Amazon Supply Chain Management and Logistics Management

Amazon Supply Chain Management and Logistics Management The case study I have chosen for my topic is on AMAZON.COM, the area where I would be focusing is on the core concept of e-business and the benefits it provide effectively in adopting e-supply chain strategies. The main focus here in on the word e-as it has change the way of doing business in a global environment. Therefore, technology here plays a vital role in expanding new areas for businesses and enabling organizations to minimize their costs and work more precisely and effectively. Internet has made the world a small village for customers as now customers from across the world can assess any product of their choice by one click of mouse. Internet is world of opportunities as I come across a statement given by Tony Blair (UKs X Prime Minister), If you dont see the Internet as an opportunity, it will be a threat. (Financial Times, 1999) (Barnes 2001) Furthermore, this paper would be focusing on Amazons history and background, and then the focus would be on the product and services Amazon is offering to its customers, the practice of supply chain within the company and its customers. The paper also comprises of the benefits of e-business Amazon is providing to the customers effectively as well as importance of logistics in fulfillment of supply chain strategy throughout the supply chain. Background of Amazon.Com Amazon.Com was launched on 16th July 1995 by Jeff Bezos known as pioneer in e-commerce (R. Spector 2000) with a tag line under the alphabet A Earths Biggest Bookstore and is based in Seattle. At the beginning the web page was designed for selling books with a message at the top of the website Welcome to Amazon.com Books Search one million titles. Enjoy consistently low prices. (R.Spector, 2000). At Present the company is providing three primary customer sets; consumers, Sellers, and developers. The general idea behind Amazon was to serve as many customers as possible with variety of products that the volume of business would generate profits for Amazon.com. (R.Saunders 2001). In the early phase of business the company agreed upon having a very little or no inventory due to costs involved in keeping inventory. In the early nineties many traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers worked with their suppliers in accordance with the concept just-in-time delivery in order to keep the cost of inventory low but Amazon followed almost-in-time delivery introduced by Barton Davis who was the second employee of the firm when Amazon started. (R.Spector,2000). This strategy meant that the books will be delivered to the customers after they order it as they are not kept in the stock until a customer asks for it. At present Amazon have six warehouses where it stocks its inventory. As per the companys annual report of 2009 it indicates that company is experiencing continuous improvement in customer services which is result of 15 years of previous service like speeding delivery, reducing their cost structure in order to offer customers with ever lower cost prices. (J.P. Bezos 2010). Products and Services at Amazon Amazon started with selling of books by filling all orders of books by purchasing from a distributor in accordance with the orders given by customers. At Amazon they have a stock of bestselling books. Amazons main strategy is to keep on expanding the set of products and sell them online. In June 2002 Amazon became an authorized dealer of Sony Corp., selling sony products online (E. Turban, 2006). Apart from books Amazon has added many new product categories such as music, toys, electronics, jewelry, shoes and apparel (S.Chopra 2007). According to the annual report of Amazon.Com (2009), it has added 21 new categories around the world which includes Automotive in Japan, Shoes and Apparel in China. Amazon web services as also launched new services and features which includes the Amazon Relational Database Service, Virtual Private Cloud, Elastic MapReduce, High-Memory EC2 Instances and Versioning for Amazon S3. (J.P. Bezos.2010). Supply Chain Practices of Amazon.Com Before we come to the supply chain practice of Amazon.Com its necessary to define Supply Chain Management, therefore supply chain management refers Supply chain management is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers. Manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize systemwide costs while satisfying service level requirement.. (D.S.Levi 2008, Pg.1). Now, after looking at the definition we come across the real meaning of supply chain management, therefore, if we look at supply chain of Amazon.Com it start from the customer and ends up to the customer meaning its a continuous process which starts when the customer for the first time makes a request for any product at Amazon, it directly goes into his virtual basket and after pressing the buy button and mode of payment he selects a mode of delivery services which includes overnight and various international shipping options (R. Spector 2000). Amazon have a system where orders are recorded, registered and processed and simultaneously, customer on the other hand is immediately apprised of the status of his order and how long will it take to ship the product with the amount of shipping costs involved in it (R. Saunders 2001). Inventory Management at Amazon.Com Amazon stocks best-selling books at its warehouses and get the other titles from other distributors or publishers. To deliver the products Amazon uses U.S. Postal Services, UPS