Webvan was founded in the heyday of the dot-com boom in the late 1990s by Louis Borders, who also co-founded the Borders bookstore in 1971. Webvan's original investors included Goldman Sachs and Yahoo!, who encouraged it to rapidly build its own infrastructure (the first-mover advantage strategy popularized by Amazon.com) to deliver groceries in a number of cities.Some journalists and analysts blamed this serious error of judgment on the fact that none of Webvan's senior executives (or major investors) had any management experience in the supermarket industry, including its CEO George Shaheen who had resigned as head of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), a management consulting firm, to join the venture.
Webvan tried to embrace a total customer satisfaction model involving a 30 minute window delivery without considering that many working customers would like their groceries delivered at home at night.
While Webvan was popular, the money spent on infrastructure far exceeded sales growth, and the company eventually ran out of money. For example: Webvan placed a $1 billion (USD) order with engineering company Bechtel to build its warehouses, bought a fleet of delivery trucks, purchased 30 Sun Microsystems Enterprise 4500 servers, dozens of Compaq ProLiant computers and several Cisco Systems model 7513 and 7507 routers, as well as more than 80 21-inch ViewSonic color monitors and at least 115 Herman Miller Aeron chairs (at over $800 each).
Why did they fail?
What are the patterns and warning signs? How can we detect the warning signs
in organizations before it is too late?
Four Explanations
behaviors that lead to failure:
1. Executive Mindset Failures - Breakdowns in how
executives perceive reality for their companies
2. Delusions of a Dream Company - How people
within an organization face up to their reality
3. Lost Signals - How information and control
systems in the organization are mismanaged
4. Patterns of Unsuccessful Executive Habits - How
organizational leaders adopt unsuccessful behaviors
As part of its shutdown process, all non-perishable food was donated to local food banks. Webvan's legacy consists of thousands of colored plastic shipping bins for groceries that are still sitting in customers' basements and closets, and a lucrative severance package for ex-CEO Shaheen
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Benefits & Limitations Of E-Commerce
Benefits Of Ecommerce
E Commerce is one of the most important facets of the Internet to have emerged in the recent times. Ecommerce or electronic commerce involves carrying out business over the Internet with the assistance of computers, which are linked to each other forming a network. To be specific ecommerce would be buying and selling of goods and services and transfer of funds through digital communications.
Ecommerce allows people to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. One can log on to the Internet at any point of time, be it day or night and purchase or sell anything one desires at a single click of the mouse.
The direct cost-of-sale for an order taken from a web site is lower than through traditional means (retail, paper based), as there is no human interaction during the on-line electronic purchase order process. Also, electronic selling virtually eliminates processing errors, as well as being faster and more convenient for the visitor.
Ecommerce is ideal for niche products. Customers for such products are usually few. But in the vast market place i.e. the Internet, even niche products could generate viable volumes.
Another important benefit of Ecommerce is that it is the cheapest means of doing business. The day-to-day pressures of the marketplace have played their part in reducing the opportunities for companies to invest in improving their competitive position. A mature market, increased competitions have all reduced the amount of money available to invest. If the selling price cannot be increased and the manufactured cost cannot be decreased then the difference can be in the way the business is carried out. Ecommerce has provided the solution by decimating the costs, which are incurred.
From the buyer’s perspective also ecommerce offers a lot of tangible advantages.
1.Reduction in buyer’s sorting out time.
2.Better buyer descisions
3.Less time is spent in resolving invoice and order discrepancies.
4.Increased opportunities for buying alternative products.
Limitations of e-Commerce (e-Business) - you should understand some of the limitations and be able to explain these to a potential client because not everyone is convinced the internet will be a major way to conduct business - example TV has been around for a long time - but only a small percentage of all companies advertize on TV !!
Technical Limitations
Costs of a technological solution .Some protocols are not standardized around the world so its effects the reliability for certain processes
Insufficient telecommunications bandwidth .The software tools are not fixed but constantly evolving (ie. Netscape 3,4,4.7,4.75 etc.) integrating digital and non-digital sales and production information access limitations of dial-up, cable, ISDN, wireless
some vendors require certain software to show features on their pages, which is not common in the standard browser used by the majority
Difficulty in integrating e-Commerce infrastructure with current organizational IT systems
Non-Technical Limitations .
1.Customer fear of personal information being used wrongly privacy issues
2.It affects the security and privacy and is cause vulnerability to fraud and other crimes
3.Users might have lack of trust afraid the information being unsecure
E Commerce is one of the most important facets of the Internet to have emerged in the recent times. Ecommerce or electronic commerce involves carrying out business over the Internet with the assistance of computers, which are linked to each other forming a network. To be specific ecommerce would be buying and selling of goods and services and transfer of funds through digital communications.
