亚马逊有件秘密武器，很多人还不知道

亚马逊公司和其他零售公司，尤其是它的强有力的竞争对手百思买之间的竞争一直在进行中。现在，新的竞争领域出现了。家用终端的安装和服务市场是百思买及其旗下的极客品牌具有竞争优势的领域，而亚马逊公司似乎正在准备对此发起冲击。

据报道，亚马逊公司目前为Alexa设备免费提供咨询服务，但安装Alexa是要收费的。亚马逊官网上有“选择城市”的下拉菜单，如果它能在这些城市之外的地区也提供安装服务，将具有十分明显的优势。百思买在计算机领域占据了一席之地，然而，未来是属于人工智能和智能设备的。因此，亚马逊的虚拟助手Alexa可以成为亚马逊的“特洛伊木马”，就像派送包裹一样，把亚马逊送到客户家里。

亚马逊将Alexa作为智能家居的中枢系统来宣传推广。公司不止让Alexa为亚马逊旗下的Echo等几款产品提供智能支持，还在推动Alexa与第三方产品的连接使用，例如照明系统和电器。亚马逊深知，要想给客户提供“终端到终端”的体验，不仅仅需要提供智能手机、电视或是其他具有Alexa系统的设备，还需要提供客户仅凭己力而达不到的安装服务。

如果亚马逊与百思买旗下的极客品牌竞争的话，会在这两家零售企业之间掀起一场大混战。上周一，百思买的股价下跌了6%，而这被认为是受到了来自亚马逊新的竞争威胁的相关报道的影响。

在亚马逊的多年压力之下，百思买做出了转变，提出了“重塑蓝色”策略。这一策略将实体店和网店相结合，顾客可以自由选择他们喜欢的方式亲身体验产品。

百思买在与亚马逊的竞争中掌握一个有利条件，那就是极客品牌。极客为顾客提供全套安装和维护服务。相比之下，亚马逊在该领域的经验仅限于提供“联系第三方安装”。而现在，智能家居安装服务看上去已经成为亚马逊下一个要瞄准的主要目标。

亚马逊在其智能家居网站上称，“我们的安装专家是亚马逊正式员工，不是外聘人员。” 所以也就不难理解，亚马逊为何建立了一个核心员工团队，以确保服务的高水准。不过随着规模增长，亚马逊很可能得向当地的独立承包商寻求支持。一个类似的例子是，麦当劳在扩张初期采取的策略是直营部分门店，而对其它门店给予特许经营权，从中实现最佳平衡。

与麦当劳不同的是，无论麦当劳直营店还是特许经营店都能提供同样的产品和体验，而亚马逊则必须十分谨慎地管理市场，避免出现产品或体验不一致的情况。这就要求亚马逊对独立的安装商、承包商和其他专业服务人员进行管理，就像管理自己的产品一样。

拥有自己的司机网络的优步是一个可以效仿的对象。与优步的做法相似，亚马逊可以把项目承包出去，这比雇佣员工要便宜得多。

尽管亚马逊在安装和服务方面还没有建立起足够规模的顾客基础或是良好的口碑，但它在开展新业务时表现得义无反顾。例如，亚马逊已经用事实证明，它可以为了拓展新领域而在较长一段时间内接受亏损，比如它推出的免费配送服务，以及庞大的仓库和运输设施网络的建设。鉴于这些成功经验，就算亚马逊在推出安装和服务时表现得雄心勃勃，人们也不会感到惊讶了。哪怕安装和服务只能实现收支平衡也不要紧，因为它能帮助亚马逊扩大旗下产品的市场份额。

从亚马逊最近的动作来看，为了制定和实施新的战略，最终提升市场份额，亚马逊正在梳理各个零售领域的情况。在便利店领域，成功的关键是送货上门服务，亚马逊可能通过对全食的收购来加强这个领域的能力。在服装领域，亚马逊正试图利用其专利技术来颠覆现有模式，即在客户下单后迅速地按需生产商品。

