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Amazon.com Valuation Exercise SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise


Designed to accompany Amazon.com: Exploiting the Value of a Digital Business Infrastructure.

Authors :: Lynda M. Applegate

Topics :: Strategy & Execution

Tags :: Entrepreneurial finance, Financial analysis, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Amazon.com Valuation Exercise" written by Lynda M. Applegate includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Amazon.com Accompany facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial finance, Financial analysis and Strategy & Execution.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Amazon.com Valuation Exercise casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing energy prices, there is backlash against globalization, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Amazon.com Accompany, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Amazon.com Accompany operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Amazon.com Accompany
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Amazon.com Accompany




Strengths Amazon.com Valuation Exercise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Amazon.com Accompany in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Amazon.com Accompany has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Amazon.com Accompany has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.

Strong track record of project management

– Amazon.com Accompany is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Amazon.com Accompany is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Amazon.com Valuation Exercise are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Analytics focus

– Amazon.com Accompany is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Lynda M. Applegate can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Amazon.com Accompany digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Amazon.com Accompany has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Amazon.com Accompany are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Amazon.com Accompany in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Diverse revenue streams

– Amazon.com Accompany is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Organizational Resilience of Amazon.com Accompany

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Amazon.com Accompany does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Amazon.com Valuation Exercise Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

High brand equity

– Amazon.com Accompany has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Amazon.com Accompany to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.






Weaknesses Amazon.com Valuation Exercise | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise, is just above the industry average. Amazon.com Accompany needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Amazon.com Accompany supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Amazon.com Valuation Exercise, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Amazon.com Accompany vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Amazon.com Accompany has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise, in the dynamic environment Amazon.com Accompany has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Amazon.com Accompany has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Amazon.com Accompany has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Amazon.com Accompany has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Amazon.com Valuation Exercise should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Amazon.com Accompany, firm in the HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Amazon.com Valuation Exercise HBR case study mentions - Amazon.com Accompany takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise, it seems that the employees of Amazon.com Accompany don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Amazon.com Accompany is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Amazon.com Valuation Exercise HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Amazon.com Accompany has relatively successful track record of launching new products.




Opportunities Amazon.com Valuation Exercise | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Amazon.com Accompany in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Amazon.com Accompany to increase its market reach. Amazon.com Accompany will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Amazon.com Accompany can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Amazon.com Accompany has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Amazon.com Accompany to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study. Amazon.com Accompany can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Amazon.com Accompany to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Manufacturing automation

– Amazon.com Accompany can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Amazon.com Accompany can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Amazon.com Accompany can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.

Buying journey improvements

– Amazon.com Accompany can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Amazon.com Valuation Exercise suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Amazon.com Accompany to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Amazon.com Accompany is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Amazon.com Valuation Exercise case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Amazon.com Accompany in the consumer business. Now Amazon.com Accompany can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Developing new processes and practices

– Amazon.com Accompany can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.




Threats Amazon.com Valuation Exercise External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise are -

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Regulatory challenges

– Amazon.com Accompany needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.

Environmental challenges

– Amazon.com Accompany needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Amazon.com Accompany can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.

Increasing wage structure of Amazon.com Accompany

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Amazon.com Accompany.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Amazon.com Accompany is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Amazon.com Accompany will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Amazon.com Accompany in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise, Amazon.com Accompany may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Amazon.com Accompany can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise .

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Amazon.com Accompany has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Amazon.com Accompany needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Amazon.com Accompany can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Amazon.com Accompany can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Amazon.com Valuation Exercise is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Amazon.com Valuation Exercise is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Amazon.com Accompany needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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