Introduction
Established in 1994, Amazon ranks as a leading global online consumer goods and services retailer. It comprises three segments: the international segment, dealing with selling commodities to international audiences through retail sales; the North American segment, dealing with sales and subscriptions via the company website; and the Amazon web services, which deal with databases, storage, and computational services. As an e-commerce platform, business-IT alignment plays a significant role at Amazon because it enables the institution to leverage technology and help achieve organizational objectives. Business-IT alignment has helped Amazon harmonize the operations between its line that sells products to customers and the line selling cloud services. This paper will offer an elaborate comparison of the business-IT alignment of Amazon’s line selling commodities to customers and the line selling cloud IT services. The paper will also elaborate on the synergy across these lines and how Amazon incorporates diversity in its hiring practices.
Amazon operates two main business fronts: the line selling IT cloud services to organizations and the line selling commodities to consumers. Both these lines are driven by the objective of meeting the organization’s goal of leveraging technology to ensure growth and productivity (Strong, 2021). Growth has ensured that Amazon is focused on incorporating and leveraging technology in its operation to ensure efficiency during supply chain operations. Technology has particularly been instrumental in Amazon’s customer product line because this line of business depends on the company’s e-commerce platform to ensure customers can access various commodities. Technology is incorporated in almost all aspects of the customer journey, from when they access the website to when they make orders and when they are delivered (Vasquez, 2022). This can be seen through the one-click ordering systems, reliable deliveries, and trustworthy product reviews. Incorporating technology in the customer product line has also ensured that customers can track and check their shipments and minimize the time taken for products to be delivered, which can be as short as one day.
The success of the customer product line is guaranteed by diverse data collection tools that ensure that goods purchased move from the warehouse in the shortest possible time, orders are processed and shipped in time, and customer satisfaction is guaranteed. Technology has also enhanced inventory management through the distribution infrastructure that increases the time customer purchases are delivered (Vasquez, 2022). The business-IT alignment at Amazon is evident in the customer product line, as elaborated by the above processes. These technologies ensure customers are offered a personalized and seamless shopping experience, guaranteed loyalty, and increased customer satisfaction. Aligning business and IT in the customer product line ensures that the organization can constantly innovate its operations and incorporate new technologies to ensure enhanced efficiency and attain the organizational growth objective.
The organization’s cloud service division has also leveraged technology in its operations. The cloud service line, otherwise termed Amazon Web Service (AWS), offers the company a significantly reliable platform that it can use to run its e-commerce activities. According to CNBC, Amazon’s cloud service plays a significant role in the organization as it offers a flexible and scalable cloud computing avenue (Bloomberg, 2017). Through AWS, amazon’s business model has managed to leverage technology and reduce costs while enhancing the company infrastructure without investing heavy capital into the business model. The business-IT alignment in the cloud service division can be seen through the ability of the division to guarantee flexibility and scalability (Sag, 2023). AWS is designed so that in case of an increase or decrease in consumer demand, the company can make adjustments without disrupting the supply chain process, thereby ensuring efficiency in the supply chain. Furthermore, the web service ensures that resources can be adjusted automatically depending on the workload to help ensure efficiency during the supply chain and guarantee customer satisfaction (Sag, 2023). Through AWS, amazon has placed itself as one of the leading cloud computing companies because it has incorporated cloud services into its core business objectives.
A synergy must be created between the cloud service line and customer product line as this guarantees that the company can leverage technology to ensure efficiency in the supply chain process, e-commerce operations, and customer satisfaction. The two lines have a strong synergy as they rely on each other’s capabilities to ensure that Amazon remains the leader in the supply chain industry. Amazon relies on heavy technological infrastructure to ensure the e-commerce platform’s seamless operation. These technological infrastructures are AWS’s backbone, allowing Amazon to ensure its clients receive reliable and scalable cloud services (Sag, 2023). The joint operation between the cloud service line and the customer product line thus ensures that customers get access to a reliable and secure platform through which they can conduct their business operations. This is guaranteed through analytics and data management. AWS’s analytics and data storage properties ensure that Amazon’s customer product lines are supported. Through its e-commerce platform and other avenues, amazon collects data about consumers, which is stored using secure platforms like Amazon Redshift (Bloomberg, 2017). This data can then be analyzed to enable Amazon to get insights about its consumers, thereby ensuring services can be personalized depending on consumer needs and preferences. This leads to increased customer satisfaction and improved customer experience. For instance, the company can collect information on the duration most clients prefer for their shipment to take, helping devise methods to enhance the supply chain by minimizing the duration in which orders are fulfilled and delivered.
