Research Topics: E-Business Strategy

Synopsis: Impact of the Internet retailing

Synopsis: Impact of the Internet retailing     Accordingly, the advent of the internet has been able to revolutionize the business environment. The use of the internet as part of business marketing and retailing is changing rapidly. It is said that the internet provides the retail market a new market model which cater not just for cloths, books and music but almost every products or service buyable and sellable. Among the most recognized brands and products sold in the internet retail are books, drugs, apparel, and electronic and technological gadgets.  Accordingly, the use of internet retailing has been able to create virtual communities which assure better communication and larger profits for the company. The latest techniques associated with internet retailing enables the company to gain competitive advantage as internet served as a platform for advanced technology and applications which allows the retailers by having better recognition both in the national and international level. In addition, internet retailing marketing techniques also has the ability to gain competitive advantage because of its availability in the internet market 24/7 with fewer or most of the time unlimited geographic boundaries. The internet approach also has interactive two-way communication, automation, personalization or customization, search facilitation and most of all knowledge or information sharing. Such abilities are known to create advantage, attract, and satisfy consumers from any walks of life globally as well as increase profits.  As customers’ convenience is indulged by a wealth of personalized information services and availability, they can enjoy shopping (Mandel & Hof, 2001). The Internet also brings an easier integration of past business models and functions such as data collection and sharing.  Wang and his colleagues put the idea simply that the Internet is combined communication medium and distribution/transaction channel, which is quite different from traditional marketplaces allowing simple to multiple tasks to be performed at the same time and at the same environment. In addition, the internet retailing also allows the company to gain good customer relationship easily because of their ability to create customer participation and customization among other wide-ranged access to services.  Consumers are granted powers that traditional markets limit (primarily due to the presence of intermediaries, the lack of speedy processes, cost-effectiveness, integration, and combination the Internet medium can provide).  With capabilities such as this, it is inevitable for retail markets adapt to the Internet set-up, as a new marketplace and a new marketing tool, quickly.  Customer value has become the centre of all business models online.  Wang et al recognize however that not all e-businesses survive due to the turbulent and competitive nature of the Internet and the fact that studies regarding consumer behaviour must continue to be conducted. In such a turbulent and competitive arena, it has been a common goal for all firms and organizations into internet retailing for this matter to create and above all, maintain value for its customers, suppliers, and manufacturers.  The assurance of returning customers is what keeps internet retaining sites alive.  This is performed through shopping deals created through customer loyalty. The key for internet retailing to sustain itself in the market is to be convenient in the best of its ability and this will be performed once a firm is able to adapt to the customer’s many selective tastes best.  Not only will this allow them keep a competitive edge, this will allow its brand to emerge as a dominant web presence.  What’s unique with Internet retailing is how it does not limit itself to a certain industry.  Traditional retail stores, or the so-called brick and mortar type stores, are greatly limited by shelf spaces and cannot thus; attempt to cross sell newly released or related products (that would win consumers). Brick-and-mortar stores put the baby products in one place, health care in another, and vitamins for pregnancy in another area.  Therefore, everything is split up in the brick-and-mortar store, whereas with online solution retailing, all these items can be bundled together as a ‘new mother’ shelf (Harrington & Reed, 1996). The web’s flexibility allows it to cater to various other opportunities that will truly boost sales, serve to the customer’s further appeal, value and not to mention, loyalty, by giving them a wide variety of products to choose from in a one-stop shopping manner.  The customer’s preferences are thus even more customized to his/her personal liking.  Internet retailing brings cross-category selling opportunities, not just in grocery, but in sporting goods and everything else. In this regard, internet retailing can really be considered as one of the most powerful business approach to be considered if the company would want to be known in the global market.   Reference Harrington, L. & Reed, G. (1996). “Electronic Commerce (Finally) Comes of Age.” The McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 68 . Mandel, M., & Hof, R. (2001, March 26). Rethinking the Internet. Business Week, 116–141. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Synopsis: Impact of the Internet retailing

Synopsis: Impact of the Internet retailing Accordingly, the advent of the internet has been able to revolutionize the busine...

