MEC JUNE 2011

Q.1 a. Explain sell side and buy side ecommerce. Ans. Pg. 9,10 Sell side: Sell side marketplace model has a one-to-many interaction pattern and is initiatedby a single supplier supporting many buyers. The model is also known as supplyside or sell-centric model. In this model there is a single supplier, who initiatesthe market, and multiple buyers. The model can facilitate online procurement byallowing procuring organizations to take part in the market as a buyer. Examplesof sell side solutions include computer manufacturer Dell (www.dell.com/ ) andwholesale distributor W.W.Grainger (www.grainger.com/) (Archer andGebauer, 1999).Most of the advantages are for the selling organization that owns the sell sidesolution. The seller drives the prices of goods based on level of supply. Thesolution is seller biased, and the seller has the most control over the marketplace.Buyers can benefit from low maintenance costs and through smaller investmentcosts compared to the seller.For online procurement, the procuring or buying organization faces substantialdisadvantages. A drawback of sell side model is that buying organizations mayhave to integrate their systems with various solutions if they interact with multiple suppliers (Archer and Gebauer, 1999). Buying organizations must alsoadhere to the standards and protocols adopted by the buying organization. Buyersalso face competition from other buying organizations, especially in situationswhen there is low supply and high demand.A disadvantage to the selling organization is that it is responsible for investment,maintenance of the system and establishing various standards and protocols.Its characteristics include: 1-many interaction patternSupports forward auctions and online catalogsPrivate or public accessibilitySeller side biasSeller ownership

Advantages to selling organization This factor is used to identify the advantages of the particular model to the selling organization. Different models provide different benefits to the seller, and the benefits can be assessed according to level of control, price of goods (higher) and cost of adopting the solution. Disadvantages to selling organization The selling organization may be disadvantaged by the solution. Different models have different disadvantages, and can be assessed according to level of integration with internal systems, complying with different standards, and maintenance costs Buy side ecommerce: Buy side markets are initiated by a single or small number of large buyers with many smaller fragmented sellers. This model supports procurement, fulfillment and purchasing initiated by the buyer. Buy side

models facilitate reverse auction dynamic, pricing mechanism. Examples of buy side solutions includeFreemarkets.com and Covisint. Benefits of this model include streamlined purchasing operations and time and cost savings (Archer and Gebauer, 1999). Most of the advantages are for the buyer organization that owns the system. In terms of online procurement the buyer drives the demand and price. The selling organizations benefit from low or nil maintenance costs. The disadvantage of this model is that supplier interacting with multiple buyers will have to deliver data in various formats. The suppliers must also adhere to the standards and protocols adopted by the buying organization. Another disadvantage is that the buying organization is responsible for investment, maintenance and establishing various standards and protocols. Its characteristics include: 1-many interaction patternSupports reverse auctions and online catalogsPrivate or public accessibilityBuyer side biasBuyer ownership

Advantages to buying organization This factor is used to identify the advantages of the particular model to the buying or procuring organization. Different models provide different benefits to the buyer, and the benefits can be assessed according to level of control, price of goods (lower) and cost of adopting the solution. Disadvantages to buying organization This factor is used to identify the disadvantages of the particular model to the buying or procuring organization. The models have different disadvantages to the buyer, and the benefits can be assessed according to level of integration with internal systems, complying with different standards, and maintenance costs.
b. State the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness

Ans. Pg. 7
Ecommerce
E-commerce is any transaction completed over a computer-mediated network that involves the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods and services, defines the U.S. Census Bureau. Transactions aren't required to have a price and include both sales and items like free downloads. Ecommerce includes transactions made on the internet, Intranet, Extranet, World Wide Web, by email and even by fax.

Ebusiness
E-business is broader than e-commerce; including the transaction based e-commerce businesses and those who run traditionally but cater to online activities as well. An e-business can run any portion of its internal processes online, including inventory management, risk management, finance, human resources. For a business to be e-commerce and ebusiness, it must both sell products online and handle other company activities or additional sales offline.

E-commerce principally involves money exchanges in the transactions.

In e-business, as it is broader, it is not limited to monetary transactions. All aspects in business are included like marketing, product design, supply management, etc.

