1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,480 The. Better Business Analysis 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:06,120 Institute Presence, the Better Business Analysis podcast with 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:13,400 Hindman Walsh. Hi, everybody and welcome back 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,960 to the Better Business Analysis. Podcast with Benjamin Walsh now 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,680 We're continuing along. With our BA Unleashed series. 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,240 And we are. Still in the strategic and 7 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:27,680 enterprise analysis space within the Better Business analysis 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,810 delivery journey. So last week we talked about the 9 00:00:31,810 --> 00:00:36,570 Porter 5 forces, which was a great model for looking. 10 00:00:36,570 --> 00:00:40,170 At our competitive standing within the industry and our 11 00:00:40,170 --> 00:00:43,170 strengths and weaknesses. With our buyers and our supplies 12 00:00:44,170 --> 00:00:47,730 now, the pistol analysis is. Really, looking at sternly, 13 00:00:47,730 --> 00:00:49,730 it's. It's something that you can 14 00:00:49,730 --> 00:00:52,610 apply to an. Organization and you can also 15 00:00:52,610 --> 00:00:55,770 apply to your life and the country that you're living in, 16 00:00:56,290 --> 00:00:57,410 or even the world you're living in. 17 00:00:59,130 --> 00:01:00,170 The reason? The pistol. 18 00:01:00,170 --> 00:01:03,250 Analysis is really useful. It's all about those kind of 19 00:01:03,410 --> 00:01:06,330 elements and the. Situation and context in which 20 00:01:06,330 --> 00:01:09,530 you're living and how that may affect your business. 21 00:01:10,290 --> 00:01:15,930 So we use these three strategic planning tools, the spot 22 00:01:15,930 --> 00:01:20,970 analysis that we did. Originally the Porter 5 forces 23 00:01:21,290 --> 00:01:25,570 and finally. Pistol analysis and these three. 24 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,920 Fundamental strategic planning tools are really useful at 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,440 looking at our strategic standing in regards to the 26 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,160 market. And then from that point and we 27 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,520 will do this in subsequent. Weeks. 28 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:39,600 We'll then look at how that affects. 29 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,720 The enterprise? The organization using things 30 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,520 like, OK, what does that mean for our strategic objectives and 31 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,280 our balanced? Scorecard and so forth. 32 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,840 OK, so this week we're going to do a. 33 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,720 Pistols analysis, Pistol analysis, I should say. 34 00:01:55,230 --> 00:02:01,830 For Amazon, the company and so. We should really go through what 35 00:02:02,070 --> 00:02:04,590 a pistol analysis is and then we should. 36 00:02:04,590 --> 00:02:09,590 Apply that to our company so a pistol analysis or pistol 37 00:02:09,910 --> 00:02:15,030 stands. For the political, the economic, 38 00:02:15,390 --> 00:02:19,870 the social, the technological, the legal and environmental 39 00:02:19,870 --> 00:02:23,870 factors that may affect. Your organization OK, so 40 00:02:23,870 --> 00:02:29,180 Political P, Economic E. Social S technological, 41 00:02:29,620 --> 00:02:34,140 technological T legal and environmental so. 42 00:02:34,140 --> 00:02:38,420 That's where we get pistols. So it's PESTLE. 43 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:43,140 And so like I said, we're going to be examining these different 44 00:02:43,180 --> 00:02:48,300 areas and then it allows. Us to kind of look at these, the 45 00:02:48,300 --> 00:02:50,900 external environment? And then we can come up with a 46 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:54,010 plan. To deal with these these factors 47 00:02:54,330 --> 00:02:55,730 that are generally out of our control. 48 00:02:56,570 --> 00:03:01,210 So they generally move without, you know, us influencing them 49 00:03:01,570 --> 00:03:03,210 and unless. You know, we're doing huge 50 00:03:03,210 --> 00:03:05,130 lobbying and so we. Just have to. 51 00:03:05,130 --> 00:03:08,090 We just have to deal with them and have a bit of a plan, OK? 52 00:03:08,090 --> 00:03:13,170 So we're going to apply a pistols analysis to Amazon and 53 00:03:13,170 --> 00:03:14,530 if. You want to do this? 54 00:03:14,530 --> 00:03:17,570 Then you can get an A. Four piece of paper. 55 00:03:17,730 --> 00:03:21,010 Hold it horizontally. And a half put a line. 56 00:03:21,010 --> 00:03:23,050 Down the middle if you like, and then. 57 00:03:24,250 --> 00:03:27,690 Draw 2 lines straight down. So you've got six different 58 00:03:27,690 --> 00:03:31,010 areas that should. Look like an MD comic strip and 59 00:03:31,010 --> 00:03:34,170 you can. Write the P and the E and the S 60 00:03:34,210 --> 00:03:38,930 and the T and the L and the E in every you know in the various 61 00:03:38,930 --> 00:03:42,210 boxes. And you can start to think about 62 00:03:42,410 --> 00:03:46,120 what you think. These how these factors, what 63 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,200 factors would affect Amazon in this current market? 