E-COMMERCE MANAGEMENT

Team Assignment

Gurinder Singh 30121397, Lakshmi Prasanna 30119693

Gurlal Singh 30127161, Effi Khosla 30124854
Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3

2. Analysis of suitability of e-business Venture.........................................................................5

Competitors............................................................................................................................5
Products or services Sold........................................................................................................5
Competitor’s market share....................................................................................................6
Strategies of competitors.......................................................................................................6
Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses...............................................................................6
Potential Opportunities..........................................................................................................6
3. Factors to consider to implement e-commerce....................................................................8

Social constrain.......................................................................................................................8
Demand analysis.....................................................................................................................8
Accessing online channels......................................................................................................8
Legal constraints.....................................................................................................................8
Ethical constraints..................................................................................................................8
Business challenges................................................................................................................8

4. e-Supply chain management & e-Procurement....................................................................9

E-SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT...........................................................................................9

E-PROCUREMENT...................................................................................................................9
E-Supply Chain management Issues.....................................................................................10
E-Procurement Issues...........................................................................................................11
5. e-Marketing & e-Customer Relationship Management......................................................12

E-Customer relationship management Issues and Opportunities.......................................13

E-CRM ISSUES.......................................................................................................................14
E-CRM OPPORTUNITIES........................................................................................................15
6. Localisation Issues & Change Management.........................................................................16

7. Conclusion............................................................................................................................18

References................................................................................................................................19
1. Introduction
This report includes a research on Priceline Australian Company to expand in other country
Singapore by using e-commerce and/or e-business. Singapore is the country assigned by our
team, population of Singapore is nearly 5.399 million in 2013, there are so many top most
pharmacies in Singapore, some of them are Watsons, P & L pharmacy, Medic drug store
etc., which should be analysed to expand Priceline in Singapore. In February 2015 there are
11,512,900 broadband internet subscribers, the major service providers are SingTel, Star
Hub, M1 etc., bond between the two countries Australia and Singapore are strong and has
productive bilateral relationship based on their links. Singapore is one of the largest trades
for Australia and is investment partner in South-East Asia.

Priceline is one of the Australia’s prominent health, beauty and wellbeing retailers, it has
above 390 stores, opened in 1982 and the first store was at Highpoint Victoria, they are
successful in retail and marketing strategies and in e-commerce site by three fold increase in
sales last year. Aim of Priceline is to change at least one person’s health, through the
services provided with medication. In Singapore 73% of population are using internet,
expanding an e-commerce site with Australian Priceline pharmacy would be worth.
 WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS
Penetratio
Internet Internet Growth
Population n (% Users %
World Regions Users Dec. Users Latest 2000-
(2014 Est.) Population of Table
31, 2000 Data 2014
)
1,125,721,03 5219.60
4,514,400 240,146,482 21.30% 8.60%
Africa 8 %
3,996,408,00 114,304,00 1,265,143,70 1006.80
31.70% 45.10%
Asia 7 0 2 %
105,096,09
825,802,657 566,261,317 68.60% 438.80% 20.20%
Europe 3
3060.90
231,062,860 3,284,800 103,829,614 44.90% 3.70%
Middle East %
108,096,80
353,860,227 300,287,577 84.90% 177.80% 10.70%
North America 0
Latin
1571.40
America/Caribbea 612,279,181 18,068,919 302,006,016 49.30% 10.80%
%
n
 Oceania/Australia 36,724,649 7,620,480 24,804,226 67.50% 225.50% 0.90%
7,181,858,61 360,985,49 2,802,478,93 100.00
39.00% 676.30%
World Total 9 2 4 %

World Internet Usage & Population Statistics. [ CITATION Min14 \l 3081 ]

2. Analysis of e-business in Singapore for Priceline:

In this present scenario, electronic business industry has not any limitations. Each and every
single industry is establishing or growing their business and services worldwide via the help
of technology. Priceline is international brand it is owned by API. Priceline has more than
390 stores in Australia and New Zealand which is totally owned by the API. Priceline offer
more than 1000 items cosmetics, skincare, careers, fragrances etc. to the people. In this
present era every country opens their gates for investment directly without any restriction.
Priceline can play an important role in the economy of the Singapore. Singapore
government always allow to the foreign investment. Guardian is similar store like to
Priceline in Singapore. Singapore is also a developed country in the world. This report will
provide the competitive environment analysis from the depth of the electronic business in
Singapore for the Priceline.
2.1 Competitive Environment Analysis
Competitive analysis is the heart of every business. Competitive environment analysis of
Singapore leads towards the success of Priceline. Porter’s five forces model deals with
factors outside an industry that influence the nature of competition within the company.
Porter’s model acknowledged five forces which could force on a business’s behaviour in a
competitive market. These include the following. (Chaffey, 2009)
• Power of Suppliers
• Power of Buyers
• Threats of New Entrants
• Threats of substitute products or services
• Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

