Chapter 16 in our text book discusses what it takes to launch a successful online business.
So what are the basic steps to create an online business?
There are 3 basic steps that are:
1. Identify a consumer or business need in the marketplace.
2. Investigate the opportunity.
3. Determine the business owner's ability to meet the need.
It is a very basic supply and demand issue. If you have a good idea for a needed product that can actually work - there are chances you'll have customers who might express interest in it.
Amazon.com is an example of a successful online business, that developed from a good idea of an innovative person (Founder Jeff Bezos). Adding innovative ideas to the business is part of what makes Amazon such a great business. Besoz was able to meet clients' needs and made Amazon and empire.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Week 13 - Chapter 15 - Economics and Justification of Electronic Commerce
Chapter 15 Objectives:
Describe the need for justifying EC investments, how it is done, and how metrics are used to determine justification.
Understand the difficulties in measuring and justifying EC investments.
Recognize the difficulties in establishing intangible metrics and describe how to overcome them.
List and briefly describe traditional and advanced methods of justifying IT investments.
Understand how e-CRM, e-learning, and other EC projects are justified.
Describe some economic principles of EC.
Understand how product, industry, seller, and buyer characteristics impact the economics of EC.
Recognize key factors in the success of EC projects and the major reasons for failures.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EC Justification is a very complex procedure. It is difficult to measure
intangible benefits, and translate them into "revenue". How do you measure
improvement of customer service ? . There are various tools that were developed in order to calculate ROI . I found this really cool website that offers all kinds of tips and tools to do so.
http://www.wilsonweb.com/ecommerce/index.htm
Describe the need for justifying EC investments, how it is done, and how metrics are used to determine justification.
Understand the difficulties in measuring and justifying EC investments.
Recognize the difficulties in establishing intangible metrics and describe how to overcome them.
List and briefly describe traditional and advanced methods of justifying IT investments.
Understand how e-CRM, e-learning, and other EC projects are justified.
Describe some economic principles of EC.
Understand how product, industry, seller, and buyer characteristics impact the economics of EC.
Recognize key factors in the success of EC projects and the major reasons for failures.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EC Justification is a very complex procedure. It is difficult to measure
intangible benefits, and translate them into "revenue". How do you measure
improvement of customer service ? . There are various tools that were developed in order to calculate ROI . I found this really cool website that offers all kinds of tips and tools to do so.
http://www.wilsonweb.com/ecommerce/index.htm
Week # 12 E-Commerce Strategy and Global EC
chapter 14 objectives:
Describe the strategic planning process.
Describe the purpose and content of a business plan.
Understand how e-commerce impacts the strategic planning process.
Understand how to formulate, justify, and prioritize EC applications.
Describe strategy implementation and assessment, including the use of metrics.
Evaluate the issues involved in global EC.
Analyze the impact of EC on small and medium-sized businesses.
--------------------------------------------------------------
More and more businesses are going global when it comes to E-Commerce.
I think that this is an important issue and a critical factor when it comes to the highly competitive market of e-commerce. If geographical location comes out of the equasion - why not go global and expand business ?
Take a look at Ikea.com. From a small swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea has grown into a world wide business. Globalization plays a huge role in the expansion of
this company. In Israel, for example, the menu at the Ikea cafeteria offers Israeli food, the web site is designed in Hebrew with prices in local currency. These are just a couple of small examples that a company should consider when going global.
going global with your web site is a necessity for the future of your organization rather than an option.
With the advent of E-commerce, many in the world are able to compete in global markets regardless of language, and cultural barriers, physical distance and national boundaries since products, services, and transaction processes can be re-engineered to adjust to changing business environments. E-commerce has evolved through the basic E-mail and electronic data interchange of the past few years to the sophisticated Web based interactive systems today. What will happen in the future is left to our creative imagination and the potentials are very high. Globalization is bound to succeed in the world due to the enormous economic benefits that can be accrued by it. Internet and E-commerce which have been responsible for continuing gradual removal of barriers of language, culture and national boundaries will help globalization and accelerate international trade.
Describe the strategic planning process.
Describe the purpose and content of a business plan.
Understand how e-commerce impacts the strategic planning process.
Understand how to formulate, justify, and prioritize EC applications.
Describe strategy implementation and assessment, including the use of metrics.
Evaluate the issues involved in global EC.
Analyze the impact of EC on small and medium-sized businesses.
--------------------------------------------------------------
More and more businesses are going global when it comes to E-Commerce.
I think that this is an important issue and a critical factor when it comes to the highly competitive market of e-commerce. If geographical location comes out of the equasion - why not go global and expand business ?
Take a look at Ikea.com. From a small swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea has grown into a world wide business. Globalization plays a huge role in the expansion of
this company. In Israel, for example, the menu at the Ikea cafeteria offers Israeli food, the web site is designed in Hebrew with prices in local currency. These are just a couple of small examples that a company should consider when going global.
going global with your web site is a necessity for the future of your organization rather than an option.
With the advent of E-commerce, many in the world are able to compete in global markets regardless of language, and cultural barriers, physical distance and national boundaries since products, services, and transaction processes can be re-engineered to adjust to changing business environments. E-commerce has evolved through the basic E-mail and electronic data interchange of the past few years to the sophisticated Web based interactive systems today. What will happen in the future is left to our creative imagination and the potentials are very high. Globalization is bound to succeed in the world due to the enormous economic benefits that can be accrued by it. Internet and E-commerce which have been responsible for continuing gradual removal of barriers of language, culture and national boundaries will help globalization and accelerate international trade.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Week # 11 - Order fulfillment, Ecrm, and other support services.
Chapter 13 Objectives:
Describe the role of support services in EC.
Define EC order fulfillment and describe the EC order fulfillment process.
Describe the major problems of EC order fulfillment.
Describe various solutions to EC order fulfillment problems.
Describe CRM, its methods, and its relationship with EC.
Describe eCRM implementation and tools.
Describe other EC support services.
Discuss the drivers of outsourcing support services.
When discussing order fulfillment, it is inevitable to mention Amazon.com.
Amazon.com is a giant e-tailer, probably one of the most successful e-businesses
nowadays, and mostly thanks for its excellent order fulfillment and logistics.
Other support services are security, payment systems, infrastructure and technology.
Describe the role of support services in EC.
Define EC order fulfillment and describe the EC order fulfillment process.
Describe the major problems of EC order fulfillment.
Describe various solutions to EC order fulfillment problems.
Describe CRM, its methods, and its relationship with EC.
Describe eCRM implementation and tools.
Describe other EC support services.
Discuss the drivers of outsourcing support services.
When discussing order fulfillment, it is inevitable to mention Amazon.com.
Amazon.com is a giant e-tailer, probably one of the most successful e-businesses
nowadays, and mostly thanks for its excellent order fulfillment and logistics.
Other support services are security, payment systems, infrastructure and technology.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Week # 10 - E-Commerce Security & Electronic payment systems
Chapter 11 objectives:
Explain EC-related crimes and why they cannot be stopped.
Describe an EC security strategy and why a life cycle approach is needed.
Describe the information assurance security principles.
Describe EC security issues from the perspective of customers and e-businesses.
Identify the major EC security threats, vulnerabilities, and risk
Identify and describe common EC threats and attacks.
Identify and assess major technologies and methods for securing EC communications.
Identify and assess major technologies for information assurance and protection of EC networks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EC related crimes occur more often than you know.
I have been using craigslist.org as a selling tool for used furniture etc;.
Everytime I have posted an ad, I have been contacted by an individual (each time a different one I guess) who showed a great interest in "the item" I was selling and was willing to pay extra if I'd be willing to hold the item for him. The first time I received such an email - I immediately suspected phishing. The individual tried to lure me into receiving a money order for a higher amount than what I resquested, then wire the balance via "Western Union" to a "friend" of his.
Apparently, the "money order" sent to sellers was always a fake one, and if the seller did what he was asked to do and wire the balance to a third party via Western union - the bank would have held him responsible for the fake money order, and he would loose all the money.
