Page 10 - [STUDY CASE_GROCERY WARS] Report

QUESTION 3

What role does information technology play in these strategies?

Amazon has a decade of experience in the internet industry, and it has

always stayed ahead of the competition by exploiting its particular
knowledge and expertise. Amazon uses Whole Foods to increase sales
of its Echo items and other in-house products since the inclusion of

Amazon Echo products to its inventory. Amazon is aiming to reach a
larger number of customers by combining the finest of both firms'
supply chains and employing a whole food network.

Amazon's information technology has achieved operational excellence

and increased customer experience by working with a large number
of suppliers and distributors all over the world. Individual sub-systems
of the Amazon information system are controlled as autonomous

decision-making capabilities for varied resolution of client enquiries
and order processing. As each functional unit acts independently, this
results in a seamless flow of fundamental business activities. Various
components of the Amazon information system collect data from
important business activities and store it in the appropriate format in a

central database for decision-making analytics (Zhu et al., 2017). The
following are some of the ways in which the information system aids
decision-making:

Providing secure information access – Amazon executives demand
quick access to accurate data on the company's marketing,
financial, inventory, and staff performance. This data is critical for

identifying areas of weakness, strengths, and opportunities, as well
as informing strategic decision-making to improve company
operations. The information management system facilitates access
to information by automating the collecting, sorting, and

centralized storage of data so that it may be retrieved and analyzed
quickly.

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