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Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

  • Organizational Development / MBA EMBA Resources

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Tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change description.

After 18 months of attempting to transition the company to holacracy, Tony Hsieh, Zappos' celebrity CEO, decided it was time to make the change happen. In March 2015, he sent an email to all Zappos employees offering them 3 months' severance pay if they felt that self-management was not for them. One month later, 14% of the workforce had quit, including 20% of the tech department, potentially putting at risk a complex transition to a new online platform mandated by parent company Amazon. The case recounts how Tony Hsieh financed, championed, and ultimately became CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos. A passionate entrepreneur who made millions at a young age, Hsieh was known for his penthouse parties, for what he referred to as his "tribe". He brought the same sense of community to Zappos, which he moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas where employees could "be like family". Despite the company's unabashedly weird culture, it had the lowest employee turnover rate in the industry. Widely admired for its outstanding customer service, Zappos was repeatedly listed among Fortune's "Best Places To Work." When in 2009 Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2 billion, it promised to preserve its management and culture. But Hsieh's decision to implement holacracy - a form of organizational self-management that replaces job titles and hierarchy with "circles" that employees step in and out of according to their preferences and skills - was less popular than hoped. Hence his "rip the Band-Aid" approach, to ensure that only employees committed to the change remained at the company.

Case Description Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

Strategic managment tools used in case study analysis of tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change, step 1. problem identification in tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 2. external environment analysis - pestel / pest / step analysis of tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 3. industry specific / porter five forces analysis of tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 4. evaluating alternatives / swot analysis of tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 5. porter value chain analysis / vrio / vrin analysis tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 6. recommendations tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, step 7. basis of recommendations for tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study, quality & on time delivery.

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Case Analysis of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Organizational Development , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Organizational Development, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change, is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Organizational Development Solutions

In the Texas Business School, Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis. We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

Step 1 – Problem Identification of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Zappos Hsieh is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Organizational Development” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Zappos Hsieh, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change. The external environment analysis of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study. PESTEL analysis of " Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Zappos Hsieh is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Zappos Hsieh needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Zappos Hsieh in case study Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change" should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Zappos Hsieh in case study “ Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Zappos Hsieh in case study “ Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Zappos Hsieh can compete against other competitors.

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Zappos Hsieh needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change

Social factors that impact tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change, technological factors that impact tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change, environmental factors that impact tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change, legal factors that impact tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change, step 3 – industry specific analysis, what is porter five forces analysis, step 4 – swot analysis / internal environment analysis, step 5 – porter value chain / vrio / vrin analysis, step 6 – evaluating alternatives & recommendations, step 7 – basis for recommendations, references :: tony hsieh at zappos: structure, culture and radical change case study solution.

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Zappos and the Connection Between Structure and Strategy

  • Juan Pablo Vazquez Sampere

When it comes to holacracy, you don’t know the whole story.

Leaders of large enterprises struggle to balance the need to make their core business more efficient with the need to move nimbly to new processes and business models, particularly in the face of threats from disruptive startups. This is a fact we know, and know well.

zappos case study problem statement

  • Juan Pablo Vazquez Sampere is a professor of business administration at IE Business School.

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Business case study

Business Case Study: Zappos, A Success Story of Customer Service, Culture & Holocracy

Zappos: a case study in building a successful business, introduction:.

Zappos, an online shoe retailer, has become a household name in the world of e-commerce. Founded in 1999, the company has gone on to achieve great success, attracting attention from business experts and industry leaders alike. This case study will examine Zappos’ journey from its early days to its current status as one of the most successful e-commerce companies in the world.

Market Condition and Opportunities:

When Zappos first entered the market, the e-commerce industry was still in its infancy. Despite this, the company saw a huge opportunity in the online retail sector, particularly for shoes. At the time, most online retailers were still focused on books, music, and electronics. Zappos saw an opportunity to differentiate itself by focusing solely on shoes, offering a vast selection and outstanding customer service.

Early Wins:

Zappos' first few wins were a result of its focus on customer service and its unique company culture. The company's commitment to providing the best possible customer experience, combined with its willingness to take risks and try new things, helped it stand out in a crowded market. For example, Zappos was one of the first companies to offer free shipping and free returns, which helped to build customer loyalty. Additionally, the company's focus on employee happiness and well-being helped to create a positive working environment and contributed to its success.

Management Decisions:

Zappos' management team made a number of key decisions that helped the company achieve its early wins and reach new heights. One of the most important was its decision to focus on customer service and create a unique company culture. The company also made strategic investments in technology and marketing, which helped to build its brand and reach new customers. Additionally, Zappos was able to attract top talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits, as well as creating a positive and supportive work environment.

Secret Sauce:

Zappos' secret sauce for early success was its focus on customer service and its unique company culture. The company's commitment to providing the best possible customer experience, combined with its willingness to take risks and try new things, helped it stand out in a crowded market. Additionally, Zappos' focus on employee happiness and well-being helped to create a positive working environment and contributed to its success.

One famous story that showcases Zappos' commitment to customer service is when a customer called in to purchase a pair of shoes for her wedding, but the shoes did not arrive in time for the event. The customer service representative she spoke with went above and beyond and overnighted her a new pair of shoes, at no extra charge, so that she would have them in time for her wedding. The customer was so impressed with the level of service she received that she shared her story online, and it quickly went viral, bringing a lot of positive attention to the company.

Another example of Zappos' commitment to customer service is their "WOW" philosophy, which states that employees should do whatever it takes to make the customer happy, even if that means going above and beyond what is expected. This philosophy has led to many memorable moments for customers, such as a customer service representative spending over two hours on the phone with a customer, helping them find the perfect pair of shoes.

