E-Paragon

Time For E-commerce -Anytime + Anywhere

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We are ENTREPRENEURSHIP students of UTAR (Foong Mei Hoong, Khew Chee Yan, Ng Si Jian and Ong Sok Yeng)

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Showing posts with label WEEK 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WEEK 3. Show all posts

How E-Commerce can reduce cycle time, improve employees’ empowerment and facilitate customer support

Author: Paragons // Category:
By Sok Yeng


Reduces cycle time


In a world of increasing global competition with increasing customer requirements, reduction of business cycle time has become the focal point of competition in a wide variety of industries. Cycle time is the total time from the beginning to the end of your process, as defined by you and your customer. E-Commerce reduced cycle time by eliminating steps and intermediaries in business process. E-commerce offers buyers maximum convenience. They can visit the web sites of multiple vendors round the clock a day to compare prices and make purchases, without having to leave their homes or offices from around the globe. In some cases, consumers can immediately obtain a product or service, such as an electronic book, a music file, or computer software, by downloading it over the Internet at a single click of the mouse. Thus, the overall time from order to supplier until delivery to customer is reduced.


Improve employees’ empowerment

Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. With the establishment of e-commerce, employees are empowered to design the web sites and process, control and ensure the smoothness of transactions online, as well as updating new product details and others information on company’s web site. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) refers to the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It gives employees freedom and authority to access in transaction system. Besides that, employees are expected to provide a quick response or feedback to the customers through the internet and this can be done through empowerment.



Facilitate customer support


E-commerce provides a wide range of technological solutions and communication opportunity. For example, most of the websites are quipped with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section to facilitate customer support. Customer can have direct access to product information and other promotion online. Meanwhile, employees can respond to complaints and suggestions of customer interactively and immediately. Thus, dissatisfaction will be reduced and customer can be retained.

Related links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Cycle_Time-217.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-e-Commerce---Advantages-and-Drawbacks!&id=241542
http://kungfubearcat.blogspot.com/2008/06/e-commerce-reduces-cycle-time-improves.html
http://www.mediamount.co.uk/ecommerce_and_ebusiness.asp
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An example of an E-Commerce failure and its causes: eToys

Author: Paragons // Category:
By: Chee Yan

eToys incorporated in November 1996, co-founded by CEO Toby Lenk, COO Frank Han and Idealab founder Bill Gross. eToys began operations on the Web a year later in October 1997, and closed its doors in the fourth quarter of 2001.

eToys as a Web retailer, offered a broad array of children's products consisting of toys, video games, software, videos, and music. It carried an inventory of well over 9,500 SKUs and 750 brands. It offered its customers well-known traditional brands such as Mattel, Hasbro, and Leggo, as well as specialty brands like Brio, Playmobil, and Learning Curve.


eToys believed the Web provided them with a natural advantage because consumers were dissatisfied with buying toys in the traditional brick and mortar environment. The old "bricks" based shopping experience was time consuming, inconvenient, and unpleasant. Factors like product selection, store layout, indifferent customer service, and shopping with children, all, contributed to the dissatisfaction. The eToys management believed the Web retail environment, "clicks" provided the perfect antidote.



Why eToys failed?

eToys symbolized the high hopes of e-commerce, boasting top-notch management and ample cash. It also ranked as a top toy site. But the trailblazing start-up was badly bruised by shipping problems in Christmas 1999, which might have kept consumers away.

eToys failed to forecast demand, and they were overreacted and overstocked products, which quickly became obsolete. They lacked customer knowledge and production knowledge, although the top management team consisted of top experienced Disney executives.

eToys failed to appreciate the fact that theirs was a new service to the customers. Management must carefully handle both the front and the back-end of their businesses efficiently and effectively. Too much attention was paid to the front-end where the Web-based technology was "fantastic" but not enough attention was paid to the back-end delivery and order-fulfillment side, which was part of the less conventional business.

Related Links:

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/05/29/where-are-they-now-etoys-com
http://show.zoho.com/embed?USER=jmhpurdue&DOC=etoys-failure&IFRAME=yes&SLIDE=0
http://www.colby.edu/admin.sci/syllabi/AD333/lectures/eToys.doc


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An example of an E-Commerce success and its causes: DELL

Author: Paragons // Category:
By Mei Hoong


Background
Dell Computer Corporate was founded in 1985 by Michael Dell. Dell exemplifies the major EC business models. First, it pioneered the direct-marketing model for PCs, and then it moved online. Furthermore, Dell supplemented its direct marketing with the build-to-order model on a large scale (mass customization). In doing so, Dell benefited from the elimination of intermediation with the first model and from extremely low inventories and superb cash flow from the second model. To meet the large demand for its quality products, Dell introduced other EC models, notably e-procurement for improving the purchasing of components, collaborative commerce with its partners, and intrabusiness EC for improving its internal operations. Finally, Dell uses e-CRM with its customers. By successfully using e-commerce models, Dell became a world-class company, winning over all of its competitors. Dell’s EC business models have become classics and best practices and are followed today by many other manufacturers, notably car makers.





