Chapter 3, Building an e-Business: Design, Development and Management Outline 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Getting Started 3.2.1 Generating Business Ideas 3.2.2 Growth of e-Business: Evaluating Risk 3.2.3 Finding Funding and Going Public 3.3 Putting Your Plan Into Action 3.3.1 Choosing a Domain Name 3.3.2 Supply-Chain Management: Vendors, Distributors and Shipment Providers 3.3.3 Web-Site Hosting 3.3.4 Web Design 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience 3.3.6 Protecting Your e-Business 3.3.7 Streaming Media: How Much Is Too Much? 3.3.8 Preparing for New Technologies  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 3, Building an e-Business: Design, Development and Management Outline 3.4 e-Business Solutions 3.4.1 End-To-End e-Business Solutions 3.4.2 Other e-Business Solutions 3.4.3 Maintaining and Monitoring Your Web Site 3.4.4 e-Commerce Consulting  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 3 3.1 Introduction • Turnkey solution – A pre-packaged e-business • E-business templates – Outline the basic structure, but allow the design to be determined by the owner • Project outsourcing – Available to businesses with substantial funding, alleviates the need for businesses to complete projects in-house • Front-end system – Portion of an e-business that is visible to consumers • Back-end system – Database management, payment processing and logistics  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 3.2 Getting Started • Building, Managing and Maintaining – – – – – – – Advertising Marketing Customer relationship management Content management Accepting online payments Recognizing cultural differences and legal parameters Providing security features  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 3.2.1 Generating Business Ideas • Products and services – Discover what exists – Decide how to improve it • Develop a business plan – Enables you to envision your e-business on paper for evaluation purposes – Serves as a presentation of your business’ objectives and long-term expectations  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 3.2.1 Business Plan Layout • Business plan layout – Introduce your readers to the layout, what you will discuss and when you will discuss it – Provide an overview of the business premise including the primary issues – Headings and sub-headings should categorize the content – Focus on what makes the e-business unique • Business plan services and software – www.synrgistic.com/busplan/busplan.htm – Mindspring Biz – www.adarus.com/html/demos.html  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 3.2.1 Business Plan Layout • Primary Purpose – Define the purposes of your business – What do you intend to sell – What services will you provide • Strategy – Describe how your product or service fits in the market – How is it different from existing products and services – How will it be profitable • Business model – What model will you implement – How will you conduct transactions  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 3.2.1 Business Plan Layout • Support – – – – – Provide evidence that supports the idea of your business How will you justify these as support to the idea Have you conducted research Who are your customers Who is on your management team and what are their credentials – How will you generate revenue – What are your expenses • Process – List the steps necessary to build your e-business – Does more research need to be conducted – Inform investors of how money will be allocated  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 3.2.2 Growth of e-Business: Evaluating Risk • Many Internet companies have experienced rapid growth • Many others have struggled to get off the ground, find funding and make a profit • Technological advancements usually lead to growth in industry • The Internet has produced new industries and altered and enhanced existing industries • E-businesses that target a specific market first must be aware of the changing technologies and their costs  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 3.2.3 Finding Funding and Going Public • Building an e-business can be expensive and risky • Competition is intense • Determining a market niche and reaching a target audience often require significant financial backing • Internet incubator – A company that specializes in the development of Internet businesses – Often will serve as the financiers, as well as work with the development team – Often receive a stake in the developing e-business  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 3.2.3 Finding Funding and Going Public • Internet incubators – – – – Camp Six eCorporation Idealab eHatchery • Venture capitalists – Individuals or groups that generate the financial support of a growing enterprise, usually in exchange for ownership in the company • Angel investors – Wealthy investors with business experience • Many e-businesses look to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO) – Money generated from public investors can be used to grow the company and establish it at the forefront of its market  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 3.2.3 Finding Funding and Going Public Rare Medium’s Incubation Methodology. (Courtesy of Rare Medium.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 13 3.3 Putting Your Plan Into Action • After generating ideas, building a business plan and finding funding, prepare to: – – – – – – – – Manage distribution Manage shipping Enhance the user experience through Web design Prepare for new technologies Purchase supporting hardware and software Accept online payment Market your Web site Manage your consumers  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 3.3.1 Choosing a Domain Name • Domain name – The name used in the URL for a Web site – Choose a concise name that people will be able to recognize and type easily – Consider how a domain name will be interpreted in many different languages and cultures • Fully qualified host name – The host name, the domain name and the top-level domain (TLD) – Most Web servers use www as the host name – A domain name is often the name of the company that owns a site or a word or phrase that otherwise describes the site – The TLD usually describes the type of organization that owns the domain name (.com, .org, .gov)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 3.3.1 Choosing a Domain Name • Available domain names with the dot-com (.com) extension are becoming rare • ICANN is considering the possibility of introducing new suffixes, such as .movie, .inc, .info and .web • Registering a domain name – Network Solutions, Register.com, Domainit.com • Cost to register a domain name depends on extension • Usually, ownership of a domain name requires a one-time registration fee followed by recurring annual fees  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 3.3.2 Supply-Chain Management • Fulfillment – Warehouse storage, shipping, inventory management and return procedures • Manufacturer – The direct producer of the product • Distributor – The supplier who acts as a middleman to manufacturers and vendors, often reducing the price of an item by buying in bulk • Allows businesses with Web-enabled supply chains to accept made-to-order requests (Dell)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 3.3.2 Supply-Chain Management • Increased efficiency – Web merchant can serve customers better by knowing the status of each order – Web-based fulfillment mechanisms will demonstrate if the product is available, if it has left the warehouse or if it has been delivered and who signed for it – Wireless Internet access allows fulfillment status to be checked from any location at any time • Supply-chain management services and software – ChangePoint, GoCargo.com, Evolve, Atlas Commerce, SubmitOrder.com  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 3.3.2 Supply-Chain Management GoCargo.com shipping bid. (Courtesy of GoCargo.com)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 3.3.3 Web-Site Hosting • Web host – Provides products, services and support for companies, organizations and individuals to help them create and maintain Web sites – Offers customers space on a Web server where they can build a Web site • Dedicated server – Assigned one specific purpose, ensuring that the function that the server was intended to manage is not interrupted by other responsibilities, offering consistent download times • Colocation – Includes a dedicated Internet connection and protection from power outages, fire and other disasters  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 3.3.3 Web-Site Hosting • Web-hosting services – Loudcloud – Hostopia – DedicatedHosting.com – – – – – – HostPro Global Crossing Exodus Digital Island Digex ValueWeb  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 3.3.3 Web-Site Hosting • Turnkey solutions – – – – Freemerchant Yahoo! Store BigStep.com Tripod.com – – – – – Commerce One Virtual Spin AbleCommerce’s AuctionBuilder Bidland.com WebSiteForFree.com – Homestead  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 3.3.4 Web Design • Web site should be easy to navigate • Content should be the foundation of the site and updated regularly • Design consistency – Uniformity among the sections and pages • Examples of well-designed sites: – Cooking.com – Apple – Crayola – Amazon.com – eBay  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 3.3.4 Web Design • • • • • Strong branding Easily located contact information Consistent appearance of logos and color scheme Easily located products and prices Low-switching costs – The costs of changing vendors  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 3.3.4 Web Design WebSiteForFREE.com’s site design. (Courtesy of WebSiteForFREE.com)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 3.3.4 Web Design Homestead site tour. (Courtesy of Homestead.com © Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 26 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience • Adding a search engine – Freefind • Intelligent agents – Software programs that communicate with end users and recognize the users’ preferences (Amazon.com) • Enhancing visual experience – ZOOM Server software – ImagePump • Community-building tools – MyEvents.com • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 27 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience ImagePump Zoom Technology. (Courtesy of Xippix, Inc.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 28 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience Enhanced view with the Magnifier. (Courtesy of Xippix, Inc.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 29 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience MyEvents.com calendar feature. (Courtesy of MyEvents.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 30 3.3.5 Enhancing the User Experience MyEvents.com contacts feature. (Courtesy of My Events.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 31 3.3.6 Protecting Your e-Business • Timely shipping and effective personalization • Protection from mistakes and misunderstandings – Egghead.com • Privacy policy – Secure Assure • Disclaimers should be easy to locate and information should be presented in a clear and concise manner – Offer protection against: • Small spelling or editing errors • Inaccurate statistics or product prices • Dated information and inaccurate links  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 32 3.3.6 Protecting Your e-Business Secure Assure’s example of a Privacy Profile™ (Courtesy of Secure Assure, LLC.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 33 3.3.7 Streaming Media • While multimedia such as streaming video and audio can enhance content, not all users have the capabilities to download this kind of information • Provide consumers with simpler Web pages • Test your Web site’s effectiveness by running trial downloads of your site through a standard dial-up connection prior to launch  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 3.3.8 Preparing for New Technologies • Keep up with new technology • Plan for new technologies during initial building stages – Cell phone – Pager – Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) • Employ new technologies to make your e-business accessible to mobile devices  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 34 35 3.4 e-Business Solutions • Enable good managers and business owners to build, manage and maintain an e-business • Web-site building services • e-Consulting • Marketing  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 3.4.1 End-to-End e-Business Solutions • End-to-end solution provider – Offers services to build Web sites from conception to implementation • • • • • • Design, development and deployment services Payment capabilities Web-site monitoring services Back-end adaptation Fulfillment Data management  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 36 3.4.1 End-to-End e-Business Solutions • End-to-end solution providers – – – – – – – – – – – – Webvision Microsoft’s bCentral ROIDirect’s Ecommerce Dell E Works Genuity Interland Appnet Sapient Scient Viant Proxicom Inforte  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 37 38 3.4.2 Other e-Business Solutions • Exist for e-business development, operation and management • Solution providers – Openair.com – – – – – – – – Intacct BAport Accounting Netledger BizTone Financials Allaire Spectra Mediasurface InfoOffice ITKnowledge.comSM  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 3.4.3 Maintaining and Monitoring Your Web Site • Balanced Scorecard – A method used to measure the success of a business by its performance in customer satisfaction, integration capabilities and potential for growth – An e-business must also consider its use of current technologies for management and production purposes • Monitoring software and services – Mercury Interactive, ebSure, Inc., Akamai, iSharp.com, Holistix, Keynote.com, Site Rock, Red Alert  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 39 3.4.3 Maintaining and Monitoring Your Web Site Holistix’s Web Manager. (Courtesy of Holistix, Inc.)  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 40 41 3.4.4 e-Commerce Consulting • Guide developing e-businesses • Consulting services – – – – – – – – – – Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) iPlanet SAP Sun Microsystems Kintana Xpedior Ernst & Young Deloitte & Touche eRunway Answerthink Consulting Group  2001 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.