Ecommerce allows people to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. One can log on to the Internet at any point of time, be it day or night and purchase or sell anything one desires at a single click of the mouse.
The direct cost-of-sale for an order taken from a web site is lower than through traditional means (retail, paper based), as there is no human interaction during the on-line electronic purchase order process. Also, electronic selling virtually eliminates processing errors, as well as being faster and more convenient for the visitor.
Ecommerce is ideal for niche products. Customers for such products are usually few. But in the vast market place i.e. the Internet, even niche products could generate viable volumes.
Another important benefit of Ecommerce is that it is the cheapest means of doing business. The day-to-day pressures of the marketplace have played their part in reducing the opportunities for companies to invest in improving their competitive position. A mature market, increased competitions have all reduced the amount of money available to invest. If the selling price cannot be increased and the manufactured cost cannot be decreased then the difference can be in the way the business is carried out. Ecommerce has provided the solution by decimating the costs, which are incurred.
From the buyer’s perspective also ecommerce offers a lot of tangible advantages.
1.Reduction in buyer’s sorting out time.
2.Better buyer descisions
3.Less time is spent in resolving invoice and order discrepancies.
4.Increased opportunities for buying alternative products.
Limitations of e-Commerce (e-Business) - you should understand some of the limitations and be able to explain these to a potential client because not everyone is convinced the internet will be a major way to conduct business - example TV has been around for a long time - but only a small percentage of all companies advertize on TV !!
Technical Limitations
Costs of a technological solution .Some protocols are not standardized around the world so its effects the reliability for certain processes
Insufficient telecommunications bandwidth .The software tools are not fixed but constantly evolving (ie. Netscape 3,4,4.7,4.75 etc.) integrating digital and non-digital sales and production information access limitations of dial-up, cable, ISDN, wireless
some vendors require certain software to show features on their pages, which is not common in the standard browser used by the majority
Difficulty in integrating e-Commerce infrastructure with current organizational IT systems
Non-Technical Limitations .
1.Customer fear of personal information being used wrongly privacy issues
2.It affects the security and privacy and is cause vulnerability to fraud and other crimes
3.Users might have lack of trust afraid the information being unsecure
An Example an E-Commerce Success and its causes
In my opinion, Amazon.com is my choices that I picked for the “An example an E-commerce success and its causes. Jeff Bezos has founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994, and launched it online in 1995.Nowadays, Amazon.com has 35 million customers .Moreover, it has a huge amount list of inimitable items in categories such as books music, DVD, music CDs, MP3 format, computer and video games, furniture, toys, food and many more. Amazon has established separate websites in Canada and United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Japan.
Amazon.com has chosen SAS as the foundation of its fraud detection system as other users who sells or buying goods through Amazon.com can feel more secured as no fraud can be actually done by hacker easily. Amazon.com has been familiar by large number of internet users including me due to its success such as ability for the users to find and discover anything product the users might want to buy. It become a choice for consumers a search before make decision to buy online.
It provides the users to submit reviews web page of each product. Rating scale is provided to rate the product from one to five stars. The users is compulsory to rate the product as a basic idea of the fame and reliability of a product. The review feature is an important and highly influential function for customers and one of the main reasons for amazon.com’s success at selling books.
Additionally, customers are allowed to look for the keywords wanted in a full text of many books in catalog in Search inside the Book. There have about 250000 books in the program which has cooperated with approximately 130 publishers to enable the users to search in Search inside the Book.
Users are allowed to comment on reviews too. Users are free to express their experience on the product in the context of their own lives as these comments are more helpful, and interesting to other customers.Especially for those customers who hesitate about which product is better can make a wise decision.
Amazon.com has chosen SAS as the foundation of its fraud detection system as other users who sells or buying goods through Amazon.com can feel more secured as no fraud can be actually done by hacker easily. Amazon.com has been familiar by large number of internet users including me due to its success such as ability for the users to find and discover anything product the users might want to buy. It become a choice for consumers a search before make decision to buy online.
It provides the users to submit reviews web page of each product. Rating scale is provided to rate the product from one to five stars. The users is compulsory to rate the product as a basic idea of the fame and reliability of a product. The review feature is an important and highly influential function for customers and one of the main reasons for amazon.com’s success at selling books.
Additionally, customers are allowed to look for the keywords wanted in a full text of many books in catalog in Search inside the Book. There have about 250000 books in the program which has cooperated with approximately 130 publishers to enable the users to search in Search inside the Book.
Users are allowed to comment on reviews too. Users are free to express their experience on the product in the context of their own lives as these comments are more helpful, and interesting to other customers.Especially for those customers who hesitate about which product is better can make a wise decision.
