Amazon Reorganizes Its Grocery Business - And It Makes Sense to Me

Amazon Reorganizes Its Grocery Business - And It Makes Sense to Me

Business Insider yesterday reported on a leaked e-mail from Amazon about the reorganization of its grocery business. Here are a few of the changes reported:

By far the biggest news is that the "technology" part of the business is moving to the AWS group, represented by VP Retail & Tech Dilip Kumar moving under AWS CEO Adam Selipsky.

Other big news is that big functions in Amazon Fresh, Go, and Whole Foods are being combined under combined leadership, in particular for:

* Marketing and Communications

* Real Estate

* Growth

I think these moves are saying a few things:

1 - Our organization was previously unfocused. The same leader was trying to sell grocery technologies to third-parties, as well as trying to run an actual grocery store. That's difficult to do, and let's streamline.

AWS is moving into grocery tech! That's pretty cool too.

2 - Our brand's offerings and strategy between Go, Fresh, and Whole Foods need to be clearer and more coordinated. 5 years after buying Whole Foods, they can't continue to operate like an independent entity.

I tend to agree with the premise behind these changes. Whether or not they will work out will of course depend on execution, but it gives these leaders a chance to build a focused organization.

Whatever you can say about this, Tony Hoggett, who started in January and spent last 30 years at Tesco in the UK, China, etc., is unafraid to come in and put his own stamp on the organization. Singularity of purpose and a clear direction is often the best thing for any kind of organization, and it appears to be what we have here.

Now someone who knows more about the grocery industry may agree or disagree with the particular strategy, but how you go about innovating and changing is often more important than "what" -- another way of saying....

If culture does indeed eat strategy for breakfast, then Amazon may be on the right path here with these decisive moves.

Rick Watson

Rick Watson founded RMW Commerce Consulting after spending 20+ years as a technology entrepreneur and operator exclusively in the eCommerce industry with companies like ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, Merchantry, and Pitney Bowes.

Watson’s work today is centered on supporting investors and management teams incubating and growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Most recently, in partnership with WHP Global, Rick was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a new turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform that powers AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com.

Watson also hosts a weekly podcast, Watson Weekly, where he shares an unbiased, unfiltered expert take on the retail sector’s biggest players.

In the past year alone, Rick has spoken at many in-person and virtual events as well as podcasts on topics ranging from retail/ecom to supply chain/logistics and even digital grocery including CommerceNext IRL, ASCM Connect, and Retail Innovation Conference.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/
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