1. They benefited from this network because Amazon for one has a good reputation with not only what they sell but with their shipping and deliveries. Many people will already be shopping through Amazon and will come across products from these networked businesses. Because Toys' R Us was struggling with making good time during the holiday season which affected their sales, going through Amazon made sure that their toys were delivered on time while also giving profit. This was good for Amazon as well because this gave another set of items that could be sold through their site expanding their business even further. At the same time this also gave Amazon money for doing this for Toys' R Us. This way I believe was another form of advertising for Toys' R US, a way of expanding through Amazon. For other toy retailers this gave the option to not only buy from Toys R Us but also from Amazon at possibly a lower price. Amazon saw this deal as a way to expand through partnering with Toys R Us instead of having to sell them it all by themselves.

2. Advantages of signing with Toys R US was that it would give a mutual benefit of profit and reputation to both parties. That having Toys from such a popular store would be good for the company. It also helped give them more merchandise without having to do all the work themselves. The profit that Amazon would make working with Toys R Us was a substantial amount of money. Disadvantages would be having to keep a promise not to sell any other products of that sort except those that were from Toys R Us, and the fact that it was a ten year agreement was quite a long time to not do business with other companies that wanted to sell toys with them. There are many other toy retailers out there and ones that could come around within the time of the agreed upon contract that could be good for Amazon to partner with. That Amazon would need to rely on only Toys R US to make sure that they kept inventory up to keep sales going and not to delay shipping and deliveries. Also if Amazon didn't keep to the contract what that would mean not only legally but the money they may lose breaking the deal.

3. I believe that Amazon kept Zappos a separate website because it would be a stronger business standing more alone than piggy backing through Amazons site. Zappos was doing well from my understanding and by switching shareholders to Amazon, using their resources, technology, and experience, it would help grow Zappos to become an even better company at a faster rate. By keeping Zappos seperate it let the company keep its uniqueness and continue to grow within its own design and culture, keeping the reputation and customers that it had already, letting the brand name continue to grow. They wanted to keep Zappos meaning the same but having Amazon as a leader/partner made other ideas and possibilities available. They both agreed that between the two of them they had great things to join together with. Amazon is known for lower prices, a huge selection of items, and easy purchasing, while Zappos focuses on the relationships they make (which include emotional connections) and having amazing customer service. 4. For one it was a way to compete with Netflix. If you have Amazon prime for example you are able to watch many movies and other options as well such as TV programs, and video games, including cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, trivia and reviews. There is a lot that IMD has available that Netflix does not. It added one more thing that Amazon had available amongst its many other conveniences. That adding IMD was a fundamental part of expansion.

Case Study Two
Hals Woodworking

1. SWOT
Strengths
*focusing on the higher priced items that are more popular and make more money
*ease of transaction that also cover a greater area
*connecting to the on line world

Weaknesses
*how much it will cost to put the site together and become and maintain operation
*may cause relationships that have been built to lessen as people will be using online more instead in person

Opportunities
*great way to expand their site and reputation
*increasing customers
*possibility of partnership with other companies

Threats
*competition from other companies
*possibility of hackers

I feel that moving the business to be online as well is a good idea. I also agree that the ideas and concerns that Sarah has are understandable. Putting the entire store online may be taking a big risk plus it also makes the relationships that Hal's Hardware has made possibly less personal. By limiting the items that he will sell to those that are most popular in a particular category he hopefully can make profit and reputation while also keeping the personal connections he has now and take less of a risk. I would say that after he has started with Sarah's idea and it works well, then to think about expanding the website even further.
Recommendations that I would list are: finding partners from other businesses to join up with make sure the website is laid out is an easy and helpful but appealing way such as having sections that have advise and questions answered and possibly videos to show how the machines operate.
Have customer service available people are nervous about putting their personal information on line, so having a secure site that is trustworthy is very important have a place to post reviews about the products have sales and discounts be promoting the hardware store as well make sure you have an experienced and trustworthy person maintaining the site have phrases and themes that are attractive limiting the number of products that are available online have the option to create an account that not only can put them on the list for upcoming deals or news about the store but maybe also have a point system that will earn them credit as they purchase each item.
Have meetings that you brainstorm with other staff to come up with ideas show if items are in stock or not and how many of each are available focus on a good shipping and delivery system with different options such as two day delivery or four to five days.
Maybe have the option for translated version of the site