and FedEx to deliver the goods to the customers (S.Chopra 2007). Here we can see the importance of e-commerce in supply chain that how effectively organizations are trying to invest and find new opportunities through e-commerce especially in field of supply chain management. The supply chain of Amazon is very strong just because of responding quickly and accordingly to the customers specification on delivering the goods at the right time, at the right place and at the right price during the time specified According to the annual report 2009 of Amazon.Com, the inventories rose over 200,000 titles at the end of the year which enabled Amazon to improve the availability of products for their customers. Customer Relationship Management by Amazon.Com Every business revolves around satisfying customers and enhancing their relationship for long term, the same implies with providing services on Internet or e-commerce, the general idea is to create a positive relationship with customers. The Internet has played an important role in making it possible for organizations to focus on building relationships with customers and having a direct contact with each customer (S. Barnes 2001). Therefore, businesses on internet can improve synchronization, both within and across companies while providing a direct contact with end users. If we look at Amazon, it has build a strong relationship with all of its customers by meeting up their expectations and trying to be more effective in going beyond their expectations. From the companys more than 80 million customers across the world, more than half are repeat buyers (R.Saunders 2001). The focus of Amazon was to offer customers compelling value from the beginning and to meet customers requirement 365 days a year. According to the annual report 2009 of Amazon.Com, Amazon has relied on Word of Mouth advertisement and to date it remains the most powerful tool in customer acquisition because repeat purchasing and word of mouth has made Amazon to be a market leader in online bookselling. Therefore, it is important for retailers to emphasize on satisfying customers because this can enable them to move first time buyers to loyal customers. Bezos, the chairman of Amazon once said, A pool of evangelists will use the Internet as a megaphone to help attract new customers with word of mouth. (R.Saunders 2001, pg.102) Importance of Logistics in Supply Chain Management Logistics plays an important role in supply chain because it acts as a bridge or link between the entire processes of supply chain as it is the main source of delivering the products to the end consumers in a timely manner as and when required. There is a big challenge in logistics in managing the whole logistics system in order to meet the customer requirements, perhaps, exceeding customer expectations. In todays competitive world and speed of ordering via Internet intensify the need of effective logistics system in order to deploy appropriate levels of inventory, delivering the products within the promised time and also managing the returns if required. The role of Logistics in Supply chain implies in creating a place utility and in managing the time effectively, as place utility is provided through moving the goods from the point of production to the point where demand exists, thus adding a economic value to the goods. Time utility is of greater essence as it is not necessary that the goods and services should only be available where customers need them but also that they are delivered when they actually demand them. These both activities are clearly seen in the case of Amazon.Com as both the services are effectively and efficiently performed by the organisation. Role of Logistics in Amazons Supply Chain There has been a deep research done by different authors in order to find the secrets behind the success of a retail company, and that is offering the right products in the right location at the right time having the right packaging in the right quantity at a reasonable price to the right customer (R. Saunders 2001, pg. 119). This is one of the most core elements of any organisation and seems to be the most important objective in Amazons shipping as well because the strategy is to deliver the product safely to the customer at the time specified. In the year 2000, Amazon developed a Delight-o-meter in order to track the total number of items ordered worldwide. Amazon got high marks in terms of delivering the products in time on holidays from all e-business and e-commerce magazines than other e-tailors companies of the world (R. Saunders 2001). Benefits of e-business in Supply Chain The success of every retail and e-retail depends on providing quality products at good prices having in mind quality excellent services. One of the most important benefit that e-business is providing organizations is to reach hundreds of millions of people open 365/24/7 in just a click of mouse omitting all the barriers which used to exists before. Companies with just a minimal capital requirement can easily and quickly reach to the best suppliers, unlimited customers and even most suitable business partners across the globe. This activity enables organizations to buy at cheaper rates and sell more in number of quantity. E-commerce plays a vital role in overcoming the inefficiencies in supply chain such as delivery delays and excessive inventories can be minimized. Furthermore EB also benefits in cost reduction like decreasing the cost of processing, distributing and storage activities (E. Turban 2006). Companies are now investing