Strategy and Competition: the case of eBay

Strategy and Competition: the case of eBay               The use of the World Wide Web has become one of the inevitable ways in obtaining and gathering relevant information regarding a myriad of subject matters and issues. Its use is most popular among the society, most especially the younger generation, who perceive the Internet as one of the most helpful tools in terms of education and communication. In addition, its use is being maximized and utilized in terms of business and marketing, such as being done by the eBay company, with their online auction. Through online auctions, individuals are able to obtain and purchase their needed and wanted items directly, without the hassle of traveling and physically looking for the products. With this, this paper discusses success in terms of online auctioning, and investigates how eBay has become the largest online auction house.    SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS Þ    Strong financial performance Þ    Dedicated, satisfied, and loyal consumers Þ    Continuous innovation and improvement of services Þ    Extent of products and services Þ    Established in the industry     WEAKNESSES Þ    High prices of products Þ    High cost of shipping and insurance Þ    Customer losses Þ    Availability of products Þ    Existing conflict with buyers     OPPORTUNITIES Þ    Development of e-commerce in business and marketing Þ    Increase in use of e-commerce and Internet Þ    Further expansion in other potential markets around the world Þ    Established reputation in e-market Þ    Popular with the younger generation     THREATS Þ    Competitive marketplace Þ    Increase in number of online auction competitors Þ    Indirect competitors Þ    Fear of online auction fraud Þ    Increasing popularity of other websites               eBay is an online auction and shopping website where people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. It is managed by ebay Inc., an American Internet company. Millions of people are brought together by eBay everyday on a local, national and international basis using an array of websites that focus on commerce, payments and communications. According to Bunnell and Luecke (2000) from eBay’s origin as a home business founded by Pierre Omidyar (“o-mid-ee-yar”), the company has become the world’s leading auction market and one of a handful of major dotcom companies to actually turn a profit (p.4). They further stressed that eBay is just one of many important players in an expanding e-commerce industry (p.6). eBay participates in the demand-based or dynamic pricing segment of online commerce. There, transaction prices are determined entirely by buyers. This is fundamentally different from what most of us are accustomed to. Usually, vendors make the pricing decisions, and we either accept their prices or look elsewhere for a better deal. In demand based pricing, buyers make these critical decisions. The auction is the most familiar form of demand-based pricing. Auction forums have been around since ancient times, and everything from foodstuffs, minerals, timber, animals, securities, and human beings have been bought and sold through them (Bunnell and Luecke 2000, pp.8-9). The beauty of eBay’s vision is that it has eliminated many of the inefficiencies of traditional person-to-person commerce. It provides a place where buyers and sellers can conveniently meet, exchange information about goods and prices, and transact sales at minimum costs. And it has made collecting and bargain hunting fun.   The Role of Digital Media and Internet             Digital media particularly the Internet or the World Wide Web is the key to success of online auction sites such as eBay. eBay introduced several crucial innovations tailor-made for the internet. One was the model of online auctions bringing together buyers and sellers to establish prices for goods and services that had never been marketed before (Guttman 2002, p.184). The online auction model developed by eBay marks an important extension of e-commerce, offering millions of individuals a low-cost opportunity to engage in a new type of economic activity which until now they had no chance of realizing. It has been reported that through the World Wide Web, eBay built an online person-to-person trading community in the Internet (Casseres 2001, p.2). eBay users can browse through listed items in a fully automated way. The sellers are allowed to list items that they want to sell while the buyers bid on items of interest. The items on eBay’s site are arranged by topics and each type of auction has its own category. Person-to-person trading was both streamlined and globalized by the company. Using eBay’s web interface, the buyers can easily explore the site and the buyers can immediately list an item for sale within minutes of registering. The internet is a powerful tool in bringing together the buyers and sellers. Because of Digital Media and the Internet Ebay continues to grow.             Bringing the auction online was an important innovation, and is one of the greatest uses of Internet technology. The Internet has facilitated a variety of commercial activities. Many are lifted directly from offline models and provide no greater value or convenience for customers. Ordering a pair of gloves from an e-retail site is a prime example. From the customer’s perspective, this is neither cheaper nor more convenient than buying the same gloves from the retailer’s catalog using an 800 number. Online auctions, in contrast, have created something very new. It has been reported that the computer revolution ushered in totally new types of businesses based on the Internet (Bunnell and Luecke 2000, p. 17). If the Internet has introduced a revolution in the pace and the manner in which we do business, the leaders of that revolution are people who introduce new business designs and make them work. And the most successful of these have good heads for business, or work closely with people who do. This combination of a powerful business design tailored to the Internet economy, a philosophy of openness and community, and business savvy came together in the company the world now knows as eBay. Computing power is what makes an Internet auction effective. The combination of the digital media and eBay’s strategic business concept makes it possible for a few hundred people to handle transactions worth over 7 million dollars everyday of the year. Initially, eBay had developed proprietary software capable of supporting a robust, scalable user interface and transaction-processing system. Today, that system can handle all aspects of the auction process. It sends e-mails when users register for the service, when they place a successful bid, and when they are outbid, and it communicates the outcome of auctions in which they participate. The same system sends daily status updates to active sellers and bidders and maintains user registration information, account information, current auctions, and historical listings. All of this information is archived to a data warehouse. Working around the clock (with weekly scheduled downtime for maintenance), the eBay system keeps track of every listing and every seller-selected enhancement option. When an auction successfully closes, the system automatically calculates the fee, bills the seller’s billing account, and sends a monthly invoice via e-mail. Most invoices are billed directly to seller credit-card accounts. Other parts of the eBay information infrastructure support eBay customer service and the various community bulletin boards and chat rooms that underbid the online user community. The entire system includes company-owned and -operated equipment and other equipment provided by outside service providers. eBay’s share of the total system consists of Sun database servers running Oracle relational database management systems and a suite of Internet servers that operate on Microsoft’s Windows NT. Loadbalancing systems and redundant servers provide for fault tolerance. System hardware is hosted in close proximity to the company’s San Jose headquarters at the facilities of Exodus Communications and at AboveNet, where redundant communications lines and emergency power backup are maintained. Ebay is an online auction site that facilitates the process of listing and displaying goods, bidding, and payment. The Internet is the key element on eBay’s success. Over the Internet, participants bid for products and services. Sellers and bidders can participate wherever they are as long as they have an Internet connection. The Internet makes eBay more accessible to the bidders and sellers. The large number of bidders and sellers makes the system bigger and the auction site successful.   