Success Of E-Com &Its Cause
E-Bay is a bright example. eBay was quick to recognize peoples' desire to earn economic profits by trading second-hand products. eBay realized the need for a platform where such buyers and sellers could meet and trade. ECommerce technologies helped eBay to create the required platform required and the rest is history.
Millions of collectibles, decor, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily.
Millions of collectibles, decor, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily.
In 2005, eBay launched its Business & Industrial category, breaking into the industrial surplus business. Some items are rare and valuable, while many others are dusty gizmos that would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide. Anything can be sold as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay Prohibited and Restricted Items policy.Services and intangibles can be sold, too. Large international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts. Regional searches of the database make shipping slightly faster and cheaper. Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK allow the users to trade using the local currency as an additional option to PayPal. Software developers can create applications that integrate with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. As of June of 2005, there were over 15,000 members in the eBay Developers Program, comprising a broad range of companies creating software applications to support eBay buyers and sellers as well as eBay Affiliates.
Controversy has arisen over certain items put up for bid. For instance, in late 1999, a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States, illegal) market for transplantable human organs. On other occasions, people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke or to garner free publicity. In general, the company removes auctions that violate its terms of service agreement within a short time after hearing of the auction from an outsider; the company's policy is to not pre-approve transactions. eBay is also an easy place for unscrupulous sellers to market counterfeit merchandise, which can be difficult for novice buyers to distinguish without careful study of the auction description.
Controversy has arisen over certain items put up for bid. For instance, in late 1999, a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States, illegal) market for transplantable human organs. On other occasions, people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke or to garner free publicity. In general, the company removes auctions that violate its terms of service agreement within a short time after hearing of the auction from an outsider; the company's policy is to not pre-approve transactions. eBay is also an easy place for unscrupulous sellers to market counterfeit merchandise, which can be difficult for novice buyers to distinguish without careful study of the auction description.
The History & Evaluation Of E-Com
History & Evaluation
History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first Internet companies to allow electronic transactions. Thanks to their founders we now have a handsome ecommerce sector and enjoy the buying and selling advantages of the Internet. Currently there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers: Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office supplies and other consumer electronics.
The meaning of electronic commerce has changed over the last 30 years. Originally, electronic commerce meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s were also forms of electronic commerce. From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.
Perhaps it is introduced from the Telephone Exchange Office, or maybe not.The earliest example of many-to-many electronic commerce in physical goods was the Boston Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computers launched in 1982. The first online information marketplace, including online consulting, was likely the American Information Exchange, another pre-Internet online system introduced in 1991.
History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first Internet companies to allow electronic transactions. Thanks to their founders we now have a handsome ecommerce sector and enjoy the buying and selling advantages of the Internet. Currently there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers: Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office supplies and other consumer electronics.
The meaning of electronic commerce has changed over the last 30 years. Originally, electronic commerce meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s were also forms of electronic commerce. From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.
Perhaps it is introduced from the Telephone Exchange Office, or maybe not.The earliest example of many-to-many electronic commerce in physical goods was the Boston Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computers launched in 1982. The first online information marketplace, including online consulting, was likely the American Information Exchange, another pre-Internet online system introduced in 1991.
An example of an E-Commerce success and its causes
eBay is a good example of a successful E-Commerce. This is because eBay is an Entrepreneurs worldwide sit in wonderment of how something as intangible as a mere web site can generate the activity and revenue as does this dot com entity. From the surveys, people who used to online shopping in eBay will feel very safe as there can have communication between the buyer and seller, and can discuss about the price if the buyer feels the price is considerably high than their budget. For each of the item, the details are provided to let the users have a complete picture of the product. Besides, the buyer could also read the comments about the product that he or she may want to purchase to have clearer information on the related production. This is because if the buyer feels that the seller is a good seller will leave comment and rank for them and vice versa. Moreover, the information in the eBay will also keep up to date, and the buyer can find the items they need very easily and user friendly. For the items that are available in Ebay, they will be categorized to render the users access to them easily. In fact, they can search for the items that they have interest to purchase in fast and effective way.
On the other hand, any user details will not be disclosured to anyone as to assure the privacy is warranted. Emphatically, everything in eBay is well secured. In addition, all the sellers and buyers must be follow all the rules which are set by the eBay when do the registration and business transaction between each others. This is to ensure the process will be done smoothly and proceed efficiently. If any reports of deceit received by eBay, eBay will take action immediately to ensure the quality of the products can be controlled all the time.
On the other hand, any user details will not be disclosured to anyone as to assure the privacy is warranted. Emphatically, everything in eBay is well secured. In addition, all the sellers and buyers must be follow all the rules which are set by the eBay when do the registration and business transaction between each others. This is to ensure the process will be done smoothly and proceed efficiently. If any reports of deceit received by eBay, eBay will take action immediately to ensure the quality of the products can be controlled all the time.
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