战略财务管理的外部-financial management essay

根据B2C行业的特点和亚马逊的优势，，建议亚马逊可以采用混合策略，即为客户提供感知增值，同时保持低价格。亚马逊在全球拥有稳定的供货渠道，它能够为客户提供丰富、优质和低价格的产品，而亚马逊拥有强大的网络技术团队和物流团队，能给消费者带来良好的网购体验。

Strategic Position 
Bowman’s Strategic Clock: hybrid
According to the characteristics of the B2C industry and the advantages of Amazon, it is recommended that Amazon can adopt a hybrid strategy, that is, to provide customers with perceived added value while maintaining low prices. Amazon has a stable supply channel in the world, it is able to provide customers with rich, high quality and low prices of products, and Amazon has a strong network technology team and logistics team to give consumers a good online shopping experience.  

Ansoff Matrix:
Strategy Implementation
1 Market penetration: improving services, lowering product prices and encouraging more consumers to shop through Amazon Organic Development
2 Market development: in addition to the B2C market in Britain and France and Germany, it should pay attention to open up other potential B2C markets.   Strategic alliance
3 Product extension: provide a better online shopping experience Organic Development
4 Product extension: provide global quality and cheap products Strategic alliance
5 Market development: pay attention to B2C business in some valuable market segments Merger  horizontal
Corporate Roles:
Synergy manager 
•Amazon is through the merger to enhance their own competitiveness.
•Quickly enhance the market share
•Integrated technology, data and market resources
•Reduce the procurement, logistics costs
•Perfect the industrial chain
Parental developer 
• Amazon allows SBUS to operate and manage based on market segments
• Amazon's parent company gives a greater flexibility to the management of the subsidiaries to maximize the autonomy of SBU’s.
International Strategy: Multi-domestic and Global
Internationalization strategy 
• Through the acquisition of local e-business enterprises to quickly enter the local e-business market
• Through the acquisition or cooperation to improve the industrial chain
• Through the integration of the resources of the subsidiaries to enhance the quality of service and efficiency
Conclusion 
With the deepening of global economic integration, the future B2C market size will be further increased, Amazon as one of the most competitive B2C companies, has taken a series of effective measures to meet future challenges and development. Amazon is through the acquisition of local e-business enterprises to quickly enter the world's B2C markets with growth potential to improve their layout in the world market. Amazon is through the acquisition of e-commerce enterprises to improve the industry chain to achieve the comprehensive management including product order, sales, logistics, finance, which effectively improves efficiency and reduces costs. Amazon has adopted a flexible management approach to its subsidiaries, allowing them to operate and manage based on what their market segments needs, ensuring that Amazon has a strong competitive edge in every market segment. In addition, Amazon is through the integration of resources to promote the development of technology, and continuously improving the quality of service and efficiency, as well as improving consumer experience to enhance consumer loyalty. All in all, Amazon is ready for strategic opportunities and challenges in the future.
Proposed Future Strategies
Corporate Europe
Market penetration: lower product prices, improve service efficiency and cost to attract consumers to use Amazon
Via: Organic Development Market Penetration: collaborate with suppliers from all over the world to provide quality and cheap products around the world
Via: Strategic alliance
Market development: pay attention to open up potential markets, cultivate online shopping habits
Via: Joint venture Market development: in addition to markets in Britain and France and Germany, pay attention to open up markets outside the European market,  stimulate consumers’ desire of online shopping
Via: Strategic alliance
Product extension: improve the industrial chain, provide a better online shopping experience
Via: Organic Development Product extension: the use of information technology to provide quality services include: return, logistics, browsing, finance and so on.
Via: Organic Development
Market development: pay attention to B2C business of some valuable market segments 
Via: Merger  horizontal Market development: pay attention to mobile phones, clothing, digital books and other potential market segments that European consumers prefer 
Via: Merger  horizontal
Selection of Winning Strategy
Suitability Test
Options passing Suitability test: 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 
Rejected option: 2
Acceptability Test: 
Options passing Acceptability Test: 1,3and 5
Rejected options: 2, 4, and 6
 
Feasibility Test:
Option  1 Option  3 Option  4
Financial: Acquisition of the European online shopping service website: BuyVIP.com. BuyVIP is headquartered in Spain and currently it has more than 6 million subscribers. Buying BuyVIP helps Amazon to quickly build its own presence in the area of online shopping service and help Amazon to improve its industry chain and provide better consumer experience.