Dell Key Success Factors
1. It's All About Culture
Dell has created a disciplined culture that focuses on optimizing its operational model, responding to its customers' needs and sustaining a self-motivated workforce. Dell's executives understand the key drivers of its business model and then strive to keep 53,000 employees highly focused on them.

2. Information is a Powerful Strategic Weapon
Information is important for Dell because it is widely distributed, analyzed and acted upon. People know where they and their business units stand at any time. Dell has made a serious investment in understanding its customers' activity in real time and then uses this information to constructively build its business and its winning culture.

3. Being the Low-Cost Provider Creates Flexibility and Market Advantage
Micheal Dell started the company with just $1,000. Dell bubbled up through a kind of Darwinian evolution, finding holes in the way the industry was working. But even when the company had become successful and no longer needed to be low-cost, it decided that path still made the most sense.

4. Product Development is Customer and Shareholder-Focused
Dell's approach to product development, R&D and working with its vendors is also instructive. While it has often been accused of not inventing a lot of its own technology, that's not how it measures its success. Dell don’t waste money building moats and wall. They tell potential component suppliers which product features are important to their customers. They are successful in selling their components to companies because that drives costs down for everyone and they will win their fair share of the market.

5. Boldly Challenging the Status Quo is the Path to Market Leadership
Twenty years ago, Dell entered a PC environment that was closed, vertically integrated, and based on proprietary technologies. Dell changed the strategic success factors in the PC industry by boldly challenging the status quo they encountered. Instead of trying to incrementally improve on their competitors' models, Dell completely rewrote the rules of competition by focusing on open standards, low-cost operations, customer-centricity, logistics, information and strict financial management.


Related links:
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Dell-Key-Success-Factors/150188
http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/summary-dell-computers
http://fusionbrand.blogs.com/fusionbrand/2004/05/why_dell_is_suc.html

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History and Evolution of E-commerce

Author: Paragons // Category:
By Si Jian
E-commerce

It means conducting business online.
Selling goods, in the traditional sense, is possible to do electronically because of certain software programs that run the main functions of an e-commerce Web site, including product display, online ordering, and inventory management.
The software resides on a commerce server and works in conjunction with online payment systems to process payments.
Since these servers and data lines make up the backbone of the Internet, in a broad sense, e-commerce means doing business over interconnected networks.

History and Evolution of E-commerce:
It was how Information Technology has transformed business processes.

Step

Developments

1

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) which is a set of standards was developed in 1960s to exchange the business information and execute the electronic transactions.

In 1984, EDI was standardized through ASC X12. This enabled the companies to complete transactions with one another stably and reliably

2

Online retailing was offered by CompuServe in 1992 to its customers. That was the first time people were able to buy their stuffs through internet

3

Web-browser such as Mosaic web-browser was available in 1992and it was the first “point and click” web-browser. Then, Netscape browser was introduced in 1994. It provides users a simple browser to surf the Internet and a safe online transaction technology called Secure Sockets Layer

4

Big names in e-commerce world, Amazon and eBay were launched in 1995

5

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) allowed quicker access and a persistent connection to the internet. This stimulates people spend more time and money online

6

Retailing spending over the internet in 1999 reaches $20 billion, according to Business.com

7

Hackers’ Attack to the e-commerce players in 2000. Some major players of e-commerce such as Yahoo, eBay and Amazon were attacked by the hackers. The attacks represent the need to improve the security in the development of e-commerce

8

In 2003, Amazon had its first year with a full year of profit

9

In 2007, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as the 34th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list and 8th on its annual Top 20 list of the most successful and admired companies in the U.S.A in recognition of the company’s business model

10

A 2008 research reviewed, the domain Amazon.com attracted about 615 million customers every year

Now

E-commerce applied broadly compared with old time; however the development of e-commerce is embarrassed by the security issue

Prediction for 2009

• Real-Time Customer Service

• Communal Conversion

• Trusted Word of Mouth

• E-Commerce Sovereignty

• Focus on Per-Customer Value,

• Widespread UGC

• Growth Through Accountability,

• International Intensity

• User Experience Innovation


Related links:
http://www.umsl.edu/~siegelj/Course5890/definitions.html
http://www.4th-media.net/overview/history.php

http://metasearch.com/www2search.cgi?p=evolution+of+E-commerce&l=20&s=o

http://metasearch.com/www2search.cgi?p=E-commerce+2009&l=20&s=o

http://www.ecommerce-land.com




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