EXPLORING THE ROLE OF DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS IN A GLOBAL

MARKETPLACE 1

Exploring the Role of Disruptive Innovations in A Global Marketplace

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Exploring the Role of Disruptive Innovations in A Global Marketplace

Introduction

Disruptive innovation also referred to as disruptive technologies, can be interpreted as

innovations that open up values to the organization and its market. They include technologies

that manufacture sophisticated and innovative products of the company, making them more

accessible and affordable to the global and broader market (Christensen et al., 2018). Disruptive

innovations have become prominent over the years, being relevant among top online platform

companies like Amazon and its competitor Walmart. Amazon is the leading company in the e-

commerce business, where it has managed to hold the top position in the field with more than 25

years of experience in the market. Amazon has lowered prices to its customers, brought in new

markets and attractions, and be more convenient to its stakeholders over the years. It has had a

record of audacious disruptions for the sake of dominating the market and being a step further

than its competitors.

Walmart’s impactful disruptive technologies

Many new companies have adopted innovations to develop new growths for their

businesses, especially in the online age. Through this, the companies have familiarized

themselves with idealization in validating necessary ideas in the market and relocation of assets

that are significant in the company's growth. Walmart is the biggest competitor of the Amazon

Company (Green, 2019). The company is commonly known for its discounts and the fare

challenges it has overcome in the digital era where the customers have great expectations of its

products and services. The past few years have seen the company make changes that cater to the

needs of its customers.

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It is evident that Walmart has three distinct disruptive in securing market that impacts

Amazon as their competitor. The first disruptive technology is drones, where they utilize the

machines to thoroughly check up on the inventory in the warehouses, which has driven them in

the use of advanced technology. The use of these drones plays a significant role in managing the

inventory efficiently, which is adopted for the majority of the distribution centers. The drone has

a high success rate for the company as the inventory can be checked more frequently. In

addition, they can scan all the items for warehousing and make sure that the products are

arranged effectively. As disruptive innovation the use of drones in inventory management by

Walmart serves other functions such as they increase the levels of accuracy which in turn

reduces the labor cost as well as the dangerous tasks to the workforce. In addition, the

technology plays a significant role in intra-logistics of the company can transport equipment

within the warehouses making them to be more efficient. Furthermore, due to the security issues

that have been reported in warehousing by Walmart security services, the use of drones has

minimized this scourges through inspections and surveillance which has increased the

profitability of the company. The technology is custom-built, and it is proprietary to Walmart.

The second disruptive innovation that has impacted the company's market compared to the

competitors is the grocery delivery to the customer's car door. This innovation involving online

grocery pick-up and technology combines these aspects to ensure a fast experience for the

customers shopping in the company (Green, 2019). The innovations begin with the customer

filling their baskets online. Afterward, they select their most convenient pick-up time and

eventually receive the groceries they ordered at their pick-up area without the inconvenience of

entering the store physically. The whole process is facilitated by experienced personal who

ensure that the customer's essential needs are catered for. Walmart has continued to test the
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grocery pick-ups to determine whether they are faster and more accessible for all its customers

and associates. With the company doing partnership with other delivery companies such as

Postmates, DoorDash and Point Pickup, the sales by the company has increased as they are

delivering numerous orders with daily keeping the company on top of their competitors. In

addition, the technology is an advantage where delivery outsourcing to other companies has

minimized the actual cost the company could have utilized if they made their ow deliveries.

Currently, the innovation is offered in more than 2700 Walmart locations, with an additional 400

being slated (Works, 2019). Moreover, the company intends to implement more locations

offering this service.

The third disruptive innovation by Walmart is the retail link, a software which they

implemented. Walmart has made numerous launches of its innovations that has boosted them in

terms of market sales which has improved their supplier performance compared to their

competitors. With new expectations about the suppliers, the innovation helps the company

improve what is needed and track all penalties for non-compliance for future references. This

enables the company to have more efficient and faster access to the customer's sales data from

the cash and the distribution locations (Heller, 2017). The software gives Walmart supplies the

advantage of access to documentation and store information that they may use in managing their

business. Retailer links may also be used to forecast shopping patterns for the customers so that

they may plan on their discounts which is a strategy for attracting customers. Moreover, the

software helps the suppliers to predict adjustments in the supply chain, especially in peak

seasons. In terms of market basis analysis, the disruptive technology allows suppliers to analyze

the order of purchase of their items which helps in the decision of feature replacement and the

development of new products. Disruptive innovations are uncertain and unsuitable in satisfying
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the customers' needs initially, but over time they are improving and reaching an inflection point

with a good stream of customers.

