Read the case Amazon versus Alibaba and answer the following questions:

1. After looking over the similarities and differences between Amazon and Alibaba in the above table, which do you feel will become significant drivers of future success in the e-Commerce sector?

2. Looking back to the content in this chapter relating to Game-Changing Supply Chain Technologies, are there any that you feel may have particular relevance to the future business models of Amazon and/or Alibaba?

3. As a thought-provoking question, do you have any ideas as to where the future competition for Amazon and Alibaba will come from, and why?

CASE 15.1 Amazon versus Alibabal As the e-Commerce marketplace continues to grow, participating organizations have aggressively added to their capabilities and are positioning themselves for the future. Inter- net shopping space in the U.S. is largely dominated by Amazon, while Alibaba is doing the same in China. Each of these two giants has a significant, loyal base of customers, and they both continue to innovate and grow and gain acceptance in their respective geographies and beyond. While their operations have many similarities, there are clear differences between the business models of Amazon and Alibaba. Amazon Alibaba Core market United States China Basic business model Massive retailer for both new and used goods Middleman between buyers and sellers (core business resembles eBay! Sources of revenue Online and physical stores, third-party seller services, subscription services through Amazon Prime service, and advertising Buyer to seller core commerce, digital media and enter- tainment, innovation (charges merchants fees to appear higher on search rankings-similar to Google's core business) Website Single, Amazon Web site Tabao.com (fee-free; supported by advertising) www.amazon.com Tmall.com (well-known consumer brands) Alibaba.com Active customers 300 million 552 million e-Commerce market share 49% 60% e-Commerce profitability High Medium New business segments Online subscription services (streaming music and videos) Online subscription services (streaming music and videos) Value-added initiatives Amazon Web Services (AWS); cloud computing Cloud-based streaming processing platform; personal- ization; development of e-ink to modify digital shelf price tags Stock ticker NASDAQ: AMZN NYSE: BABA A review of these details relating to Amazon and Alibaba should provide significant insight into ways in which these two large organizations are similar, and ways in which they are different. The following case questions will hopefully stretch your thinking to try to identify some of what we might see in the future