Resource development: increase the publicity funds, and further improve the influence of BuyVIP.com in Europe; Provide personnel training to ensure that BuyVIP.com can provide consumers with a better service experience in Europe to help them form a   online consumption experience. Financial: Fund and cooperate with the Austrian computer vision team, cooperating ith the team to get computer vision technology will contribute to the future implementation of the Amazon UAV delivery plan. In the long run, the partnership will make Amazon  achieve UAV delivery earlier than the competitors to improve its brand influence, enhancing delivery efficiency and reducing costs.
Resource development: provide financial support to ensure that the team can continue to improve the level of computer vision technology;
strengthen the cooperation between the R & D team and the Amazon logistics team to ensure that the technology can be used as soon as possible to the UAV delivery plan. Financial: acquisition of the British online bookstore :The Book Depository. The deal allows Amazon to successfully enter the segment of online book selling.
Resource development: personnel training, resources and business integration ensure that the Book Depository can bring growth to Amazon's business in Europe. According to the consumer habits of European consumers for product purchase and service processes to optimize.

Winning Strategy: Option 1

Description of Winning Strategy
In the long run, the above three strategy options are able to contribute to the improvement of Amazon's competitiveness, but the winning strategy is Option 1. Because the online shopping quota and frequency of European consumers are still relatively low when they are compared with that of consumers of countries of the rest of the world, their online shopping habits have not been strengthened. And in the Option1, acquisition of BuyVIP.com will help Amazon to provide a better consumer experience to other consumers, making the consumption habits of European consumers be strengthened, which is important for the development of Amazon. And considering Option 3, in cooperation with the computer vision technology team does help to promote the UAV delivery plan, but the current European governments’ ban on the UAV delivery may not be relaxed within a short period of time. In terms of Option 5, Amazon’s entering the online book sales segment has limited effect on improving the overall income of Amazon in Europe.
BuyVIP was founded in 2005 and it was a Spanish website that sells branded products of the fashion and lifestyle industry, it evolves into a membership website that offers up to 70% discount for members and covers all aspects of life. It has more than 600 million members, Amazon is through the acquisition of BuyVIP. com to quickly enter the European e-commerce industry and be recognized by consumers.
BuyVIP. com deals with online shopping service, it provides services related to all aspects of online shopping, such as: discounts, product design, recommendation, etc., on the one hand its business can give consumers a better consumption experience, on the other hand, its business will help eliminate consumers’ doubts for fake and shoddy online shopping goods, poor after-sales service. BuyVIP. Com is very helpful to help European consumers to form online shopping habits.
After Amazon's acquisition of BuyVIP.com, it should invest money to increase the influence of BuyVIP.com in Europe, especially promoting it to the European markets outside Britain, France and German, in which there is a still small size of the electricity market, but there is a large population and great development potential, there is the need of BuyVIP.com to help consumers there to form online shopping habits. In addition, Amazon should pay attention to the training for BuyVIP.com personnel, according to the habits of European consumers to optimize the content and mode of service to ensure that BuyVIP.com can provide a better service experience for European consumers to help them form an online purchasing experience.
Risk Assessment (ERM) & Management 
Risk assessment carried out using Enterprise Risk Management Framework
Type of risk Risk Address Risk / Action Manage Risk
Strategic Competitive risk:
competitors have gained more consumer recognition Mitigation Increase advertising efforts and organize promotional activities
Financial Industry/economy risk: European economic recovery is slow Retention European e-commerce market in 2020 will still maintain about 10% growth
Compliance Brand risk: Customers’ complaints on product quality, the speed of return Mitigation Strengthen the regulation of suppliers
Financial Exchange rate change risk: increase the exchange rate of the enterprise Mitigation and transfer Hire a professional person to carry out treasure  hedging operations
Operational Employees risk: can not provide consumers services required in a timely manner   Mitigation Strengthen the training of customer service personnel