My immediate reaction was to send a complaint to the Internet Crime center,
post a warning ad on Clist to warn others about the spammers, and then email the spammer telling him that he has been reported to the internet crime center and that he should beware.
At some point these e-mails stopped. But I am sure that other users of Craigslist
still get them from time to time.
Craigslist offers warnings and ways to fight internet fraud and scams right here:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html
This article discusses more fraud issues on craigslist
http://www.legit411.com/IDTheft/craigtslist-identity-theft.html
Explain EC-related crimes and why they cannot be stopped.
Describe an EC security strategy and why a life cycle approach is needed.
Describe the information assurance security principles.
Describe EC security issues from the perspective of customers and e-businesses.
Identify the major EC security threats, vulnerabilities, and risk
Identify and describe common EC threats and attacks.
Identify and assess major technologies and methods for securing EC communications.
Identify and assess major technologies for information assurance and protection of EC networks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EC related crimes occur more often than you know.
I have been using craigslist.org as a selling tool for used furniture etc;.
Everytime I have posted an ad, I have been contacted by an individual (each time a different one I guess) who showed a great interest in "the item" I was selling and was willing to pay extra if I'd be willing to hold the item for him. The first time I received such an email - I immediately suspected phishing. The individual tried to lure me into receiving a money order for a higher amount than what I resquested, then wire the balance via "Western Union" to a "friend" of his.
Apparently, the "money order" sent to sellers was always a fake one, and if the seller did what he was asked to do and wire the balance to a third party via Western union - the bank would have held him responsible for the fake money order, and he would loose all the money.
My immediate reaction was to send a complaint to the Internet Crime center,
post a warning ad on Clist to warn others about the spammers, and then email the spammer telling him that he has been reported to the internet crime center and that he should beware.
At some point these e-mails stopped. But I am sure that other users of Craigslist
still get them from time to time.
Craigslist offers warnings and ways to fight internet fraud and scams right here:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html
This article discusses more fraud issues on craigslist
http://www.legit411.com/IDTheft/craigtslist-identity-theft.html
Week # 9 - Dynamic Trading: E-Auctions, Bartering, and Negotiations
Chapter 10 Objectives:
Define the various types of e-auctions and list their characteristics.
Describe forward and reverse auctions.
Describe the benefits and limitations of e-auctions.
Describe some unique e-auction models.
Describe the various services that support e-auctions.
Describe bartering and negotiating.
Describe the hazards of e-auction fraud and discuss possible countermeasures.
Describe e-auction deployment and implementation issues.
Analyze mobile and future directions of e-auctions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
When I think about dynamic trading and e-auctions - I automatically think
about Ebay. Ebay is probably one of the most successful and profitable e-businesses.
Who doesn't use Ebay ? for a while I was using ebay as a tool to sell designer cloths
that I bought for bargain prices at reduced-cost stores such as TJ Maxx.
Nowadays, I use ebay mostly to buy products that cannot be bought at regular retail stores; such as expensive hair products, cosmetics etc' . I can use Ebay's search engine to find good deals. It is not too complicated to win an auction on ebay, although sometimes the competition between bidders can bring the final price up, to the point that it is not considered a bargain anymore. So knowing how to bid and when to stop bidding is important too.
When selling goods on Ebay one needs to perform some market research beforehand,
and make sure the item put on auction has a good demand on the market. A Search for similar products or identical products should be done in order to determine a starting bidding price that has some kind of an advantage.
Excellent customer service is a key point on Ebay. Sellers must maintain good reputation by granting customers with good service, and in return obtaining good feedback. Bidders should always check the sellers feedback to see if there are any major complaints about products, service, shipping etc'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an interesting article from businessweek.com about a small business in Cambridge called
cMarket. It manages online charity auctions, like the ones you have at churches . cMarket has been selling its auctioning services to Non Profit organizations since 2003. This article is from Nov 2006 (not that it matters).
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2006/sb20061101_288379.htm?chan=search
Define the various types of e-auctions and list their characteristics.
Describe forward and reverse auctions.
Describe the benefits and limitations of e-auctions.
Describe some unique e-auction models.
Describe the various services that support e-auctions.
Describe bartering and negotiating.
Describe the hazards of e-auction fraud and discuss possible countermeasures.
Describe e-auction deployment and implementation issues.
Analyze mobile and future directions of e-auctions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
When I think about dynamic trading and e-auctions - I automatically think
about Ebay. Ebay is probably one of the most successful and profitable e-businesses.
Who doesn't use Ebay ? for a while I was using ebay as a tool to sell designer cloths
that I bought for bargain prices at reduced-cost stores such as TJ Maxx.
Nowadays, I use ebay mostly to buy products that cannot be bought at regular retail stores; such as expensive hair products, cosmetics etc' . I can use Ebay's search engine to find good deals. It is not too complicated to win an auction on ebay, although sometimes the competition between bidders can bring the final price up, to the point that it is not considered a bargain anymore. So knowing how to bid and when to stop bidding is important too.
When selling goods on Ebay one needs to perform some market research beforehand,
and make sure the item put on auction has a good demand on the market. A Search for similar products or identical products should be done in order to determine a starting bidding price that has some kind of an advantage.
Excellent customer service is a key point on Ebay. Sellers must maintain good reputation by granting customers with good service, and in return obtaining good feedback. Bidders should always check the sellers feedback to see if there are any major complaints about products, service, shipping etc'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an interesting article from businessweek.com about a small business in Cambridge called
cMarket. It manages online charity auctions, like the ones you have at churches . cMarket has been selling its auctioning services to Non Profit organizations since 2003. This article is from Nov 2006 (not that it matters).
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2006/sb20061101_288379.htm?chan=search
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Week # 8 - Mobile Computing and Commerce and Pervasive Computing
Chapter's objectives:
Describe the mobile computing environment that supports m-commerce (devices, software, services).
Describe the four major types of wireless telecommunications networks.
Define mobile commerce and understand its relationship to e-commerce.
Discuss the value-added attributes, benefits, and fundamental drivers of m-commerce.
Discuss m-commerce applications in finance, shopping, advertising, and provision of content.
Describe the application of m-commerce within organizations.
Understand B2B and supply chain management applications of m-commerce.
Describe consumer and personal applications of m-commerce.
Understand the technologies and potential application of location-based m-commerce.
Describe the major inhibitors and barriers of m-commerce.
Discuss the key characteristics and current uses of pervasive computing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using a wireless device has become pretty much part of everyone's life.
From cell phones to laptops, blackberries and other devices - it seems like we can't do without them nowadays.
I have been very attached to my Dell laptop computer and have been using it
everywhere - in the coffee shop, at school, in the library, even outside on my deck.
Using a wireless network at my own home has allowed me to even do my homework from other locations in the house, not necessarily in my office.
It's been great !
I can save all my documents on my laptop, do my homework, check my email...
Checking my e-mail through my mobile phone has been an advatage as well,
because sometimes I just have to check my e-mail account quickly without having to turn on my laptop if I am outside the house. It's very convenient when there's no wireless network where I am at.
I haven't been really shopping through my mobile devices, but I have used my phone to search the internet for driving directions, and to download ring tones for which I had to pay, so it's basically considered as shopping via your cell phone.
I can definitely understand how MCommerce is described as an extension of E-Commerce; it actually expands M-commerce because of the following reasons:
MC is available at any place, any time.
MC is Convenient for users and the use of mobile computing devices is becoming even more functional and easy while the devices themselves are becoming even smaller and easier to carry around.
Mc is highly interactive as it allows users to immediately respond and take action.
Mc is more personalized because the mobile devices are personalized compared to public devices such as computers at libraries and internet-cafes etc’.
MC offers Localization – which means that it allows sellers to offers services that are relevant to the location of the customer at the same moment.
All above advantages allow MCommerce to open new windows of opportunity in the E-commerce field. In addition to that, the marketing culture today supports excellence in service, and M-commerce enables that because of increased availability
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article of the week:
This is an article from BusinessWeek about the slow penetration of MCommerce into China, and
it demonstrates why it is important that there will be a proper infrastructure for MCommerce.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070510_194701.htm?chan=search
Describe the mobile computing environment that supports m-commerce (devices, software, services).
