Business process modeling sets up the foundation for an enterprise wide digital transformation and facilitates the leap to digitalization. In our on-going series of blogs on business process modeling, we have touched upon the various concepts, methodologies, and approaches to business process modeling.

Next up, we will seek insights from some global examples, of enterprises which took to incorporating business process modeling in their operational fabric and are now reaping the benefits of BPM, and of digital transformation in the broader scope, in full swing. For the first case study on successful business process modeling, we have picked Amazon – the world’s leading ecommerce retail store.

 How’s Amazon faring so well in business?

Whether you are looking for a secondhand copy of a rare book or a present for your newly born niece, the chances are high that you will find them on Amazon! What’s even more important is your brain automatically considering Amazon as your hunting grounds. That is all you need to know to understand the impact of Amazon on business to consumer or B2C selling!

Its success means that now Amazon has branches all over the world and rules the roost as the largest e-retailer. Last year, it earned $440 billion of revenue, which is almost twice as much as it bagged in 2015. So, what do you think is responsible for Amazon’s success? Is it variety – as in the variety of products that it offers? Does it have to do with the huge number of branches the retail store has? No, it is all about its innovation!

Using the cloud and big data at its disposal, Amazon has reimagined processes to create its own business model. It has streamlined its business processes, going so far as to automate certain parts of it! In this new paradigm, Amazon’s executives understand the need to keep on adapting to the needs of Amazon’s customers. Gartner research reported something similar, i.e. almost 90 percent of companies improve customer experience to stand against their competitors. Amazon is one such company, and yet it has achieved something that few others have.

Key Takeaways from Amazon’s Story of BPM

Let us look at the measures that this retail giant has taken for its name to have become synonymous with online shopping!

• Customer-Centricity 

One thing that has always made Amazon’s CEO stand apart from the rest of the leaders and innovators is his approach to business. According to him, a customer-focused approach remains one of the three tenets that Amazon was built upon. Instead of focusing on their competitors, Amazon focuses on their customers and their needs. If the reverse had been true, the company would be waiting for its competitors to take a step and only retaliate later. A customer-centric approach lets them guide the narrative! Being customer-focused means they can be the pioneers.

• Be Accurate

Delivering on your promise to your customers is crucial for the success of any business. When Amazon publicly committed to make delivery faster, more reliable and more accurate, they went ahead and made this come true! That was yet another reason they stood apart from their competitors – and continue to do so. While other companies worked on delivering this feature, Amazon developed and provided it. Then it turned its focus on the creation of Amazon Prime. That meant the best delivery service in the market just got a whole lot better!

• Automated Marketing

With Amazon using automation for marketing, there is no wonder that its customers can’t seem to stop buying from it! When you purchase something on Amazon, it begins suggesting items based on what you just bought. Moreover, the suggestions show up on the main page, which is why they are so hard to miss. By automating its marketing, Amazon hasn’t just made the process smoother. It has also made it much more personalized for individual customers!

• Inventing what’s Not Available

Twenty years of Amazon have changed the online marketplace forever. What’s more is that it is showing no signs of stopping. It has just launched Amazon Fresh, which offers fresh groceries as its name suggests! Besides that, there is Amazon Restaurants, which is providing food delivery services. Both facilities are limited to the UK at the moment, but it is safe to say that is going to change soon. Where is this innovation stemming from? An innovative way of thinking. Instead of basing every product on the company’s core competencies, Amazon views their customers’ needs and then develops the skills, tools, and generates resources to fulfill them! 

Today, Amazon has come far from where it had once started. It is now the first choice for e-commerce for customers from around the world. However, besides that you will also discover that this titan dabbles in logistics, data storage, and payments. We are all likely to end up using Amazon, regardless of why i.e. for online shopping or selling. Amazon Prime costs its members $99-a-year and now serves 85 million subscribers just in the US. That means when you label Amazon as just an e-commerce company, you are doing it a disservice! And indeed, there is a lot that enterprises, regardless of their size or industries, can learn from Amazon’s continuing success.

Infowise

At Infowise, we are serving as a strategic partner, assisting public and private enterprises in their digital transformation endeavors with our scalable, smart and futuristic tools, software and applications. Our product Infowise UltimateForms Power Suite contains more than 15 standalone SharePoint applications developed to give you the power to innovate, automate and scale up your processes. Our products have been designed for optimum interoperability and seamless integration within SharePoint. Altogether, they constitute the structural foundation for digitization and facilitate your transition to digital transformation.