Power of Suppliers:
Priceline has partners with over 1000 Australian suppliers. Priceline always seeks the most
innovative and new products available to the Singapore market. For this purpose, the
Priceline team travel to the globe to trade fairs and supplier in several countries.
Priceline needs to bring new ideas and services to pull the customers. For Priceline, because
of its already global reputation and expansion, the business would be done with this power.
Power of Buyers
Buyers are the heart of the every organization. Priceline provides the products made from
natural resources. Priceline presents the opportunity of low price and better quality to their
customer. Reduce, reuse, recycling products and save this the environment is the main aim
of Priceline. That’s why, customers keen to purchase those types of products. Priceline
offers guarantee for security of online services and products with competitive price,
excellent customer service and easy navigation system on website.
Threats of New Entrants
Competitors are the key of success of every organization. When Priceline would start its
business in Singapore, it may face threats of new entrants of local or foreign stores available
in the market. There are already some ware houses those provide the latest products and
use advance technology. On the other side, Priceline business is easy to establish because
they are in demand.
Threats of substitute products or services
Some other business such as Guardian is providing the same products like cosmetics, hair,
health, weight and victims etc. That’s why, Priceline needs to do lot of hard work to provide
better quality in comparison with its competitors.
Rivalry among Existing Competitors
In Singapore, Priceline would face local as well as foreign competitors such Guardian that
are providing e-business to the people.In nutshell, Porter model is a simple that supports
strategic understanding where power lies in an e-business situation and with a clear
understanding, it will enable Priceline to take fair advantages of its strengths and improve
weaknesses.

2.2 Another organization using e-commerce & e-business in Canada

The Guardian is established in 1972 in Singapore as a pharmacy. The Guardian has more
than 100000 employees. 20000 products are offered by Guardian in Singapore. This store is
consisted of up to 20,000 different kinds of health and beauty products. It provides free
home delivery and 24 x 7/ 365 from any location to their new and existing customers.
Priceline holds higher rank among the health and beauty because it provides online
purchase to its customers. Payment systems are safest, fastest and most convenient like as
electronic pay, direct deposit. Priceline is a well-established that provide better quality.
Priceline warehouse will have to enhance the quality and service than Guardian.

3. Analysis of suitability of e-commerce implementation in Singapore

Using internet in Singapore is on the top. Almost All the businesses are running
electronically. 80% population of Singapore is using internet. As technology, skills and high
education is growing, the internet user’s population is also continues to grow that means
the number of internet user will increase too. Internet technology and higher education let
people to have a good opportunity to recognize the terms of online transactions.
Singapore developed a solid broadband market in order to ensure e-commerce well. It
offers best quality and advance products and services. We can easily judge from usage of
products and services that is 75% of the total population. Singapore is highly developed and
they are open for foreign investment. Payment systems are credit cards, debit card, master
card and so on in order to purchase online. Online service of the Priceline can be used
anytime, anywhere in the whole world. Customers are capable to select order and buy the
product.
3.1 Impact of Various Factors to implement e-commerce in Singapore
Social Factor
It is very important for the business or organization to know about the social factor when
the firm is going or to adopt online business activity. Singapore people believe in individual
relationships with others. In Singapore culture, due to privacy concern, social factor is
considerable most than the other factors. In business cases, Singapore always allows the
business discussion. As I mention above that In Singapore culture, due to privacy concern,
social factor is considerable most than the other factors, so that every business in Singapore
offer respect to privacy of their new and existing customers.
Regional Differences
Singapore is a developed country in the Asia continent. Singapore is known for its
multicultural society. Singapore has population together with Buddhist (33.9%), Muslim
(14.3%), Hindu (5.2%), Taoist (11.3$), Catholic (7.1%), and other. Each and every in this
world has its own beliefs, customs and religious values. So to enter in multicultural countries
it is very important for every business to give respect to the all the culture and also to their
cultural values.
Legal Factors:
Singapore’s legal system is similar to many other western democracies. In Singapore, three
civil law codes are present
• Stable legal system
• Liberal Immigration polices
• Attractive tax scheme