Well, of course, e-commerce is an integral part of the e-business process but in strict terms, it is the activity of selling and buying. E-commerce is just an aspect or a subset of it.
E-commerce essentially involves monetary trade

E-business is more about making great products, brainstorming and giving quality service, planning about product exposure and executing it. E-business is broader in scope
In e-business, money transactions are not necessary.

E-commerce only covers business transactions such as buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. e-business refers to more strategic focus with an emphasis on the functions that occur using electronic capabilities

E-business involves marketing, product design, consumer service evaluation, and more. E-commerce is a subset of an overall e-business strategy. E-commerce seeks to add revenue streams using the World Wide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with clients and partners and to improve efficiency using the Empty Vessel strategy. E-business involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners.

Often, e-commerce involves the application of knowledge management systems.

c. What are the requirements of secure ecommerce site? Ans. Pg. 560, 561 d. What are the risks and impacts of e-procurement? Ans. Pg. 318 Q.2 a. Discuss the revenue model of a milliondollarhomepage.com and how is it different from other revenue models. Ans. Q2. B. What is intermediation, disintermediation and reintermediation, explain with examples. Ans. Pg 45, 46 Intermediation Intermediation is the process of creating a new or online middleman. Intermediation can also be a form of "outsourcing," as when a vendor performs a task for a customer that is not a core-competency of that customer.

Online auction sites like eBay are intermediators. For consumers, an intermediators is a new middleman. Before the Internet, consumers had few choices for exchanging information and products. The breadth and depth of the Internet provides consumers with a new, wider marketplace. For most businesses, intermediation has existed but has been inefficient. The Internet provides a method of providing an efficient market for the exchange of goods and services. Disintermediation Disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain, or "cutting out the middleman". Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediate (such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent), companies may now deal with every customer directly, for example via the Internet.[1] One important factor is a drop in the cost of servicing customers directly. This can also happen in other industries where distributors or resellers operate and the manufacturer wants to increase profit margins, therefore missing out intermediaries to increase their margins. Disintermediation initiated by consumers is often the result of high market transparency, in that buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. Buyers bypass the middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) to buy directly from the manufacturer, and pay less. Buyers can alternatively elect to purchase from wholesalers. Often, a business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C) company functions as the bridge between buyer and manufacturer. Reintermediation Reintermediation can be defined as the reintroduction of an intermediary between end users (consumers) and a producer. This term applies especially to instances in which disintermediation has occurred first. At the start of the Internet revolution, electronic commerce was seen as a tool of disintermediation for cutting operating costs. The concept was that by allowing consumers to purchase products directly from producers via the Internet, the product delivery chain would be drastically shortened, thereby "disintermediating" the standard supply model middlemen. However, what largely happened was that new intermediaries appeared in the digital landscape (e.g., Amazon.com and eBay). Reintermediation occurred due to many new problems associated with the e-commerce disintermediation concept, largely centered on the issues associated with the direct-to-consumers model. The high cost of shipping many small orders, massive customer service issues, and confronting the wrath of disintermediated retailers and supply channel partners all presented real obstacles. Huge resources are required to accommodate presales and postsales issues of individual consumers. Before disintermediation, supply chain middlemen acted as salespeople for the producers. Without them, the producer itself would have to handle procuring those customers. Selling online has its own associated costs: developing quality websites, maintaining product information, and marketing expenses all add up. Finally, limiting a product's availability to Internet channels forces the producer to compete with the rest of the Internet for customers' attention, a space that is becoming increasingly crowded over time.

Q.3 A. Describe the micro environment and the macro environment in ebusiness Ans. Pg. 42,146 Macroenvironment:

PESTEL analysis
The six environmental factors of the PESTEL analysis are the following:

Political factors
Taxation Policy Trade regulations Governmental stability Unemployment Policy, etc.

Economical factors
Inflation rate Growth in spending power Rate of people in a pensionable age Recession or Boom Customer liquidations

Socio-cultural
Age distribution Education levels Income level Consumerism Population growth Life expectancies Expectation of society from the business

Technological factors
Internet E-commerce Social Media Electronic Media

Environmental factors
Competitive advantage Waste disposal Energy consumption Pollution monitoring, etc.