Describe the four major types of wireless telecommunications networks.
Define mobile commerce and understand its relationship to e-commerce.
Discuss the value-added attributes, benefits, and fundamental drivers of m-commerce.
Discuss m-commerce applications in finance, shopping, advertising, and provision of content.
Describe the application of m-commerce within organizations.
Understand B2B and supply chain management applications of m-commerce.
Describe consumer and personal applications of m-commerce.
Understand the technologies and potential application of location-based m-commerce.
Describe the major inhibitors and barriers of m-commerce.
Discuss the key characteristics and current uses of pervasive computing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using a wireless device has become pretty much part of everyone's life.
From cell phones to laptops, blackberries and other devices - it seems like we can't do without them nowadays.
I have been very attached to my Dell laptop computer and have been using it
everywhere - in the coffee shop, at school, in the library, even outside on my deck.
Using a wireless network at my own home has allowed me to even do my homework from other locations in the house, not necessarily in my office.
It's been great !
I can save all my documents on my laptop, do my homework, check my email...
Checking my e-mail through my mobile phone has been an advatage as well,
because sometimes I just have to check my e-mail account quickly without having to turn on my laptop if I am outside the house. It's very convenient when there's no wireless network where I am at.
I haven't been really shopping through my mobile devices, but I have used my phone to search the internet for driving directions, and to download ring tones for which I had to pay, so it's basically considered as shopping via your cell phone.
I can definitely understand how MCommerce is described as an extension of E-Commerce; it actually expands M-commerce because of the following reasons:
MC is available at any place, any time.
MC is Convenient for users and the use of mobile computing devices is becoming even more functional and easy while the devices themselves are becoming even smaller and easier to carry around.
Mc is highly interactive as it allows users to immediately respond and take action.
Mc is more personalized because the mobile devices are personalized compared to public devices such as computers at libraries and internet-cafes etc’.
MC offers Localization – which means that it allows sellers to offers services that are relevant to the location of the customer at the same moment.
All above advantages allow MCommerce to open new windows of opportunity in the E-commerce field. In addition to that, the marketing culture today supports excellence in service, and M-commerce enables that because of increased availability
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article of the week:
This is an article from BusinessWeek about the slow penetration of MCommerce into China, and
it demonstrates why it is important that there will be a proper infrastructure for MCommerce.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070510_194701.htm?chan=search
Friday, March 7, 2008
Week # 7 - Innovative EC systems
From E-Government and E-Learning to Consumer to Consumer commerce.
Chapter 8 learning objectives:
Describe various e-government initiatives.
Describe e-learning, virtual universities, and e-training.
Describe online publishing and e-books.
Discuss wikis and blogging.
Describe knowledge management and dissemination as an e-business.
Describe C2C activities.
Describe peer-to-peer networks and applications.
E-Learning is a subject that can be discussed from a personal point of view; as this class I am taking is an online class and is considered to be an e-learning experience.
This is the second online class that I've taken at school and the experience is challenging but
has many benefits. The main challenge is to stay focused and complete all your tasks in a timely manner; but the great advantage is flexibility: As a mother of one, and a very busy person, I find this class as the best solution for me. I can complete my tasks whenever I want during the day (or night) and don't have to worry about showing up to class on specific hours. I can adjust my schedule accordingly and stick to my own pace when it comes to completing assignments.
E-Leaning is not just for everybody, you have to have some kind of self discipline in order to
study on your own without having to sit in class - there might be many distractions around you. But I think that most students who succeed in e-learning - are the ones who really want to LEARN, and already have that sense of "self discipline".
E-Learning in the corporate environment
I know for a fact that many companies use e-learning as a training tool for their employees.
My husband, who works in a large hi-tech corporation, often has to learn new materials and get updated with new products, new software etc' , and he often trains on his own. Companies can save themselves time, money and the use of training personnel when they implement e-learning as a training tool.
Article of the week : E-Learning in France
Article from BusinessWeek.com , French companies are discovering the advantages of online Employee training. Interesting to read how e-learning spreads around in Europe.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/0101/eo0104.htm?chan=search
Chapter 8 learning objectives:
Describe various e-government initiatives.
Describe e-learning, virtual universities, and e-training.
Describe online publishing and e-books.
Discuss wikis and blogging.
Describe knowledge management and dissemination as an e-business.
Describe C2C activities.
Describe peer-to-peer networks and applications.
E-Learning is a subject that can be discussed from a personal point of view; as this class I am taking is an online class and is considered to be an e-learning experience.
This is the second online class that I've taken at school and the experience is challenging but
has many benefits. The main challenge is to stay focused and complete all your tasks in a timely manner; but the great advantage is flexibility: As a mother of one, and a very busy person, I find this class as the best solution for me. I can complete my tasks whenever I want during the day (or night) and don't have to worry about showing up to class on specific hours. I can adjust my schedule accordingly and stick to my own pace when it comes to completing assignments.
E-Leaning is not just for everybody, you have to have some kind of self discipline in order to
study on your own without having to sit in class - there might be many distractions around you. But I think that most students who succeed in e-learning - are the ones who really want to LEARN, and already have that sense of "self discipline".
E-Learning in the corporate environment
I know for a fact that many companies use e-learning as a training tool for their employees.
My husband, who works in a large hi-tech corporation, often has to learn new materials and get updated with new products, new software etc' , and he often trains on his own. Companies can save themselves time, money and the use of training personnel when they implement e-learning as a training tool.
Article of the week : E-Learning in France
Article from BusinessWeek.com , French companies are discovering the advantages of online Employee training. Interesting to read how e-learning spreads around in Europe.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/0101/eo0104.htm?chan=search
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Week # 6 - Exchanges, Directories, and Other Support Services / E-Supply chains, collaborative commerce and corporate portals.
Chapter 6 learning objectives:
- Define exchanges and describe their major types.
- Describe the various ownership and revenue models of exchanges.
- Describe B2B portals.
- Describe third-party exchanges.
- Distinguish between purchasing (procurement) and selling consortia.
- Define dynamic trading and describe B2B auctions.
- Describe partner relationship management (PRM).
- Discuss integration issues of e-marketplaces and exchanges.
- Discuss B2B networks.
- Discuss issues in managing exchanges, including the critical success factors of exchanges.
Chapter 7 Learning objectives
Define the e-supply chain and describe its characteristics and components.
List supply chain problems and their causes.
List solutions to supply chain problems provided by EC.
Describe RFID supply chain applications.
Define c-commerce and list the major types.
Describe collaborative planning and Collaboration, Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishing (CPFR) and list the benefits of each.
Discuss integration along the supply chain.
Understand corporate portals and their types and roles.
Describe e-collaboration tools such as workflow software and groupware.
Portals
One of my favorite shopping portals, that serves basically as an reintermediary between
buyers and sellers, is Ebay.com http://www.ebay.com/
Ebay offers a vast store directory as well as a search by categories, so clients can narrow down search results and find what they are looking for easily. Small business owners can improve their selling skills through ebay by signing up for workshops. There is an option of building a personalized page for your small business, allowing you to build trust. Learning and help center is available for seller as well as various seller forums that allow you, a small business owner, to exchange information and learn from other experienced sellers. Security and resolution center allows sellers to resolve disputes with customers in a professional legal manner. It also protects sellers and buyers from fraud.
Ebay allows small business owners to actually open a store on their portal, print out invoices, print shipping labels and manage transactions via a secured system in conjuction with paypal.com .If you become a power-seller on ebay – you get access directly to wholesalers and manufacturers and this way expand business as well as reduce purchasing costs.
Article of the week discusses pricing models in EC:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=386978
This article explains the various models of pricing in e-comm, and states the benefits of dynamic pricing.
The SYSCO CASE -Excellence in supply chain management
Closing case: SYSCO – Excellence in supply chain management through business process innovation and IT.