Capitalizing on Early Wins:

Zappos was able to capitalize on its early wins by expanding its product offerings and improving its website. The company also made strategic investments in technology and marketing, which helped to build its brand and reach new customers. Additionally, Zappos continued to focus on customer service and employee happiness, which helped to maintain its competitive advantage.

Scaling the Company:

Zappos was able to scale its business by expanding its product offerings and improving its website. The company also made strategic investments in technology and marketing, which helped to build its brand and reach new customers. Additionally, Zappos continued to focus on customer service and employee happiness, which helped to maintain its competitive advantage.

Sustaining Competition and Economic Times:

Zappos faced intense competition from established players in the online retail space such as Amazon, but the company found its unique selling proposition in its company culture and customer service. Zappos focused on providing an exceptional customer experience through fast and free shipping, a 365-day return policy, and 24/7 customer service. This differentiation strategy allowed Zappos to stand out in a crowded marketplace and to continue to grow despite the 2008 economic downturn.

In 2009, Zappos was acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion, but the company continued to operate as an independent subsidiary. The acquisition allowed Zappos to leverage Amazon's resources to further expand its reach, but the company remained true to its roots and continued to prioritize its unique company culture and customer-focused approach.

Unique Approach to Management and Organizational Structure

Zappos adopted a unique management style called Holocracy in 2013, which aimed to eliminate traditional hierarchical structures and promote self-governance. This innovative approach aimed to empower employees and encourage them to take ownership of their work. Instead of traditional job titles, employees were organized into autonomous teams and given the freedom to make decisions that impacted their work. This allowed Zappos to foster a culture of creativity and innovation, where employees were encouraged to think outside the box and come up with new and innovative solutions. The results were significant, with increased employee engagement, improved productivity, and a more streamlined decision-making process. Holocracy also helped Zappos stay true to its core values of putting the customer first and promoting a fun, quirky and engaging workplace culture. To this day, Zappos continues to be a leader in adopting alternative management styles and continues to be a case study for businesses looking to promote employee engagement and organizational efficiency.

The Fundraising Journey of Zappos:

Zappos is known for its quirky and unique approach to business, and that extends to the way they raised funds for the company. In the early days, Nick Swinmurn, the founder of Zappos, had a tough time raising funds for his startup. But he eventually found success by approaching Tony Hsieh, a successful entrepreneur, who invested in Zappos in 1999. Hsieh was impressed with Swinmurn's vision and the potential of the company, and he saw the opportunity to apply his own experience in online marketing to help grow the business.

Zappos continued to raise funds through later rounds, including a Series C round led by Sequoia Capital, which brought in $35 million in 2004. This funding allowed the company to invest in infrastructure, marketing, and growth initiatives.

One interesting story about Zappos' fundraising efforts is the company's decision to turn down a $200 million offer from Amazon in 2000. Zappos' leadership team saw the potential for the company to become much bigger than what Amazon was offering, and they decided to go it alone. This decision proved to be a wise one, as Zappos continued to grow and eventually sold to Amazon in 2009 for a whopping $1.2 billion.

This story highlights the importance of vision and the willingness to take calculated risks in business. Zappos' leadership team believed in their vision and took a bold move by turning down a large sum of money in order to achieve their long-term goals. This decision was a testament to the company's commitment to building a unique and successful brand, and it helped lay the foundation for Zappos' success as a company.

Actionable Takeaways:

  • Prioritize company culture and customer experience to create a sustainable competitive advantage.
  • Leverage technology and resources to expand reach, but remain true to company values and approach.
  • Continuously innovate and experiment to stay ahead of the curve.
  • In conclusion, Zappos' success story serves as a shining example of what can be achieved through a customer-focused, culture-driven approach. By following in the footsteps of Zappos, companies can position themselves for long-term success and create a positive impact on their customers and employees.

"10 Things Every Business Student Should Learn From Zappos"

Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, has become a leader in the e-commerce industry through its innovative and customer-centric approach to business. As a former advisor at Y Combinator, I have seen firsthand how Zappos’ success can be a valuable source of inspiration and learning for business students. Here are 10 things that every business student should learn from Zappos:

  • Customer Service is KeyZappos’ commitment to providing exceptional customer service sets it apart from its competitors. The company’s approach to customer service is so unique that it is often cited as the primary reason for its success. For example, Zappos’ call center employees are empowered to do whatever it takes to satisfy customers, even if that means spending hours on the phone with a single customer.
  • Embrace Culture and ValuesZappos’ company culture and values are central to its success. The company places a strong emphasis on creating a positive and enjoyable work environment, and it encourages employees to be themselves and have fun at work. This has resulted in a team of highly motivated and engaged employees who are committed to delivering exceptional customer service.
  • Prioritize Employee HappinessZappos recognizes the importance of employee happiness in driving business success. The company has implemented a number of programs and initiatives designed to promote employee wellbeing, including a “Paid Time Off” program, which allows employees to take paid time off whenever they need it. This has resulted in a highly motivated and engaged workforce that is committed to delivering outstanding customer service.
  • Innovate ContinuouslyZappos has a culture of innovation and is always looking for ways to improve its products and services. The company regularly launches new initiatives and experiments with new business models, which has allowed it to stay ahead of its competitors and maintain its position as an industry leader.
  • Focus on People, Not Just ProductsZappos’ success is built on its focus on people, not just products. The company places a strong emphasis on building relationships with its customers, employees, and partners, which has helped it to create a loyal and engaged customer base.
  • Encourage Employee EmpowermentZappos empowers its employees to make decisions and take risks, which has helped to foster a culture of innovation and creativity. The company encourages its employees to share their ideas and provides them with the resources and support they need to bring their ideas to life.
  • Foster a Sense of CommunityZappos has a strong sense of community and encourages its employees, customers, and partners to engage with one another. This has helped to create a loyal customer base and a positive company culture, which are key to its success.
  • Lead with PurposeZappos is driven by a clear sense of purpose, which is to deliver happiness to its customers, employees, and partners. This purpose guides all of the company’s decision-making and helps to keep it focused on its goals.
  • Embrace FailureZappos recognizes the value of failure and encourages its employees to take risks and embrace failure as a learning opportunity. This has helped the company to innovate and continuously improve its products and services.
  • Focus on Long-Term GrowthZappos is focused on long-term growth and has a long-term perspective on its business. This has helped it to weather economic downturns and remain competitive in a rapidly changing industry.