Legal factors
Unemployment law Health and safety Product safety Advertising regulations Product labeling labor laws etc.

Ecology
affects customer's buying habits. affect the firm production process.

Potential supplies
labor supply quantity of labor available. quality of labor available.

material suppliers. delivery delay. level of competition to suppliers,

service provider. special requirement.

Microenvironment:
Micro-environment is the specific or the task environment of a business which affects its working or operations directly on a regular basis. While the changes in the macro-environment affect business in the long run, the effects of changes in the micro-environment are noticed immediately. Hence, organisations must closely analyze and monitor all the elements of the micro-environment on a regular basis. The elements of micro- environment are as follows: Elements of Micro-environment 1. Consumers/Customers: No organization can survive without customers and consumers. A customer is the one who buys a product or service for the consumer who ultimately consumes or uses the product or service of the organization. Hence, the consumer occupies the central position; therefore an organization must closely monitor and analyze the following: a) Who are the customers/consumers? b) What features or benefits are they looking for? c) What are their income levels?

d) What are their tastes, preferences? e) What are their buying patterns, etc? 2. Organisation: An organization refers to a group of all individuals working in different capacities and the practices and culture they follow. In micro-environment analysis, nothing is as important as self-analysis, which is done by the organization itself. Understanding one's own strengths and weaknesses in a particular business is of vital importance. Organisations consist of specific groups of people who are likely to influence an organization, which are as follows: a) Owners-Proprietor, partners, shareholders, etc., who invest resources and also make major decisions for the business. b) Board of directors-Elected by share holders, the board is responsible for day-to-day and general management of the organization to ensure that it is being run in a way that best serves the shareholders' interests. c) Employees-People who actually do the work in an organization. Employees are the major force within an organization. It is important for an organization to have its employees embrace the same values and goals as the organization. However, they differ in beliefs, education, attitudes, and capabilities. When the management and employees work towards different goals, everyone suffers. 3. Market: Market refers to the system of contact between an organization and its customers. The firm should study the trends and development and the key success factors of the market, which are as follows: a) The existing and the potential demand in market b) Market growth rate c) Cost structure d) Price sensitivity e) Technological structure f) Distribution system, etc 4. Suppliers: The suppliers refer to the providers of inputs, like raw materials, equipment and services, to an organization. Large companies have to deal with hundreds of suppliers to maintain their production. Suppliers with their own bargaining power affect working and cost structure of the industry. Hence it is important for an organization to carry out a study of the following:

a) Who are the suppliers? b) What are their products, prices and terms and conditions? c) Whether to "Outsource" production or get it done "in-house" depending on this supplier environment, and so on. 5. Intermediaries: Intermediaries include agents and brokers who facilitate the contact between buyers and sellers for a commission. They may exert a considerable influence on the business organisations as, in many cases, the consumers are not aware of the manufacturers and their products. Hence, manufacturers use intermediaries to reach out to consumers.

Q.3 b. Outline the stages involved in developing a strategic emarketing plan. Ans. Pg. 340 Q.4 a Propose a start up venture for any ebusiness. Make a business plan. The business plan should include executive summary, business description, business environment analysis industry background, and competitor analysis, market analysis, marketing plan, operation plan, management summary and financial plan. Ans. Pg. 32 (incase u dont get any other answerbut this one is not perfect) Q.4 b. Explain SLEPT factors in ebusiness Ans. Pg. 146 Q.5 a. Using industry examples summarize three benefits of using ecommerce to streamline supply chain Ans. A supply chain consists of all the entities involved in the process of manufacturing and distributing a
good to the consumer. This includes suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retail outlets. Businesses stand to benefit from integrating the entire supply chain to enable e-commerce. This is done using communications networks, including the Internet and extranets, to facilitate electronic data exchange and communication among the members of a supply chain. The benefits include better management, customer satisfaction and cost cutting.

Better Management You could manage your company better by integrating your suppliers, manufacturers and distributors for e-commerce. You could work directly with entities on your supply chain, cutting out any intermediaries. This speeds up the process and also results in savings. By integrating its supply chain, for instance, a car manufacturer could keep in better touch with dealers and fulfill customer orders faster.