Summary:
Sysco is a leading food distributer in North America thanks to its excellent supply chain management. This article discusses the success factors of Sysco as a company with an innovative supply chain.
Questions:
What was the purpose of Sysco’s ChefEx system ? what were the benefits of this system ?
The purpose of Sysco’s ChefEx system was to increase the efficiency of the ordering and distribution of gourmet products and ingredients to clients. By doing so, the program became a valuable tool for chefs because it allowed them to choose products from a large selection without having to deal with several suppliers at the same time. The benefits included not only a reduced ordering time, but a larger selection of products and the ability to offer a higher quality menu without having to stock up on specialty ingredients.
What was the objective of Sysco’s RFID system? What were the benefits of this system ?
The objective of the RFID system was to enable sysco to manage information about their “Cold chain” (food products that needed to be kept in low temperature), thus allowing Sysco to prevent loss from spoilage and ensure a high quality of products.
Basically the benefit of this system was that it increased efficiency and control over
quality of products.
Conclusion:
The Sysco case is a classic example of an efficient supply chain. By properly
Managing information about products, and by allowing customers to easily
Choose from a large selection of products – Sysco obtains a competitive advantage.
The importance of an efficient supply chain is clearly demonstrated in this case; The use of RFID that allows Sysco to quickly locate products and ensure product quality, the excellence in managing supply – are all important factors that contribute to the success of Sysco.
Article :From BusinessWeek.com
Will RFID Tags Click?http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070531_589653.htm?chan=search
Interesting to read how RFID is being strongly promoted in India.
- Define exchanges and describe their major types.
- Describe the various ownership and revenue models of exchanges.
- Describe B2B portals.
- Describe third-party exchanges.
- Distinguish between purchasing (procurement) and selling consortia.
- Define dynamic trading and describe B2B auctions.
- Describe partner relationship management (PRM).
- Discuss integration issues of e-marketplaces and exchanges.
- Discuss B2B networks.
- Discuss issues in managing exchanges, including the critical success factors of exchanges.
Chapter 7 Learning objectives
Define the e-supply chain and describe its characteristics and components.
List supply chain problems and their causes.
List solutions to supply chain problems provided by EC.
Describe RFID supply chain applications.
Define c-commerce and list the major types.
Describe collaborative planning and Collaboration, Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishing (CPFR) and list the benefits of each.
Discuss integration along the supply chain.
Understand corporate portals and their types and roles.
Describe e-collaboration tools such as workflow software and groupware.
Portals
One of my favorite shopping portals, that serves basically as an reintermediary between
buyers and sellers, is Ebay.com http://www.ebay.com/
Ebay offers a vast store directory as well as a search by categories, so clients can narrow down search results and find what they are looking for easily. Small business owners can improve their selling skills through ebay by signing up for workshops. There is an option of building a personalized page for your small business, allowing you to build trust. Learning and help center is available for seller as well as various seller forums that allow you, a small business owner, to exchange information and learn from other experienced sellers. Security and resolution center allows sellers to resolve disputes with customers in a professional legal manner. It also protects sellers and buyers from fraud.
Ebay allows small business owners to actually open a store on their portal, print out invoices, print shipping labels and manage transactions via a secured system in conjuction with paypal.com .If you become a power-seller on ebay – you get access directly to wholesalers and manufacturers and this way expand business as well as reduce purchasing costs.
Article of the week discusses pricing models in EC:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=386978
This article explains the various models of pricing in e-comm, and states the benefits of dynamic pricing.
The SYSCO CASE -Excellence in supply chain management
Closing case: SYSCO – Excellence in supply chain management through business process innovation and IT.
Summary:
Sysco is a leading food distributer in North America thanks to its excellent supply chain management. This article discusses the success factors of Sysco as a company with an innovative supply chain.
Questions:
What was the purpose of Sysco’s ChefEx system ? what were the benefits of this system ?
The purpose of Sysco’s ChefEx system was to increase the efficiency of the ordering and distribution of gourmet products and ingredients to clients. By doing so, the program became a valuable tool for chefs because it allowed them to choose products from a large selection without having to deal with several suppliers at the same time. The benefits included not only a reduced ordering time, but a larger selection of products and the ability to offer a higher quality menu without having to stock up on specialty ingredients.
What was the objective of Sysco’s RFID system? What were the benefits of this system ?
The objective of the RFID system was to enable sysco to manage information about their “Cold chain” (food products that needed to be kept in low temperature), thus allowing Sysco to prevent loss from spoilage and ensure a high quality of products.
Basically the benefit of this system was that it increased efficiency and control over
quality of products.
Conclusion:
The Sysco case is a classic example of an efficient supply chain. By properly
Managing information about products, and by allowing customers to easily
Choose from a large selection of products – Sysco obtains a competitive advantage.
The importance of an efficient supply chain is clearly demonstrated in this case; The use of RFID that allows Sysco to quickly locate products and ensure product quality, the excellence in managing supply – are all important factors that contribute to the success of Sysco.
Article :From BusinessWeek.com
Will RFID Tags Click?http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2007/gb20070531_589653.htm?chan=search
Interesting to read how RFID is being strongly promoted in India.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Week # 5 - B2B E-Commerce: selling and buying in private E-Markets
Chapter objectives:
Describe the B2B field.
Describe the major types of B2B models.
Discuss the characteristics of the sell-side marketplace, including auctions.
Describe the sell-side intermediary models.
Describe the characteristics of the buy-side marketplace and e-procurement.
Explain how reverse auctions work in B2B.
Describe B2B aggregation and group purchasing models.
Describe other procurement methods.
Explain how B2B administrative tasks can be automated.
Describe infrastructure and standards requirements for B2B.
Describe Web EDI, XML, and Web Services.
B2B E-commerce is the transactions between businesses conducted electronically over the internet, extranets and intranets or private networks.
The basic typs of B2B transactions are:
Sell Side
Buy Side
Exchanges
Supply chain improvements and collaborative commerce.
Managerial issue : Can we justify the cost of B2B applications ?
Although the implementation of B2B applications can be costly, such as the use of EDI or XML – it is well justified to do so due to the many advantages of these applications. It improves communication between business, reduces costs of customer service, saves time to both sellers and buyers and allows mass transactions to be processed in a much more efficient way. The limitations are not as major as the benefits; the bottom line is that B2B applications reduces cycle time and costs, and increase productivity and efficiency, while opening windows of opportunity for collaboration between a vast number of businesses easily and effectively.
EDI & XML
EDI (As per Wikipedia).
An inter-company, application-to-application communication of data in standard format for business transactions. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a set of standards for structuring information that is to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses, organizations, government entities and other groups. The standards describe structures that emulate documents, for example purchase orders to automate purchasing. The term EDI is also used to refer to the implementation and operation of systems and processes for creating, transmitting, and receiving EDI documents.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) can be formally defined as 'The transfer of structured data, by agreed message standards, from one computer system to another without human intervention'. Most other definitions used are variations on this theme.
Despite being relatively unheralded, in this era of technologies such as XML web services, the Internet and the World Wide Web, EDI is still the data format used by the vast majority of electronic commerce transactions in the world.
XML - as per Wikipedia:
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general-purpose markup language.[1] It is classified as an extensible language because it allows its users to define their own elements. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of structured data across different information systems, particularly via the Internet,[2] and it is used both to encode documents and to serialize data.
7 C’s Analysis --------------- Dr. Phil.com www.drphil.com
Preface:
One of my favorite television shows is The Dr Phil show on CBS. Dr Philip Mc’Graw has been running his one-hour talk show on CBS for approximately 6 years now, after
Being “discovered” by Oprah Winfrey on her show. Since then, Dr Phil has captivated
Millions of viewers with his “tough love” approach and “get real” attitude, giving
Advice on various issues such as family matters, relationships, marriage, health, self matters and more.
As a loyal viewer of the Dr Phil show, I have subscribed to his newsletter, and often
Check out his website, that offers a lot of information – from shows & video’s summaries to psychological advice, and from virtual forums to an online store.