In conclusion, Zappos success is a result of its innovative and customer-centric approach to business. From its commitment to exceptional customer service, to its focus on employee happiness and empowerment, to its continuous innovation, Zappos is a valuable source of inspiration for business students. By incorporating these lessons into their own approach to business, students can build successful companies that are driven by purpose, innovation, and a focus on people.

“The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication.”

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The Strategy Story

How Zappos “Delivers happiness to Soles and Souls”

This pandemic made people discover their latent Mozart, Monet, MasterChef, or marathoner. Specifically, if someone wanted to start a fitness habit such as running, cycling, or home-workout, he/she would mostly be looking for sports attire, especially for a good pair of sports shoes.

With the shops not yet open, one could still buy the shoes online but it is a tougher challenge than waking up for a jogging session! There are concerns about fit, feel, colors, textures, and many such things. If only one could order a dozen shoes, try them out, keep the best, and return the rest – of course with no extra cost! Utopian, one might wonder.

In fact, this is exactly what Zappos has delivered for more than two decades now, and it has “WOW” ed the customers in the USA with the famous Zappos customer service strategy!

Still don’t know what Zappos is? Let me explain

Zappos was started in 1999 as an online retailer for shoes in San Francisco, USA. Initially named shoesite.com, it soon adopted the name Zappos derived from the Spanish word for shoes (Zapatos). The company was founder Nick Swinmurn’s brainchild and had an initial investment of $2 million from Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin from Venture Frogs.

By 2004, Zappos gross sales had reached $184 million and had received an additional $35 million from Sequoia Capital. In the same year, the decision to move the headquarters from San Francisco to Las Vegas was taken. In the following three years, Zappos grew to achieve $840 million in gross sales and added additional products such as handbags, eyewear, clothing, watches, and kids’ merchandise.

Zappos crossed the $1 billion gross sales mark in 2008. It was acquired by Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion on the condition of not diluting the company culture. Zappos is known for its company culture and customer service strategy. Putting customers at the heart of everything and Delivering Happiness is its main motto.

Tony Hsieh was the CEO of the company for 20+ years, and he stepped down in August 2020 to pursue philanthropic activities but unfortunately died in a fire accident in November 2020. Tony is succeeded by Kedar Deshpande as the CEO of Zappos.

Customer Service Strategy- Theory- Fundamentals

The saying “Customer is King” is timeless and is a universal business mantra! In the business universe, at a micro-level customer is like the nucleus of an atom, and at a macro level, the customer is like the center of the solar system. In essence, the customer is at the heart of every business.

Having said that, not all businesses value and have the same extent of customer-centricity (imagine orbits of different planets having different radii). A strong customer service strategy is not just a feel-good factor notionally but also makes good business sense – with enough supporting data to it. Let us explore the importance of having a good customer service strategy.

zappos case study problem statement

A customer goes through several steps in the customer journey before purchasing a product/service (refer above diagram). As in a funnel, the number of customers passing on to the next steps keeps reducing in every step (refer above diagram). A company has to utilize its marketing budget judiciously to move a customer from awareness to the purchase phase.

This average spends to acquire a new customer is the Cost of Customer Acquisition (CoCA). Companies want this value to be as low as possible. Besides, once the customer purchases the product/service, the companies want the customers to be loyal and purchase repeatedly.

The total amount that a customer spends on the products/services of the company is the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). Ideally, this number has to be high. Imagine all the efforts required for a mango tree to grow from the beginning. However, once it starts to give fruits, you want it to reap the benefits year after year (and do not forget that the seeds from fruits can lead to further new trees – word-of-mouth marketing).

So investing in good customer service increases customer experience which in turn increases customer loyalty and CLTV, resulting in better topline and bottom line. Zappos has taken numerous actions to ensure the best customer service, a couple of interesting ones are listed here.

Factors that make “ Zappos Customer Service Strategy ” Unique

365 days return policy.

One of the highlights of Zappos’ Customer Service Strategy is their 365 days Return Policy. Combined with the free 2-way shipping, this takes away the customers’ risk and makes it convenient for them to order as many shoes as they want, keep the ones that fit, and return the others at no additional cost. The customers now do not have to worry about the fit, design, or comfort of the shoes and try out all the options at home. This encourages people to leverage the advantages of online shopping and simultaneously removes the drawbacks.

zappos case study problem statement

Yes, this policy has meant that the returns at Zappos are around 35% of online order values (compared to the general brick and mortar retail industry average of 10%) but the customer WOW factor has led to increased customer loyalty. 50% of the customers shopping from Zappos do return for further purchases. 75% of the total revenues are through repeat customers. Zappos considers this customer service strategy as a marketing expense towards customer acquisition and the results are visible in the overall increase in the customer lifetime value.

Zappos achieves this excellence in Customer Service by having a strong foundation system of Customer Loyalty Team, which ensures a smooth and hassle-free process. This team works 365 days and 24×7 to make the entire journey special.