Amazon relies on a strict diversity mechanism during hiring to ensure that the two business lines work jointly to guarantee growth and innovation. Several programs have been used to promote diversity at Amazon, such as diverse sourcing and outreach (Amazon, 2023). Through diverse sourcing and outreach, Amazon seeks to ensure that its workforce is diverse because this approach focuses on partnering with institutions and organizations dealing with underrepresented groups, engaging with diverse communities, and undertaking diversity-focused job seminars. The company’s initiative, Amazon Amplify, shows diverse sourcing and outreach, which helps ensure increased ethnic and racial diversity (Baumgartner, 2010). Using such initiatives ensures that Amazon can reach out to a wide pool of talent that will be fundamental in promoting innovation and success of the customer product and cloud service lines.
The company also uses employee resource groups to ensure diversity. Through employee resource groups, amazon is likely to get access to a pool of individuals with shared backgrounds and interests as the existing workforce. Employee resource groups offer a chance for employees to connect and engage in personal and professional development, ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce is created (Baumgartner, 2010). Unbiased selection and screening have also been used to promote diversity in hiring. The company relies on standard objective criteria and assessment methods to examine the candidates and evaluate their qualifications and expertise. This ensures that all applicants are offered equal opportunities and the likelihood of bias is eliminated (Amazon, 2023). Furthermore, the company also offers unconscious bias training to the human resource team to minimize bias during hiring.
Conclusion
In summary, Amazon’s alignment of business and IT indicates one of the company’s competitive advantages. For a successful e-commerce business, the business and IT department must be integrated, as evidenced in Amazon’s case, where the cloud service line and customer product line have incorporated technology. Technology has ensured the success of the customer product line, evidenced by one-click ordering systems, reliable deliveries, and trustworthy product reviews that guarantee customer satisfaction. The cloud service line has also incorporated technology, leading to flexibility and scalability. The synergy between the customer product and cloud service lines has ensured that Amazon remains the leader in the e-commerce industry as they leverage each other’s strengths. Amazon’s success in the e-commerce and global industry has thus been guaranteed by aligning business and IT strategies.
References
Amazon. (2023). Building an Inclusive Culture. Amazon.jobs. https://www.amazon.jobs/content/en/our-workplace/diversity-and-inclusion
Baumgartner, J. (2010, November 24). Why Diversity is the Mother of Creativity. InnovationManagement. https://innovationmanagement.se/2010/11/24/why-diversity-is-the-mother-of-creativity/
Bloomberg, J. (2017). Why Amazon Web Services Is The Mother Of All Candy Stores. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2017/12/03/why-amazon-web-services-is-the-mother-of-all-candy-stores/?sh=10c81aee5d18\
Sag, A. (2023). AWS’ Role In The Metaverse And Spatial Computing Is Constantly Evolving. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2023/01/10/aws-role-in-the-metaverse-and-spatial-computing-is-constantly-evolving/?sh=20234eac6d06
Strong, C. (2021). Council Post: The Importance Of Embracing A Product Operating Model. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/01/27/the-importance-of-embracing-a-product-operating-model/?sh=5667fb86517b
Vasquez, F. (2022). AWS Transformation BrandVoice: Using The Cloud To Find And Invent Opportunities. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/aws-transformation/2022/07/13/using-the-cloud-to-find-and-invent-opportunities/?sh=6f83491759e9
write