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The organizing principles of in Andronico and Amazon are basically common, but there are several difference. The common principle is the genre oriented principle to make consumers to look for products easier. Both organize goods from large category to small according to genres. Amazon has improve its organization by combining the genre oriented principle with the tag based principle. On the other hand, they have quite different principles and design patterns to obtain more opportunity to show their goods to consumers: the story oriented principle and the data mining based principle. These differences may come from differences of their architecture.

1. Genre oriented principle and tag based principle

Andronico categorizes its goods according to their genres and locates them along with aisles and shelves. For example, we can find that Snacks, which is a broad category of foods, is gathered up in the first aisle and second aisle. Under this broad category, there are middle categories: Chips, Jerky, Nuts and Dried fruits, and other similar foods. Furthermore, there are smaller ones in each middle category. In the shelf for Chips, we can find small categorized group (ex. corn chips, potato chips, and rice chips). Because this “genre oriented principle” is very traditional and almost all supermarkets adopt it, consumers, even who have never visited the store before, can easily understand where the goods they want.

Amazon basically adopts same principle. For example, if someone want to buy Snyder's pretzel, he or she would go “Grocery & Gourmet Food (broad category),” next go “Snack Food (middle category), and “Pretzels (small category)” to find it. However, together with this principle, Amazon uses other effective organizing principles; it organize each item under “the tag based principle.” Amazon tags many information, such as price, user review, material, and shipping fee, into each page as meta data, with which users can use them to narrow goods. Amazon has implemented enhanced its organization by combining traditional principle with the tag based principle.

2. Story oriented principle and data mining based principle

Again think about Andronico’s store map. We can observe entrance, walls, aisles, shelves, and checkstands. Andronico organizes these resources to improve users’ opportunities to contact their goods for sell. Andronico locates Produce (Veritable) in first aisle, Bread and Meat in back aisle, and Daily items (including milk) in thirteenth aisle. Most people consume these goods every day. Thus, a consumer, who want to buy only these goods, have to go through the store flour along outermost aisles from entrance to checkers. In the middle of this long walking, he/she would notice other goods that are put on inner aisles, and might get them into his/her cart and buy it in the end. This organizing principle and design pattern can be called as “the story oriented principle.” Andronico skillfully organizes its store resources to maximize opportunities to show goods for sell.

On the contrary, Amazon also maximize its opportunities to show goods to their customers and attracts them. Analyzing the big data, Amazon directory recommends items to users. Amazon connects their items for sell with users’ tendency in the big data. This organizing principle can be called “the data mining based principle.”

3. Analysis of differences and similarity of organizing principles

It looks organizing principles between them are very different except the genre oriented principle. But, in a more abstract level, I think their organizing principles are same. In the most meta level, their organizing principles are two kinds: to make consumers to look for goods easier, to show their goods more to consumers.

Then, why doesn’t Andronico adopt the tag based principle? Why doesn’t Amazon take the story oriented principle? Where the differences does come from? In my view, differences in principles come from differences of their architecture. Andronico has difficulty to adopt the tag based principles. Because the tag based principle needs multiplex tagging to organize goods, it suits for virtual stores, but not for real stores (We have to recall “tangible things can only be in one place at a time.” [Glushko, 2012]) In contrast, Amazon doesn’t adopt the story oriented principle because web users would be very frustrated and quit shopping if they had to get over long distance to checkout. Rather than it, Amazon strongly promotes “1 click purchase.”

Finally, I would like to conclude this brief analysis that both Andronico and Amazon take each organizing principle that can fully utilize their architecture and business conditions as a retailer.

Notes:

GlushkoJ.Robert. (2012). The Discipline of Organizing.