The metrics used for the performance of this team are based on the value-added to the customer and the quality of interactions, which is opposite to the conventional practice measuring number of calls completed per shift. There is no script given or upselling attempt in these calls. In fact, Zappos has the record for the longest customer care call at 10 hrs 43 mins!

This customer-centricity is extended throughout the Zappos website. They display the customer care numbers easily visible on every page instead of burying several layers (or clicks) below the surface. They actually encourage customers to call their customer care numbers. They are confident that these are the touchpoints to create a positive experience for the customer leading to increased loyalty.

Moving Customer Support to Vegas

As discussed in the previous section, the call center or the Customer Loyalty Team at Zappos is at the core of their business. It is not seen as just another supporting function or an operational department but is viewed as the most important team, which can greatly impact their customers.

They agreed that high-quality, empathetic customer care executives are essential to achieve this. Keeping the Customer Loyalty Team’s importance in mind, Zappos came up with a clever customer service strategy in its early days.

Zappos, who until then operated in San Francisco, decided to move their Customer Loyalty Team to Las Vegas. Here are some of the reasons why they did that:-

  • Zappos wanted top quality and the best resources handling its customer service, and the high rents at San Francisco and competing ecosystem meant that they could not get the best talent for their budget. They also believed that outsourcing customer service would be outsourcing their core strength. Furthermore, they believed that people who could not connect to their customers culturally might not deliver a WOW experience. Therefore, their move to Vegas (apart from the lower tax rates) was to hire top talent for their customer service team.
  • Moving to Vegas was also dictated by the fact that it is a 24×7 city, and the city never sleeps. If Zappos had to provide 24×7 customer support, the employees should feel comfortable being in a city that operates 24×7. When the employees would step out of work after an odd-timing shift, they should see that the world around them is still up and running.
  • Vegas is a place that attracts many tourists, and hence the culture of the city itself is that of service and hospitality. Zappos, which was truly customer-centric, wanted the employees to be a part of that culture and wanted service-mindedness to rub off on them.

Zap-Post 2020

Zappos positions itself as “A Service Company That Happens To Sell Shoes.” The top management was not averse to the prospect of having Zappos Airline and Zappos Hotels someday.

With online shopping growing by the day, Zappos is well-positioned as it begins its third decade. The digital wave has brought the customers closer to brands making customer interactions more frequent and real-time. Zappos and its motto of “Delivering Happiness” seem to be on the right path in the decade ahead.

To conclude, when Amazon and Zappos union happened in 2009, some people thought it is a natural thing given the customer obsession of both these companies. But an important difference in which Amazon and Zappos complement each other is that Amazon approaches customer service with data, analytics, and such left-brain-driven methods and Zappos’ customer service strategy is more about connection, empathy, and softer right-brain aspects.

Knowing these companies, one could say that between them Amazon and Zappos represent the A to Z of customer service!

-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-

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zappos case study problem statement

Arjun Vasudev is passionate about BITS (Business Innovation Technology Strategy & Products). He did his MBA from HEC Paris with Strategy specialization and Leadership & Digital Transformation certificates. He works for Robert Bosch, building new products in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, and consults companies on Digital Transformation topics. Arjun loves solving puzzles, traveling, sports, Improv/acting, cooking different cuisines, and learning new things. Do reach out to Arjun for discussing conversion of ideas to business, cross-mentoring, IoT topics, or random chats about anything and everything

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ZAPPOS.COM Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Home >> Harvard Case Study Analysis Solutions >> ZAPPOS.COM

ZAPPOS.COM Case Study Solution

Problem statement.

Since the establishment of Zappos – an online shoe and apparel shop, Zappos was the  largest leading online shoe store throughout the world,but the problem faced by Zappos was considered to be an inefficient inbound supply chain. This was due to the heavy optimization of the outbound supply chain in terms of improving customer service. However, the inbound supply chain has equal importance. There is a number of factors contributing to this problem, which include uneven scheduling that leads to the in efficient management of time, issues associated with traffic management and restricted visibility into the supply chain of the manufacturer.

An approximate of 3 percent of the total population of the United States comprised of the consumer base of Zappos. Although Zappos was recognized and appreciated for its high-quality experience i.e. WOW to affiliates, customers and suppliers. The number of repetition of the customers from the 2004 grown from 40 percent to 75 percent in the year 2008.  Addressing such issues tends to be a difficult task, but it is considered as an important measure to be taken in order to provide the organization with long-term benefit. Thus, the key issue related to the inbound supply chain is based on three main following aspects:

  • Uneven Inbound Deliveries.
  • Uncoordinated and Lengthy Supply Chain.
  • Less than truckload deliveries.

Firstly, uneven inbound deliveriescould be higher because of the heavy traffic issues, and in the case of lower uneven inbound deliveries, the staff and inventory management are left without any choice but to wait further.

Secondly, an uneven and lengthy supply chain requires different multiple stops along the way right before the final delivery of the products at the Zappos fulfilment Centre.

Lastly, considering the fact that the arrival of most of the current deliveries of the inventory shipments i.e. less than truckload tends to further aggravate the onsite issues of traffic. The prevalence of the first issues i.e. uneven inbound deliveries were based on the reason that Zappos had a wide-ranging network of suppliers with availability of not less than 1400 brands provided with a wide window of delivery for the shipments. Due to the limited visibility of supply chains with the suppliers and manufacturers, the placement of an order on the basis of the anticipated inventory of the supplier at the start of the month might arrive at any day of the month.