Key Strategic Decisions             Several aspects of eBay have been specifically designed to support an almost freestanding economy (Bradley and Porter 2000; Hof 2003). eBay built a free market. As a facilitator, users are allowed to decide what they want to sell, encouraging continuous growth. The users or citizens are the ones who control the direction of the site. eBay created a legal system that promotes self-governance. The auction site devised a feedback forum to let users rate one another to discourage fraud. The users are constantly educated; eBay teaches people how to use the site. eBay also has its own banking system. eBay has been bounded by two things: a clear mission to be the world’s largest person-to-person online auction company, and a focused strategy with five key elements expanding the user base, strengthening the eBay brand, broadening the trading platform by increasing product categories and promoting new ones, Fostering community affinity and Enhancing site features and functionality.             The arrival of Meg Whitman in early 1998 marked a watershed in the effort to build brand recognition at eBay. The company’s early growth relied strictly on word of mouth. But as an old hand at consumer product marketing, Whitman made branding one of her first initiatives. In a series of meetings with the senior management team, she broke the problem into two parts. The first was clarifying what eBay stood for. In their judgment, it was a personal trading community where users could buy and sell almost anything. This definition set it apart from most existing auction competitors and the several that eventually followed. All market communications now reflect this unequivocal definition. Part two of Whitman’s branding exercise came directly from Marketing 101: market segmentation. The user community was analyzed in terms of user segments. Serious collectors and small dealers were identified as the heaviest site users. These individuals and the people who sold to them accounted for 80 percent of total eBay revenues even though they represented only 20 percent of registered users. Based on this knowledge, the company decided to concentrate its marketing and brand-building resources on them (Bunnell and Luecke 2000, pp. 123-124). eBay’s boldest and most costly effort of gaining greater name recognition began in August 1998, when it entered into a three-year marketing deal with America Online (AOL). Under the terms of this relationship, AOL would feature eBay as its preferred provider of person-to-person trading services in its classifieds and interest areas. In addition, an eBay link would appear on the AOL home page, a portal for some 64 million subscribers. This threeyear deal was priced at million (Bunnell and Luecke 2000, p.124). The company has incrementally attacked the barriers to auction trading over the years, spending .6 million and .7 million in 1998 and 1999, respectively, on product developments aimed at site enhancement and valueadding features. The various SafeHarbor features such as the Feedback Forum, the Mister Lister bulk-listing tool, help boards, and My eBay, which allows a user to track multiple auctions simultaneously, fall into this category. Generally, the most important chore-reducing features have been added through arrangements with partner firms or third-party suppliers such as iEscrow, iShip, Mailbox Etc., and Wells Fargo’s Billpoint credit-card arrangement (Bunnell and Luecke 2000, p.132).             eBay made acquisitions in order to support its growth. These acquisitions aid in the expansion and improvement of the company’s services. PayPal, a global leader in online payment solutions was acquired by eBay in October 2002. PayPal makes receiving and sending of payments online secure, easy and quick. Paypal aims to create a safe payment solution by using the world’s most advanced propriety fraud prevention systems. In October 2005, eBay acquired Skype – the world’s fastest growing Internet communication offering. Skype allows its software users to make unlimited voices and video communication for free. It is available in 27 languages and is used in almost every country worldwide. In August 2005, Shopping.com was acquired by eBay. Shopping.com is the pioneer in online comparison-shopping. It is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations on the Internet. Rent.com was acquired by eBay in February 2005. Rent.com is the most visited online apartment listing service in the United States. It has more than 20,000 properties listed across the country. Ebay also launched various online classifieds websites in hundreds of cities and regions around the world. Online classifieds are designed to help people meet, share ideas and trade on a local level.             It has been reported that electronic commerce or e-commerce is becoming increasingly important to consumers, sellers, and entire communities (Black 2005). As a proof of this, during 2003, approximately 40 million households in the United States made at least a single purchase from the Internet (Black 2005). With this, online marketing has become and will continue to become a full and complete business model for other companies (Black 2005). The increasing importance of e-commerce and the use of the Internet, led many online companies, such as eBay to engage in online auctioning. Ten aspects are attributed to the success of eBay, namely, commitment, well-spent funds, an effective and persistent marketing and public relations, great products or services to sell, not selling of junk, great customer service, efficient and pleasant facility, polished listings and photos, paying attention to details, and good recordkeeping (Mansfield 2006). These ten aspects are perceived to be contributory to the success of eBay in the industry as the leading online auction house, and determine its edge over its competitors.             The success of eBay has inspired other online companies to engage in the same business, of perceiving the same attention that it receives from consumers. With this, several competitors can be pointed out, which are also online companies that engage in the same services that eBay offers. Aside from Amazon.com, Yahoo! and Netscape (Black 2005), several other online companies have also emerged, including Ubid.com, bid-alot.com, uauction.com, auctionfire.com (‘eBay’s Direct and Indirect Competitors’ 2005), and Google (‘eBay Inc.’ 2007). However, the competition against eBay is not only based on e-commerce and the use of the Internet, for many still use conventional methods in advertising and selling their products and services, thus, points out the indirect competitors of eBay. The indirect competitors of eBay include online stores, retail outlets, physical auctions such as galleries, shops, boutiques, and estate sales, newspaper classified ads, radio and television ads, bulletin boards in stores and offices, billboards, cable TV channels (‘eBay’s Direct and Indirect Competitors’ 2005), and other forms of media. From this, it can be seen that eBay has many direct and indirect competitors, which somehow lessens the amount of consumers that are being helped buy and sell their stuff. However, despite the presence of a number of competitors, eBay is still considered the largest online auction house that is being accessed by most consumers. This issue leads many researchers and analysts to recognize the importance and significance of e-commerce as a primary factor of generating an online community. Through online communities, such as those developed groups that access eBay, help introduce and promote specific brands of products and services. It has been reported that in the traditional brand relationship, communication flows between the vendor and the consumer, while with brand-based online communities, the potential dialogue flowing between consumers is achieved through real time ‘chat’ taking place in chat rooms, and through asynchronous discussions that play over days, weeks, and months in discussion forums or bulletin boards (Brynjolfsson and Urban 2001). From this, it can be understood that word-of-mouth and online conversations contribute to the information of consumers, on where to access their needed products and services in the Internet.     References   To follow Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Strategy and Competition: the case of eBay

