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.