64 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:54,880 So let's let's start with P, the political factors in which 65 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,120 Amazon. Are having to see themselves. 66 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,760 Operate. OK, So what do you think, 67 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,000 Amazon? Has to deal with in terms of 68 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:11,720 being a multinational company that operates in multiple 69 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,810 countries. What comes to mind in terms? 70 00:04:14,890 --> 00:04:20,209 Of the political landscape and those who are in the States, you 71 00:04:20,209 --> 00:04:23,730 know, Amazon was much more than just Amazon US. 72 00:04:24,090 --> 00:04:27,210 Even though it was started there and obviously. 73 00:04:27,210 --> 00:04:30,690 Operates heavily there. Amazon has when we talk about 74 00:04:30,690 --> 00:04:33,610 pistols analysis or pistol. We talk about the company as a 75 00:04:33,610 --> 00:04:36,410 whole, so we are looking at Amazon worldwide. 76 00:04:36,410 --> 00:04:40,490 Here, right. So in terms of Amazon and 77 00:04:40,490 --> 00:04:42,170 operate, we know it operates in many. 78 00:04:42,170 --> 00:04:45,170 Countries and regions, which means. 79 00:04:45,210 --> 00:04:48,850 It is exposed to different political systems and 80 00:04:48,850 --> 00:04:52,690 regulations and. Some of those political factors, 81 00:04:53,770 --> 00:04:57,530 you know, can can range. From things like taxation, which 82 00:04:57,530 --> 00:04:59,770 is a hot topic. Around, you know, billionaires 83 00:04:59,770 --> 00:05:04,250 not paying tax, trade policies, labor laws and data protection 84 00:05:04,250 --> 00:05:08,650 are just some. So #1 within political factors 85 00:05:08,730 --> 00:05:11,060 because of Amazon and this would. 86 00:05:11,060 --> 00:05:13,020 Be true of it. Just operate in the US, but it 87 00:05:13,020 --> 00:05:17,900 has to deal with multigovernment regulations and policies. 88 00:05:18,380 --> 00:05:21,420 OK. It's it provides e-commerce and 89 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:25,420 which? Are also protected across there 90 00:05:25,420 --> 00:05:27,020 are protection rights for consumers. 91 00:05:27,220 --> 00:05:29,860 Across the world you know that that are different depending on 92 00:05:29,860 --> 00:05:34,660 what country consumer rights. So these these factors can have 93 00:05:34,660 --> 00:05:39,240 a very significant effect. Either positively or negatively 94 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,640 on Amazon's operations and profitability. 95 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,640 So in the US. Amazon has to collect sales tax 96 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,200 in every individual state and where. 97 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,080 It is physically present, so if it operates a warehouse 98 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,200 somewhere. It has to pay taxes there, which 99 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,760 reduces its competitive. Advantages over other retailers, 100 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:05,280 so for example. Maybe Alibaba or Timu and India. 101 00:06:05,660 --> 00:06:10,300 Amazon faces restrictions on kind of foreign direct 102 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:13,980 investment and e-commerce, which limits itself to. 103 00:06:13,980 --> 00:06:16,860 Kind of provide a marketplace in India. 104 00:06:17,140 --> 00:06:19,220 So it's quite it's quite different depending on what 105 00:06:19,220 --> 00:06:23,420 country you're in. I know here in New Zealand, 106 00:06:23,940 --> 00:06:25,820 Amazon's been eyeing up. You know whether or not they 107 00:06:25,820 --> 00:06:28,500 should open up in New Zealand. And maybe been a little bit 108 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:30,700 weary. About the fact that the tax law 109 00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:33,500 might might come to play and it operates in. 110 00:06:34,500 --> 00:06:38,020 Australia and ships from there. So there's a lot of factors that 111 00:06:38,020 --> 00:06:41,500 might go into whether or not. It wants to go into a new market 112 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:45,260 and deal with that government and you know it's just it's 113 00:06:45,260 --> 00:06:47,780 probably got quite good at dealing with that, but that's 114 00:06:48,220 --> 00:06:50,300 that's a situation it has to worry about. 115 00:06:51,940 --> 00:06:55,540 It also means that when it. Does when Amazon does move to a 116 00:06:55,540 --> 00:06:58,140 country which is effectively Amazon's business model. 117 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,360 You might know Amazon from AN e-commerce. 118 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,640 Point of view, but really it's it's a warehousing company. 119 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,840 And a logistics and supply chain operations. 120 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:11,800 That's really it's trick is that it has mass warehouses. 121 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,720 And and a hold stock on behalf of its sellers. 