现在，在电子产品领域，亚马逊的下一个战场是服务和安装。亚马逊在智能家居市场的投入越大，Alexa就越有可能成为这个市场的中心。Alexa是一个集空调系统、照明系统、安全系统、娱乐和音响系统为一体的中枢。亚马逊是否会更进一步地深入这个领域还有待观察。是否未来有一天，消费者在百思买购买的三星电视，会由亚马逊的承包商来提供安装服务，把电视连接到Alexa系统上？这似乎也是有可能发生的。

作者莫汉比尔·绍尼是美国西北大学凯洛格商学院麦考密克论坛基金会技术专业的教授。（财富中文网）  

译者：Amelia Huang

There is a new front in the ongoing battle between Amazon and retailers, especially its rival Best Buy: Amazon appears to be readying a siege on the in-home installation and service market, which was a competitive edge for Best Buy with its Geek Squad.

It was reported Monday that the company is now offering free consultations for its Alexa device, and installations for a fee. But if Amazon rolls out its installation service beyond “select cities,” as listed on its website, it could have a distinct advantage: Best Buy has built its business around computers, while the future belongs to artificial intelligence and smart devices. Thus, Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, could be the “Trojan horse” that gets the company off the doorstep where packages are delivered and into consumers’ homes.

Amazon is already promoting Alexa as the brain of the smart home. Alexa not only powers several Amazon products, such as the Echo, but Amazon is also pushing connectivity with third-party goods, such as lighting and appliances. Now, to provide an end-to-end customer experience, Amazon knows it needs to go beyond merely delivering a smartphone, television, or an Alexa-powered device, and also offer installation and setup, which can be beyond the capability of consumers.

Should Amazon go after Best Buy’s Geek Squad, it would be a major upset in the battle between the two retailers. A 6% decline in Best Buy’s stock price on Monday was attributed to reports of Amazon’s new competitive threat.

Under pressure for years from Amazon, Best Buy has turned itself around with its “Renew Blue” strategy, which combines physical stores and a robust website, allowing customers to experience products in person while choosing how they want to shop.

But one of the assets Best Buy has garnered in its fight against Amazon has been the Geek Squad, which offers a full-range of installation and maintenance services. Amazon’s experience in this area to date has been limited to a third-party “hire a handyman” service. But now, smart-home installation services appear to be Amazon’s next big idea.

Amazon states on its smart-home setup site that its “experts are Amazon employees, not contractors.” It would make sense that the company would build this model with a core group of employees for consistency. But as it scales, the company would likely need to turn to independent contractors located in local markets. The analogy here would be McDonald’s in its early days of expansion, of owning some company stores and franchising the rest, in order to find the optimal balance.

But while McDonald’s was able to deliver a consistent product and experience no matter if a restaurant was company-owned or franchised, Amazon will have to manage its marketplace carefully to guard against inconsistency. This will require Amazon to curate a marketplace of independent installers, contractors, and other service professionals, much like it does in the marketplace for products.

The model here is Uber, with its network of independent drivers. In much the same way, Amazon would be able to utilize contractors, which would be cheaper than hiring employees.

While Amazon doesn’t have a critical mass or a reputation as yet in installation and service, it is relentless when starting a new business. For example, the company has shown that it can absorb losses for an extended period of time while it builds new capabilities, such as its free delivery or expansive network of warehouses and shipping facilities. Given this track record, it would be no surprise if Amazon was aggressive in its rollout of installation and service. Even if it only achieves breakeven on installation and service, Amazon would benefit by driving market share for Amazon products.

By its recent actions, it is clear that Amazon is examining retailing, category by category, in order to devise and adopt strategies that will enable it to expand its market share. In grocery, the key is home delivery, which it may further leverage with its purchase of Whole Foods . In clothing, Amazon is seeking to disrupt the model with its patented technology to produce goods on-demand quickly, after a customer places an order.

Now, in electronics, the next frontier for Amazon is service and installation. The more Amazon can push into the smart home, the more Alexa can become the center of gravity—a hub for integrating HVAC systems, lighting, and security, as well as entertainment and sound systems. What remains to be seen is whether Amazon will make an even deeper push. Will one day the Samsung television bought at Best Buy be serviced by an Amazon contractor who is connecting it to Alexa? This does not seem out of the realm of possibility.

Mohanbir Sawhney is the McCormick Tribune Foundation professor of technology at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.