This book is designed for people who want to understand e-commerce - and by "understanding", we mean first and foremost Why and What, not How. Why is Amazon dominating the market? What happened between 1995 and 2015? Why were the incumbents like Walmart not able to fight back? What will become of the herd of new unicorn e-commerce companies? And what will happen to the traditional value chain on which retail companies operate? This is not a book about How, though, so don't read this hoping to learn "how to master online marketing". From our point of view, the Why and What is much more challenging and important, whether you are running a company in this market or are a student wanting to break into it. In this book, we'll share what we've learned.Look forward to more than 450 pages of valuable material about changes in the value chain, a lively review of how e-commerce has developed over the last 20 years, 50 case studies of digital business models large and small, three extensive interviews with leading e-commerce entrepreneurs, and strategic mind-games galore for a range of industries. The Story so far: Join us in revisiting the last 20 years of e-commerce. Look into the ups but also the downs of various business archetypes. Also, find a detailed analysis of recent market developments and major players in China. Basic Concepts: Learn about the interaction of all building blocks along the e-commerce value chain. You will understand how to make your customer happy in terms of demand based procurement, distribution, customer service, and much more... Case Studies: Get insights into 50 renowned online players around the globe. Each profile covers a detailed business model assessment and market positioning. The authors give a brief outlook on challenges and opportunities for each of the companies portrayed. Strategic Aspects: Find answers to major strategic questions: How to prosper in a "GAFA" dominated economy? Should I resist the temptation to sell via Amazon? Are banking and insurance the next industries to be radically transformed? ...and what is taking so long in the home furnishings sector? Interviews: Tap into the knowledge of successful serial entrepreneurs and get inspired by the latest insights of Stephan Schambach, René Köhler, and Florian Heinemann. Benchmarking: Learn how to benchmark your own e-commerce activities and take a closer look on aspects such as platform, business intelligence, online marketing, and CRM. Sold over 3.000 times in Germany. Voted the best book about E-Commerce!