heavily in order to get the word E. Customers are getting the benefit due to intensive competition and number of products available to them online, like with just a click of mouse a customer with saving a lot of time can easily gather information of the features and prices of a product and can easily arrange direct shopping sitting at home (S. Korper 2001). Amazon is a classical example of B2C, which means it remains between the seller and the buyer. The objective of B2C is to optimize the business relationships with customers, increasing service levels effectively and efficiently and lastly increasing the sales (E. Turban 2006). Conclusion To sum up I would like to say that e-commerce and e-business play is a life blood of organizations, especially when I talk about Amazon.Com. A comprehensive research has been carried out through my research that how Amazon.Com has evolved its virtual door opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. Furthermore, I would like to state that e-business plays an important role in managing the supply chain of Amazon.Com effectively and efficiently by offering customers what they are looking for and providing them their products within the time specified. Amazon.Com has become very successful in reducing its costs as well as increasing profitability effectively. The Amazon.Com leaves an example on how to do effective marketing on the Internet and satisfying customers. The role of e-business in expansion of businesses also play an important role as we see now every organisation whether big or small goes on the Web and offer their products or services on the web as well in order to grab millions of customer on the internet. E-commerce plays an important role in minimizing the costs throughout the supply chain and improves the level of service by meeting or exceeding customers expectations. At last but not the least, EC enables companies build a positive relationship with customers by providing direct services to the customers which in turn promotes better customer relationship management and increases customer loyalty.

Humboldt Squid

Humboldt Squid Dosidicus gigas Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: Teuthida Suborder: Oegopsina Family: Ommastephidae Genus: Dosidicus Species: Dosidicus gigas Ecological Geographic range: Receives its name from its main location – the Humboldt Current This current is found in the East Pacific Ocean region The Humboldt squids are sometimes found along the coastal region of California, Oregon, Alaska and Washington Generally, found about 2,300 feet below surfaceEnter shallow waters to lay eggs Trophic level: Sharks, dolphins, whales, tuna swordfish, many types of rays as well as an abundance of crustaceans, mollusks, fish of all   sizes, and other cephalopods such as octopus can be found in the food web of the Humboldt The Humboldt is occupies a relatively high trophic level It feeds on krill and small species of fish Predators:Sperm whales, sharks, seals, swordfish, and marlin feed on Humboldt squids of all sizes, while gulls and larg e fish often capture juveniles Parasites include Chromidina elegans, a ciliate protozoan that lives inside the renal organs of the Humboldt Life Cycle: Average life span is 1 year; however, some can live up to 2 years Spend much of their short life in the ocean’s oxygen-minimum zone Come up at night to feed After 200 days, the squids reach sexual maturity They die shortly after mating Physiological Development Bilateral symmetryArms and tentacles – 8 arms and 2 retractable tentacles Mantle – hollow structure and so internal organs are all exposed directly to the ocean water Funnel – water is pumped from out of the mantle to the funnel, which allows squids to move Fins – are used for both maintaining position and generating thrust Chromatophores – tiny elastic sacs of pigment. The Humboldt squid can turn their entire bodies from red to white to red again in less than one second Digestive system: Complete and ciliated Mouth, anus and complex s tomachUse of a duck like beak to break up food A radula or ribbon horn found on the tongue directs the food down the esophagus Food is taken up by cells lining the digestive glands arising from the stomach and then passed into the blood Excretory System Undigested materials are compressed and packaged and discharged through the anus into the mantle cavity and carried away by ocean currents Excretory functions are carried out by a pair of nephridia (tubular structures that collect fluids from the coelom and exchange salts) Respiratory system:Contains three hearts to support the constantly moving lifestyle of the squid Hemocyanin is the copper-rich respiratory protein that transports oxygen throughout the body Circulatory system: complex, closed circulatory system (reason why they can move fast) contains two branchial hearts at the base of the gills which send unoxygenated blood through the gills A third ventricular heart then pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body (blood turns bl ue when oxygenated, colorless before) Nervous system: Highly developed and sensitiveBrain consists of two fused nerve centers that are linked down the length of the body by two giant nerve axons The giant axons transmit nerve signals quickly Interesting fact – the squid’s nervous system is connected to structures called statocysts. These vesicles let the animal to orient itself to a gravitational field, allowing the squid to remain aware of its orientation and movement in a three-dimensional manner Reproductive strategies Highest fecundity of any cephalopod Reach sexually maturity after 200 days of life Timing and location of eggs is still guesswork for most scientists Sexual reproductionSemelparous reproduction (reproduce once in their lifetimes and die shortly after) Female Humboldt squids can have about 10 million eggs; however, the most to have been found has been between half a million and a million eggs After the eggs are laid, there is no further parental invest ment Kurth, J. and M. Garzio 2009. â€Å"Dosidicus gigas† (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 18, 2013 at http://animaldiversity. ummz. umich. edu/accounts/Dosidicus_gigas/ â€Å"Squid. † The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2012. Encyclopedia. com. 18 Mar. 2013. Humboldt or Jumbo Squid Fact Sheet – National Zoo| FONZ. † Smithsonian: National Zoological Park. