Free Essay Example - Forecasting and Planning

Amazon is an American online business platform. It is a multinational technology company which has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington (Amazon, 2015). It has its primary specialization in online trade and other technology-related services. Amazon is considered one of the largest online trading platforms, among other platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Apple. Amazon has a network of well-distributed outlets. As a result, it is considered an impediment to renowned corporations because of its massive application of technology (Amazon, 2015). Amazon is, therefore, the biggest online trading platform and market where most of the people who like online shopping place their orders on electronics, fashion wear, and many more. Additionally, Amazon is the leading internet platform by revenue globally. It is the second biggest employer in America; it is also among the most valued companies in the world.

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Comparison of Amazon's Supply Chain to Inditex’s

Inditex is the world's largest Spanish based fashion firm. The company's leading stores and outlets are Zara, which is also known for several other groups of homes belonging to Zara (Mejías et al. 2015). It deals with the manufacturing of products related to fashion and beauty. Zara was initially an outlet of the rejected orders of women's nightdresses and pants.

Amazon is a firm that deals with the retail supply of several forms of goods, including fashion products (Amazon, 2015). Unlike Inditex, Amazon has no specialty of products as it deals with a wide range of commodities. However, just like the Inditex, Amazon has recorded exemplary performance in online trading (Amazon, 2015). It is among the biggest online shopping platforms worldwide hence recording enormous progress. Similarly to Inditex, Amazon has a set of its logistical strategies that help it in its online trading. However, the logistics applied by Amazon can be helpful, and other times they can hurt the third-party sellers (Amazon, 2015). This has a positive and negative impact on the ability to serve their customers as, to some point, the logistics can aid in drastically bettering customer service. They can significantly hurt their feedback from the clients hence injuring their online prowess (Amazon, 2015). Amazon uses the third party to ensure they deliver their services, unlike in Inditex, where everything is directed to customer satisfaction. However, Amazon has robust logistics that have led to its excellence in the online business, which includes adequate warehousing, distribution, supply chain, transport, and communication (Amazon, 2015).

Challenges faced by Amazon

Amazon, just like many other online shopping platforms, is faced with a variety of challenges. Some of the challenges it faces include stiff competition, which is present in the online shopping platforms. The principal opponent of Amazon is Alibaba, which operates the same kind of business as Amazon's. As a result, competition becomes significant (Amazon, 2015). The shortage of warehousing facilities is also a challenge that affects Amazon as it operates in all parts of the world. The company does not have warehousing facilities across the globe; hence, it becomes hard for it to store excess stock (Amazon, 2015). However, the organization has instituted measures to curb problems such as bettering the accessibility by setting up various outlets and providing better commodities with a reduced price compared to the opponents.

The Role of Planning

Among the most instrumental aspects of a business, success is planning. It allows the company and its partners, such as suppliers and other stakeholders, to consider a variety of options that help in the prediction of the future as well as providing solutions to the current issues affecting the organization. As a result, Amazon's leadership considers appropriate planning for the organization's benefits to assist it in managing future problems as well as the current issues (Amazon, 2015). The plan also allows the organization to put measures in advance and take advantage of the present good things. Overall, Amazon has been able to do well in the market due to its ability to plan appropriately as it can handle future issues while in the present.

Demand Forecasting

The field of business and entrepreneurship is one of the most dynamic areas. It heavily relies on the market, which is hugely influential. To remain in fruitful business, Amazon is careful about the future market demands. Due to the dynamic nature of market forces, Amazon's supply chain department has experts who can predict the pattern of the next orders in the market. Therefore, it is an integral aspect that helps the company to be careful about the future needs in the market to avert losses (Daganzo, 2014). Through demand forecasting, the company predicts the demand for certain products in the future, and it is at this point that it can know what to increase, what the decrease and what to maintain to suit the requirements of the market (Daganzo, 2014). Such decisions are realized through an appropriate analysis of market demand and supply patterns.

Pricing Promotions on Demand

The demand for a commodity in the market is critical in any business. Demand is typically dependent on a variety of factors among them, supply and market prices. When the quantity in the market is high, the demand tends to decrease (Olbrich et al. 2017). Conversely, when the market prices are low, the demand increases, and vice versa. To change the demand in the market, pricing promotions are instrumental as they can manipulate demand in the market. When the demand is needed to rise, prices are set a bit low while the demand needs to decline, and the costs can be set a bit high (Olbrich et al. 2017). It is thus as a result of the direct relationship between prices and market demands.

References

Amazon, E. C. (2015). Amazon web services. Available in: http://aws. amazon. com/es/ec2/(November 2012).

Daganzo, C. (2014). Multinomial probit: the theory and its application to demand forecasting. Elsevier.Mejías, A. M., Garrido, N., & Pardo, J. E. (2015). INDITEX, a model company in the implementation of sustainable human resource management. International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, 5(1-2), 59-72.

Olbrich, R., Jansen, H. C., & Hundt, M. (2017). Effects of pricing strategies and product quality on private label and national brand performance. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, 294-301.