122 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,480 And so, you know, it has these big warehouses and so they had a 123 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,880 big warehouse, say in an African country to supply. 124 00:07:26,260 --> 00:07:30,660 You know, parts of Africa within the within the continent, then 125 00:07:30,660 --> 00:07:34,940 if there was political unrest or instability then that could. 126 00:07:34,940 --> 00:07:37,980 Affect the operations and supply chain because it would you know, 127 00:07:37,980 --> 00:07:40,820 you might need security, you might need different types of 128 00:07:40,820 --> 00:07:42,740 vans. There's all sorts of things that 129 00:07:42,740 --> 00:07:45,540 could happen. Workers may not turn up to work. 130 00:07:46,100 --> 00:07:49,300 And so forth also in the political. 131 00:07:50,900 --> 00:07:52,940 Kind of space political. Factors. 132 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,520 There's the international trade agreements and tariffs. 133 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:01,840 That can hinder or facilitate. Cross-border trade and supply. 134 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:08,280 So when there was an agreement. Say a free trade agreement or. 135 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,960 NAFTA, which is the North American Free Trade Agreement. 136 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,240 That can affect Amazon and there's the same in in the 137 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,720 Pacific area we. Have the CPTPP, which a lot of 138 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:28,160 people would were. Protesting at the time, but it 139 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,160 actually helps reduce trade and trade barriers. 140 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,280 Between the kind of different countries and when. 141 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,720 Tariffs are reduced or customs are reduced. 142 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,559 Then they actually helps. That removes barriers for 143 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,380 Amazon, and so you can imagine that. 144 00:08:45,420 --> 00:08:48,540 You know, we're not talking about solutions here, but one of 145 00:08:48,540 --> 00:08:53,420 the strategic moves for Amazon could be having a lobby group 146 00:08:53,580 --> 00:08:59,620 for supporting these free trade agreements across the world. 147 00:09:00,260 --> 00:09:04,340 So it's quite an interesting example because Amazon is just. 148 00:09:04,340 --> 00:09:07,420 So you know, so big that you know it does have this influence 149 00:09:08,860 --> 00:09:12,020 I guess in the other area in terms of. 150 00:09:13,820 --> 00:09:17,980 Politics. There was a little bit of 151 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:25,580 boycotts potentially around labor or? 152 00:09:25,820 --> 00:09:28,860 The fact that there are political forces around big 153 00:09:28,860 --> 00:09:34,940 multinationals taking over from local stores, so it's also faced 154 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:39,020 some challenges politically just in terms of. 155 00:09:39,340 --> 00:09:45,010 You know, it really being an example of capitalism and it's. 156 00:09:45,170 --> 00:09:50,050 At its best if you like ** depending on who, who, what you 157 00:09:50,210 --> 00:09:53,130 believe in. So that's that's the political 158 00:09:53,210 --> 00:09:58,130 kind of factors I think that are affecting Amazon right now. 159 00:09:58,730 --> 00:10:01,210 And what about yourself? Have you come up with some 160 00:10:01,210 --> 00:10:03,090 political factors? You may be in the US? 161 00:10:03,090 --> 00:10:06,440 You may be in the UK. We may be in Australia, where 162 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:10,040 Amazon operates directly, and you may have some other ideas or 163 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,120 you've read some news. Locally that you know is 164 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:17,400 something that Amazon. Might may be focusing on. 165 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,960 And so there are all these political factors that affect 166 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:27,200 Amazon okay, moving on from P, we then move to E&E is. 167 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,800 Our economic factors. So I mean, we've. 168 00:10:32,310 --> 00:10:34,910 I've kind of given you a top tip a little bit because Amazon is 169 00:10:34,910 --> 00:10:39,030 so large and operates in so many countries and regions. 170 00:10:39,990 --> 00:10:43,230 You know it's going to be affected by economics more than 171 00:10:43,630 --> 00:10:45,870 global. Economics more than just other 172 00:10:45,870 --> 00:10:48,390 companies. So thinking about that, do you 173 00:10:48,390 --> 00:10:52,830 would you have any idea around? What you think Amazon's What 174 00:10:53,190 --> 00:10:57,390 factors that economic would affect Amazon? 175 00:11:00,180 --> 00:11:03,660 And there are two that come to mind for me. 176 00:11:03,660 --> 00:11:06,220 Two heavy ones. One are economic conditions. 177 00:11:06,220 --> 00:11:10,380 So if there are some. Worldwide economic downturns or 178 00:11:10,380 --> 00:11:13,740 fluctuations and consumer spending, so like a recession, 179 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:17,460 for example. Or the war in the Ukraine, you 180 00:11:17,460 --> 00:11:20,340 know, has affected consumer confidence or trading. 