 Amazon.com, an online bookstore, was officially opened on 6 July 1995 by Jeff Bezos in US.  Since 1998, Amazon has started to expand into UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, China, Italy and Spain. It has also expanded its product categories which include the sales of music CDs, DVDs, toys, games, consumer electronics, beauty products, baby product, etc.  Amazon has earned its first profit in 2002 and continued to do so till In 2006, it entered into the online grocery business.  Amazon has launched its first consumer electronic device (the world’s best-selling e-reader), the Amazon Kindle on 19 Nov 2007 & the latest device Amazon’s Kindle Fire on mid Sep Brief History

TypesKindleKindle TouchKindle Touch 3G Kindle Keyboard Kindle Keyboard 3G Kindle DX Kindle Fire Price$79$99$149$139$379$199 ConnectivityWi-Fi Free 3G + Wi-FiWi-FiFree 3G + Wi-FiFree 3GWi-Fi ContentMillions of books, newspapers, magazines, games, and docs Millions of books, newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, games, and docs 20 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, songs, books, newspapers, audiobooks, magazines, and docs WebExperimental browser Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated browser Display6" E Ink Pearl 9.7" E Ink Pearl7" Vibrant Color IPS Battery Life, Wireless Off 1 Month2 Months 3 Weeks8 hours continuous reading or 7.5 hours video playback Storage2GB on device for 1,400 books 4GB on device for 3,000 books 4GB on device for 3,500 books 8GB on device for 80 apps plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books Dimensions6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40" 7.5" x 4.8" x 0.34" 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38" 7.5" x 4.7" x 0.45" Weight5.98 ounces7.5 ounces7.8 ounces8.5 ounces8.7 ounces18.9 ounces14.6 ounces Compare Kindle

B2C Diagram Amazon Display Product Catalogue via Website Customers Delivery Services Online ordering Select Payment Mode

Advantages & Disadvantages of B2C & B2B AdvantagesDisadvantages S earch for worldwide products between rich & poor countries. Less time-consuming & able to sell more products at the same time. Information between buyer & seller can be obtained rapidly. Increase accuracy as buyer can enter their products specs. Improve customer service – able to send notification on delivery status to customer & able to meet their demand.  Customers don’t feel secure to make payment via internet.  Unauthorised copying of authored works like books, music, images, etc.  The danger of hackers accessing files and corrupting accounts.  Unable to build long-term customer relationship to retain loyalty customers.  Lack of internet access in the less developed countries.

S ELLING ON A MAZON Selling on Amazon is a program that enables merchants to sell their products and inventory on Amazon.com Product Categories How Do Merchants Get Their Pay?  Eligible for featured seller status; Customize shipping rates; Create new products; Load & track inventory in bulk; List promotions & special services; Access order reports; Enable Fulfillment by Amazon; Professional merchants need to pay $39.99/mth plus selling fees on items that sell. √ Amazon first settles their account 14 days after they register. Subsequently, the settlement process repeats every 14 days. It normally takes 5 business days from the settlement until the money is available in their bank account.  Books, CD and Vinyl, DVD, Video/VHS, Baby, Beauty, Camera & Photo, Electronics, Grocery & Gourmet Food, Health & Personal Care, Home & Garden, Musical Instruments, Office Products, Personal Computers, Software, Sports & Outdoors, Toys & Games, Tools & Hardware, Video Games and Wireless Antennas & Boosters. Features & Benefits

How It Work Step 1: Upload Your Product Inventory With Selling on Amazon, it’s easy to upload your inventory. Once you’ve registered use the Web-based tools, a free desktop software application, or text files to get up and running fast. Step 2: Customers See Your Products on Amazon Amazon is a leading website and venue for millions of online shoppers. By listing your products on Amazon.com, you can reach out to millions of potential customers every day. Step 3: Customers Purchase Your Products Amazon makes buying your products easy. With features like 1-Click and a brand trusted by millions of consumers, we help customers make quick, easy, worry- free purchases. Step 4: You Deliver Products to Customers Amazon will send an notification to you when an order has been placed. You simply pack and deliver your item to the customer (unless you let Fulfilment by Amazon do the work). Step 5: You Receive Payment Payment for the order is deposited into your bank account every 14 days, and you receive notification by that your payment has been sent.

F ULFILLMENT B Y A MAZON Put Amazon's Fulfillment Technology to Work for You. You sell it, we ship it. Amazon has created one of the most advanced fulfillment networks in the world, and your business can now benefit from their expertise. With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) you store your products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and Amazon will directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. You just need to pay for order handling, pick & pack, weight handling, and inventory storage (rates vary depending on size). Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping and Amazon Prime Customers love FREE Super Saver Shipping and Amazon Prime. FBA Listings on Amazon.com feature these delivery messages increasing awareness of product eligibility for free shipping. Competitive Pricing Your FBA listings on Amazon.com are sorted by the item price without a shipping cost. Amazon assumes they will ship for free with FREE Super Saver Shipping or Prime, which gives you an edge when competing! Trusted Customer Service and Returns FBA listings are displayed with the "Fulfillment by Amazon" logo, so customers know that packing, delivery, customer service and returns are all handled by Amazon. Fulfill Orders from other Channels FBA can fulfill your orders from other sales channels from your inventory stored at an Amazon fulfillment center. You manage your inventory through a simple online user interface, and can direct Amazon to return the inventory in their fulfillment centers at any time. Enjoy these benefits when you use Fulfillment by Amazon.

How It Work Step 1: You send your products to Amazon You send your new or used products to Amazon's fulfillment centers. Upload your listings to Amazon's system. Let Amazon fulfill all or part of your inventory. Print PDF labels provided by Amazon. Use Amazon's discounted shipping or select your own carrier. Step 2: Amazon stores your products Amazon catalogs and stores your products in our ready-to-ship inventory. Amazon receives and scans your inventory. They will record item dimensions for storage. You monitor inventory using their integrated tracking system. Step 3: Customers order your products Amazon fulfills orders placed directly on Amazon.com or fulfillment requests you submit for sales not on Amazon. When listed on Amazon.com: Your listings rank by price excluding shipping since they are eligible for Super Saver Shipping. Amazon Prime members can upgrade shipping options for your FBA listings. Step 4: Amazon picks and packs your products Fulfillment by Amazon picks your products from inventory and packages them. Amazon locates your products using their advanced web- to-warehouse, high-speed picking and sorting system. Customers can combine your orders with other items fulfilled by Amazon. Step 5: Amazon ships your products Amazon ships the products to your customers from their network of fulfillment centers. Amazon ships customer orders using the method they choose. They provide tracking information for customers. For orders on Amazon.com, customers can contact them for customer service

IS A MAZON AN ATTRACTIVE B2B PARTNER FOR OUTSOURCING E - COMMERCE ? The merchants can enjoy the following benefits:  The merchants can easily upload their products in “Selling on Amazon” by paying a commission and they are able to enter into a big market. They can save IT cost as there is no need to set out their business web site.  Amazon allows merchants to promote their products by advertising through its pay-per-click program either through “Product Ads” or through “Display Ads”. It will save advertisement cost.  Amazon does relationship marketing by using Electronic Consumer Relationship Management (E-CRM) to gain customer loyalty and attract new customer. The merchants can be assured that Amazon.com is able to reach out to their target customers. However, the merchants are unable to control the branding if consumers buy the products directly from Amazon.com.

T HANK YOU Presented by Yim Peng

References Ralph M. Stair and George W. Reynolds (2008) Principles of Information Systems, 8 th Edition Thomson Course Technology Shelby H. McIntyre (2003), Building Consumer Relationships Electronically, The Haworth Press Inc