, pp.9-20.
de Oliveira, C.C., Zotin, M.Z., Rochedo, P.R. and Szklo, A., 2021. Achieving negative emissions in plastics life cycles through the conversion of biomass feedstock. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 15(2), pp.430-453.
Diselnet, 2021. United States. [Online]. Available from <https://dieselnet.com/standards/us/index.php#:~:text=The%20EPA%20authority%20to%20regulate,Department%20of%20Transportation%20(DOT)/> [Accessed on 24 October, 2021]
Europa, 2021. CO₂ emission performance standards for cars and vans. [Online]. Available from <https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/transport-emissions/road-transport-reducing-co2-emissions-vehicles/co2-emission_en/> [Accessed on 24 October, 2021]
Kitukutha, N.M., Vasa, L. and Oláh, J., 2021, June. The Impact of COVID-19 on the economy and sustainable e-commerce. In Forum Scientiae Oeconomia (Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 47-72).
UNECE, 2021. UNECE endorses stringent new vehicle emissions regulation. [Online]. Available from <https://unece.org/transport/press/unece-endorses-stringent-new-vehicle-emissions-regulation/> [Accessed on 24 October, 2021]
Zhao, W., Wang, A. and Chen, Y., 2019. How to maintain the sustainable development of a business platform: a case study of Pinduoduo social commerce platform in China. Sustainability, 11(22), p.6337.
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