Disrupting the grocery industry: Amazon
Situation
Amazon recently diversified into the $683 billion grocery industry through its acquisition of Whole Foods and its introduction of Prime Pantry, AmazonFresh, Prime Now, and Amazon Go. In the past, Amazon’s activities focused on online sales of books and general merchandise. Now Amazon has added to its existing offerings brick-and-mortar grocery retailing through its Whole Foods acquisition, online sales of nonperishable groceries through Prime Pantry, online sales of perishable groceries through AmazonFresh (that can be delivered or picked-up), 2-hour grocery delivery through Prime Now, and cashierless brick-and-mortar convenience stores through Amazon Go. Amazon’s actions suggest it aims to dominate the grocery industry. Do you think Amazon will succeed? That is, do you think Amazon over the next decade can gain market share in online and offline grocery greater than Albertsons (5.3%) or Kroger (10.1%) or even Walmart (26%).
Directions
In 600 words or fewer (excluding references), respond to the question above. In your response, be sure to do all of the following:
Estimate the likelihood that Amazon can become larger (in terms of market share) than the major players in online and offline grocery.
Critically evaluate its diversification moves into the grocery industry, and point out major challenges to and weaknesses in its strategy.
Explain the extent to which Whole Foods, Prime Now, and Amazon’s other moves fit together into a coherent (or incoherent) grocery strategy.
You may write the case analysis by yourself, or you may partner with one other classmate in your section or another section of the course. Both you and your partner will receive the same grade. Teams of three or more are not allowed. You are welcome to collaborate with classmates as you analyze the case, and you may ask them for feedback on drafts of your case.
Each case analysis must be submitted via Canvas by the beginning of the session in which we discuss the case. If you have a partner, both you and your partner should submit a copy of the case. Make sure your and your partner’s names are on the assignment. If you have a partner in another section, the case is due at the beginning of the earlier of the two sections.
Either use endnotes or hyperlinks within the text to cite your references. If you use endnotes, you may follow APA, MLA or Chicago guidelines for the references. References do not count toward your word limit.
Recommendations
Present a central claim and use logic and evidence to support that claim. Make sure your arguments flow logically from beginning to end. Do not present disparate arguments hoping that at least one of them is credible. Instead, build arguments that support one another and work to bolster your central claim.
Support your logic and claim with qualitative and quantitative evidence. Do not make a claim and leave it unsubstantiated. The articles and data I provide can help you build support.
Write well to be compelling. Use correct spelling and grammar. Make sure each paragraph presents only one idea, not multiple. Omit needless words and avoid jargon. Favor an active voice. Use headings instead of transition sentences. And avoid obtuse and abstract descriptions; be specific and concrete. If you struggle to write well, seek help from the writing center and your peers. If you are concerned about your individual challenges with writing, please visit with me.
Do not summarize the case or write an introduction. Simply begin your argument. (I wrote the assignment, so you do not need to summarize it for me.)
Ask a peer to read your response. Ask them to point out where your arguments are weak or difficult to follow. Peer review is an excellent way to improve your writing.
Read the curated articles and analyze the data I provide in the case folder, but be judicious. Some materials may be more relevant than others. Skip materials that do not help you answer the question or build your argument. Moreover, you may search for additional materials if the content I provide seems inadequate. You may search for additional facts and data to bolster your argument.
Apply class concepts to make your argument logically sound, but ignore others if they do not bolster your argument. Only use the concepts that help you respond in a convincing way.
Your response must be pithy to be both convincing and adhere to the word limit. You may want to first draft a longer response and then eliminate parts of your argument that are redundant or less compelling.
Rubric
Your case analysis will be graded on three criteria:
Quality of logic. The analyst correctly applied course frameworks and principles to the case situation. The logic bolstered the analyst’s primary claim(s).
Quality of evidence. The analyst used compelling quantitative and qualitative evidence to support the logic and claim(s).
Quality of writing. The writing was clear, concise, and grammatically correct.
For each criterion, your case analysis will be rated on the following scale:
Exceptional. The quality of the work was above expectations. It was high quality and showed mastery of the criterion, and then it went beyond to show distinctive creativity, originality, or depth.
Great. The work met expectations. It was high quality and showed mastery of the criterion.
Good. The work met most expectations. It showed quality but lacked mastery in some aspects.
Fair. The work was below expectations. It showed a little quality but generally lacked mastery or effort.
Poor. The work was well below expectations. The quality was poor and showed no mastery or little effort.
The ratings of the three criteria are combined and converted to a point score. The case analysis is worth 100 points. Exceptional work is anchored at 100 points, great work is anchored at 96 points, good work is anchored at 86 points, fair work is anchored at 76 points, and poor work is anchored at 60 points. The points awarded will vary from these anchors based on the mix of ratings received and the idiosyncratic characteristics of the case analysis.
Within Canvas you will receive the ratings for each criterion and an overall point score. If you want more detailed feedback, please contact me. I am very willing to discuss what was done well or poorly and how to improve.
