Introduction
Kindle technology is appreciated as an innovative e-business platform that has transformed reading culture across the world. The paper discusses briefly the Amazon kindle technology history and offers an insight into how the technology has been fancied by book readers and publishing firms. Furthermore, the paper illustrates how Amazon kindle has renewed vigor to enthusiastic readers by altering their reading behavior. However, as the technology has footed more benefits to book lovers and publishing firms its emergency has resulted in some problems with internet consumer retailing, the paper explains how this has prevailed.
Moreover, the paper helps in expounding strategic measures that need to be constituted to enhance the viability of the technology at Amazon thereby facilitating technology growth and offering a competitive advantage to Amazon. In conclusion, the paper highlights how the streamlined kindle technology can add value, reliability, and easier access to e-books to readers who value knowledge digitally at a lower cost.
History of Amazon Kindle
The History of the Amazon kindle dates back to late 1971 when the Gutenberg project was initiated by Michael Hart. The objective of the project was to motivate and encourage the creation and distribution of digitized books (Harrington, 2009, p.129). Gutenberg is the pioneer of the oldest e-libraries. Gutenberg projects have been made available to the public freely lack of effective remedy to handle copyright issues has precipitated e-library access using any ordinary computer. The kindle technology borrowed a leaf from this technology and in the year 2007, Amazon launched the Kindle technology in the United States. Kindle technology has seen Adobe and Sony enhancing B2B to benefit from each other for every entity to benefit from the technology. Amazon later launched kindle 2 to be available only to the United State, moreover, in 2009, Amazon launched Kindle DX which was called “the big brother” (Harrington, 2009, p.131). It was only recently that Kindle 2 was made available and sold to formidable book readers outside the United States.
How Amazon Kindle has changed publishing industries and book readers
Amazon has been credited with the incredible variety of goods and services available in its stock. However, the books have begun and gained a center thrill of their e-business. With the incorporation of kindle as a book reader, Amazon has reinvented itself from stocking physical books and digital prints (Turban, 2010, p. 74).
The technology has minimized the costs of stocking physical workbooks by enabling real-time online availability. Kindle and the recently launched Kindle DX have grown fast and have attracted uniform e-readers standards across the globe. Consequently, technology has necessitated an increase in e-books (Turban, 2010, p.91). Publishing firms have recorded more sales of digital copies than the hard copy aspect of it due to this technology.
Kindle technology has been impressed by publishing firms and e-readers for several reasons. The multi-functionality of the device is one of the factors associated with kindle technology. The multi-functionality facilitates any kind of magazine, newspaper, books, and blogs to be read easily (Barnes, 2007, p. 58). Consequently, the Kindle device has the option functionality of linking readers directly to the internet if they wish. The kindle e-technology found itself to many people because of its capability to offer clearer display, efficient and rapid, especially in daily newspapers. This was unlike in the past where the same technology was unable to penetrate the arena of e-books (Barnes, 2007, p. 79). The technology has heralded more enthusiasm to book lovers and publishing firms due to the convenience and reliability to access e-books of their choice.
Consequently, the technology has been advantageous to both e-readers and publishing firms because it doesn’t necessarily need a computer to access an online store. Technology has taken the forefront in e-commerce by creating an e-marketplace on the internet (Barnes, 2007, p. 102). Additionally, E-readers who do not possess personal computers or laptops can easily link up with online stores provided they have a wireless network that connects to the phone, i.e. Wi-Fi.
This facility speeds up and synchronizes the download store collection direct from the Amazon e-store. This provides an environment where e-readers can have an infinite choice of e-books (Hoffman, 2008, p.138). Moreover, this opportunity has benefitted Amazon because it does not need to gather more data regarding buyers buying trends. After all, the data is captured by IPAD and it can be used by strategic management for decision making if need be.
Kindle technology has accommodated the needs of special readers in our society. The technology has helped to consider the needs of visually and physically challenged. Kindle 2 has provided essential utilities for example “text size adjustment”, text conversion i.e. from text to speech this has created joy, warmth for users who are disabled. This has encouraged them to continue reading with much pleasure.
The emergence of kindle technology has brought a new trend in buying and selling of e-books at Amazon. An e-marketplace and supply chain has constituted faster customers transactions and order processing in real-time (Turban, 2010, P.99). Amazon has incorporated pure e-commerce which involves service being offered, delivery methods, and process of ordering and payment methods.