Strategy and Competition: the case of eBay The use of the World Wide Web has become one of the inevitable ways in obtaining ...

Strategic Management of e-Bay King of the Online Auction

e-Bay King of the Online Auction Introduction             e-Bay is considered as one of the most well known e-business in history of the Internet. It is a company that offers an online auction that connects its customers that are separated by time and space. It covers the traditional face-to-face traditional transaction of buying and selling, therefore making the lives of their customers easier, thus help them save money. After the success of e-Bay, electronic auction had become popular around the world, however, e-Bay maintains its position as the number one successful Internet auction site. e-Bay was born over Labor Day weekend in 1995, when a computer programmer, Pierre Omidyar wrote the code for an auction website that he ran from his home computer. Since then, it has become the largest place to buy and sell in the world, with a huge community of regular people, small businesses and even big businesses from all the continents in the world. In addition to that, the company is also offering wide varieties of products and services. In 2007, the company is present in 39 markets, including the US, with more or less 84 million active users around the world, thus it had helped e-Bay to become one of the important factors that changes the face of e-commerce. During 2007, the total value of the sold items on the website’s trading platform was already billion. It shows that e-Bay users in the world are trading more than ,900 worth of goods and services on the site every second (eBay 2008).             The mission of the company is to provide a global trading platform where anyone can trade anything. Thus as a result, e-Bay is considered as the largest marketplace for rare, discontinued, collectible and even rare items, no matter what the type or price. The website gives benefits for the customers by providing an open trading platform where the market determines the value of items that are being sold. Thus, it had become the cultural barometers of sort, thus provide a view into what objects the consumer wants at any time.   Development and Implementation of Different Strategies             The strategies of e-Bay focus on three important strategic level. In terms of corporate level strategy, the company focuses on diversity which focuses on their customers, product range and their business as well as market. The company also focuses on having different strategic business alliances with different organization. In terms of business level strategy, the company focuses on broadening their differentiation strategy by offering vast selection of products, focusing on the eBay community, improvement of eBay website, using the brand image and reputation of eBay, and the most important thing is the process of global reach.              Global expansion is one of the most important strategies of the company, and in order to cope with it, eBay is focusing on different strategic business analysis. In 2001, the company announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft in order for the two large company to jointly expand their global online presence at the same time improve the e-commerce experience of the customers. The two company worked together in order to enable the online buyers as well as sellers  to seamlessly interact across the multiple websites and use different applications anywhere in the world. On the other hand, e-Bay supports the Microsoft® .NET technologies and the first website in the world to offer the Microsoft® community-based commerce engine to Web developers as an XML-based web services; the e-Bay marketplace is integrated to the web properties of Microsoft®; and e-Bay uses different Microsoft® technologies such as Windows Server and Passport (Microsoft Corporation 2001).             The said action was followed when e-Bay enters strategic alliance with the Zoovy, Inc, one of the leading providers of right-size d e-commerce™ solutions. Zoovy integrated its proprietary e-commerce web storefront, on-line payment processing, auction management, inventory management, sales order processing and the customer relationship management tools through the e-Bay’s Developers Program that gave Zoovy an access to the Application Programming Interface tools of e-Bay (Internet Retailer 2002). Then in order to broaden the company’s offering by adding the service of Business-to-Consumer, the company had an alliance with the PFSweb, Inc., a leading provider of business process outsourcing solutions. It had helped the PFSweb clients to utilize e-Bay as a channel to distribute their products (Business Wire 2002).             In addition in 2006, e-Bay announced its strategic alliance with Yahoo! Inc., the largest online media company. Under the said partnership, Yahoo exclusively provides online banners as well as graphic advertisement at e-Bays site. In return to that, Yahoo! promotes Paypla, the e-Bay’s online payment service as the preferred payment provider for purchases that are made online on the Yahoo! website (Business Insight International 2006).             Aside from that, it is also important that the company is using its strengths in order to maintain their competitive advantage by implementing different strategies. First is that due to the different strategic alliances with different huge corporation, particularly companies with huge and trusted name in e-commerce industry, and the entire Information System industry.             And because, the company also handles Pay Pal, it is being used as the billing method in different transactions between customers and between company and customers, making them to acquire great strength of accuracy of billing.             In order to grow the business to 27 sites outside of the US in just 5 years, eBay created a playbook. This playbook allowed eBay managers to reference the right conditions for their scope. The scopes included product management, web development, and internet marketing to name a few. Sharing information of various scopes and countries in the playbook gave eBay a competitive edge in the marketplace   Competing on the Edge Approach             There are different external and internal factors that can greatly affect the overall operation of e-Bay including the growth of the market, changes in economic and financial condition of the world and the changing lifestyle preferences of the customers. Thus it is considered by any company, in any industry and any nation, that change is pervasive. Thus, it will be important for the company to react quickly, anticipate when it is possible, and lead the change when it is applicable. Thus, competing on the edge is considered as unpredictable, often uncontrolled, and often inefficient and it is applicable when change is pervasive (Author Stream 2008).             It is important to consider that the key to developing competing on the edge strategy is to think in terms of growth, and not assembly. Thus, competing on the edge is all about change, that why in creating it should be much close to growing a living a thing than assembling a machine (Brown & Eisenhardt 1998, p. 212).               