Such considerable viability source over the concern of inbound supply chain which was out of control right at the moment. The wide-ranging windows of the product delivery were thought to the fact that the maintenance of the good relationship of the suppliers regarding the delivery of the product was the requirement of Zappos. The organization believed that they should not question the supplier in order to bring change from the standard practice used by them that holds them in specified conditions. Additionally, the arrival of the shipment was only about five days a week from suppliers with the continuous operation of the outbound supply chain.

The inbound supply chain mainly includes the manufacturing of the shoes in China, which are then sent to theChinese port to China port. After the shoes get boarded, they are shipped to the Long Beach, California with an included distribution of the wide-ranging suppliers through the entire region of the United States of America. However, many of the supplier networks are located in Southern California. The shoes are  finally shipped to the Zappos fulfilment Centre, Kentucky after going through a long process of being on the way from manufacturing location to the final destination.

Unless each of the intermediary stops upheld some value, but the stops were considered to be inefficient and were known to incur the redundant cost. While the last issue that was needed to be addressed was about the arrival of the significant number of shipments as less-than-truckload. This not only results in the increased number of arrival of trucks at Zappos but led to the occurence of unnecessary issues related to traffic problems. Additionally, it was considered to be economically inefficient as the charging amount for the less-than-truckload was more per unit as compared to the truckload shipments.

  Supporting Analysis

Swot analysis, competitive analysis.

The main purpose of performing the competitive analysis of Zappos is to evaluate the strategies of the company in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses relative to the company’s own products and services with its competitors. Also, competitive analysis is a critical part of the company’s marketing plan which helps to decide what to focus on and how to focus in order to increase the market share of the company as compared to the competitors............

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IvyPanda . (2022) 'Success of Zappos in National and International Markets'. 23 June.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Success of Zappos in National and International Markets." June 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/zappos-case-study/.

1. IvyPanda . "Success of Zappos in National and International Markets." June 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/zappos-case-study/.

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IvyPanda . "Success of Zappos in National and International Markets." June 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/zappos-case-study/.

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Zappos Case

  • Harvard Case Studies

Harvard Business Case Studies Solutions – Assignment Help

In most courses studied at Harvard Business schools, students are provided with a case study. Major HBR cases concerns on a whole industry, a whole organization or some part of organization; profitable or non-profitable organizations. Student’s role is to analyze the case and diagnose the situation, identify the problem and then give appropriate recommendations and steps to be taken.

To make a detailed case analysis, student should follow these steps:

STEP 1: Reading Up Harvard Case Study Method Guide:

Case study method guide is provided to students which determine the aspects of problem needed to be considered while analyzing a case study. It is very important to have a thorough reading and understanding of guidelines provided. However, poor guide reading will lead to misunderstanding of case and failure of analyses. It is recommended to read guidelines before and after reading the case to understand what is asked and how the questions are to be answered. Therefore, in-depth understanding f case guidelines is very important.

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STEP 2: Reading The Zappos Case Harvard Case Study:

To have a complete understanding of the case, one should focus on case reading. It is said that case should be read two times. Initially, fast reading without taking notes and underlines should be done. Initial reading is to get a rough idea of what information is provided for the analyses. Then, a very careful reading should be done at second time reading of the case. This time, highlighting the important point and mark the necessary information provided in the case. In addition, the quantitative data in case, and its relations with other quantitative or qualitative variables should be given more importance. Also, manipulating different data and combining with other information available will give a new insight. However, all of the information provided is not reliable and relevant.

porter's five forces model

porter’s five forces model

When having a fast reading, following points should be noted:

  • Nature of organization
  • Nature if industry in which organization operates.
  • External environment that is effecting organization
  • Problems being faced by management
  • Identification of communication strategies.
  • Any relevant strategy that can be added.
  • Control and out-of-control situations.

When reading the case for second time, following points should be considered:

  • Decisions needed to be made and the responsible Person to make decision.
  • Objectives of the organization and key players in this case.
  • The compatibility of objectives. if not, their reconciliations and necessary redefinition.
  • Sources and constraints of organization from meeting its objectives.

After reading the case and guidelines thoroughly, reader should go forward and start the analyses of the case.

STEP 3: Doing The Case Analysis Of Zappos Case:

To make an appropriate case analyses, firstly, reader should mark the important problems that are happening in the organization. There may be multiple problems that can be faced by any organization. Secondly, after identifying problems in the company, identify the most concerned and important problem that needed to be focused.

Firstly, the introduction is written. After having a clear idea of what is defined in the case, we deliver it to the reader. It is better to start the introduction from any historical or social context. The challenging diagnosis for Zappos Case and the management of information is needed to be provided. However, introduction should not be longer than 6-7 lines in a paragraph. As the most important objective is to convey the most important message for to the reader.

After introduction, problem statement is defined. In the problem statement, the company’s most important problem and constraints to solve these problems should be define clearly. However, the problem should be concisely define in no more than a paragraph. After defining the problems and constraints, analysis of the case study is begin.

STEP 4: SWOT Analysis of the Zappos Case HBR Case Solution:

SWOT analysis helps the business to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as understanding of opportunity that can be availed and the threat that the company is facing. SWOT for Zappos Case is a powerful tool of analysis as it provide a thought to uncover and exploit the opportunities that can be used to increase and enhance company’s operations. In addition, it also identifies the weaknesses of the organization that will help to be eliminated and manage the threats that would catch the attention of the management.

This strategy helps the company to make any strategy that would differentiate the company from competitors, so that the organization can compete successfully in the industry. The strengths and weaknesses are obtained from internal organization. Whereas, the opportunities and threats are generally related from external environment of organization. Moreover, it is also called Internal-External Analysis.

Pest analysis

  • Pest analysis

In the strengths, management should identify the following points exists in the organization:

  • Advantages of the organization
  • Activities of the company better than competitors.
  • Unique resources and low cost resources company have.
  • Activities and resources market sees as the company’s strength.
  • Unique selling proposition of the company.