Below please find my analysis for the seven design elements of the customer interface.
The 7 C’s include: context, content, community, customization, communication, connection and commerce.
Context: it’s all about aesthetics, looks and feel.
It’s hard to miss that the major background color on the Dr Phil website is blue.
Blue is a color that represents trustworthiness. Dr Phil is all about trust, he would expect his viewers to trust his words and accept his advice - hence the blue background. The site itself has a lot of motion and movement in it, subtitles that change often and attract viewers by offering a glimpse of “what’s next” on the Dr Phil show.
Content: The site is easy to navigate through, offering 8 major titles; each one carries subcategories and issues. In addition there is a search engine that allows one to search information about a specific show, a topic or advice.
Photographs of Dr Phil himself, in a suit and a tie (again - radiating trust and
Confidence) along with information about upcoming shows and burning topics to be discussed. The colors are bold, the letters are big and easy to read, and the front page does not carry too much information – so viewers will not be overwhelmed or loose interest.
A link to the Dr Phil foundation is also provided at the bottom of the front page as well as links to self-exercises that allow viewers to test themselves in various areas – part of the Dr Phil “self help” approach.
Community: In addition to the offer to “be on the Dr Phil show” – The website offers an interactive forum that allows viewers to discuss topics from
Show it, as well as reply to others. There’s also an option to contact Dr Phil for advice, or just to express an opinion.
Customization: There is not a lot of customization on the Dr Phil website, however
Some personalization is implemented when subscribing to the newsletter, as well as if one wishes to participate in an online discussion forum; then you will need to
Log in and create a user name and password.
The same applies when shopping at the Dr Phil online store.
Communication:
One can contact Dr Phil by email or through an 800 number; the site offers an option of using your webcam to send Dr Phil a video. Various discussion boards
Are available for communicating on a vast number of topics discussed on the show. The type of communication on this site is mainly user to site communication.
Connection: The Dr Phil website mainly links viewers to the Dr Phil foundation, which is a non profit charity organization meant to help others. Donations are accepted online, and information about the foundation is available as well such as success stories, upcoming events etc’. There is very little advertising on the website, such as ads for Verizon.com but most ads link viewers to drug rehab centers, and other rehabilitation facilities throughout the US. Since Dr Phil offers relationship advices - the web site offers a link to a singles dating website as well.
Commerce: A link to the Dr Phil online store is available, selling mainly Dr Phil’s books but not only. Other products that are meant to show support of Dr Phil – are offered online, such as logo T-shirts and more. The online store offers a secured checkout system. Dr Phil’s online store is very basic, offering a shopping cart viewer, the option of updating your shopping cart and checking-out securely. The main function of the Dr Phil website is to give advice and attract viewers to watch the show rather then sell merchandise, therefore less attention is given to the store itself and more attention is given to the show itself.
Overall review – I feel that this website’s design and contents reach their goal effectively and efficiently; the goal is to provide advice to viewers and attract viewers to watch the show, rather than to “sell them” a physical product. The website is basically “selling” the Dr Phil show and it does so with great success. Only by browsing through the various online discussion boards – you can see how many viewers are daily involved and carry an opinion about topics discussed on the show. By that, it is only natural to conclude that the mission has been accomplished.
Describe the B2B field.
Describe the major types of B2B models.
Discuss the characteristics of the sell-side marketplace, including auctions.
Describe the sell-side intermediary models.
Describe the characteristics of the buy-side marketplace and e-procurement.
Explain how reverse auctions work in B2B.
Describe B2B aggregation and group purchasing models.
Describe other procurement methods.
Explain how B2B administrative tasks can be automated.
Describe infrastructure and standards requirements for B2B.
Describe Web EDI, XML, and Web Services.
B2B E-commerce is the transactions between businesses conducted electronically over the internet, extranets and intranets or private networks.
The basic typs of B2B transactions are:
Sell Side
Buy Side
Exchanges
Supply chain improvements and collaborative commerce.
Managerial issue : Can we justify the cost of B2B applications ?
Although the implementation of B2B applications can be costly, such as the use of EDI or XML – it is well justified to do so due to the many advantages of these applications. It improves communication between business, reduces costs of customer service, saves time to both sellers and buyers and allows mass transactions to be processed in a much more efficient way. The limitations are not as major as the benefits; the bottom line is that B2B applications reduces cycle time and costs, and increase productivity and efficiency, while opening windows of opportunity for collaboration between a vast number of businesses easily and effectively.
EDI & XML
EDI (As per Wikipedia).
An inter-company, application-to-application communication of data in standard format for business transactions. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a set of standards for structuring information that is to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses, organizations, government entities and other groups. The standards describe structures that emulate documents, for example purchase orders to automate purchasing. The term EDI is also used to refer to the implementation and operation of systems and processes for creating, transmitting, and receiving EDI documents.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) can be formally defined as 'The transfer of structured data, by agreed message standards, from one computer system to another without human intervention'. Most other definitions used are variations on this theme.
Despite being relatively unheralded, in this era of technologies such as XML web services, the Internet and the World Wide Web, EDI is still the data format used by the vast majority of electronic commerce transactions in the world.
XML - as per Wikipedia:
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general-purpose markup language.[1] It is classified as an extensible language because it allows its users to define their own elements. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of structured data across different information systems, particularly via the Internet,[2] and it is used both to encode documents and to serialize data.
7 C’s Analysis --------------- Dr. Phil.com www.drphil.com
Preface:
One of my favorite television shows is The Dr Phil show on CBS. Dr Philip Mc’Graw has been running his one-hour talk show on CBS for approximately 6 years now, after
Being “discovered” by Oprah Winfrey on her show. Since then, Dr Phil has captivated
Millions of viewers with his “tough love” approach and “get real” attitude, giving
Advice on various issues such as family matters, relationships, marriage, health, self matters and more.
As a loyal viewer of the Dr Phil show, I have subscribed to his newsletter, and often
Check out his website, that offers a lot of information – from shows & video’s summaries to psychological advice, and from virtual forums to an online store.
Below please find my analysis for the seven design elements of the customer interface.
The 7 C’s include: context, content, community, customization, communication, connection and commerce.
Context: it’s all about aesthetics, looks and feel.
It’s hard to miss that the major background color on the Dr Phil website is blue.
Blue is a color that represents trustworthiness. Dr Phil is all about trust, he would expect his viewers to trust his words and accept his advice - hence the blue background. The site itself has a lot of motion and movement in it, subtitles that change often and attract viewers by offering a glimpse of “what’s next” on the Dr Phil show.
Content: The site is easy to navigate through, offering 8 major titles; each one carries subcategories and issues. In addition there is a search engine that allows one to search information about a specific show, a topic or advice.
Photographs of Dr Phil himself, in a suit and a tie (again - radiating trust and
Confidence) along with information about upcoming shows and burning topics to be discussed. The colors are bold, the letters are big and easy to read, and the front page does not carry too much information – so viewers will not be overwhelmed or loose interest.
A link to the Dr Phil foundation is also provided at the bottom of the front page as well as links to self-exercises that allow viewers to test themselves in various areas – part of the Dr Phil “self help” approach.
Community: In addition to the offer to “be on the Dr Phil show” – The website offers an interactive forum that allows viewers to discuss topics from
Show it, as well as reply to others. There’s also an option to contact Dr Phil for advice, or just to express an opinion.
Customization: There is not a lot of customization on the Dr Phil website, however
Some personalization is implemented when subscribing to the newsletter, as well as if one wishes to participate in an online discussion forum; then you will need to
Log in and create a user name and password.
The same applies when shopping at the Dr Phil online store.
Communication:
One can contact Dr Phil by email or through an 800 number; the site offers an option of using your webcam to send Dr Phil a video. Various discussion boards
Are available for communicating on a vast number of topics discussed on the show. The type of communication on this site is mainly user to site communication.