181 00:11:20,850 --> 00:11:25,210 Then that can majorly affect Amazon's sales and 182 00:11:25,210 --> 00:11:27,490 profitability. So generally these large 183 00:11:27,490 --> 00:11:30,010 companies have mitigating factors and they're making money 184 00:11:30,010 --> 00:11:35,050 because they can see all these these kind of economic factors 185 00:11:35,050 --> 00:11:38,130 at play. But I do think that. 186 00:11:38,170 --> 00:11:41,170 Amazon would be affected like Microsoft. 187 00:11:42,250 --> 00:11:44,970 Other big companies, they would be affected if there was a 188 00:11:44,970 --> 00:11:49,610 downturn and consumer spending, especially when they sell a 189 00:11:49,610 --> 00:11:53,530 whole lot of good, I guess goods. 190 00:11:53,530 --> 00:11:54,890 That aren't necessarily essential. 191 00:11:56,250 --> 00:12:02,610 The other factor in the economic space I think would be exchange 192 00:12:02,610 --> 00:12:06,330 rates for the same reason. So as a global company, 193 00:12:06,330 --> 00:12:10,990 fluctuations and exchange rates can impact on it's. 194 00:12:11,030 --> 00:12:13,790 International operations and financial performance. 195 00:12:13,790 --> 00:12:19,750 So if you're operating in, I don't know, Russia, for example, 196 00:12:19,830 --> 00:12:20,950 I. Don't think I don't know if 197 00:12:20,950 --> 00:12:23,790 Amazon has any operations directly on the ground there, 198 00:12:24,150 --> 00:12:29,230 but if Russia with the war in the Ukraine, if the Russian 199 00:12:29,230 --> 00:12:32,230 dollar? I think it's the rupee crashed 200 00:12:32,470 --> 00:12:35,710 and. Then, you know, back in America 201 00:12:35,710 --> 00:12:37,350 where the corporate offices and they. 202 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:42,570 They're counting their profit. You know those dollars they're 203 00:12:42,570 --> 00:12:47,130 trading and using? Rupees they may be their profit 204 00:12:47,130 --> 00:12:51,770 may be lost and so exchange rates are huge. 205 00:12:52,730 --> 00:12:56,890 It can, I guess, affect Amazon's competitiveness, different 206 00:12:56,890 --> 00:13:00,090 markets you know it needs. It's really. 207 00:13:00,090 --> 00:13:04,970 Converting everything into a strong U.S. dollar and so that 208 00:13:04,970 --> 00:13:09,370 can make Amazon's products more expensive if, for example, the 209 00:13:09,370 --> 00:13:11,730 New Zealand dollar dropped. Against the US or the Australian 210 00:13:11,730 --> 00:13:16,890 dollar did. Then that could have a problem 211 00:13:16,890 --> 00:13:19,610 that could be problematic for Amazon because it's. 212 00:13:19,810 --> 00:13:22,050 Really. A U.S. company in trading in 213 00:13:22,090 --> 00:13:25,050 U.S. dollars. Okay. 214 00:13:25,050 --> 00:13:29,410 And there are other factors. Within the economic space, you 215 00:13:29,410 --> 00:13:32,770 could say in terms of economic growth and development and you 216 00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:38,300 know maybe the fact that you know China and Brazil and and 217 00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:43,180 and India are getting bigger and bigger and bigger, so they 218 00:13:43,180 --> 00:13:45,660 might. See that as a factor in terms of 219 00:13:45,660 --> 00:13:51,900 growth, economic growth factor in terms of more more disposable 220 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,780 income in those countries and those developing countries and 221 00:13:55,780 --> 00:13:57,900 so therefore. You know, their business models 222 00:13:57,900 --> 00:14:01,220 quite sounds because they can just stretch and you know. 223 00:14:01,660 --> 00:14:06,900 I guess scale into those countries okay. 224 00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,380 So we've covered off the political factors and economic 225 00:14:09,380 --> 00:14:15,140 factors and we're moving on to I guess factors that I guess 226 00:14:15,140 --> 00:14:17,500 society factors or social factors if you like. 227 00:14:18,100 --> 00:14:23,060 Sociocultural factors is another way of explaining that. 228 00:14:23,060 --> 00:14:28,540 So what kind of social factors do you think that Amazon, you 229 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:31,980 know, is involved in or is? Can influence. 230 00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:46,330 I would say that I think that as consumer behavior and 231 00:14:46,330 --> 00:14:50,290 preferences change around the world in terms of. 232 00:14:51,490 --> 00:14:56,050 People maybe just saying that they want to support local as a 233 00:14:56,050 --> 00:14:58,410 good example, so it could be the fact that. 234 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,080 People just thinking you know that just consumer behavior says 235 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:07,000 that we're going to sport local did save that became huge then 236 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,200 that could change consumer trends to go to Amazon. 