Managing   change
Senior managers evaluate the risks before and after M & A and respond to risks
The overall strategy of all merged and acquired companies and the subsidiaries should be consistent with that of and the parent company.
The company maintains a good communication and ensures the best products and services available to consumers.
Management should pay attention to staff training.
Marketers do market research to understand the needs of consumers in different places and to meet the needs.
Managers do marketing work to improve the corporate brand image and visibility.

Suitability Test: Europe
Option strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats Score
strong brand
Developed logistics system 
Have more suppliers
Have a strong technical team
Too high labor costs are 
Lack of profitability Governments attach importance to e-commerce providers
Large market potential for e-commerce
Technology developmentprovides protection for the development of B2C Governments began to collect taxes on e-commerce enterprises
High competition
1 May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3,4 = (+4) may decrease or overcome 1and 2=(+2) May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3 = (+3) may decrease or overcome 2=(+1） 10
2 May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 4 = (+3) may decrease or overcome 2=(+1） May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3 = (+3) Increase 2=(-1) 6
3 May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3,4 = (+4) may decrease or overcome 1and 2=(+2) May increase and take advantage of 1,2,3 = (+3) may decrease or overcome 2=(+1) 10
4 May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3,= (+3) may decrease or overcome 2=(+1) May increase and take advantage of 1,2,3 = (+3) Increase 2=(-1) 6
5 May increase and take advantage of 1,2, 3,4 = (+4) may decrease or overcome 1and 2=(+2) May increase and take advantage of 1,2,3 = (+3) may decrease or overcome 2=(+1) 10

Acceptability Test: Europe
Option Risk Vs return Stakeholder reaction Accept/reject
1 Acquisition of the European online shopping service website BuyVIP.com. BuyVIP is headquartered in Spain and currently it has more than 6 million subscribers. The acquisition of BuyVIP will increase the financial burden of Amazon in the short term, but it will help Amazon to build its influence quickly in the online shopping service in the long run. It will also help Amazon to improve their own industrial chain to provide customers with a better consumer experience Shareholders:  the long-term benefits of acquisitions may increase the confidence of stakeholders
Government: For security reasons, the government may impose restrictions and control on UAV delivery. 
Accept
2 The world's mobile phone market has reached trillions of dollars, Amazon can also launch their own mobile phone: fire in Europe, the advantage is that it can bring great benefits to Amazon, the disadvantage is that the mobile phone market has been saturated. Shareholders: it may give Amazon the opportunity to participate in the competition in the mobile phone market.

Consumers: as the competition in the mobile phone market is very intense, consumers can choose from a lot of brands, they may not be very interested in “fire”. Reject
3 It funds and cooperates with the Austrian computer vision team, working with the team to get computer vision technology, the risk of this cooperation lies in whether the technology is advanced enough exceed the competitors, whether it can be used for delivery. The advantage of this cooperation is that it may help the future implementation of the Amazon UAV delivery plan. In the long run, the partnership will make Amazon be earlier than the competitors to achieve UAV delivery, improving its brand influence, delivery efficiency and reducing costs. Competitors: competitors may be worried about that Amazon's delivery efficiency will be greatly improved
Consumers: consumers will improve their satisfaction due to improved delivery efficiency. Accept
4 In order to better attract European consumers to implement price competition, to ensure that Amazon's products prices are lower than all competitors’. The risk is that it is likely to cause local government and rival protests and programs, the advantage is that it can attract consumers in a short time.

Competitors: protest of various channels may trigger investigation by local legal departments.

Reject
5 Acquisition of the British online Bookstore: The Book Depository. The deal allows Amazon to successfully enter online book selling. The risk is that consumers' demand for online book purchases is reduced. Shareholders: they may be doubts about the benefits of the acquisition.
Consumers: European consumers  easily have an access to Amazon platform. Accept