Connection: The Dr Phil website mainly links viewers to the Dr Phil foundation, which is a non profit charity organization meant to help others. Donations are accepted online, and information about the foundation is available as well such as success stories, upcoming events etc’. There is very little advertising on the website, such as ads for Verizon.com but most ads link viewers to drug rehab centers, and other rehabilitation facilities throughout the US. Since Dr Phil offers relationship advices - the web site offers a link to a singles dating website as well.
Commerce: A link to the Dr Phil online store is available, selling mainly Dr Phil’s books but not only. Other products that are meant to show support of Dr Phil – are offered online, such as logo T-shirts and more. The online store offers a secured checkout system. Dr Phil’s online store is very basic, offering a shopping cart viewer, the option of updating your shopping cart and checking-out securely. The main function of the Dr Phil website is to give advice and attract viewers to watch the show rather then sell merchandise, therefore less attention is given to the store itself and more attention is given to the show itself.
Overall review – I feel that this website’s design and contents reach their goal effectively and efficiently; the goal is to provide advice to viewers and attract viewers to watch the show, rather than to “sell them” a physical product. The website is basically “selling” the Dr Phil show and it does so with great success. Only by browsing through the various online discussion boards – you can see how many viewers are daily involved and carry an opinion about topics discussed on the show. By that, it is only natural to conclude that the mission has been accomplished.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Week # 4 - Consumer behavior, Market research and advertising.
Chapter's objectives:
- Describe the factors that influence consumer behavior online.
- Understand the decision-making process of consumer purchasing online.
- Describe how companies are building one-to-one relationships with customers.
- Explain how personalization is accomplished online.
- Discuss the issues of e-loyalty and e-trust in EC.
- Describe consumer market research in EC.
- Describe Internet marketing in B2B, including organizational buyer behavior.
- Describe the objectives of Web advertising and its characteristics.
- Describe the major advertising methods used on the Web.
- Describe various online advertising strategies and types of promotions.
- Describe permission marketing, ad management, localization, and other advertising-related issues.
- Understand the role of intelligent agents in consumer issues and advertising applications.
Building trust & E-Loyalty
Trust and customer loyalty are critical factors in the success of an e-business.
Basically, a company needs to gain the clients trust in order to have him purchase through their website. How do businesses do that ?
One way is to affiliate your business with a well known, trustworthy, business.
For example :
http://www.travelmania.com/
Travelmania.com is an Israeli tourist services website. This company is affiliated with El-Al airlines which is the formal Israeli airline that has been existing for many years. It is also affiliated with the Israel ministry of tourism. Such affiliations on the home page of travelmania, as well as verification of a secured order system - make all the difference.
In addition, customer satisfaction is needed in order to build trust and loyalty.
Satisfaction can be increased by conducting a market research and understanding consumer bavior, these actions allow businesses to personalize their products and websites, and make a client feel like they know him.
The story of 1800flowers.com
The success of 1800flowers.com was impacted by Data Mining. Data mining is the process of obtaining information about clients through their browsing and online shopping history, it allows businesses to understand consumer behavior and conduct an accurate market research . it allows businesses to understand what their customers desire, and which products will be most economically profitable for the company. Data mining can be used to facilitate customer service by personalization ; letting the client know that the business knows him and knows what are his preferred lines of business.
By using Data mining - 1800flowers.com created a competitive advantage in a very competitive world.
Check This URL and see how 1800flowers.com uses personalization as a competitive advantage.
http://ww21.1800flowers.com/welcome.do?cm_mmc=tagged-_-na-_-na-_-na&bannerBeacon=true
- Describe the factors that influence consumer behavior online.
- Understand the decision-making process of consumer purchasing online.
- Describe how companies are building one-to-one relationships with customers.
- Explain how personalization is accomplished online.
- Discuss the issues of e-loyalty and e-trust in EC.
- Describe consumer market research in EC.
- Describe Internet marketing in B2B, including organizational buyer behavior.
- Describe the objectives of Web advertising and its characteristics.
- Describe the major advertising methods used on the Web.
- Describe various online advertising strategies and types of promotions.
- Describe permission marketing, ad management, localization, and other advertising-related issues.
- Understand the role of intelligent agents in consumer issues and advertising applications.
Building trust & E-Loyalty
Trust and customer loyalty are critical factors in the success of an e-business.
Basically, a company needs to gain the clients trust in order to have him purchase through their website. How do businesses do that ?
One way is to affiliate your business with a well known, trustworthy, business.
For example :
http://www.travelmania.com/
Travelmania.com is an Israeli tourist services website. This company is affiliated with El-Al airlines which is the formal Israeli airline that has been existing for many years. It is also affiliated with the Israel ministry of tourism. Such affiliations on the home page of travelmania, as well as verification of a secured order system - make all the difference.
In addition, customer satisfaction is needed in order to build trust and loyalty.
Satisfaction can be increased by conducting a market research and understanding consumer bavior, these actions allow businesses to personalize their products and websites, and make a client feel like they know him.
The story of 1800flowers.com
The success of 1800flowers.com was impacted by Data Mining. Data mining is the process of obtaining information about clients through their browsing and online shopping history, it allows businesses to understand consumer behavior and conduct an accurate market research . it allows businesses to understand what their customers desire, and which products will be most economically profitable for the company. Data mining can be used to facilitate customer service by personalization ; letting the client know that the business knows him and knows what are his preferred lines of business.
By using Data mining - 1800flowers.com created a competitive advantage in a very competitive world.
Check This URL and see how 1800flowers.com uses personalization as a competitive advantage.
http://ww21.1800flowers.com/welcome.do?cm_mmc=tagged-_-na-_-na-_-na&bannerBeacon=true
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Week # 3 - Retailing in Electronic Commerce: Products and Services
Chapter Objectives :
Describe electronic retailing (e-tailing) and its characteristics.
Define and describe the primary e-tailing business models.
Describe how online travel and tourism services operate and their impact on the industry.
Discuss the online employment market, including its participants, benefits, and limitations.
Describe online real estate services.
Discuss online stock-trading services.
Discuss cyberbanking and online personal finance.
Describe on-demand delivery by e-grocers.
Describe the delivery of digital products and online entertainment.
Discuss various e-tail consumer aids, including comparison-shopping aids.
Identify the critical success factors and failure avoidance tactics for direct online marketing and e-tailing.
Describe reintermediation, channel conflict, and personalization in e-tailing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/ takes E-tailing into the next level.
Have you ever shopped on Amazon.com or at least browsed through their website?
Not only it makes the shopping experience more enjoyable, it does a great job personalizing and offering all kinds of features that would definitely make a client want to shop there again;
Amazon offers a search engine enhanced by Google.com, it provides useful information about products, allows clients to read reviews and recommendations or submit their own recommendations for a specific product. Amazon also offers low prices as well as an amazing shipping and delivery system, a secure payment system and more.
PERSONALLY , I can say that I have shopped through Amazon.com multiple times, and
always with great satisfaction; I mainly shopped for books for myself and for my son,
and when returning to the website - I was greeted by my full name and offered
products that I might like to purchase - based on my history of purchases.
NOW, If that's not a good way to personalize - I don't know what is ~! :-)
Check this out ! :
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sa_menu_gro5/104-0541457-3632714?%5Fencoding=UTF8&node=16310101
Amazon offers groceries as well. On the lefthand side you can see baby products.
From personal experience, new moms don't have a lot of time to go shopping and especially in the winter time - it is just easier to order baby formula and diapers online instead of
having to bundle up a newborn and go to the store.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is Walmart really only for toothless people ??? ;-) (losers versus winners ! )
Companies such as Walmart are considered a Multichannel retailers as they offer merchandise both online and In physical stores, allowing clients to search online for what they need, and if desired – come to the store and touch and feel the goods. In addition to this advantage, Walmart can reach a wider range of customers, in very urban places or very rural ones – where physical Walmart stores are not available. The combination of a huge online selection of products with a physical store – makes companies such as Walmart the ultimate winners in retailing.
(so why is it that they don't offer a dental plan to their employees ?? wink wink ;-) )
Describe electronic retailing (e-tailing) and its characteristics.
Define and describe the primary e-tailing business models.
Describe how online travel and tourism services operate and their impact on the industry.
