Amazon.com, Inc.Eli Sadler

Company History Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos first incorporated the

company in 1994 in the state of Washington. The company opened the virtual doors of

Amazon.com's online store in July 1995. The company was originally only an online

bookstore. Within the first two months of business, Amazon

had sold to all 50 states and over 45 countries. At the end of these two months, Amazon's sales were up to $20,000/week.

Company History Amazon.com went public on May 15, 1997, and

the IPO price was $18.00. Its common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global

Select Market under the symbol AMZN. Since their IPO, they have split their common

stock three times: April 27, 1998: 2-for-1 split November 19, 1998: 3-for-1 split July 21, 1999: 2-for-1 split

They have never declared or paid cash dividends on their common stock. According to their site, they intend to retain all future earnings to finance future growth.

Company Mission and Vision “We seek to be Earth’s most customer-

centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.”

Company Profile The company quickly began to expand outside

being just a digital bookstore. In 1998 they entered the online music and video

business By 1999 they claimed to offer the “Earth’s Biggest

Selection” of books, CDs, videos, DVDs, electronics, toys, tools, home furnishings and housewares, apparel, and kitchen gadgets.

They also had third-party agreements with well-known retailers like Toysrus.com, Target, Circuit City, Expedia Inc., and Hotwire.

Company Profile During this period, many investors shied away

from Amazon, citing a focus on market share and not profitability.

Amazon was able to silence these critics in 2001 after reporting its first net profit during the fourth quarter of that year.

Although the company hadn’t experienced profits until nearly 7 years after it was started, that doesn’t mean that the company wasn’t generating a lot of revenue.

Company Profile Soon after its first profitable quarter, Amazon was

able to identify a new area of potential growth by finding another new customer—the IT community.

In 2002 it launched its new web services platform, essentially adding another business model within the parent company. It may have been risky for Amazon to expand into

new business areas instead of focusing on its core competencies, but their web services program has been a large success.

Company Profile Since the early 2000’s Amazon has continued to

make sound acquisition decisions and has officially become the world’s largest online retailer.

In 2007 it introduced its own line of e-book reader called the Kindle, and in July of 2010 Amazon announced that e-book sales for its Kindle reader exceeded sales of hardcover books for the first time ever.

In 2011 they dove into the tablet computer market by introducing the Kindle Fire which runs on a modified version of the Android operating system.

Kindle & Kindle Fire

Operations Within the company there are many different

functions that are handled in different locations. The company’s global headquarters is located in

Seattle, Washington. Other facilities include:

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses Customer Service Centers Software Development Centers

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses Amazon has about 80 Fulfillment Centers

worldwide which handle all of the companies orders. Each center also provides warehousing and order fulfillment for third-party sellers.

The warehouses are very large and employ hundreds of individuals. These employees, known as “pickers,” are responsible for the four main functions at each center:1. Unpacking and inspecting incoming goods2. Placing goods in storage and recording their

location3. Picking goods from their recorded locations to

make up an individual shipment4. Shipping

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses A large central computer stores the location of

goods within each warehouse, and maps out routes for employees throughout the facility.

Each employee carries a hand-held computer that they use to communicate with the central computer. It is also used by the company to monitor employees’ rates of progress.

It’s not unusual for an Amazon employee to walk 10 or more miles during an average day at work.

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses

The United States Canada England Scotland Wales France Germany

Netherlands Italy Slovakia Spain Japan China

• Amazon has at least one fulfillment center in each of the following countries:

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses

Fulfillment Centers/Warehouses

Customer Service Centers

United States: Kennewick, WA Huntington, WV Grand Forks, ND Winchester, KY

India: Hyderabad South Africa: Cape Town Philippines:

Convergys Cebu Convergys Bacolod

China: Chengdu

Germany: Berlin Ireland: Cork Morocco: Sala al Jadida Scotland: Edinburgh Japan: Sapporo Costa Rica:

Heredia Calle Blancos

Uruguay: Montevideo Italy: Cagliari (opening

2013)

• Amazon has customer service call centers in the following cities and countries:

Software Development Centers

The United States Canada England Scotland Ireland

Romania India Japan China South Africa

• Although much of Amazon's software development is handled in Seattle, the company employs software developers in centers across the globe:

Amazon Today Amazon is continuing its success well into the

new decade, posting a 22% increase in sales over their most recent quarter.

Amazon Today Currently employ 88,400 full-time employees as

well as many more who work part time. In 2011 it was rated America’s #1 most reputable

company by Forbes Jeff Bezos is still the CEO and president of the

company and now earns a salary of $1.68 million. 2012 net sales of $61.093 billion Current stock price is $267.72 Inside an Amazon.com Fulfillment Center:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gmbs4AVkgo Questions?

References: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa

ny-histories/amazon-com-inc-history/

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312513028520/d445434d10k.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2010/id20100412_520351.htm#p1

http://www.labnol.org/tech/amazon-owed-companies/19605/

http://www.businessinsider.com/massive-scale-of-amazons-distribution-operations-2012-11?op=1

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AMZN+Key+Statistics