WEAKNESSES:

  • Improvement that could be done.
  • Activities that can be avoided for Zappos Case.
  • Activities that can be determined as your weakness in the market.
  • Factors that can reduce the sales.
  • Competitor’s activities that can be seen as your weakness.

OPPORTUNITIES:

  • Good opportunities that can be spotted.
  • Interesting trends of industry.
  • Change in technology and market strategies
  • Government policy changes that is related to the company’s field
  • Changes in social patterns and lifestyles.
  • Local events.

Following points can be identified as a threat to company:

  • Company’s facing obstacles.
  • Activities of competitors.
  • Product and services quality standards
  • Threat from changing technologies
  • Financial/cash flow problems
  • Weakness that threaten the business.

Following points should be considered when applying SWOT to the analysis:

  • Precise and verifiable phrases should be sued.
  • Prioritize the points under each head, so that management can identify which step has to be taken first.
  • Apply the analyses at proposed level. Clear yourself first that on what basis you have to apply SWOT matrix.
  • Make sure that points identified should carry itself with strategy formulation process.
  • Use particular terms (like USP, Core Competencies Analyses etc.) to get a comprehensive picture of analyses.

STEP 5: PESTEL/ PEST Analysis of Zappos Case Case Solution:

Pest analyses is a widely used tool to analyze the Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental and legal situations which can provide great and new opportunities to the company as well as these factors can also threat the company, to be dangerous in future.

Pest analysis is very important and informative.  It is used for the purpose of identifying business opportunities and advance threat warning. Moreover, it also helps to the extent to which change is useful for the company and also guide the direction for the change. In addition, it also helps to avoid activities and actions that will be harmful for the company in future, including projects and strategies.

To analyze the business objective and its opportunities and threats, following steps should be followed:

  • Brainstorm and assumption the changes that should be made to organization. Answer the necessary questions that are related to specific needs of organization
  • Analyze the opportunities that would be happen due to the change.
  • Analyze the threats and issues that would be caused due to change.
  • Perform cost benefit analyses and take the appropriate action.

PEST FACTORS:

  • Next political elections and changes that will happen in the country due to these elections
  • Strong and powerful political person, his point of view on business policies and their effect on the organization.
  • Strength of property rights and law rules. And its ratio with corruption and organized crimes. Changes in these situation and its effects.
  • Change in Legislation and taxation effects on the company
  • Trend of regulations and deregulations. Effects of change in business regulations
  • Timescale of legislative change.
  • Other political factors likely to change for Zappos Case.

ECONOMICAL:

  • Position and current economy trend i.e. growing, stagnant or declining.
  • Exchange rates fluctuations and its relation with company.
  • Change in Level of customer’s disposable income and its effect.
  • Fluctuation in unemployment rate and its effect on hiring of skilled employees
  • Access to credit and loans. And its effects on company
  • Effect of globalization on economic environment
  • Considerations on other economic factors

SOCIO-CULTURAL:

  • Change in population growth rate and age factors, and its impacts on organization.
  • Effect on organization due to Change in attitudes and generational shifts.
  • Standards of health, education and social mobility levels. Its changes and effects on company.
  • Employment patterns, job market trend and attitude towards work according to different age groups.

case study solutions

  • Social attitudes and social trends, change in socio culture an dits effects.
  • Religious believers and life styles and its effects on organization
  • Other socio culture factors and its impacts.

TECHNOLOGICAL:

  • Any new technology that company is using
  • Any new technology in market that could affect the work, organization or industry
  • Access of competitors to the new technologies and its impact on their product development/better services.
  • Research areas of government and education institutes in which the company can make any efforts
  • Changes in infra-structure and its effects on work flow
  • Existing technology that can facilitate the company
  • Other technological factors and their impacts on company and industry

These headings and analyses would help the company to consider these factors and make a “big picture” of company’s characteristics. This will help the manager to take the decision and drawing conclusion about the forces that would create a big impact on company and its resources.

STEP 6: Porter’s Five Forces/ Strategic Analysis Of The Zappos Case Case Study:

To analyze the structure of a company and its corporate strategy, Porter’s five forces model is used. In this model, five forces have been identified which play an important part in shaping the market and industry. These forces are used to measure competition intensity and profitability of an industry and market.

rp_hbr-case-study-solutions-analyses-300x232.png

porter’s five forces model

These forces refers to micro environment and the company ability to serve its customers and make a profit. These five forces includes three forces from horizontal competition and two forces from vertical competition. The five forces are discussed below:

  • THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:
  • as the industry have high profits, many new entrants will try to enter into the market. However, the new entrants will eventually cause decrease in overall industry profits. Therefore, it is necessary to block the new entrants in the industry. following factors is describing the level of threat to new entrants:
  • Barriers to entry that includes copy rights and patents.
  • High capital requirement
  • Government restricted policies
  • Switching cost
  • Access to suppliers and distributions
  • Customer loyalty to established brands.
  • THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:
  • this describes the threat to company. If the goods and services are not up to the standard, consumers can use substitutes and alternatives that do not need any extra effort and do not make a major difference. For example, using Aquafina in substitution of tap water, Pepsi in alternative of Coca Cola. The potential factors that made customer shift to substitutes are as follows:
  • Price performance of substitute
  • Switching costs of buyer
  • Products substitute available in the market
  • Reduction of quality
  • Close substitution are available
  • DEGREE OF INDUSTRY RIVALRY:
  • the lesser money and resources are required to enter into any industry, the higher there will be new competitors and be an effective competitor. It will also weaken the company’s position. Following are the potential factors that will influence the company’s competition:
  • Competitive advantage
  • Continuous innovation
  • Sustainable position in competitive advantage
  • Level of advertising
  • Competitive strategy
  • BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS:
  • it deals with the ability of customers to take down the prices. It mainly consists the importance of a customer and the level of cost if a customer will switch from one product to another. The buyer power is high if there are too many alternatives available. And the buyer power is low if there are lesser options of alternatives and switching. Following factors will influence the buying power of customers:
  • Bargaining leverage
  • Switching cost of a buyer
  • Buyer price sensitivity
  • Competitive advantage of company’s product
  • BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS:
  • this refers to the supplier’s ability of increasing and decreasing prices. If there are few alternatives o supplier available, this will threat the company and it would have to purchase its raw material in supplier’s terms. However, if there are many suppliers alternative, suppliers have low bargaining power and company do not have to face high switching cost. The potential factors that effects bargaining power of suppliers are the following:
  • Input differentiation
  • Impact of cost on differentiation
  • Strength of distribution centers
  • Input substitute’s availability.