Discuss the online employment market, including its participants, benefits, and limitations.
Describe online real estate services.
Discuss online stock-trading services.
Discuss cyberbanking and online personal finance.
Describe on-demand delivery by e-grocers.
Describe the delivery of digital products and online entertainment.
Discuss various e-tail consumer aids, including comparison-shopping aids.
Identify the critical success factors and failure avoidance tactics for direct online marketing and e-tailing.
Describe reintermediation, channel conflict, and personalization in e-tailing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/ takes E-tailing into the next level.
Have you ever shopped on Amazon.com or at least browsed through their website?
Not only it makes the shopping experience more enjoyable, it does a great job personalizing and offering all kinds of features that would definitely make a client want to shop there again;
Amazon offers a search engine enhanced by Google.com, it provides useful information about products, allows clients to read reviews and recommendations or submit their own recommendations for a specific product. Amazon also offers low prices as well as an amazing shipping and delivery system, a secure payment system and more.
PERSONALLY , I can say that I have shopped through Amazon.com multiple times, and
always with great satisfaction; I mainly shopped for books for myself and for my son,
and when returning to the website - I was greeted by my full name and offered
products that I might like to purchase - based on my history of purchases.
NOW, If that's not a good way to personalize - I don't know what is ~! :-)
Check this out ! :
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sa_menu_gro5/104-0541457-3632714?%5Fencoding=UTF8&node=16310101
Amazon offers groceries as well. On the lefthand side you can see baby products.
From personal experience, new moms don't have a lot of time to go shopping and especially in the winter time - it is just easier to order baby formula and diapers online instead of
having to bundle up a newborn and go to the store.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is Walmart really only for toothless people ??? ;-) (losers versus winners ! )
Companies such as Walmart are considered a Multichannel retailers as they offer merchandise both online and In physical stores, allowing clients to search online for what they need, and if desired – come to the store and touch and feel the goods. In addition to this advantage, Walmart can reach a wider range of customers, in very urban places or very rural ones – where physical Walmart stores are not available. The combination of a huge online selection of products with a physical store – makes companies such as Walmart the ultimate winners in retailing.
(so why is it that they don't offer a dental plan to their employees ?? wink wink ;-) )
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Week # 2 - E-Marketplaces: Structures, Mechanisms, Economics, and Impacts
E-Marketplaces: Structures, Mechanisms, Economics, and Impacts
Chapter's objectives:
-Define e-marketplaces and list their components.
-List the major types of e-marketplaces and describe their features.
-Describe the various types of EC intermediaries and their roles.
-Describe electronic catalogs, shopping carts, and search engines.
-Describe the major types of auctions and list their characteristics.
-Discuss the benefits, limitations, and impacts of auctions.
-Describe bartering and negotiating online.
-Define m-commerce and explain its role as a market mechanism.
-Discuss competition in the digital economy.
-Describe the impact of e-marketplaces on organizations and industries.
Intermediaries are an important issue on this chapter.
By definition :
intermediary is a third party that operates between sellers and buyers . There are generally two types of intermediaries: Brokers, and Infomediaries.
A Broker - is a company that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers.
Infomediaries - are web sites that gather and organize large amounts of data and act as intermediaries between those who want the information and those who supply it.
An example for an intermediary that is a BROKER would be priceline.com http://www.priceline.com/
Priceline.com is a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays. The buyers are travellers, the sellers are hotels, airline companies, car rental agencies and other travel services providers. Priceline allows the client to :
- compare prices
- make a "name your own price" auction
- negociate
- find the best deal
- get the best value for money
Priceline gets a percentage of each sales from hotels, airline companies etc'.
Suppliers (hotels etc') would rather sell through priceline than not sell at all.
An example of an informediary would be http://www.pricegrabber.com/
It provides information about all kinds of goods and allows customers to compare prices without trying to promote any of the goods.
Intermediaries are an imporant factor in the EC world,
Blue Nile, a pure-play online e-tailer specializing in diamonds and jewelry, eliminated intermediaries and started selling jewelry and diamonds online, and became the eighth-largest specialty jewelry company in the United States.
Blue Nile managed to do so in an 10,000 sq ft warehouse with 115 employees, while a traditional store would normally have to maintain 200 stores and employ around 1800 employees.
The Blue Nile case definitely undercuts the traditional way of doing business.
http://www.bluenile.com/
E-commerce has a massive impact on organizations in a way that reshapes entire industries. It impacts competition and pushes organizations to make major changes in the way they conduct business (example: travel industry, health industry are all going through major changes). Ecommerce forces organizations to change their strategic business models, processes and relationships. It improves direct marketing by providing more sales channels, product promotion, direct savings ,improved customer service , reduced cycle time, customization and advertising and more.E-commerce also changes the nature of work and employment, and forces companies to quickly adapt new to new technologies.ECommerce also has an impact on manufacturing by changing mass production into a demand driven manufacturing.Other areas in which ECommerce impact industries are finance and accounting, human resources and management training.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting article related to e-commerce:
Amazon manages to do relatively well during the holiday season.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/01/looks_like_amaz.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives
This article, taken from business week, reports about a "better than expected" quarter for amazon.com.
According to CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon has managed to do well this past quarter thanks to
on going improvements in the customer experience.
Providing better customer service has created an advantage for Amazon.
Conclusion: In such a competitive field, a company must create some kind of an advantage
in order to attract clients to buy from them and not turn to a competitor. It is not always
guarenteed that lowering prices will make clients proceed with a purchase; some clients would
rather pay a higher price for an identical product - just to guarentee it will be delivered
quickly and efficiently. In this case, Amazon delivered during the holidays, a fact that created
a competitive advantage and actually helped sales.
Chapter's objectives:
-Define e-marketplaces and list their components.
-List the major types of e-marketplaces and describe their features.
-Describe the various types of EC intermediaries and their roles.
-Describe electronic catalogs, shopping carts, and search engines.
-Describe the major types of auctions and list their characteristics.
-Discuss the benefits, limitations, and impacts of auctions.
-Describe bartering and negotiating online.
-Define m-commerce and explain its role as a market mechanism.
-Discuss competition in the digital economy.
-Describe the impact of e-marketplaces on organizations and industries.
Intermediaries are an important issue on this chapter.
By definition :
intermediary is a third party that operates between sellers and buyers . There are generally two types of intermediaries: Brokers, and Infomediaries.
A Broker - is a company that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers.
Infomediaries - are web sites that gather and organize large amounts of data and act as intermediaries between those who want the information and those who supply it.
An example for an intermediary that is a BROKER would be priceline.com http://www.priceline.com/
Priceline.com is a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays. The buyers are travellers, the sellers are hotels, airline companies, car rental agencies and other travel services providers. Priceline allows the client to :
- compare prices
- make a "name your own price" auction
- negociate
- find the best deal
- get the best value for money
Priceline gets a percentage of each sales from hotels, airline companies etc'.
Suppliers (hotels etc') would rather sell through priceline than not sell at all.
An example of an informediary would be http://www.pricegrabber.com/
It provides information about all kinds of goods and allows customers to compare prices without trying to promote any of the goods.
Intermediaries are an imporant factor in the EC world,
But how about Blue Nile Inc. ???
Blue Nile, a pure-play online e-tailer specializing in diamonds and jewelry, eliminated intermediaries and started selling jewelry and diamonds online, and became the eighth-largest specialty jewelry company in the United States.
Blue Nile managed to do so in an 10,000 sq ft warehouse with 115 employees, while a traditional store would normally have to maintain 200 stores and employ around 1800 employees.
The Blue Nile case definitely undercuts the traditional way of doing business.
http://www.bluenile.com/
So what is the impact of E-Commerce on the industry ?