There are ten rules that are included in the process of competitive-edge approach. Advantage is considered as temporary, thus strategy is considered as diverse, emergent and complicated. Next is that reinvention is the primary goal, and it is important for the company to live in the present, thus stretch out the past and reach into the future. That is why, it is important to consider that time pace always change. It also focuses on the leadership, where in it is important to consider the growth of the strategy, and then drive the strategy from the business level. Thus, it is important to repatch the businesses to markets and articulate the whole (Author Stream 2008).             In building blocks, it is important to consider that there are the conditions of e-Bay that are visible in the building blocks such as the gaining of advantages of the past and then winning tomorrow today. First is the gaining advantage f the past by regeneration, natural selection, genetic algorithms and modularity. In terms of strategy, the image and reputation of the company plays a very important aspect, particularly due to the fact that the company is considered as the founder of the said type of e-business. In addition, the different strengths of the company such as their technological knowledge and skills, together with their customer relationship with the great human resource or labor force are a very important aspect.             On the other hand, the winning tomorrow today by experimentation of options and learning also reflects on the development of technologies and applications in the company. This can be seen in the initiatives of e-Bay to have strategic alliances or partnership with different major players in the industry. Thus, it helped the company to improve their system, particularly the security and effectiveness of the website.             The said aspect is considered as the center or core innovation aspect of the company due to the fact that the performance of the website can greatly impact their overall performance, their relationship with the customers as well as the position as one of the greatest e-businesses in the history of the Internet.   e-Bay and the Midas Touch             It is important to consider that the strategy of Midas focuses on the usage of leading-edge technology all the way. This can also be seen in the overall management of e-Bay by looking at their initiatives in different strategic alliances to different leading IT and e-commerce companies in the world. On the other hand, it can be seen that the managers of both the company craft aggressive and first strategy that will focus on the state-of-the-art technology in order to make the things happen. In the case of e-Bay, it can be seen in their initiative to have the direct customer-business relationship by having a partnership with Zoovy, by applying updated and efficient systems that are related with the process of centralizing the entire subsystems of the website, therefore, enabling security and efficiency of the company.             In addition to that, like the Midas, e-Bay is also blending its old and new strategy in their core business strategy as well as in the process of diversification ventures. As a result, both of the company relies on the past in order to build a new decision or innovations from the past performance.             On the other hand, unlike the Midas, the e-Bay is not drawing a test of the new strategies or innovations towards the customers. However, like Midas, the company focuses on their great team or human resource by making sure that all of the staffs of the company are great or fitted to their positions. As a result, it enables the company to have a competitive advantage due to the fact that it can add up to the motivations of their employees, that will later on reflect to their individual performances, and will later on reflect to the overall productivity of the company, then competitive advantage that will help the company to maintain its position in the global market.   Conclusion             After analyzing the past and current status of e-Bay in the global market, it can be said that e-Bay indeed is one of the most popular and most developed companies in the world. Aside from that, e-Bay is also considered as a trend-setter in the field of e-business. This is due to the application of different technologies in order to ensure that they are giving what their customers or users needs and desires. However, there are different aspects such as internal and external factors that can affect the overall operations of the company such as the changing demands of the customers, growing awareness of the customers towards fraud and other related activities in e-Bay as well as the growing competition from different huge online companies. That is the reason why, it is important to focus more on the different future strategies that will help to ensure that they will maintain their position in the market, and continue to focus on their customer relationship, which is considered as the most important aspect. Aside from that, the company must also focus on applying the different decision making processes and principles of Midas such as the process of innovation, where in the company is always focusing offering new features to their products or services, by integrating new ideas with the old one. By doing this, the company had been able to show development.     Conclusion   Author Stream 2008, Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos, viewed 13 December 2008, <http://www.authorstream.com/Presenta tion/Veronica-45170-structured-chaos-Competing-Edge-Change-pervas ive-Theory-Research-Laws-Strategy-chao-Education-ppt-powerpoint/>   Brown, S & Eisenhardt, K 1998, Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos, Harvard Business Press   Business Insight International 2006, Yahoo! and eBay’s Strategic Alliance 2006, viewed 13 December 2008, <http://www.businessinsights.biz/Business% 20Insights%20International/Business%20Updates/Yahoo%20and%20eBay%20Strategic%20Alliance.htm>   Business Wire 2002, Bibliography for “PFSweb Announces Strategic Alliance with eBay; Cooperative Technology Permits PFSweb clients to Enhance B2C Channel Strategies, viewed 13 December 2008, <http://finda rticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Oct_14/ai_92786188>   e-Bay 2008, eBay Inc.: A Short History, viewed 13 December 2008, < http://news.ebay.com/about.cfm>   Internet Retailer 2002, Zoovy, Inc. Enters into Strategic Alliance with eBay to Provide Online Merchants with Total Auction and Business, viewed 13 December 2008, <http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/54675-zoovy-inc-enters-into-strategic-alliance-ebay-provide-online-merchants-total-auction-business-management-solutions.html >   Microsoft Corporation 2001, eBay and Microsoft Announce Strategic Alliance to Expand Global Online Presence, viewed 13 December 2008, <http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2001/mar01/03-12ebaypr .ms px>   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Strategic Management of e-Bay King of the Online Auction