237 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,560 Not not politically. They're not necessary protesting 238 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,480 Amazon's existence. But they've just simply might 239 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:22,000 start growing from people who are, you know, they might want 240 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,520 to go to shops and local, I guess, in the same way. 241 00:15:26,780 --> 00:15:31,140 Amazon needs to think about the trends in terms of the next 242 00:15:31,140 --> 00:15:33,020 generation, in terms of Generation Z. 243 00:15:33,380 --> 00:15:37,100 Who are more tech savvy? And yeah, and also aging 244 00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:40,020 population social factors in terms of. 245 00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:42,620 What their behaviors are in terms of the? 246 00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:48,020 Type of UX&UI experience that they need, How easy it is or. 247 00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:50,540 How accessible their shopping experiences. 248 00:15:50,980 --> 00:15:54,260 Are all factors in which Amazon needs to consider. 249 00:15:56,420 --> 00:15:59,780 I think the other one is kind of just are there any? 250 00:16:00,620 --> 00:16:06,100 Social attitude towards ecommerce versus shop base. 251 00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:12,020 I think that even though you, you and I and those who are 252 00:16:12,020 --> 00:16:15,580 listening to this podcast or producing it will know that you 253 00:16:15,580 --> 00:16:18,220 know you're pretty tech savvy, probably if you're listening to 254 00:16:18,220 --> 00:16:20,580 this, or at least you've got onto Spotify. 255 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:23,100 But that isn't always the case for everyone, so. 256 00:16:23,580 --> 00:16:26,700 I think with the acceptance and adoption of online shopping and 257 00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:29,300 the safety of putting your credit card details in for. 258 00:16:29,300 --> 00:16:33,260 Example that has helped Amazon reach and grow. 259 00:16:33,260 --> 00:16:35,940 To its potential and you know there are still some barriers 260 00:16:35,940 --> 00:16:38,300 there. I remember when PayPal came out 261 00:16:39,020 --> 00:16:41,460 and. Sorry, not PayPal in America. 262 00:16:41,620 --> 00:16:44,500 When PayPal first came to New Zealand, and people were. 263 00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:45,740 Still, and this was only 10 years. 264 00:16:45,740 --> 00:16:49,140 Ago and people were kind of still skeptical of using PayPal. 265 00:16:49,420 --> 00:16:53,160 This is their local bank because it was kind of a big American 266 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,160 company and people. Didn't really know much about 267 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,360 it. In the same way New Zealanders 268 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,040 don't use eBay, there isn't an eBay in New Zealand. 269 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:03,880 There is Trade Me, which is a New Zealand Broad. 270 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,640 Company that owns most market share and eBay has decided not 271 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:10,400 to come into New Zealand explicitly. 272 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,640 Maybe because of that reason? But people won't even buy, you 273 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,839 know, generally don't buy from eBay Australia, which is really 274 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:18,960 weird because there are some good. 275 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,800 Deals on there. OK. 276 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:27,560 I think in terms. Of the fact that there are also 277 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,000 in the socioeconomic, sorry, social, cultural factors, I 278 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,200 think there are some somebody. A little bit nuance. 279 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,400 Steal that phrase from a friend in terms of its offering in the 280 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:44,960 way in which. It deals with customers, so in 281 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,840 like Japan for example, Amazon offers free shipping and gift. 282 00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:52,690 Wrapping like. Pretty much straight away and 283 00:17:52,690 --> 00:17:55,890 and India. Amazon offers cash on delivery 284 00:17:55,890 --> 00:17:58,970 and easy returns, so they're like the variations. 285 00:17:59,450 --> 00:18:03,050 Of what you get maybe in the States and we and I think 286 00:18:03,050 --> 00:18:07,370 Australia is very similar to the states as the UK and but they 287 00:18:07,370 --> 00:18:13,290 kind of are pushed more to or change their offering basically 288 00:18:13,530 --> 00:18:15,730 based on the different countries that they're dealing with. 289 00:18:17,500 --> 00:18:20,740 Have you had any other ideas in terms of? 290 00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:25,900 Social factors or social issues? Anything around Amazon? 291 00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:27,100 You know, being a good corporate? 292 00:18:28,180 --> 00:18:32,380 Anything about that? I guess social activism does 293 00:18:32,380 --> 00:18:37,100 fall into this place. Carbon footprint Union. 294 00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:39,860 Rights, So there are, there are. Quite a few that you could be 295 00:18:39,980 --> 00:18:44,020 focusing on here. So moving on from S, we move on 296 00:18:44,020 --> 00:18:47,960 to T. So this is a big area because. 