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Humboldt Squid. † BioWeb. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. â€Å"A Humboldt Squid Dissection Guide for Educators. † The Gilly Lab. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Humboldt Squids: Systems. † Shorecrest Preparatory School. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Humboldt  Squid. † Squid-World. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Squid Sex and Babies. † Squid Sex and Babies. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. http://theseasproject. weebly. com/uploads/5/3/8/4/5384258/5500235_orig. png? 243

“Daddy Long Legs” by Jean Webster Essay

Daddy Long Legs was written by Jean Webster on 1912. Her books often feature young female protagonists who develop into a beautiful butterfly from being a caterpillar, so to speak. They mature intellectually, socially and morally. Jerusha â€Å"Judy† Abbott is the perfect example. She is an 18-year old girl who grew up in an orphanage. She became sort of a helper as well in the orphanage since she is one of the eldest there. One day, one of the trustees that visit the orphanage every first Wednesday of the month offered Judy an opportunity to go to college as long as she becomes a writer and a monthly letter will be sent regarding the progress of her college life. The offer also mentioned that the benefactor remains unknown and replies will not be given. She can only communicate with the secretary. Throughout college, Judy met new friends from different social classes, saw the world outside the orphanage and honed her skill in writing. She was able to write several poems and books that were rejected but still pursued until she perfected a book that satisfied the standards of one of the several publishing house where she sent her stories. She never spoiled herself too much because she felt that the world does not owe her anything. In the end, she got her book published and fell in love. By just reading the title, one won’t know what the book is all about until one reads it. The book took me by surprise since I had a different kind of story in mind. I loved the book because it showed hope, kindness, determination and love. It showed hope on the part of Judy Abbott for after spending her childhood in an orphanage she was given a chance to see the world outside the John Grier Home by going to college. The book is also composed of a series of letters written by Judy regarding her progress in college which is rather a one-sided correspondence. I do imagine where Judy is coming from. While growing up, Judy never experienced what it is like to have a family or anyone for that matter showing the slightest interest in her and then suddenly, someone starts showering you with kindness, I’ll be very grateful for that. Although the deal was clearly said to Judy that no reply will be given from her benefactor, Judy still continued writing with humour, honesty, and life as if she really knew Daddy Long Legs. She kept her feet on the ground that she never let neither the new environment she is in nor the gifts that Daddy Long Legs gave her change who she is but has helped her mold who she is going to be. Throughout  college, Judy transformed into a lively and attractive young woman. She takes enormous delight in the little pleasures of ordinary life and believed in free will. She believes that regretting the past and anticipating the future makes you miss out the beauty of life that the present has to offer. The book, however, ended with Judy falling in love with Jervie Pendleton who happens to be Daddy Long Legs. The ending was romantic but also bothered me a bit since there is a fourteen year age gap between the two. But I guess, with the setting in 1912, women fell in love with more mature men. Judy even considered Daddy Long Legs her composite family. But WHAT CAN I SAY? True love prevails. It was justified at the end that Judy fell in love with Jervie Pendleton and NOT Daddy Long Legs who just happens to be her benefactor. It’s such a sweet finish but left me hanging. It would have been better if Judy did not leave Jervie while recovering from illness. It was mentioned, however, that they will be reunited again. I will definitely recommend this book. It is simple yet has a twist in the storyline. It is a wonderful story and it is a surprise love story because you’ll think that it is just a story of an orphaned girl who becomes an author with the help of a stranger. You won’t realize who loves whom until you get right to the very end. The love-hate-anger-gratitude relationship between Judy and the benefactor is also quite interesting. It appeals to all ages, young and old. It is easy to read because of the letter format.