e-Bay King of the Online Auction Introduction e-Bay is considered as one of the most well known e-business in history of t...

Shopping and the Internet

1) Comparisons of electronic shopping incidence in different parts of the world. The study conducted by Nielsen Company in 2008, shows that more than 85% of the online population in the world is using the Internet in order to make purchase, and more than 50% of these users made more than one purchase. On the other hand, South Korea gained the number 1 position in the list of the top countries that made the most online purchases (See table 1 for the complete list) Table 1 Top Countries in Online Shopping 			Country 			% 			South Korea 			99 			United Kingdom 			97 			Germany 			97 			Japan 			97 			Egypt 			67 			Pakistan 			60 			Philippines 			55   The said number had increased compare to last year, where in South Korea gained 79%, followed by UK with 76% and Switzerland with 67%. In 2008, US gained a total of 94%, showing great increase, from 57% in 2007. Among the categories and list of products and services, the most popular are: books (41%), clothing, accessories and shoes (36%), videos/DVDs/games (24%), airline tickets (24%) and electronic equipments and gadgets (23%). In terms of payment, credit cards are considered as the most popular payment method with 60%. More than half or 53% of those credit card payers use Visa, while PayPal was chosen by 1 out of four consumers. There are 3 factors that impact the electronic shopping in the world. First is that, electronic retailing is dependent on telecommunication infrastructure, mainly in the broadband network, because of its need for security. As a result of the effort of the government to invest in telecommunications infrastructure, it helped to make the Internet readily available to huge percentage of populations. Second, is that the incidence of electronic retailing will be affected by the extent to which a nation is developed, because developed economies are more dependent on services and characterized by larger discretionary income given higher per capita. As a result, developed countries have higher incidence of electronic shopping, while developing economies have lower rates. Above all, consumers are more likely to exploit electronic shopping from retailers that already established market presence. As many such firms exists in development economy, it is more likely that individuals in developed economies will be inclined to purchase products electronically from home grown retailers, thus, developed economies are more likely to provide greater security regarding the consumer rights and Internet privacy.     2) Discuss which products and services are more likely to be sold on the Internet. The Internet had become one of the most powerful marketing tools. The trend encompasses the issues of quality, speed-to-market, flexibility, innovation, networks, customer service as well as customization. That’s why, certain products and services appear to be more suitable for online sales, while other remains to be more suitable in traditional trading. Products which are less saleable over the Internet are those which have low value-to-weight ratio and those that generally require smell, taste and touch component as well as color integrity requirement. The following are the most saleable products and service online: Products ·         Books ·         Digital products including music, movies, videos and games ·         Computer hardware and software ·         Autos and auto parts ·         Apparel, accessories and footwear ·         Cosmetics and fragrances ·         Pet supplies ·         Clothing Service <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Financial Transaction</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Travel Services </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Subscription </li> </ul>   There are three main reasons why these products are more likely to be sold on the Internet. First is that, products are relatively homogenous that they can be readily compared in price across the providers and not usually tailored to individual needs. Second is that, the products are subject to price elasticity in purchasing decisions, thus consumers are likely to purchase these products on the basis of cost advantages. Above all, these products are readily comparable with the identical products available through established bricks and mortar retail firms, which enable the consumer to review or experience the products in retail stores before purchasing them, at presumably cheaper price, by electronic way.   Reference   Market Intelligence Center 2008, Nielsen Online Survey January 27. 2008, viewed 19 January 2009, <http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com/articles/5178>   Nielsen 2005, 627 Million People Shopping Online Worldwide, 325 Million Made Purchases in the Last Month, viewed 30 January 2009, <http://au.acnielsen. com/news/20051024.shtml>   Nielsen 2008, February 2008: Trends in Online Shopping: A Global Nielsen Report, viewed 30 January 2009, <http://au.nielsen.com/site/documents/GlobalOn lineShoppingReportFeb08.pdf>               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Shopping and the Internet

1) Comparisons of electronic shopping incidence in different parts of the world. The study conducted by Nielsen Company in 2008, shows tha...

Assignment and Presentation Speech Writing on Electronic Shopping in the World

Electronic Shopping in the World             As of now, the world is facing different big changes, primarily in different process that involves marketing and business transactions. Because of the advent of the Internet and bandwagon of globalization, electronic shopping was born and it is considered as one of the most popular way of purchasing wide varieties of products for the consumers, at the same time, one of the most effective way of communicating, selling and offering products and services for different individuals and groups that are involved in business.             According to Nielsen Company, in 2008, over 85% of the entire population of online users in the world is using the Internet to make purchase, and 50% of the said population has already purchase more than once. Nielsen Company also listed the top 5 countries in electronic shopping which are: South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. It can be observed that all of the countries came from Europe, which is considered as a developed region, and Asia, which is considered as a promising region.             It is important to take note that each country has their own way of accepting the electronic shopping, and it will be based primarily on the different political and economic status or condition, that primarily depend on the effort of the national government regarding the telecommunications infrastructure of national broadband networks. It can be observed that those developed nations that have already invested in the telecommunication infrastructures have helped to make the Internet services widely available to the entire population. As a result, more people will be aware of the advantages of electronic shopping.  Aside from that, developed nations are more dependent on services that involved larger discretionary income as a result of higher per capita income.             In the end, it can be observed that the status of electronic shopping in a given nation can be describe or analyze by looking at the current economic status or knowing whether a country is a develop or developing country.   Product and Services to be Sold on the Internet             The Internet had become the primary weapon of different individual and organizations that are into business in terms of connecting or communicating with their target customers, from different part of the globe. As of now, more and more businesses that are jumping in the bandwagon of online selling in order cater to infinite number of possible customers.             However, it is important to consider that although there are some products that are suitable to be sold online, there are some that remains to be more saleable and suitable in traditional trading like those products that have low value-to-weight ratio and those that require the sense of smell, taste and touch in order to ensure good quality.             Currently, the most famous products being sold in the Internet are: books, digital products, computer hardware and software, autos and parts, apparel, accessories and footwear, cosmetics and fragrances, pet supplies and clothing. On the other hand, financial transactions, travel services and subscriptions are the most popular services that are being offering in the Internet.             So what are the reasons why all of the said products are more likely to be sold in the Internet? First is that the said products are homogenous, thus they can be compared in terms of price in different providers, and not highly tailored to individual need. However, it is important for the consumer to first understand the different features and expectations towards the products and service before the purchase. In addition, these products are subject to price elasticity in terms of purchasing decisions, that’s why consumers are expected to purchase the products due to cost advantages. Above all, consumers can review or even experience the products in retail stores, before they can purchase them, more cheaply by electronic means.             In the end, the cost is considered as the primary reasons why these products are more effective to be sold in the Internet.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Assignment and Presentation Speech Writing on Electronic Shopping in the World

Electronic Shopping in the World As of now, the world is facing different big changes, primarily in different process that in...