297 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:52,480 Amazon is not just an e-commerce or an warehousing and logistics 298 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,200 company. Technological factors? 299 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,880 What kind of technological? Factors do we think could affect 300 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:09,640 Amazon? The two that come to mind for me 301 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:16,010 is just advancements in. Technology, full stop. 302 00:19:16,050 --> 00:19:19,890 So Amazon runs, you know, it's a huge company. 303 00:19:20,490 --> 00:19:23,770 It has its own cloud technology, that which which is built up for 304 00:19:23,770 --> 00:19:26,570 its own purpose and now sells those services for cloud 305 00:19:26,570 --> 00:19:28,970 computing. And you know, can independently. 306 00:19:28,970 --> 00:19:33,250 Sell those services and it's really, you know, the almost the 307 00:19:33,250 --> 00:19:35,450 preference for developers to use Amazon. 308 00:19:35,450 --> 00:19:38,730 Because it. Seems cheaper and it's quite dev 309 00:19:38,730 --> 00:19:42,720 focused and they're. Getting into a whole idea 310 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,000 around. Smart assistance you know with 311 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,120 their. Alexa products, smart speakers, 312 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,200 drones, all sorts of bits and pieces that have, they've 313 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:53,800 leveraged this technology and they've started. 314 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,640 Productizing what they already had an advantage on or they 315 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,030 already had as a platform. For their own business and they. 316 00:20:01,110 --> 00:20:03,790 You know, huge into. Artificial intelligence and 317 00:20:03,790 --> 00:20:06,510 machine learning and big data, which helps them, but they can 318 00:20:06,510 --> 00:20:09,430 also sell that, so that's. And they keep pushing for that 319 00:20:09,510 --> 00:20:15,750 and I think that allows them to. Mean that they are shielded by 320 00:20:17,590 --> 00:20:21,550 diversifying their their portfolio so they're not just 321 00:20:22,150 --> 00:20:23,910 ecommerce business. So if people, you know, 322 00:20:23,910 --> 00:20:26,470 consumers don't buy as many goods or there are some 323 00:20:26,470 --> 00:20:28,960 political. In some countries, you know, 324 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,760 people can still buy their cloud services. 325 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,280 And it doesn't. They're not really affected. 326 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,000 One doesn't really affect the other, so that's important they 327 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:38,680 do. It means that if there is an 328 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:42,640 advancement in technology in terms of cloud technology. 329 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,560 In terms of microprocessing, Amazon, you know they want to be 330 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,760 first and so they are reliant on those developments and they're 331 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:51,920 probably also investing in those developments. 332 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:55,280 So that's great and also innovation. 333 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,790 So Amazon needs to be better than their competition. 334 00:20:59,990 --> 00:21:03,510 So they need to. Stay at the leading edge not 335 00:21:03,510 --> 00:21:07,110 only to meet customers expectations but also that for 336 00:21:07,110 --> 00:21:10,150 their cloud product. And they need to kind of make 337 00:21:10,150 --> 00:21:14,150 sure that they are. Moving along and providing the 338 00:21:14,350 --> 00:21:18,430 kind. Of innovation that their their 339 00:21:18,430 --> 00:21:21,990 competitors are offering effectively so that you know 340 00:21:22,070 --> 00:21:25,160 customer and their cloud. Offering our customers can 341 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,800 access their platforms and services anytime, anywhere and. 342 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,080 They really just, you know, want to. 343 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,760 Keep developing and keep moving forward to compete in the cloud 344 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,000 technology space. It is not for the fine hearted 345 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:41,760 and there's actually not that many players. 346 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:46,360 In the global cloud computing spaces and Amazon is investing. 347 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,240 And you know, it expects to get a return, and it only does that 348 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:55,670 by continually innovating, you know, and releasing products on 349 00:21:55,670 --> 00:21:58,870 that note. For example, they have and low 350 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:04,550 code no cloud tool called oh, it was called Honey Honeycomb. 