case 3 Amazon

Disrupting the grocery industry: Amazon

Access case materials here .

Situation

Amazon recently diversified into the $683 billion grocery industry through its acquisition of Whole Foods and its introduction of Prime Pantry , AmazonFresh , Prime Now , and Amazon Go . In the past, Amazon’s activities focused on online sales of books and general merchandise. Now Amazon has added to its existing offerings brick-and-mortar grocery retailing through its Whole Foods acquisition, online sales of nonperishable groceries through Prime Pantry, online sales of perishable groceries through AmazonFresh (that can be delivered or picked-up), 2-hour grocery delivery through Prime Now, and cashierless brick-and-mortar convenience stores through Amazon Go. Amazon’s actions suggest it aims to dominate the grocery industry. Do you think Amazon will succeed? That is, do you think Amazon over the next decade can gain market share in online and offline grocery greater than Albertsons (5.3%) or Kroger (10.1%) or even Walmart (26%).

Directions

In 600 words or less (excluding references), respond to the question above. In your response, be sure to do all of the following:

· Estimate the likelihood that Amazon can become larger (in terms of market share) than the major players in online and offline grocery.

· Critically evaluate its diversification moves into the grocery industry, and point out major challenges to and weaknesses in its strategy.

· Describe the extent to which it can leverage its existing capabilities, and explain the extent to which Whole Foods, Prime Now, and the other moves fit together into a coherent (or incoherent) grocery strategy.

You may write your response by yourself or with one other classmate. (Trios are not allowed, only pairs.) If writing as a pair, be sure that both of you materially contribute. Only one person needs to upload the response; be sure that each name is on the document; each will receive the same grade.

Either use endnotes or hyperlinks within the text to cite your references. If using endnotes, you may follow APA, MLA or Chicago guidelines for the references. References do not count toward your word limit.

Recommendations

You should craft your response such that it presents a central point and all of your argumentation works to support that point. Further, your arguments should flow logically from beginning to end. Do not present multiple disparate arguments hoping that at least one of them is credible. Instead, build arguments that support one another and work to bolster your central point.

You must use qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the arguments you make. (However, quantitative evidence may be quite sparse in this particular case.) Do not make a claim and leave it unsubstantiated. The articles and data I provide can help you build support for your arguments.

Moreover, your argument must be well written to be compelling. Use correct spelling and grammar. Make sure each paragraph presents only one idea, not multiple. Omit needless word. Avoid jargon. Use the active voice. Use headings instead of transition sentences. And avoid obtuse and abstract descriptions; be specific and concrete.

If you struggle to write well, I encourage you to seek help from the writing center and your peers. If you are concerned about your individual challenges with writing, please visit with me.

I strongly suggest that you ask a peer to read your response and to point out where your arguments are weak or difficult to follow. Peer review is an excellent way to improve your writing.

Use the curated articles and data I provide in the case folder to conduct your analysis, but some of the materials may not be useful for this particular question. (The materials are curated such that different strategic questions could be asked; not all material may be relevant to this particular question.) Skip materials that do not help you answer the question or build your argument. Moreover, you may search for additional materials beyond what I provide if you need additional facts and data to bolster your argument or to complete your analysis.

Your response must be pithy to be both convincing and adhere to the word limit. You may want to first draft a longer response and then eliminate parts of your argument that are redundant or less compelling. You will need to draw on some class concepts to make your argument logically sound, but you do not need to use all of them. Only use the concepts that help you respond in a convincing way.

Further, you do not need to summarize the case or write an introduction. Simply begin your argument. (I wrote the assignment, so you do not need to summarize it for me.)

Rubric

90 – 100 pts	The argument is clear and presents sound logic. It correctly applies class concepts to the question at hand. The claims are supported by good evidence. The writing is concise and compelling. It uses correct spelling, grammar, voice, and flow. The paper is easy to follow start to finish and demonstrates that the student conducted a thorough analysis. Overall, the paper is sound but may have minor flaws.
80 – 89 pts	The argument is generally okay, but displays one or more of the following weaknesses: the argument is somewhat unclear or difficult to follow, it does not apply or incorrectly applies class concepts, it includes major writing mistakes, or it sometimes fails to correctly include evidence to support the claims. Overall, the paper is reasonable but lacks in one or more important ways.
60 – 79 pts	The argument is incoherent or poor, and it contains multiple weaknesses: the argument is unclear or difficult to follow, it does not apply or incorrectly applies class concepts, it is poorly written, or it fails to correctly include evidence to support the claims. Overall, the paper is unconvincing.
0 – 59 pts	The student did not follow directions or otherwise showed little effort to address the question.