Amazon.com

AMAZON   Amazon.com has 66 millions active customers in the world.  Amazon has used the internet in order to create a truly global business platform in which its growth is significantly increasing. Majority of the consumers consider it as the internet superstore that sells various products in over forty categories. It starts with books, music, electronics, auto parts, jewelries and groceries.  In fact, nowadays, the company has gone beyond from its simple and humble business platform.  It is already a giant e-commerce and internet technology platform now. It even already fulfilled a platform in the logistics area, as well as in e-commerce, so as in the internet technology platform.  This company was founded in 1995 by Jeff Bezos.  It started as an online bookstore; but as the time flies, Amazon has already expanded into its diverse business in the internet market. As strong evidence, today Amazon has marked its mission and goal … and that is to become a discoverer of anything that consumers from different countries might want to buy online. The major attractive factors of this online company is its low price, as well as it provides a total convenience shopping experience to all online shoppers.  In the same manner, it has a wide range of product selections that many customers can choose from regardless of wherever they are in the globe.  The company worldwide availability  is associated with the virtuous cycle; and  both of them  has able to create an amazing growth that made Amazon from a bookstore and now has already made into a B retail  machine store. (http://www.amazon.com/TrendQualificationTradingTechniquesIdentify/dp/0470889667)  Furthermore, the outstanding ability of Amazon to develop into an internet platform in online business sector has given it a dominant position over bricks and mortar retailer such as HMV, Barnes & Noble and Water stones.  In comparison to bricks and mortar retailers, Amazon Company has a small input costs when it comes to space rental, utilities and labor increase.  Amazon and other technology dependent internet retailers reap the benefits and profits through the help of technological progress by the use of computational power, bandwidth, and data storage technologies that all improve the quality of the products and services and ablest to decline the cost all over the years of operation online.  And, the most important thing is Amazon gets paid by the customers by its products before it pays its suppliers.  Additionally, it has managed to build a retail business with a very minimal operating cash flow cycle due to its sophisticated inventory forecasting, fast inventory turns and overall operational efficiency and effectiveness. Working capital has effectively become a source of investment cash for the company.  Correspondingly, the category growth rates comes from media categories such as 64 percent of its worldwide revenue comes from books, music and video.  Amazon’s product footprint in the US has expanded into over 40 categories. New product categories represent significant growth opportunities for the company, given the lower online penetration rates in many of these categories. Revenue and growth rates for these categories have regularly outpaced the growth in media categories both in the US and other countries. In this regards, the Amazon’s digital media store has seen as important investment from the management and investors are anxiously waiting for the management and investors to launch new initiatives, downloadable music, video and text. (http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Amazon.com_%28AMZN%29)  In some way, Amazon is not just in the business of selling products via the Internet such as: 1.     It also sells its technology to other retailers (E-commerce platform sales) 2.     It also sells fulfillment and customer services capabilities to sellers through Fulfillment by Amazon. 3.    It also sells technology infrastructure via web services technologies for the developers such as EC2, S3 and SQS. 4.    It also operates other  website affiliates like: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <ul type="circle" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		A9.com (search 		 		subsidiary) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Alexa.com (web search and 		 		metrics subsidiary) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		IMDb.com (Internet Movie 		 		Database) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Endless.com (shoe and handbag 		 		store) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Clickriver.com (internet 		 		advertising platform) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Mechanicalturk.com (human 		task marketplace) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Askville.com (question/answer 		 		marketplace) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 		 		Amapedia.com (product wiki) </li> </ul> </ul> (http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Amazon.com_%28AMZN%29) In the final note, Amazon has very discreet about its new initiatives and financial developments and projects it is working on.  What is most important is the company has been able to show its determination to go with the online business trend nowadays, and that way it makes Amazon a major success in the online business together with its great profit potentials   by the help of technical approaches and strategies.  Nevertheless, According to Johnson and Scholes (2006) it is important to conduct external and internal business analysis in order to avoid the risk of a business failure.  A strategic drift occurs when business strategies are consecutively fail to meet  the financial  standing of the company as well as the  company performance declines.  Therefore, to avoid this to happen Amazon.com must have a strategic change that may compliment with the environmental changes and setting to be able to avoid the threats of strategic drift. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24854038/Amazon-Strategic-Plan) References: (http://www.amazon.com/TrendQualificationTradingTechniquesIdentify/dp/0470889667) (http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Amazon.com_%28AMZN%29) (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24854038/Amazon-Strategic-Plan)       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Amazon.com

AMAZON Amazon.com has 66 millions active customers in the world. Amazon has used the internet in order to create a truly global bus...

