S13 Workshop

What are the three flows in supply chain?

Material (Forwards), Information (Both ways), Money (Backwards).

What type of information do supply chain participants share?

Inventory (Stock quantities). Sales & Demand forecasts (Sales data, market trends, sales predictions). Order data (Tracking, lead times, shipping schedules). Purchase orders, Urgency of orders, Inventory availability, customer demand.

How does Amazon create a cost advantage.

Amazon creates a cost advantage by utilising economies of scale to spread out fixed costs between lots of transactions. Additionally, they utilise digital technologies to automate repetitive tasks (moving parcels from storage to workers, picking perfect sized boxes), lowering labour costs, and improving efficiency. Uses relationships with suppliers to negotiate lower prices.

How does Amazon create a value advantage?

Uses technology like anticipatory shipping to ship items to destinations before the consumer actually orders anything, ensuring the consumer gets their product quickly. Partners with third parties to show their product collection on Amazon’s store, creating a wide variety of products. Amazon’s one click ordering and seamless returns create high convenience for the consumer.