STEP 7: VRIO Analysis of Zappos Case:

Vrio analysis for Zappos Case case study identified the four main attributes which helps the organization to gain a competitive advantages. The author of this theory suggests that firm must be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and perfectly non sustainable. Therefore there must be some resources and capabilities in an organization that can facilitate the competitive advantage to company. The four components of VRIO analysis are described below: VALUABLE: the company must have some resources or strategies that can exploit opportunities and defend the company from major threats. If the company holds some value then answer is yes. Resources are also valuable if they provide customer satisfaction and increase customer value. This value may create by increasing differentiation in existing product or decrease its price. Is these conditions are not met, company may lead to competitive disadvantage. Therefore, it is necessary to continually review the Zappos Case company’s activities and resources values. RARE: the resources of the Zappos Case company that are not used by any other company are known as rare. Rare and valuable resources grant much competitive advantages to the firm. However, when more than one few companies uses the same resources and provide competitive parity are also known as rare resources. Even, the competitive parity is not desired position, but the company should not lose its valuable resources, even they are common. COSTLY TO IMITATE: the resources are costly to imitate, if other organizations cannot imitate it. However, imitation is done in two ways. One is duplicating that is direct imitation and the other one is substituting that is indirect imitation. Any firm who has valuable and rare resources, and these resources are costly to imitate, have achieved their competitive advantage. However, resources should also be perfectly non sustainable. The reasons that resource imitation is costly are historical conditions, casual ambiguity and social complexity. ORGANIZED TO CAPTURE VALUE: resources, itself, cannot provide advantages to organization until it is organized and exploit to do so. A firm (like Zappos Case)  must organize its management systems, processes, policies and strategies to fully utilize the resource’s potential to be valuable, rare and costly to imitate.

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STEP 8: Generating Alternatives For Zappos Case Case Solution:

After completing the analyses of the company, its opportunities and threats, it is important to generate a solution of the problem and the alternatives a company can apply in order to solve its problems. To generate the alternative of problem, following things must to be kept in mind:

  • Realistic solution should be identified that can be operated in the company, with all its constraints and opportunities.
  • as the problem and its solution cannot occur at the same time, it should be described as mutually exclusive
  • it is not possible for a company to not to take any action, therefore, the alternative of doing nothing is not viable.
  • Student should provide more than one decent solution. Providing two undesirable alternatives to make the other one attractive is not acceptable.

Once the alternatives have been generated, student should evaluate the options and select the appropriate and viable solution for the company.

STEP 9: Selection Of Alternatives For Zappos Case Case Solution:

It is very important to select the alternatives and then evaluate the best one as the company have limited choices and constraints. Therefore to select the best alternative, there are many factors that is needed to be kept in mind. The criteria’s on which business decisions are to be selected areas under:

  • Improve profitability
  • Increase sales, market shares, return on investments
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Brand image
  • Corporate mission, vision and strategy
  • Resources and capabilities

Alternatives should be measures that which alternative will perform better than other one and the valid reasons. In addition, alternatives should be related to the problem statements and issues described in the case study.

STEP 10: Evaluation Of Alternatives For Zappos Case Case Solution:

If the selected alternative is fulfilling the above criteria, the decision should be taken straightforwardly. Best alternative should be selected must be the best when evaluating it on the decision criteria. Another method used to evaluate the alternatives are the list of pros and cons of each alternative and one who has more pros than cons and can be workable under organizational constraints.

STEP 11: Recommendations For Zappos Case Case Study (Solution):

There should be only one recommendation to enhance the company’s operations and its growth or solving its problems. The decision that is being taken should be justified and viable for solving the problems.

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  1. Case Study Solution of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and

    STEP 1. Problem Identification in Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study STEP 2. External Environment Analysis - PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis of Tony Hsieh at Zappos: Structure, Culture and Radical Change case study STEP 3.

  2. Zappos case study

    3. CASE SUMMARY. 6. YEAR Milestones 1999 - Found by Nick Swinmurn - A variation of the Spanish word Zapotas which means "shoes." 2000 - Zappos records $1.6 million in gross sales (exhibit 6) - Zappos had 150 brands and 400.000 pairs of shoes 2001 - Nick Swinmurn and Tony Hsieh as Co-Ceo of Zappos - Sustained effort produces $8.6 million in ...

  3. Zappos Company Structure: Holacracy Model Case Study

    Holacracy: The new management system for a rapidly changing world. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company. This case study, "Zappos Company Structure: Holacracy Model" is published exclusively on IvyPanda's free essay examples database. You can use it for research and reference purposes to write your own paper.

