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.