Strategic Issues For A Successful E-Commerce

1. INTRODUCTION

Electronic Commerce is for the age of Information Technology what mercantilism, the quest for gold and the conquest of new lands were for the age of discovery. Like the prow of a large fishing boat, it draws towards itself all other interests and elements of society, and it will leave new discoveries and changes in its wake. The vast networking of world through optic fibers, satellites and wireless communication is creating a new global community and a new global market, in which most of the countries should participate. It is strengthening, almost paradoxically, the identity of small groups, isolated communities and minority interests and driving them towards a less costly social and economic activity and widening their opportunities. And most importantly, it is empowering small businesses to compete with multinational corporations and enabling consumers to search the world for exactly what they needed.

E-Commerce basically means using networks (Internet) to carry out all the activities involved in business management and operation: buying and selling of products and services, technology and partner search, dealing with counterparts, choosing the most convenient transportation and insurances, performing bank transactions, paying and billing, communicating with company salesmen, picking up orders, and any other activities necessary for trading.

A company will be able to post a complete catalog of it's products and services on the Internet, which can be continuously updated to present new or updated products, proving a large virtual showcase for potential clients, a means to communicate with clients and in that way, adjusts it's offer to their requirements; while at the same time it will get access to virtual markets where it can purchase what it needs.

Through integral systems already under development, one company will connect to other companies located anywhere in the world, to buy and sell, choosing the products and services which best meets its needs from a huge network. And it's true that this revolution involves us all.

2. BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B)

B2B e-commerce means companies buying from and selling to each other online. It automates and streamlines the process of buying and selling the intermediate products. It provides more reliable updating of business data. B2B makes product information available globally and updates it in real time. Hence, procuring organization can take advantage of vast amount of product information. [3]

Now, we must know what are the entities of B2B e-commerce & their concerns:

Selling company: with marketing management perspective.
Buying company: with procurement management perspective.
Electronic intermediary: A third party intermediating service provider (the scope of service may be extended to include the order fulfillment ).
Deliverer: who should fulfill the JIT (Just in Time Delivery)
Network platform: such as the Internet, Intranet, and Extranet.
Protocols and communication: such as EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and comparison shopping, possibly using software agents.
Back-end information system: possibly implemented using the intranet and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

B2B e-commerce implies that both the sellers and buyers are business corporations. It covers a broad spectrum of applications that enable an enterprise or business to form electronic relationship with their distributors, re-sellers, suppliers, and other partners. B2B applications will offer enterprises access to the following sorts of information :

Product: Specifications, prices, sales history.
Customer: Sales history and forecasts.
Supplier: Product lines and lead times, sales terms and conditions.
Product process: Capacities, commitments, product plans.
Transportation: Carries, lead-times, costs.
Inventory: Inventory levels, carrying costs, locations.
Supply chain alliance: Key contacts, partners roles and responsibilities, schedules.
Competitor: Benchmarking, competitive product offering, market share.
Sales and marketing: Point of sales (POS), promotions.
Supply chain process and performance: Process descriptions, performance measures, quality, delivery time and customer satisfaction.

2.1 How to get the best

People always want to get the best shot in life. To deliver a sound return on your investment you must add on time delivery and flavor of some strategies. This strategy should include proper marketing, channel management, solid technology, strategic partners and great products. Let us have a look on each of them.

2.1.1 Just in Time delivery (JIT)

Quick delivery does not necessarily mean JIT delivery, but the system for quick delivery is the backbone of JIT delivery. For the B2B E-Commerce environment the advance confirmation of the delivery date at the contract stage is very important. [5][15]

2.1.2 Add strategies to your business

2.1.2.1 Direct Marketing

2.1.2.2 Relationship Marketing

Business buyers are not always ready to buy products or services when you are ready to sell them. Factors you cannot control, such as the companies' budgeting process, the need for additional approvals, or purchasing procedures, may have a direct impact on plans to purchase. There may be a casual interest in the product but not an immediate need.

2.1.2.3 Internet Marketing

Several potential marketing strategies can be used in B2B E-Commerce marketing. These strategies can be classified into the following five categories:

Generating and qualifying leads with the Internet.
Using Internet events to promote products and services.
Executing instant fulfillment on the Internet.
Generating orders through the Internet.
Enhancing customer relationship with the Internet.