Amazon.com Inc.’s mission and vision statements contribute to the company’s status as one of the largest online retailers in the world. This success is attributed to stringent measures to ensure that the vision and mission statements are fulfilled. In theory, the corporate vision statement provides organizational direction toward a desired future condition of the business. On the other hand, the corporate mission statement presents business goals and guides strategic management in the company. Based on this business analysis case, Amazon’s mission statement focuses on effective and high-quality service. For example, the company emphasizes target customers’ convenience in accessing the best selection of products in the e-commerce market. The scope of the selection of products available from the company is a business strength identified in the SWOT analysis of Amazon.com Inc. In relation, the company’s vision statement shows a target future of global dominance in the online retail industry. The fulfillment of these official statements facilitates further enhancement of the e-commerce business for long-term success in the global market.
Amazon.com’s corporate mission and vision statements are fundamental in developing strategies to support the company’s competitive advantages against firms like Google, eBay, Apple, Walmart, and Costco Wholesale. These competitors create the strong force of competitive rivalry evaluated in the Porter’s Five Forces analysis of Amazon.com Inc. The company’s corporate vision and mission statements also influence the operations of its subsidiaries, such as Whole Foods Market. Considering the variety of its products, which include online retail services, digital content distribution, cloud computing services, and computer software and hardware, Amazon.com Inc. aligns its vision statement with its mission statement to unify its diverse operations in various industries.
Amazon.com’s Corporate Mission Statement
Amazon’s mission statement is “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.” This corporate mission promises attractive e-commerce services to satisfy target customers’ needs. The company focuses on the variables of price, selection, and convenience. In this regard, the following characteristics are identifiable in Amazon’s corporate mission statement:
- Lowest prices
- Best selection
- Utmost convenience
The “lowest prices” component of the mission statement guides the pricing strategies included in Amazon.com Inc.’s marketing mix or 4P. Low prices are a selling point that makes the company’s e-commerce website and services attractive. A corresponding strategic objective is to reduce operational costs to enable the business to minimize prices. Amazon’s corporate mission statement also points to having the best selection. For example, the wide array of products on the company’s website is a factor that attracts customers. Moreover, Amazon.com Inc.’s corporate mission emphasizes convenience, such as in accessing the company’s products via the Internet. This characteristic is a response to consumers’ use of “convenience” as a criterion when evaluating the quality and attractiveness of online retail services.
Amazon.com’s Corporate Vision Statement
Amazon’s corporate vision is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” This vision statement underscores the business organization’s main aim of becoming the best e-commerce company in the world. In this regard, the following characteristics are identifiable in Amazon’s corporate vision statement:
- Global reach
- Customer-centric approach
- Widest selection of products
The “global reach” component of Amazon.com Inc.’s vision statement is all about international leadership in the e-commerce market. For example, in stating the “Earth” as the market, the company shows that it aims to continue expanding globally. Thus, a corresponding strategic objective is global expansion, especially through market penetration and market development, which are included in Amazon.com Inc.’s generic strategy and intensive growth strategies. The customer-centric approach in Amazon’s corporate vision statement shows that the company considers customers as among the most important stakeholders in the online retail business. This consideration agrees with Amazon.com Inc.’s corporate social responsibility strategy for its stakeholders. Moreover, the corporate vision indicates continuing efforts to broaden the product mix. These efforts contribute to business growth and to making the company’s services more attractive to target consumers.
Amazon.com’s Corporate Vision and Corporate Mission – Recommendations
Amazon.com’s mission statement satisfies many of the conventional characteristics of ideal mission statements. For example, the company includes target customers and market, variety of products, and basic business aims (pricing and convenience) in the corporate mission. However, the company does not include technology and the nature of the business and its operations. In this regard, it is recommended that Amazon add details in its corporate mission to give employees and investors a better idea of what the company is all about. This recommendation should make the corporate mission statement more comprehensive, especially in representing the company’s businesses, such as e-commerce, cloud-based computing services, digital content delivery, software and hardware, and brick-and-mortar retail (Amazon Books).
Amazon.com’s vision statement possesses strong characteristics, such as the specification of the company’s target market and an aspect of its marketing mix. However, this corporate vision satisfies only some of the conventional characteristics of ideal vision statements. For example, Amazon’s corporate vision is concise, clear, and abstract enough to ensure suitability in various areas of the business. Still, this corporate vision is not stable enough to ensure its suitability in the future of the business. For instance, Amazon’s business now includes cloud services and brick-and-mortar bookstores. Yet, the company’s vision statement still focuses on e-commerce. Thus, it is recommended that Amazon improve its corporate vision statement by adding these details about such businesses to make the statement comprehensive in reflecting the future state of the corporation.
References
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Cloud Computing Services.
- Amazon.com Inc.’s E-commerce Website.
- Amazon.com, Inc. – Form 10-K.
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