Customer Satisfaction Customers expect timely deliveries. Retailers want to satisfy their customers and keep the right amount of inventories on hand. They keep track of customer tastes and are attuned to changes in their demand for various products and brands. By using an e-commerce integrated supply chain, retailers could track demand, determine how long the suppliers take to fulfill orders and order goods from their suppliers in time to keep their inventories replenished and their customers happy. A car dealer could cut down on delivery times for customers, particularly in the case of special orders. Cost Savings Ultimately, better management using an e-commerce integrated supply chain enables participants to reap cost savings. If you have a system that allows you to get supplies faster, this cuts down on your manufacturing lead times, which saves money. And if you use an e-commerce system to better handle customer orders, you could cut down on the money you would tie up in inventories. Considering that your e-commerce-integrated supply chain allows you to order goods and receive them on time to meet customer needs, you will likely use the system to better coordinate your supplier deliveries with consumer demand, better managing the entire interaction to reduce costs. Q.5 b. Formulate an effective strategy using ERRC grid and strategy canvas to compete with amazon.com

Ans. Blue Ocean Strategy is a great way to leap beyond the competition. It (as a concept) first emerged in a book (of the same name) written by W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne and published by Harvard Business Press in 2005. Now it has blossomed into a global institution that offers consulting, training and presentations regarding Blue Ocean Strategy. The main gist of it is simple. Rather than compete in what they refer to as the bloody red ocean where all your competitors are, why not be better off by finding a blue ocean where no one else is in yet. Take note though that in this article, we are going to use Blue Oceans framework purely from a marketing activities / programs / campaigns point of view rather than from a holistic strategy for a product / organization standpoint. Strategy Canvas Strategy Canvas is both a diagnostic and an action framework for building a compelling Blue Ocean Strategy. It quickly captures (into one simple picture) the factors that an industry competes on and invests in, the offering level of each factor that buyers receive, and the strategic profile of a company and its competitors across the key competing areas. The as is strategy canvas depicts where a company stands today in the known market space. The to be strategy canvas, on the other hand, describes a companys proposed future strategic profile in its attempt to create a blue ocean. For a B2B marketing strategy framework, Strategy Canvas with ERRC Grid can visually represent the points which will help you determine the

areas wherein you should focus your energy. Lets have a gander at the grid shall we?

Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid (ERRC Grid) Eliminate. We should first determine which of the factors present should be eliminated? Specifically those factors that are taken for granted in the B2B Marketing industry. Of course there is no straight answer here because it all depends on your industry. Obviously, we should weave out what works apart from those that doesnt. For example, Hubspot decided that they would no longer participate in tradeshows since they determined that its not working for them. Ben & Jerrys, on the other hand, stopped sending out email newsletters because they felt like it was not the way to go. Another example is Apple, who has never actively taken part in social media (amidst all the hype and furious activity surrounding it) because their brand is so ubiquitous to begin with. The thing is do we have to be compelled to go for the same old things (even if they dont actually work for us) just because we are habituated to do so? The sensible answer is no that is why there is a need for us to sift through our methods and eliminate accordingly. Reduce. We must then ask ourselves which factors should be reduced well below the industrys standard. Everyone is practically doing the same things and aping each other and thats a huge reason why mediocrity is so prevalent especially in the world of B2B marketing. Yes, methods or mediums that work are always good essentially and we can always take our proverbial twocents from classic campaigns. But if everyones using those methods or avenues, then such a