351 00:22:04,550 --> 00:22:08,990 I think I just read two days ago that they had stopped investing 352 00:22:08,990 --> 00:22:11,750 in that product. Because it just wasn't meaning 353 00:22:12,870 --> 00:22:15,910 the sales targets that thought and they just, they just turned 354 00:22:15,910 --> 00:22:16,950 it off. And said they were going to 355 00:22:16,950 --> 00:22:18,470 retire. So that's an example of them 356 00:22:18,470 --> 00:22:22,010 being thoughtful and conscious with their development and 357 00:22:22,010 --> 00:22:27,010 product management life cycles, Okay, moving on to technology 358 00:22:27,010 --> 00:22:29,610 and I know we can go deep there. So I'm moving on. 359 00:22:29,610 --> 00:22:32,010 Quickly seeing that's the space that a lot of. 360 00:22:32,010 --> 00:22:36,250 US plan or want to plan, we're going to move over until legal. 361 00:22:36,610 --> 00:22:40,810 So we talked about. Regulatory issues that Amazon 362 00:22:40,810 --> 00:22:43,090 will have working in different markets and regions. 363 00:22:43,850 --> 00:22:48,190 So it's it's a complicated space so I don't know how big. 364 00:22:48,270 --> 00:22:51,390 The legal department is at Amazon, but I imagine it's 365 00:22:52,230 --> 00:22:54,430 massive. They have to deal with the laws 366 00:22:54,430 --> 00:22:56,750 and regulations in any, you know, country. 367 00:22:56,750 --> 00:23:00,830 They have to deal with ecommerce taxation, all the kind of laws 368 00:23:00,830 --> 00:23:05,150 you talked about before and you know having a lawyer would it 369 00:23:05,150 --> 00:23:08,470 would make sense that they need to focus on that. 370 00:23:09,310 --> 00:23:12,110 I think that and so you know and that and that could be also 371 00:23:12,110 --> 00:23:18,660 around their IPIP so. The laws to protect their IP and 372 00:23:18,660 --> 00:23:24,300 their innovation and technology for example, and they also. 373 00:23:24,740 --> 00:23:28,060 So they need to protect their intellectual property. 374 00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:31,460 It has to do that quite well and making sure that other people 375 00:23:31,460 --> 00:23:33,420 aren't copying them and if people. 376 00:23:33,420 --> 00:23:38,060 Are then they shut them down. And the other thing I guess in 377 00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:42,340 that space a big legal factor is making sure that they are not 378 00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:46,300 seen as a monopoly. And various kind of states in 379 00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:49,860 America could be a problem. So if they're they're providing 380 00:23:49,860 --> 00:23:52,100 unfair competition, then you know that. 381 00:23:52,100 --> 00:23:55,340 Could be something that that their legal. 382 00:23:55,340 --> 00:23:58,580 Team needs to be or prove that they're not doing that. 383 00:23:58,580 --> 00:24:01,220 So that's quite a big legal factor for them, especially when 384 00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:05,620 they come into you know other, other. 385 00:24:05,980 --> 00:24:09,660 Small towns, maybe? Where they're a small shops and 386 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:12,180 they could be taking taking over that whole market. 387 00:24:13,870 --> 00:24:16,190 Because they are in the cloud space, I think data. 388 00:24:16,270 --> 00:24:19,110 Privacy and security is huge compliance with data. 389 00:24:19,110 --> 00:24:22,710 Protection laws and ensuring that custom data is private is 390 00:24:22,710 --> 00:24:25,150 essential. For Amazon, if there was a data 391 00:24:25,150 --> 00:24:28,270 breach on the cloud platform, you know, people would move to 392 00:24:28,910 --> 00:24:32,910 Microsoft Azure or to, you know, another cloud provider, Google 393 00:24:32,910 --> 00:24:35,950 Cloud. So they they they need to be hot 394 00:24:35,950 --> 00:24:38,310 on that and you know, with. Cyber hacking. 395 00:24:38,310 --> 00:24:41,520 At the moment, Amazon needs to be hugely careful. 396 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:46,120 With not only its ecommerce, huge customer base but also its. 397 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,400 Cloud offering where it's hosting other customer 398 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:54,200 information. I think there is also, you know, 399 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:59,120 smaller legal problems. I know earlier days there was 400 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:04,040 some legal when I said earlier days, maybe in 5-5 years ago 401 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,580 there were several. States in the US who sued Amazon 402 00:25:08,580 --> 00:25:13,500 for price fixing like ebox was publishers so. 403 00:25:13,820 --> 00:25:17,700 Yeah, this all comes back to being a good global. 404 00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:22,620 But every time there's a dispute, you know your legal 405 00:25:22,620 --> 00:25:24,900 team needs to go out and deal with that. 406 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:28,060 And of course your payday, but could be quite huge if you want 407 00:25:28,060 --> 00:25:31,700 a case with Amazon so that they are a target of legal 408 00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:34,780 litigation. OK. 409 00:25:34,780 --> 00:25:39,820 And moving on to our final pistol element or? 410 00:25:40,340 --> 00:25:46,060 It is the environmental factor. So what do you think? 411 00:25:46,060 --> 00:25:50,460 Some of the environmental factors are that affect Amazon, 412 00:25:57,090 --> 00:26:01,690 I would say that. Sustainability and environmental 413 00:26:01,690 --> 00:26:11,020 impact I think are huge. I think that because Amazon is 414 00:26:11,020 --> 00:26:15,180 huge in terms of its operation and supply chain things like, 415 00:26:15,460 --> 00:26:19,780 you know, the amount of CO2 that it generates for shipping. 