Information Systems

Task 3

Business Information used by Amazon

Task 4

Task 5

At Amazon it is important how information is collected, processed and used. Here is some important information on how Amazon accomplishes this.

Collecting Information

It is important that Amazon collect information so that the company can improve their business, this is achieved in part by meeting the demands of the customers. Information must be collected accurately, relevant to its needs and up to date, otherwise it is useless. The information must be from a legitimate source or else it may not be used in confidence. When collecting information it is also important for it to be fit for purpose and have the right level of detail because it can then provide everything required of Amazon, making it extremely useful. The collection has to also be timely, cost-effective and accessible. This means that the information must be ready to be used when required, and those that collect it need not find it difficult to obtain. Effective ways to collect information while covering all of these aspects include:

• Asking for customer feedback
• Large scale surveys (online, doorstep mail, telephone, questionnaires)
• National survey statistics (commercially available databases)
• Research (looking into Amazons’ sales figures)

Another example of how Amazon collects information is through their website when a customer places an order. They enter their payment details as the various orders are put in place. All data collected is then processed to become use information.

Processing information

When processing information that has been collected it must be done effectively otherwise time and money used in the collection will have been wasted. The information collected has to be processed so that it can be used, this can be done in a variety of different methods relating to what kind of information it is. Qualitative information (detailed reviews, open-questioned questionnaires etc.) can be processed by reading through the reviews and picking out the most relevant parts relating to the subject (for example, a product). This can then be stored until it can be used. Quantitative information (numbers) can be processed into sales statistics, percentages or just about any calculation the information is in context with. It is paramount that the information is processed correctly because if it is not, then it will affect how Amazon can use it.

Continuing on with the previous example, the information collected from the customers order is then given to the warehouse where the Amazon can build a database of what items have been ordered, where they are within the warehouse and then compile the list into similar or same items to be later used by the “pickers” within the warehouse.

Using information

Amazon need to use their information as effectively as possible so that it can be used to its full potential, otherwise, all the effort put into collection and processing is rendered useless. Using available information is entirely dependent on the kind of information it is. Qualitative information can be used as advertisement (positive quotes about the Amazon service or product it is selling) as well as suggestions that could be taken seriously by the company to improve service. Quantitative information is used for a large variety of things. Most frequently it is to aid sales numbers, used to predict if products will be popular and monitor the most popular products as well as see those that are not selling as well.  

Amazon use the information being collected from sales, process it to find the percentage of people that buy the product on the page and products that also relate to the product currently being viewed. Amazon use their information very effectively for a variety of different things, this much is evident from simply looking at their website. This means that it is extremely important to Amazon that they use their information to its most efficiently. Referring back to the previous example (Amazon’s website) the information that has been processed can be sent forwards to the “pickers” within the warehouse who use the information to find the items to fulfil the customer’s orders.

Task 6

When collecting, processing and using business information many factors need to be taken into account and they must all be upheld to ensure the information’s maximum effectiveness:

Accuracy

One of the most important ways that business information may be improved is by its accuracy; if the information is not accurate then it cannot be used. This applies mostly for facts and figures. The way Amazon could improve its accuracy is by cross-checking all of the information the company is going to release or use, for example carrying out multiple surveys over long periods of time and taking averages or comparing one set of information to another. This would ensure that the data is more accurate and can be used with confidence.

Relevance

A second factor that affects the quality of business information is the relevance of the information to the subject. Amazon can not use any information that is irrelevant to its to the subject. To avoid this problem, after the information has been collected it should be reviewed and related to the original subject. Any unnecessary information can be removed and the remains can be refined (by doing further research) then forwarded to be processed. During the time it is being processed, the information can again potentially loose relevance. This can happen, for example, by not doing the correct calculations or mixing up different subject research. The information would then be irrelevant to the company as it is not the information they need. To overcome this, the information produced should be checked thoroughly multiple times, to confirm that it is correct. Once this has been completed it means that the information can be used by Amazon and it will be of a high quality as it will be completely relevant.

Age of the information

Another factor that can affect the quality of business information is the actual information’s age (date from collection in relation to when it has been used). Due to business moving so quickly in Amazon and thousands of products being bought every day, facts and statistics have to be kept up-to-date weekly or even daily to ensure the highest quality of information within the business. Not only does it allow the business to run smoothly and efficiently but it means that Amazon can keep up with all of its competitors. An example of poorly aged information would be collecting the information on prices of a product and then using it four months later, when the price or availability may have been changed. To combat this, business information should be used upon completion collection and must be processed straight away and used within the next few days or weeks (depending on the type information). If possible it is best to try and update information as it is gathered to ensure that it is of the highest quality.

Completeness of the information

The fourth factor that relates to the quality of business information is how complete the information is. For example, if information is not complete and missing any detail that has been requested by Amazon then it is not useful information. Overcoming this can be done in a number of ways, but most effective is those collecting the information should be given a clear outline of exactly what is needed and those processing the information should be told precisely how they should be processing it. This will ensure that the information is of the quality required by the business.

Presentation

Presentation is a vital factor in displaying the quality of business information. It must be laid out in an effective way that flows from subject to subject making sure that everything relates as closely as possible. If information that has been collected and processed perfectly but no care has been taken in presenting it then the information may be difficult to understand as it may be in a raw form (random numbers, unreferenced facts). If it has been well presented it means that anyone can understand and use the information with ease, aids such as graphs, headings, paragraphing and correct ordering can make the information easier to put across to the reader and therefore most useful to Amazon.

Level of detail

The final factor that outlines the quality of information in business is the level of detail the information has. For Amazon, the level of detail needs to be extremely high due to the ever-changing market and if it is below what is expected then the information will be inadequate. The way that information will be kept to the right standard is to once again make sure that the collectors and processors of the information understand what level they are supposed to be working at and have it checked over to ensure consistency. This will make sure that the level of detail is at an exceptional quality for Amazon to use.

Conclusion

If all of these factors are met, then the business information Amazon produces will be of an extremely high, up-to-date quality that cannot be easily rivalled. This means that Amazon can keep in-toe with its competitors and function as efficiently as possible

Bibliography

www.amazon.co.uk