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can you give an example of such a predator? how many sectors does Amazon operate in? 2? retail and cloud services. they don't make cars, they don't farm, they d

can you give an example of such a predator? how many sectors does Amazon operate in? 2? retail and cloud services. they don't make cars, they don't farm, they don't provide Telecom services, they don't develop real estate. which revenue flows have fallen prey to them? note digital distribution of media (Amazon video and music) is an extension of retail not a different sector. their independent production of said media does count as a wholly new venture but as far as I can tradicional media conglomerates have not fallen prey either.

jandrewrogers 7y ago
Amazon, to use that example, is involved in the production supply chain long before products gets to retail. In many verticals, vendors now use Amazon both as an upstream supplier for their production process and a retail channel for the finished product. If you buy a physical book from a major publisher, there is a significant probability that the book was manufactured by Amazon. They have built up all kinds of just-in-time manufacturing facilities and services that supply all kinds of businesses at very competitive rates. These companies are usually not called "Amazon" so you likely don't realize Amazon owns them. In sectors where this has been iterating the longest, it has slowly turned classic industries into IP holding companies that are barely involved in the physical execution of their business. This is an invisible part of Amazon's business. They've built all manner of manufacturing and production facilities that are further and further up the supply chain. At no point is a business required to retail on Amazon but once you are in their workflow it sure makes things easy for the vendor, and over time Amazon replaces more and more of the supply chain you use. I've watched this from the inside for the entire lifecycle of Amazon entering a couple different "boring" industries and the process has been as impressive as it has been unstoppable. Amazon is not the only company doing this by any means, they are just the most obvious and there are a few different versions of this strategy.
- skybrian 7y ago
  Print-on-demand is a good example. Do you know any others?

jandrewrogers 7y ago

Amazon, to use that example, is involved in the production supply chain long before products gets to retail. In many verticals, vendors now use Amazon both as an upstream supplier for their production process and a retail channel for the finished product. If you buy a physical book from a major publisher, there is a significant probability that the book was manufactured by Amazon. They have built up all kinds of just-in-time manufacturing facilities and services that supply all kinds of businesses at very competitive rates. These companies are usually not called "Amazon" so you likely don't realize Amazon owns them. In sectors where this has been iterating the longest, it has slowly turned classic industries into IP holding companies that are barely involved in the physical execution of their business. This is an invisible part of Amazon's business. They've built all manner of manufacturing and production facilities that are further and further up the supply chain. At no point is a business required to retail on Amazon but once you are in their workflow it sure makes things easy for the vendor, and over time Amazon replaces more and more of the supply chain you use. I've watched this from the inside for the entire lifecycle of Amazon entering a couple different "boring" industries and the process has been as impressive as it has been unstoppable. Amazon is not the only company doing this by any means, they are just the most obvious and there are a few different versions of this strategy.

skybrian 7y ago
Print-on-demand is a good example. Do you know any others?