Speech Writing Essay on Electronic Shopping in the World

Electronic Shopping in the World             As of now, the world is facing different big changes, primarily in different process that involves marketing and business transactions. Because of the advent of the Internet and bandwagon of globalization, electronic shopping was born and it is considered as one of the most popular way of purchasing wide varieties of products for the consumers, at the same time, one of the most effective way of communicating, selling and offering products and services for different individuals and groups that are involved in business.             According to Nielsen Company, in 2008, over 85% of the entire population of online users in the world is using the Internet to make purchase, and 50% of the said population has already purchase more than once. Nielsen Company also listed the top 5 countries in electronic shopping which are: South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. It can be observed that all of the countries came from Europe, which is considered as a developed region, and Asia, which is considered as a promising region.             It is important to take note that each country has their own way of accepting the electronic shopping, and it will be based primarily on the different political and economic status or condition, that primarily depend on the effort of the national government regarding the telecommunications infrastructure of national broadband networks. It can be observed that those developed nations that have already invested in the telecommunication infrastructures have helped to make the Internet services widely available to the entire population. As a result, more people will be aware of the advantages of electronic shopping.  Aside from that, developed nations are more dependent on services that involved larger discretionary income as a result of higher per capita income.             In the end, it can be observed that the status of electronic shopping in a given nation can be describe or analyze by looking at the current economic status or knowing whether a country is a develop or developing country. Product and Services to be Sold on the Internet             The Internet had become the primary weapon of different individual and organizations that are into business in terms of connecting or communicating with their target customers, from different part of the globe. As of now, more and more businesses that are jumping in the bandwagon of online selling in order cater to infinite number of possible customers.             However, it is important to consider that although there are some products that are suitable to be sold online, there are some that remains to be more saleable and suitable in traditional trading like those products that have low value-to-weight ratio and those that require the sense of smell, taste and touch in order to ensure good quality.             Currently, the most famous products being sold in the Internet are: books, digital products, computer hardware and software, autos and parts, apparel, accessories and footwear, cosmetics and fragrances, pet supplies and clothing. On the other hand, financial transactions, travel services and subscriptions are the most popular services that are being offering in the Internet.             So what are the reasons why all of the said products are more likely to be sold in the Internet? First is that the said products are homogenous, thus they can be compared in terms of price in different providers, and not highly tailored to individual need. However, it is important for the consumer to first understand the different features and expectations towards the products and service before the purchase. In addition, these products are subject to price elasticity in terms of purchasing decisions, that’s why consumers are expected to purchase the products due to cost advantages. Above all, consumers can review or even experience the products in retail stores, before they can purchase them, more cheaply by electronic means.             In the end, the cost is considered as the primary reasons why these products are more effective to be sold in the Internet.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Speech Writing Essay on Electronic Shopping in the World

Electronic Shopping in the World As of now, the world is facing different big changes, primarily in different process that in...

Shopping and the Internet

1) Comparisons of electronic shopping incidence in different parts of the world. The study conducted by Nielsen Company in 2008, shows that more than 85% of the online population in the world is using the Internet in order to make purchase, and more than 50% of these users made more than one purchase. On the other hand, South Korea gained the number 1 position in the list of the top countries that made the most online purchases (See table 1 for the complete list) Table 1 Top Countries in Online Shopping 			Country 			% 			South Korea 			99 			United Kingdom 			97 			Germany 			97 			Japan 			97 			Egypt 			67 			Pakistan 			60 			Philippines 			55   The said number had increased compare to last year, where in South Korea gained 79%, followed by UK with 76% and Switzerland with 67%. In 2008, US gained a total of 94%, showing great increase, from 57% in 2007. Among the categories and list of products and services, the most popular are: books (41%), clothing, accessories and shoes (36%), videos/DVDs/games (24%), airline tickets (24%) and electronic equipments and gadgets (23%). In terms of payment, credit cards are considered as the most popular payment method with 60%. More than half or 53% of those credit card payers use Visa, while PayPal was chosen by 1 out of four consumers. There are 3 factors that impact the electronic shopping in the world. First is that, electronic retailing is dependent on telecommunication infrastructure, mainly in the broadband network, because of its need for security. As a result of the effort of the government to invest in telecommunications infrastructure, it helped to make the Internet readily available to huge percentage of populations. Second, is that the incidence of electronic retailing will be affected by the extent to which a nation is developed, because developed economies are more dependent on services and characterized by larger discretionary income given higher per capita. As a result, developed countries have higher incidence of electronic shopping, while developing economies have lower rates. Above all, consumers are more likely to exploit electronic shopping from retailers that already established market presence. As many such firms exists in development economy, it is more likely that individuals in developed economies will be inclined to purchase products electronically from home grown retailers, thus, developed economies are more likely to provide greater security regarding the consumer rights and Internet privacy.     2) Discuss which products and services are more likely to be sold on the Internet.   The Internet had become one of the most powerful marketing tools. The trend encompasses the issues of quality, speed-to-market, flexibility, innovation, networks, customer service as well as customization. That’s why, certain products and services appear to be more suitable for online sales, while other remains to be more suitable in traditional trading. Products which are less saleable over the Internet are those which have low value-to-weight ratio and those that generally require smell, taste and touch component as well as color integrity requirement. The following are the most saleable products and service online: Products ·         Books ·         Digital products including music, movies, videos and games ·         Computer hardware and software ·         Autos and auto parts ·         Apparel, accessories and footwear ·         Cosmetics and fragrances ·         Pet supplies ·         Clothing Service <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Financial Transaction</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Travel Services </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%"> 	Subscription </li> </ul>   There are three main reasons why these products are more likely to be sold on the Internet. First is that, products are relatively homogenous that they can be readily compared in price across the providers and not usually tailored to individual needs. Second is that, the products are subject to price elasticity in purchasing decisions, thus consumers are likely to purchase these products on the basis of cost advantages. Above all, these products are readily comparable with the identical products available through established bricks and mortar retail firms, which enable the consumer to review or experience the products in retail stores before purchasing them, at presumably cheaper price, by electronic way.   Reference   Market Intelligence Center 2008, Nielsen Online Survey January 27. 2008, viewed 19 January 2009, <http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com/articles/5178>   Nielsen 2005, 627 Million People Shopping Online Worldwide, 325 Million Made Purchases in the Last Month, viewed 30 January 2009, <http://au.acnielsen. com/news/20051024.shtml>   Nielsen 2008, February 2008: Trends in Online Shopping: A Global Nielsen Report, viewed 30 January 2009, <http://au.nielsen.com/site/documents/GlobalOn lineShoppingReportFeb08.pdf>               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Shopping and the Internet

1) Comparisons of electronic shopping incidence in different parts of the world. The study conducted by Nielsen Company in 2008, shows tha...