416 00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:21,940 Any kind of transportation company. 417 00:26:22,140 --> 00:26:25,700 Needs to worry about that factor in terms of sustainability. 418 00:26:26,220 --> 00:26:29,580 It uses huge. Amounts of of packaging and 419 00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:32,380 plastics. So every time it can have an 420 00:26:32,380 --> 00:26:35,980 innovation in that space, it can show that it's being more 421 00:26:35,980 --> 00:26:39,880 sustainable. There are lots of different kind 422 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:41,720 of small factors within that space. 423 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,240 But because Amazon does operate. In so many countries, then, you 424 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,440 know its impact can be huge to the world, and it ends up being 425 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,320 a player who you know should be involved in climate change 426 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,520 conversations. They're probably like other. 427 00:26:54,520 --> 00:27:00,200 Environmental factors in terms of of on behalf of the products 428 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,800 that's supplying. So I think that if it were and 429 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,040 may. Potentially as a opportunity in 430 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:11,840 that space is that if consumers were really wanting to know how 431 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:16,440 much COT. Was a method from its travel. 432 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,440 Maybe you could pay to have that offset. 433 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:22,040 They may exist. Already and or include it in its 434 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,640 price or you just make that? Explicit, and it may even. 435 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,400 Be in a position was talking to someone who. 436 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:35,000 Is involved in a company which measures kind of climate impact 437 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,260 based on companies. It could even list for the 438 00:27:38,260 --> 00:27:43,300 products, its stocks, what you know, grade kind of how good are 439 00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:46,940 those individual companies it's listing in terms of its 440 00:27:46,940 --> 00:27:51,420 sustainability targets and that might be they might affect 441 00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:54,140 consumers decisions. And it's all that I bought from 442 00:27:54,140 --> 00:27:56,780 this one company. This company was, you know, a 443 00:27:56,780 --> 00:28:00,180 better global, sustainable citizen than this other company 444 00:28:00,180 --> 00:28:01,500 for the exactly the same product. 445 00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:06,310 Or something very similar. So that's all I had down in the. 446 00:28:06,430 --> 00:28:09,470 Economic The environmental factors, but you may have. 447 00:28:09,470 --> 00:28:15,190 More and I'm sure I have missed quite a quite a few in regards 448 00:28:15,190 --> 00:28:21,110 to that area. So that was the pistol analysis 449 00:28:21,230 --> 00:28:24,990 for Amazon. So these, you know gave you 450 00:28:25,030 --> 00:28:29,630 hopefully gave you a general overview and you know, make. 451 00:28:29,630 --> 00:28:32,230 You think about Amazon as a global player. 452 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,680 And some of the factors that Amazon has to worry about both 453 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:40,200 political factors, economic factors, social factors, 454 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,320 technological factors, legal. Factors and environmental 455 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:45,760 factors. And so that's our. 456 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,560 Pistol Analysis for Amazon. I hope you enjoyed. 457 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:55,880 That so we've covered our three main strategic planning 458 00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:02,160 techniques when we look at our environment, our competition. 459 00:29:02,530 --> 00:29:05,410 And and our strength and our weaknesses and our opportunities 460 00:29:05,410 --> 00:29:09,050 and threats for our company. So we're now in a great position 461 00:29:09,050 --> 00:29:14,530 to really look at the enterprise analysis, so. 462 00:29:14,530 --> 00:29:18,930 Now taking all those insights, putting, putting them all on the 463 00:29:18,930 --> 00:29:22,770 board and some kind of. Big room thinking and then start 464 00:29:22,770 --> 00:29:30,050 to pull out some strategy. And so next time we embark on 465 00:29:30,050 --> 00:29:34,910 our BA Unleashed episode, we will be going into the 466 00:29:34,950 --> 00:29:40,350 enterprise analysis space and we can look at now how strategic 467 00:29:40,350 --> 00:29:43,430 objectives. Drop out of these planning 468 00:29:43,430 --> 00:29:45,710 techniques. I hope you enjoyed. 469 00:29:45,710 --> 00:29:47,230 This week and I'll catch you soon.