Steps to e-Business Success

1. Steps to e-Business Success Jason C.H. Chen, Ph.D. Professor of MIS School of Business Administration Gonzaga University Spokane, WA 99258, USA chen@jepson.gonzaga.edu

2. Focus on e-Business Applications Knowledge Management/Business Intelligence E-Commerce E-Customer Relationship Procurement Network Trading Network E-Channel Management Businesses & Consumers Businesses M:1 M:N 1:N E-Portal Management E-Services SCM/ERP/Legacy Appls

3. Roles of Information Systems _________ ____________ ________

4. eBusiness Key Concepts • eBusinessthe strategy of how to automate old business models with the aid of technology to maximize customer value • eCommercethe process of buying and selling over digital media (e.g., Internet) • eCRM (eCustomer Relationship Management)the process of building,sustaining, and improving eBusiness relationships with existing and potential customers through digital media

5. _______ eBusiness Processes ______ Customer Relationship Redesign Business Processes (Outside-In) Applying Technology

6. Why e-Business? • The Information economy will make all organizations reassess their positions with respect to their customers-supplier relationship. • “e-Business is bound to come and unless we are able to cope with the changes in this world, our competitiveness will decline.” • this is a clear testament to the power of the new information-based economy and a warning to all companies that inertia must be overcome and change embraced. By Michiyo Nakamoto, Financial Times, Nov. 23, 1999

7. Revolution, Revolution ... • The e-Business revolution is impossible to ignore. • It is transforming businesses in virtually every industry and reshaping the global economy. • Organizational structures and operational practices that have served business well since the Industrial Revolution are suddenly obsolete.

8. Revolution, Revolution (continued) • The entrenched distribution networks that once served as formidable barriers to competition may suddenly become liabilities, unable to respond to the new demands of the marketplace. • The e-Business revolution is as fundamental a change to current society as the industrial revolution was to its preceding agrarian society.

9. e-Business ... • The heart of e-business is interconnectivity and interaction. • The ability to reach more people while sharing information of increasing richness creates new opportunities for value creation in areas such as marketing, customer service, and operations.

10. e-Business (continued) • In this new world, status quo is not an option. Companies have to reinvent themselves to survive. • Given the fast pace of e-business change, actions that once took years to accomplish must now be done in months or weeks.

11. develop guide _____ create Tactic Planning is everything ... ______ Customers, market, competition Products, Services

12. Business Strategy External industry factors and internal resources and competence • Business Decisions • Objectives and Direction • Change Direction for Business/Determine Supports Business/SHAPE Infrastructure and services Needs and priorities Summary on IS/IT Planning: The Relationship Between Business, IS and IT Strategies Where is the business going and why Potential for new business opportunities IS Strategy What business support is required • Business Based • Demand Orientated • Application Focused How it can be delivered IT Strategy • Activity Based • Supply Orientated • Technology Focused

13. Stages of Moving to E-Business Wilcocks, Sauer and Associates (2000)

14. Seven-step Process ... • The following seven-step process can help guide a company through its e-Business transformation. • Cover the gamut of e-business activities, from conception to operation

15. Seven-step Process (continued) • 1. • 2. • 3. • 4. • 5. • 6. • 7. Refresh Regularly

16. Seven-step Process (continued) • 1. Start High • e-Business is more than developing a fancy Website • e-Business is a business rather than a technical endeavor • radical change (BPR) • e-Business initiatives may also cut across corporate boundaries, shifting organizational structures, redefining job descriptions, and upsetting established processes. • Only corporate executives can marshal the forces and commitment to launch an e-Business program and respond the concerns of internal and external stakeholders.

17. Seven-step Process (continued) • 2. Think Fresh • The Internet revolution is radically changing the business game. • Start with a fresh viewpoint and assume that everything is open to question and change. • What your customers are really buying from you? • Is how you deliver your product more important than the product itself? • Porter’s model (commodities vs. differentiation from competitor, e.g., DELL) • Hypercompetition model, Blue Ocean strategy model etc. • SWAT, outsourcing • New ways of pricing your products and services (revenue management) N

18. Seven-step Process (continued) • 3. Know your market • assess your company’s current market • needs of your customers, partners, and suppliers • how you can meet or exceed their needs through e-Business capabilities. • expand upon this market awareness by identifying possible new products, services, and business lines • encroaching competition from existing and unknown sources • formulate your e-Business vision and strategy. • Knowing your market means exploring your: • branding, customers, competition, supply chain, demand chain (e.g., auto online)

19. Seven-step Process (continued) • 4. Set Vision • a long-term vision to guide your company as it enters the e-Business world • the vision defines • what a company wants to do, • what it wants to be. • do not rush to strategies, actions, and results • Vision <--- Mission <--- Goals/objectives <--- Strategies <--- Tactics • Complete executive buy-in is essential; executives must promote the vision and make it part of the corporate culture - therefore, employees will be imbued with new corporate vision

20. Seven-step Process (continued) • 5. Define Strategy • define, select, and prioritize the initiatives needed to implement the company’s e-Business vision • the strategy defines • how the company is going to get there. • incremental actions are not enough • expect high potential returns and advantages • other factors to consider: • process change, organizational change, technical architectures, creative needs, fit within overall vision

21. Seven-step Process (continued) • 6. Create • a company transforms itself through a set of coordinated initiatives that implement that needed organization, technology, and process changes • the most difficult part of an e-Business transformation is changing the underlying business model (but does not mean to undercut the importance of technology nor underestimate the complexity of the implementation) • when building e-business site, consider: • design, content, promotion, legacy integration, development (SDLC), organizational change implementation, training

22. Seven-step Process (continued) • 7. Refresh Regularly • to be viable, a company must continually review, reexamine, and revise its vision, strategies, and implementations. • Speed, innovation, and change are implicit parts of the e-Business world • survey customers continually to learn if it is meeting their needs and goals - making money, reaching prospects, satisfying stakeholders - in order to know when and what to change • keep company’s Website design and content fresh and exciting to attract new visitors and to keep them coming back for more.

23. Seven-step Process (continued) • 7. Refresh Regularly(continued) • launch promotional campaigns • to drive traffic to its Website. Products, and services; • to maintain and enhance its brand identity; and • to garner a greater share of a market where switching costs are low or nonexistent • e-Business promises lower prices and better selection for consumers, and unlimited opportunities for new businesses.

24. Conclusion • The need for interdisciplinary thinking has never been greater … • companies that can continually combine • innovative business thinking, • creative design and content, and • advanced technology • will lead the way in e-Business success.