The Four Seasons in Spanish

Most of the Spanish-speaking world talks about four seasons of the year (estaciones del aà ±o), just as in English: el invierno — winterla primavera — springel verano — summer (Another word for summer, el està ­o, has mostly literary use.)el otoà ±o — autumn or fall Key Takeaways: The Seasons in Spanish The names of the four seasons are typically used with definite articles in Spanish.Spanish speakers in the tropics often refer to two seasons, the rainy and dry seasons.It is common to use de season to speak of the seasons in adjective form. As in English, seasons are deemed to begin and end—in a formal sense—on the years longest and shortest days. For example, summer begins around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere but around Dec. 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. But in a popular sense, summer can also be thought of as including the hottest months, typically June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere, but December, January, and February in the Southern Hemisphere. In much of the tropics, however, just two seasons are recognized locally: la estacià ³n lluviosa — rainy season or wet season, which can also be called inviernola estacià ³n seca — dry season, which can also be called verano When to Use the Definite Article With Seasons The definite article (el or la) is almost always used with the names of the seasons. In many cases, it is used where it isnt in English: La primavera es la à ©poca del aà ±o en que se manifiestan mà ¡s evidentemente los procesos del nacimiento y el crecimiento. (Spring is the time of the year in which the processes of birth and growth are most evident.)El otoà ±o me parece abrumadoramente triste. (Autumn seems overwhelmingly sad to me.)El verano se acerca. (Summer is getting near.)No tengo nada que hacer durante el invierno. (I dont have anything to do during winter.) The same rule applies in the plural form: Los veranos en la ciudad nos traen grandes conciertos. (Summers in the city bring us great concerts.)Me encantan los colores brillantes de los otoà ±os de Nueva Inglaterra. (I love the brilliant colors of New England autumns.)No me gustan los inviernos. (I dont like winters.) Determiners such as este (this) and un (one) can substitute the definite article. When You Dont Need the Definite Article The definite article can be omitted (but doesnt have to be) after forms of the verb ser and the prepositions en and de: En verano debemos cuidar el pelo con productos diseà ±ados para esta estacià ³n. (In summer we should take care of our hair with products designed for this season.)Los colores de primavera son muy llamativos y bonitos. (Spring colors are very intense and pretty.)Ya era otoà ±o en Parà ­s. (It was already autumn in Paris.) Etymology of the Seasons Names The main names of the four seasons in Spanish all come from Latin: Invierno comes from hibernum, which is also the root for hibernate.Primavera is related to primera (first) and ver (to see), because it is the time of year when it is possible to first see new life.Verano comes from veranum, which in Latin could refer to either spring or summer.Otoà ±o comes from autumnus, the root of the English autumn. Adjectival Forms Most of the time, the equivalent of adjectives such as wintry and summery can be translated  by combining the name of the season with de to create a phrase such as de invierno and de verano. There are also separate adjectival forms that are sometimes used: invernal (wintry), primaveral (springlike), veraniego (summery), and otoà ±al (autumnal). Verano also has a verb form, veranear, which means to spend the summer away from home. Sample Sentences Referring to Seasons Cada primavera, las mà ¡s de 200 especies de plantas con flores que hay en el parque crean una brillante exhibicià ³n. (Every spring, the 200-plus species of flowered plants in the park create a brilliant display.)El otoà ±o es un buen momento para visitar Mà ©xico. (Fall is a good time to visit Mexico.)La estacià ³n lluviosa dura en el interior del paà ­s desde mayo hasta octubre. (The rainy season  lasts in the countrys interior from May until October.) ¿Cuà ¡nto costarà ¡ esquiar en Chile este invierno? (How much will it cost to ski in Chile this winter?)Los dà ­as de verano son largos. (Summer days are long.)El riesgo de incendios forestales en la estacià ³n seca aumentarà ¡ este aà ±o. (The risk of forest fires in the dry season will increase this year.)Fue un verano inolvidable. (It was an unforgettable summer.)En Japà ³n, el otoà ±o es la estacià ³n mà ¡s agradable del aà ±o. (In Japan, autumn is the most pleasant season of the year.)