亚马逊的核心战略：节俭

    在亚马逊，节俭并不只是提高竞争力的一种手段，而是将“节俭”视为该公司14条领导力原则之一。（公司在网站上称：它“催生了灵活应变、自给自足、以及创新”。）1994年，公司首席执行官杰夫•贝佐斯创建了这家电子商务公司，并且用门板充当办公桌。2006年，前公司员工格雷格•林登介绍说，即使在亚马逊上市多年后，“木门桌”不仅在公司内部依然到处可见，而且成为体现该公司勤俭风格的“经典范例”。现在，公司还会颁发“木门桌奖”（Door Desk Award），专门颁给公司内部开动脑筋厉行节约的员工，他们想出的妙招不但帮公司节省了大笔资金，还降低了终端客户的价格成本。

    这种节俭的意识也渗透到公司文化的其他方面。2009年，贝佐斯在公司年度股东大会上透露，他拆下了公司食堂自动售货机里的所有灯泡。“每台自动售货机中都会放置几个电灯泡，好让广告显得更为诱人，”贝佐斯解释说。“所以，他们跑到所有的物流中心，将所有的电灯泡取了出来。”亚马逊估计，这项举措能为公司节省的电费仅为区区数万美元，但它充分体现了这家身价480亿美元的公司所秉持的理念。

    现在的问题是，亚马逊在迅速发展壮大的过程中，是否还能确保低价政策？该公司去年斥资46亿美元，新建了17个物流中心，结果使公司该年度的运营费用增长了44%。今年，亚马逊计划继续扩大开支，增加配送中心，并且对Kindle Fire平板电脑等产品进行升级。许多分析师认为，亚马逊在这款平板电脑上一直在赔钱。也有些投资者对贝佐斯的开支计划表示质疑。

    此外，公司管理层亦不断进行大型收购交易。比如，亚马逊斥资7.75亿美元收购了Kiva Systems公司，后者专门生产用于在仓库内挪动物品的机器人。这将是亚马逊的第二大收购项目，它甚至还将Kiva机器人用于旗下的Zappos和Quidsi等业务部门。Quidsi是Diapers.com和Soap.com的母公司。花旗银行（Citigroup）分析师Mark Mahaney解释称：“通常，销售商通过降低基础设施成本或者分销成本，能够以更低的价格提供优质的产品和服务以及更多样的选择。”

    也许从短期来看，收购Kiva不免代价高昂，但这样做有助于提高亚马逊仓库处理和配送物品的能力，进一步减化运营。相应地，这样可以增强公司的竞争优势，而且假以时日，还可降低成本。尽管《财富》杂志（Fortune）采访到的分析师都无法量化这笔收购从长远来看可能节省的资金，但他们明确指出，此举的确可以逐渐降低分派定单的巨额成本。（花旗银行提供的数据显示，亚马逊去年的分派成本为45亿美元，相当于该公司2011年营业收入的9.5%。）

    此外，还存在州营业税的问题。迄今为止，亚马逊在许多州均尚未支付营业税，这也是其能大幅降低产品价格的一个重要因素。据《华尔街日报》（The Wall Street Journal）报道，迄今为止，亚马逊采取了一系列措施才达成这一结果。据报道，该公司采取了很多策略，其中一项要求在美国国内出差的公司员工人手一份地图，图上标明了哪些州要求出示公司许可方可进入。此举的出发点是，员工行为有可能成为这些州对亚马逊征税的理由。许多分析师认为亚马逊最终将不可避免地要支付州销售税，而这会削弱其竞争优势，至少腰斩其成本优势。William Blair & Company打了个比方，这就像是某位跳高选手之前一抬腿就能轻轻松松越过横杆，但现在横杆的高度却要抬高6英寸了。

    但是，不管是通过尝试降低发货成本，还是改变Amazon Prime的定价结构，亚马逊仍然有办法控制价格。“我不认为缴纳销售税会对亚马逊构成什么沉重的打击，”贺托维表示。“鉴于亚马逊眼下的客户购置成本，我认为，即便该网站某些产品的定价与其他竞争对手持平，人们仍将保持对亚马逊的忠诚。”

    译者：大海

    For Amazon, savings are more than a competitive matter. Indeed, the company holds "frugality" up as one of 14 leadership principles. (It "breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention," the company says on its corporate site.) That goes back to 1994, when CEO Jeff Bezos jump-started the e-commerce company and jury-rigged a desk out of a door. "Door desks" became a popular staple within the company years after it went public, and remained "the quintessential example" of Amazon's frugality, ex-employee Greg Linden explained in 2006. The company still hands out the "Door Desk Award," a title given internally to select employees who have a "well-built idea" that creates a significant savings for the company and enables lower prices for customers.

    That same sense of frugality bleeds into other areas of corporate culture as well. In 2009, Bezos revealed at the company's annual shareholders meeting that all the light bulbs were taken out of cafeteria vending machines. "Every vending machine has light bulbs in it to make the advertisement more attractive," Bezos explained. "So they went around at all of our fulfillment centers and took all the light bulbs out." While Amazon estimated then the measure saved just tens of thousands a year on electricity, it speaks to the way the $48 billion company thinks.

    The question now is, can Amazon keep prices low as it grows? Last year, the company spent $4.6 billion on 17 new fulfillment centers, which helped push operating expenses up 44% for the year. And this year, the company plans to continue spending, opening more fulfillment centers and potentially updating products like the Kindle Fire tablet, a product many analysts believe the company is losing money on. Some investors have been skittish about Bezos' spending.

    Management hasn't shied away from large acquisitions either. To wit, the $775 million takeover of Kiva Systems, a manufacturer of robots that move items around warehouses. The acquisition will be the second-largest for Amazon, which already employed Kiva robots for Zappos and Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and Soap.com. "Often, lowering your infrastructure costs or distribution costs is the pathway to lower prices for high quality, service, and selection," explains Citigroup (C) analyst Mark Mahaney.

    The move may prove costly in the short-term, but could streamline operations further by increasing the number of items being processed and shipped through Amazon warehouses. That, in turn, could give the company advantages over competitors and cost advantages over time. And while analysts Fortune spoke to wouldn't quantify just how much the acquisition might save Amazon in the long run, they did say it could chip away at the significant costs of fulfilling orders. (According to Citigroup, Amazon spent $4.5 billion just on fulfillment costs last year, the equivalent of 9.5% of the company's 2011 revenues.)

    There's also the issue of state sales taxes. To date, Amazon hasn't charged sales tax in many states, a significant factor in its ability price aggressively. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company so far has taken measures to keep it that way. One tactic reportedly includes having staff who travel around the U.S. consult a map indicating which states require company permission before entering, the belief being that the employee's actions could become cause for Amazon to collect taxes in those states. If Amazon were forced to pay state sales taxes, which many analysts believe is inevitable, it may narrow the lead Amazon has over other competitors, halving its cost advantage. William Blair & Company compare the change to raising a bar six inches for a high jumper who can already clear it by one foot.

    Still, there would be ways to keep prices under control, whether it's experimenting with shipping costs or the pricing structure of Amazon Prime. "I wouldn't really look at it as a major blow," says Hottovy. "Given what they were able to do in terms of customer acquisition right now, I think you'll have loyalty remain even if you see some sort of pricing parity with other competitors."