Problems associated with Amazon kindle Technology
The ability to monitor and accurately have an elaborate demand planning management has been a setback to Amazon and kindle technology. They have no clear and accurate method to forecast demand (Hoffman, 2005, p.112). The focus on demand planning and ways of improving demand management i.e. balancing between supply and demand and accurately drawing misalignment has been a poor score at Amazon.
Privacy has been as been another major growing setback at Amazon. The combination of appropriate data with “contents that is comprised” of “digital Right Management” has been a major area of concern between Amazon, e-book readers, and publishing firms (Hoffman, 2005, p.118).
This scenario has provided Amazon with a business loophole to access each device that is located remotely. It snoops it and “disable contents “that it believes to be dodgy. Moreover, Amazon has been involved in disabling kindles and accounts of people for vague reasons for example when a customer returns too many items, this has had effects on consumers because when the account is closed, all the purchased items are also disabled, this would result in a user being broke (Hoffman,2005, p.125).
Leaking business secrets to competitors and counterfeiting as been also been associated with the technology. The DX products and makes Amazon realize the power of business re-engineering by incorporating an innovative and ethical environment in dealing with business competitors. In this era where businesses try to hijack e-technology and ideas before it is fully incubated and put into action. Innovation and ability to sustain competitive advantage, no business idea is leaked to a competitor. Amazon had believed that B2B was one way of reaching wider markets, collaborating with other businesses and customers. This was a major problem of Amazon association with the offshore manufacturer entrusted to develop the technology on behalf of it.
How to kindle technology problems can be solved
Amazon would benefit greatly if sound, better approach and acknowledging management deficiency, uncertainty, and inaccuracy in forecasting demand and ensuring that proper contingencies are in place to deal with the demand that may occur uncertainly.
Knowledge in demand management is a requisite in achieving excellence demand management and stirring customer satisfaction (Hoffman, 2005.p.145). Moreover, collaborative planning and design will help to streamline demand management between the suppliers and retailers facilitating the continuous flow of e-books in the Amazon e-store. Having a precise demand plan helps businesses to reduce their inventory, carrying costs thereby increasing firms’ revenue.
Developing, e- trust and e-loyalty towards customers’ are strategic goals approach that Amazon can institute to have competitive advantage (Turban, 2010, p.148). The issue of snooping into customer activities, closing or disabling customers’ accounts can cause the customer to lose trust and loyalty which is essential for facilitating healthy and thriving e-commerce in the e-marketplace. Specific information being addressed to customers’ profiles should be gathered and used in a more ethical regarding the strategic decision (Turban, 2010, p.108) Moreover, the data collected should be used to analyze customers buying trends.
Counterfeiting and business secrete has curtailed much business and made them dwindle (Pride and Ferrell, 2008, p. 67). A firm that enhances privacy and the principle of keeping business privacy helps in stimulating growth encourages business culture. To strategically address these issues, manufacturers and business firms should be at the forefront of understanding a wide range of solutions, methodologies, and technologies to assist them to curb these vices.
Additionally, the methodology and technology adopted should be in tandem with business executive strategic goals (Pride and Ferrell, 2008, p. 89). These goals should be able to address anti-counterfeiting, business secrets, and brand recognition. The best solution should be able to pinpoint, product, supply chain, technologies, business teams, and global standards.
Conclusion
Kindle technology provides new light on how business can streamline their strategic goals to reach more potential customers and increase their revenue. Proper strategic organization and utilization of information structure in a coherent way such as planning, managing, distribution through the supply chain can result in efficiency, reliability, and opportunity not only for the business but also for the customers, environment in which business thrive in.
References
Barnes, S., 2007, E-commerce and V-Business: Digital Enterprise in the Twenty-First Century. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Harrington, Jan. L., 2009, Technology and Society. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Hoffman, D. L., 2005, Beyond the Basics: Research-Based Rules for Internet Retailing Advantage. California: Sloan Center for Internet Retailing.
Pride, W. M., and Ferrell, O. C., 2008, Marketing. New Jersey: Cengage Learning.
Turban, E., 2010, Electronic Commerce – A Managerial Perspective, International Edition, 6Ed.New York: Pearson Education.