E-commerce has a massive impact on organizations in a way that reshapes entire industries. It impacts competition and pushes organizations to make major changes in the way they conduct business (example: travel industry, health industry are all going through major changes). Ecommerce forces organizations to change their strategic business models, processes and relationships. It improves direct marketing by providing more sales channels, product promotion, direct savings ,improved customer service , reduced cycle time, customization and advertising and more.E-commerce also changes the nature of work and employment, and forces companies to quickly adapt new to new technologies.ECommerce also has an impact on manufacturing by changing mass production into a demand driven manufacturing.Other areas in which ECommerce impact industries are finance and accounting, human resources and management training.
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Interesting article related to e-commerce:
Amazon manages to do relatively well during the holiday season.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/01/looks_like_amaz.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives
This article, taken from business week, reports about a "better than expected" quarter for amazon.com.
According to CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon has managed to do well this past quarter thanks to
on going improvements in the customer experience.
Providing better customer service has created an advantage for Amazon.
Conclusion: In such a competitive field, a company must create some kind of an advantage
in order to attract clients to buy from them and not turn to a competitor. It is not always
guarenteed that lowering prices will make clients proceed with a purchase; some clients would
rather pay a higher price for an identical product - just to guarentee it will be delivered
quickly and efficiently. In this case, Amazon delivered during the holidays, a fact that created
a competitive advantage and actually helped sales.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week # 1 - Overview of Electronic Commerce
Overview of Electronic Commerce
Chapter Objectives:
Define electronic commerce (EC) and describe its various categories.
Describe and discuss the content and framework of EC.
Describe the major types of EC transactions.
Describe the digital revolution as a driver of EC.
Describe the business environment as a driver of EC.
Describe some EC business models.
Describe the benefits of EC to organizations, consumers, and society.
Describe the limitations of EC.
Describe the contribution of EC to organizations responding to environmental pressures.
Describe online social and business networks.
It's not all a garden of roses ya' know !
Some of the top E-Commerce challenges are:
- An increase in competition between businesses.
- Must have excellent support services otherwise you will loose business.
- Marketing and advertisement must be agressive to be able to attract clients and beat competitors,
- An E-business must be able to gain customers trust in order to get business because the seller and buyer do not get to meet each other.
- Must have a reliable supply chain so you can deliver goods to customers in a professional and timely manner.
- Must have good management practices in order to maintain good infrastructure
- Maintain inventory and distribution set up to meet initial demand.
E-Commerce in a world of evolving technology ....
There are constant technological breakthroughs, globalizations and social changes happening in the world, this fact forces organizations to respond accordingly and in a fast pase in order to keep up with the pase of changes. E-Commerce allows businesses to do that.
There are benefits too ...
E-Commerce saves exchange time as the business is always open (online stores) and therefore allows businesses to compete better, it relies on employees to provide excellent support in order to obtain business therefore it empowers employees , it allows companies to reduce costs because there are no "actual stores" that have to be maintained (no rent, no electricity bills etc' ) , it also decreases communication costs and allows customer to enjoy a vaster variety of products (no need for "actual space" – everything is online) .
How does EC facilitate customization of product and services?
EC allows clients to have a vaster variety or products online because there is no
Need for "actual space" to store goods, everything is virtual and presented online. It allows client to have more search options, more information about the product, and enables the client to find exactly what he / she is looking for, in a shorter period of time, without the hassle of browsing through shelves or going from store to store.
In a world of evolving technology - what are you ? - Brick & Mortar or Click & Mortar ?
Brick and Mortar organization is the old economy organization that sell physical products by means of physical agents, as oppose to Click and Mortar businesses that perform some e-commerce business , usually as an additional marketing channel.
Click and Mortar businesses get a larger exposure over the internet, can reduce costs and therefore compete better and offer cheaper rates than Brick and Mortar businesses.
Click and Mortar organizations have to aggressively market themselves in order to gain clients trust, while Brick and Mortar organizations build this trust face to face with the client.
Click and Mortar organizations can conduct more business because they operate online and therefore always open to business, while Brick and Mortar organizations are open during traditional working hours.
Some personal touch ...
Relevant business articles this week:
E-Bay CEO retires.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22782796/
Cool websites for this week:
FastCompany
http://www.fastcompany.com/
Ebusiness Mantra
http://www.ebusinessmantra.com/index.aspx
Chapter Objectives:
Define electronic commerce (EC) and describe its various categories.
Describe and discuss the content and framework of EC.
Describe the major types of EC transactions.
Describe the digital revolution as a driver of EC.
Describe the business environment as a driver of EC.
Describe some EC business models.
Describe the benefits of EC to organizations, consumers, and society.
Describe the limitations of EC.
Describe the contribution of EC to organizations responding to environmental pressures.
Describe online social and business networks.
It's not all a garden of roses ya' know !
Some of the top E-Commerce challenges are:
- An increase in competition between businesses.
- Must have excellent support services otherwise you will loose business.
- Marketing and advertisement must be agressive to be able to attract clients and beat competitors,
- An E-business must be able to gain customers trust in order to get business because the seller and buyer do not get to meet each other.
- Must have a reliable supply chain so you can deliver goods to customers in a professional and timely manner.
- Must have good management practices in order to maintain good infrastructure
- Maintain inventory and distribution set up to meet initial demand.
E-Commerce in a world of evolving technology ....
There are constant technological breakthroughs, globalizations and social changes happening in the world, this fact forces organizations to respond accordingly and in a fast pase in order to keep up with the pase of changes. E-Commerce allows businesses to do that.
There are benefits too ...
E-Commerce saves exchange time as the business is always open (online stores) and therefore allows businesses to compete better, it relies on employees to provide excellent support in order to obtain business therefore it empowers employees , it allows companies to reduce costs because there are no "actual stores" that have to be maintained (no rent, no electricity bills etc' ) , it also decreases communication costs and allows customer to enjoy a vaster variety of products (no need for "actual space" – everything is online) .
How does EC facilitate customization of product and services?
EC allows clients to have a vaster variety or products online because there is no
Need for "actual space" to store goods, everything is virtual and presented online. It allows client to have more search options, more information about the product, and enables the client to find exactly what he / she is looking for, in a shorter period of time, without the hassle of browsing through shelves or going from store to store.
In a world of evolving technology - what are you ? - Brick & Mortar or Click & Mortar ?
Brick and Mortar organization is the old economy organization that sell physical products by means of physical agents, as oppose to Click and Mortar businesses that perform some e-commerce business , usually as an additional marketing channel.
Click and Mortar businesses get a larger exposure over the internet, can reduce costs and therefore compete better and offer cheaper rates than Brick and Mortar businesses.
Click and Mortar organizations have to aggressively market themselves in order to gain clients trust, while Brick and Mortar organizations build this trust face to face with the client.
Click and Mortar organizations can conduct more business because they operate online and therefore always open to business, while Brick and Mortar organizations are open during traditional working hours.
Some personal touch ...
I currently do some marketing work for a new company called "The Natural Gift Baskets LLC". http://www.thenaturalgiftbaskets.com/
This company, founded by a relative of mine in New Jersey, sells Kosher and Organic gift baskets. The target market is the American Jewish community but not only; the company's main office is in NJ, but - E-Commerce allows us to sell our products all over the US.
We can definitely see the advantages of E-commerce when it comes to our business:
Our store is open online all the time
We sell and ship quickly
we can sell to anyone, anywhere in the US
We save intermediator costs
We reduct general costs
Relevant business articles this week:
E-Bay CEO retires.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22782796/
Cool websites for this week:
FastCompany
http://www.fastcompany.com/
Ebusiness Mantra
http://www.ebusinessmantra.com/index.aspx
E-Commerce - Preface
This blog is my project for an Online E-Commerce class, taken as part of a General Business Associate Degree program at Mass Bay Community College.
Previously created blog relevant to this subject :
http://businessweblog.blogspot.com/
So what is E-Commerce ?
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown dramatically since the spread of the Internet.
Some examples of famous EC organizations and companies:
E-Bay
Dell
Amazon
Google
Yahoo
Previously created blog relevant to this subject :
http://businessweblog.blogspot.com/
So what is E-Commerce ?
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown dramatically since the spread of the Internet.
Some examples of famous EC organizations and companies:
E-Bay
Dell
Amazon
Yahoo
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