system is usually destined to crumble under its own magnified weight. If your goal is to set yourself apart, you should consider if its really worth resorting to a me-too campaign just like what everyone else is doing. Raise. The third part of the grid is raise. There are elements to your B2B marketing campaign which you can consider raising above the industrys standard instead of reducing like what you did in the second step. By isolating key areas showing promising results and clear ROI, we can determine the elements worth elevating. Of course weve stated earlier that we must essentially veer away from what everybody else is doing and mark our own paths. But there are things worth doing and there are also things worth doing more. Having isolated what you need to raise (on the strength that they work and have defined ROI), raise the frequency and do it more. Create. The final part pertains to creation. Sometimes we take norms and standards too seriously in such a way that they become an encumbrance to our success. We are usually afraid to adopt marketing strategies which have never been implemented before. But we also need to be able to heed to the call of creating something that is entirely new or different because this may help us place ourselves in a completely different position apart from our competitors. Study other industries and B2C marketers and learn from them. Also revisit your buyers persona. Finally, think hard if you are missing out on any tiers and then figure out how to target them accordingly. B2B marketing can stand to benefit from Blue Ocean Strategys core lesson of creating new demand in an uncontested market space. Adapting Blue Ocean Strategy to our campaigns and suppressing the tendency to go for the me-too mindset would give us a fresh angle to our approach that could lead to positive results from our marketing campaigns for brand awareness to lead generation.
http://www.psclipper.com/BlueOceanDetail.asp Q.6 a. What are the implementation challenges in mcommerce? Ans. Lim & Siau (2003) explained about four main challenges in implementation of mcommerce. They are application challenges, network obstacles, infrastructure problems and legal concerns. There could be a number of factors those could influence the implementation of m-commerce. However, according to Xin (2009) the following factors influence the development and implementation of m-commerce:

a) Network Infrastructure: M-commerce services depend on the network infrastructure of the operators. The 2G network is sufficient to support the m-commerce services based on SMS (Short message Services). But advanced m-commerce services like Internet services, location-based services, mobile banking, remote control of home network and security systems need more advanced network like 2.5G or 3G. b) Cost of M-commerce Services: As the advanced m-commerce services need advanced network like 3G, the implementation of this new network may incur big cost for the mobile operators. Moreover the transaction fees which may be charged by network operator or financial institutions for mcommerce could have an impact on merchants willingness to provide the service. c) Hardware and Handsets: The mobile handsets with advanced options would be the primary access platform for m-commerce services. These devices may be costly for initial users. d) Integrity of Transactions and Trust in Services: There must be a level of security that would reduce the risk involved in transaction and the merchant and the customer should be covered for any fraudulent payment. e) Privacy: Location based m-commerce services have the capability of identifying the users location. Though it may provide a number of potential services to the users, but it also offer some threats for users privacy. f) Culture and M-commerce User Acceptance: As the information technology is not culturally neutral. The development of m-commerce could be effected by the regions or countrys economical, social and cultural background as the user with different cultural background may accept the new technology in different way. Q.6 b. What is e-CRM and what are its benefits Ans. Pg. 393,394 Q.7 a. Prioritize with justification your recommendations for outsourcing these functions ecommerce strategy, hosting and content updating. Ans. Q.7 b. Explain the concept of digital keys and digital signatures and how they relate. Ans. Pg. 561

MEC JUNE 2012

1. (a) Discuss the benefits and barriers that exist for the adoption of sell-side e- commerce for B2B and B2C organizations. Ans. Pg. 17,18,19,23

Q.1 (b) Explain disintermediation and re-intermediation with examples. What is the relevance of intermediary sites such as kelkoo.com for the B2C Company? Ans. Pg.45-49 2. (a) Discuss different mechanisms for online auctions. Ans. Pg. 58 2. (b) Discuss different revenue models of any portal of your choice. Ans. Pg. 63 3(a) What are the different options for restructuring the supply chain management? Ans.Pg. 285 3 (b) what are the different types of portals?' Explain giving examples of each. Ans. Pg. 51 4. (a)Propose a start-up venture for an e-business for electronic goods. Give details of your business plans' and e-marketing strategies. Justify the statement that environmental influences are important. Ans. Pg. 375,381 4 (b) Comment on key management issues of e-business infrastructure. Ans. Pg. 84 5. (a) Explain the risks and benefits of applying RFID in the manufacturing sector. Ans. Pg. 292, 302 5(b) Describe different elements of an e-procurement system. Explain how cost savings may arise from e-procurement. Ans. Pg. 316 6. (a) What are Michael Porter's five competitive forces? What is the Impact of the Internet on business using the five force framework? Ans. Pg. 219 6(b) With reference to customer acquisition and retention, explain the goals for each required by an ecommerce site manager. Ans. Pg. 402,424 7.Write short notes on: (anytwo)

i) E-CRM Ans. Pg. 393 ii) Change Management Ans. Pg. 458 iii) e-Business strategy process models Ans. Pg. 207 iv) SLEPT factors Ans. Pg. 146