Amazon has changed its trends to buying products online compared to other methods of

buying. The challenge back then was that few individuals had their personal computers to buy

the products, but it was a shot in the long run. It has since considered this innovation worthy as it

currently enjoys the first movers’ advantage to its fullest capacity

Disruptive innovation change management in amazon

Companies are often faced with potential disruptions from their competitors, which probes

for the commitment of resources to facilitate the generation of new ideas that create meaningful

businesses Amazon’s success is attributed to identifying the emergence of technological

influence through online shopping (Furth, 2018). It is, therefore, a requirement that amazon ups

their game, especially when competing with Walmart that is gaining efficient control in major

online platforms through their technological innovations. Therefore, they need to develop models

such as the buy now ad pay later models to attract more customers.

1. Individual change management

The company needs to have effective communication, especially when they need to

implement new innovations with the support of their staff. Therefore, communication

between individuals will help Amazon in managing the employees and the staff so they will

conceptualize themselves with new innovative models. In addition, it is essential to have a

positive transition among the staff, especially when there is an intervention involved.

2. Organizational change management

In this type of change, amazon can adapt itself to new strategies that support the correct

adaptation of technologies. In addition, it is important to have a well-implemented

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organizational structure that helps efficiently in this type of change. The company's vision,

goals, and mission need to be in conjunction with the model innovation in ensuring customer

satisfaction for efficient and quality products and services.

3. Enterprise change management

in addition to the implementation of the models such as the buy now pay and other Amazon

system innovations, the company needs to incorporate them into its core values. However,

this achievement would take a relatively long time before they are implemented into the

company’s culture. In this time, before the innovation takes shape and starts attracting

customers, the employees and the stakeholders of Amazon will implement the necessary

change that will play a role in helping the company be adaptive and obtain a competitive

advantage over its competitors.

Conclusion

Sustainable disruptive innovations can help establish the superiority of products that can help

Amazon in its competition with peer companies. With Amazon identifying customers as their

core in running the business, they continue to have more customers (Nguyen and Dang,

2018). The company's strategy is to analyze the needs of its customers and cater to their

target markets by creating a significant value for them. Hence, Amazon has made

innovations that are pervasive and incorporated them into their cultures. The CEO of

Amazon, Jeff Bezos, encourages teamwork that comes with innovations that may help the

company. If Amazon continues to enhance new ideas, it is definite that they will be a step

ahead of its competitors.

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References

Christensen, C. M., McDonald, R., Altman, E. J., & Palmer, J. E. (2018). Disruptive

innovation: An intellectual history and directions for future research. Journal of

Management Studies, 55(7), 1043-1078.

Furth, J. F. (2018, May 18). Why Amazon and Jeff Bezos Are So Successful at Disruption.

Retrieved from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/312481

Green, D. (2019, February 19). Walmart's CEO revealed what the company's e-commerce

business needs to do to be more profitable. Retrieved from businessinsider.com:

https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-reveals-plan-for-online profitability-2019-

Heller, F. K. (2017). Technological innovation applied to Walmart and tesco’s supply

chain (Doctoral dissertation).

Nguyen, Q. K., & Dang, Q. V. (2018, November). Blockchain Technology for the

Advancement of the Future. In 2018 4th international conference on green technology

and sustainable development (GTSD) (pp. 483-486). IEEE.

O’Reilly, C., & Binns, A. J. (2019). The three stages of disruptive innovation: idea

generation, incubation, and scaling. California Management Review, 61(3), 49-71.

Works, F. C. (2019, October 21). How Walmart is disrupting its own model to reshape retail.

Fast Company. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/90411099/how-

walmart- is-disrupting-its-own-model-to-reshape-retail.
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