  4. Zappos and the Connection Between Structure and Strategy

    June 03, 2015 Leaders of large enterprises struggle to balance the need to make their core business more efficient with the need to move nimbly to new processes and business models, particularly in...

  5. PDF Zappos

    Edge report Work environment redesign, based on a study of more than 75 organizations, argues that the work environment can have a critical impact on employee productivity, passion, and innovation. The study outlines nine design principles that can help employers gain more value from their people.

  6. Uncommon Service: The Zappos Case Study

    In 2005, when the company's call center moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas, an astonishing 80 percent of its California employees relocated--for a $13-an-hour job. In 2008, a year in which the ...

  7. Business Case Study: Zappos, A Success Story of Customer Service

    Capitalizing on Early Wins: Zappos was able to capitalize on its early wins by expanding its product offerings and improving its website. The company also made strategic investments in technology and marketing, which helped to build its brand and reach new customers.

  8. Case study: Zappos

    The challenge. Tony Hsieh, the chief executive, became a multimillionaire at 24 when he sold a start-up he had co-founded to Microsoft for $265m. After joining Zappos as an adviser and investor ...

  9. Building High Performance Culture: Zappos Case Study

    The case of Zappos is illustrative in terms of the difference between service-providing and goods-producing. First, Zappos offers tangible goods, but they do not manufacture anything. The company's employees help customers to buy the items they want, and this support is hardly tangible. In contrast to goods-producing, customers play an active ...

  10. (PDF) Adapting to Change: Exploring Zappos' Self ...

    PDF | On Jan 1, 2023, Wenhao Zhou published Adapting to Change: Exploring Zappos' Self-Management Structure and Its Impact on Innovation and Cultural Diversity | Find, read and cite all the ...

  11. Assignment 1

    Answers Assignment-2 - notes Assignment 1 - Course: Training & Development Date assigned: October 21, 2020 Submission Date: November 4, 2020 before 12 mid night Submission procedure: Via email @ ID: [email protected] Zappos, based in Las Vegas, is an online retailer.

  12. Deeply Analyzing Zappos Customer Service Strategy

    Zappos crossed the $1 billion gross sales mark in 2008. It was acquired by Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion on the condition of not diluting the company culture. Zappos is known for its company culture and customer service strategy. Putting customers at the heart of everything and Delivering Happiness is its main motto.

  13. Zappos: How Excellent Customer Service Can Drive Growth Case Study

    In 2001, Zappos posted 1.6million dollars in revenue. Ten years later, the company's revenue has jumped to around 2 billion dollars. By all accounts, the company's growth has been extremely impressive. The shoe market is estimated to be around 40 billion dollars.

  14. Tony Hsieh at Zappos-Structure Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

    Tony Hsieh at Zappos-Structure Case Study Solution Introduction: Zappos is the company of the United States, established in late 1999.(Petriglieri, August 26, 2016) The company starts from a shoe store and offers all the shoes in the market with all sizes and decent designs.

  15. Zappos Case Study

    Module 1 - Zappos Case study Zappos is a strong and innovative online retailer that offers shoes, clothing and handbags. They were bought out by Amazon in 2009 because of their great success. Their success is due to their strong Customer Benefit Package.

  16. ZAPPOS.COM Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution

    Problem Statement Since the establishment of Zappos - an online shoe and apparel shop, Zappos was the largest leading online shoe store throughout the world,but the problem faced by Zappos was considered to be an inefficient inbound supply chain.

  17. Solved -What is this case about? The Zappos Case Study

    See Answer Question: -What is this case about? The Zappos Case Study introduces the customer benefit package (CBP) framework and the lesson that each good and service in the CBP has a process that creates it and delivers it to customers. -What are you asked to do?

  18. Zappos Case Solution

    Problems and possible options in front of Zappos: Timing of Merger: Zappos has been approached for a deal since 2005 but the management of Zappos has not been sure about it but as per the present scenario where Zappos is looking at expansion and growth it is the right time for them to enter into a deal with Amazon as it would provide them with the adequate fund required for capital expenditure.

  19. Success of Zappos in National and International Markets Case Study

    Company Background. Zappos is an online shoes and apparel company with its head quarters situated at Henderson, Nevada, USA; it is barely twelve years old; Nick Swinmurn founded it in 1999.Swinmurn got the idea to invest in the company after he searched for his favorite brown pair of shoes in vain; he pondered over the idea and he saw an opportunity in the market to invest in the sector.

  20. Zappos Case Case Study Solution and Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

    In the problem statement, the company's most important problem and constraints to solve these problems should be define clearly. However, the problem should be concisely define in no more than a paragraph. After defining the problems and constraints, analysis of the case study is begin. STEP 4: SWOT Analysis of the Zappos Case HBR Case Solution:

  21. Solved Zappos Case Study

    Operations Management questions and answers. Zappos Case Study - 1.What challenges is Zappos facing that may derail its attempt to be the best online retailer? 2.How can training and development help Zappos meet these challenges? 3.Do you think that employees at Zappos have high levels of engagement? Why? 4.Which of Zappos ten core values do ...

  22. Case Study: Zappos

    paper NOW! ⬇️ The unique selling propositions of Zappos included 1) the ability to buy from a much larger selection of styles, sizes and colors than in brick and mortar stores; 2) the ability to receive free overnight shipping; 3) the provision of detailed information and visual access to the shoes; and 4) the "WOW" experience of a customer serv...

  23. Zappos Case Study Problem Statement

    Zappos Case Study Problem Statement 373 Customer Reviews 296 Customer Reviews Pricing depends on the type of task you wish to be completed, the number of pages, and the due date. The longer the due date you put in, the bigger discount you get! Hire a Writer Level: College, High School, University, Master's, Undergraduate Ying Tsai