3.2 Barriers and Constraints to e-Business and e-Commerce

Barriers are compared to traditional business but there are number of risk and barriers
which are faced by every electronic business. Some common barriers are
Initial set-up and maintenance cost
There is a need to spend millions of dollar not only to set up e-business and architecture of
the website but also spend on further improvements foreign country. Business operating in
Singapore, there is a need for both languages. In order to do updates, there is requirement
to hire educated staff which is more expensive.
Lack of Skills
Skills are important for e-business. Lack of skills leads to failure of business. For this reason,
Priceline staff should have excellent communication skill and computer knowledge.
Security:
Protecting the privacy of the customers and the business from the hackers and the outsider
is the primary function for every business specially who is doing online business or going to
adopt electronic commerce. For security purpose Priceline needs to develop a platform
which would be secured for the privacy of the customers.

3.3 Challenges:
Each and every business face challenges to achieve their goals and objectives. Now a day’s
Challenges are the main part of each and every business. Government policies, Culture,
language, neck to neck competition and speed of the internet are possible challenges that
can be faced by Priceline and also by the other business in whole world.

4. e-Supply chain management & e-Procurement

4.1 E-Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management manages the flow of material, information, money and services
from raw material suppliers through factories and warehouses to end users. Supply chain in
Priceline has two parts upstream supply chain and downstream supply chain.
Priceline upstream supply chain involves buy side electronic commerce, all the dealings
between the Priceline and suppliers comes under the upstream supply chain, Priceline
purchase raw materials for their products but whereas to establish Priceline in Singapore
the research should be made on the local people for selling their products, after proper
analysis and research the raw materials should be ordered, analysis for the required labour
and power should be done for manufacturing the product from raw materials as the
physical work plays a major role in converting raw materials to products.

Priceline downstream supply chain involves sell side electronic commerce means selling the
product to customer. In supply chain management the main step is to manage the
relationship between the customers, suppliers and intermediaries, information flow and
transactions are based on those relations, with the help of supply chain the customer trust
can be gained through providing quality product and customer service and by increasing
efficiency in getting resources from the suppliers and selling to customers which help in
reducing the operational cost and increases the profit and helps to attract customers in
Singapore as it will be the first store of Priceline in Singapore.

Material flow, financial flow and Information flow should be monitored carefully in supply
chain in order to be successful in establishing Priceline in Singapore.

Material flow: material flow is nothing but how the product is transported from one place
to another in Priceline pharmacy, product transport from warehouse to factory and from
factory to the distribution centre as the Priceline is an Australian company, the material flow
is not a big deal in Australia, but the material flow from Australia to Singapore will make the
difference.
Financial flow: financial payments and transfers should be monitored and should manage
locally and globally, for managing the payments in Singapore.

Information flow: Priceline should manage all the information in supply chain with the help
of server, hardware, software, higher bandwidth, proper website and with proper database
to have a proper data flow through out all the stores of Priceline in Singapore
4.2 E-Procurement
E-procurement is the business to business purchase and sales of suppliers and services over
the internet, in many business to business sites e-procurement is referred to have supplier
exchange.

Procurement

All the goods and services that are attained from supplier comes under procurement, which
involves purchasing, inbound logistics like transportation, stocking and warehousing and
finally the goods are will arrive to Priceline.

As the Priceline is going to establish the store in Singapore, Priceline should hunt for the
suppliers in Singapore, suppliers will be requested for the raw materials by the Priceline and
response will be trough invoice which provides the cost of the raw materials and the
payment will be done by the Priceline through online, when the raw materials are received,
it will be stored in warehouse and will be manufactured with the labour and energy into the
final product under the instructions provided within standards.

E-Supply Chain management Issues

Some of the e-supply chain management issues include Competition, lower prices, and
Weather conditions, enhance Technology, Customer trust, Machine failures, road conditions
and shipments.

While purchasing raw materials from suppliers in Singapore, as Priceline has no prior
relationship with suppliers, suppliers can indulge in supplying with inferior or low grade raw
materials and may charge for high, Priceline should check their business credentials and
supplying standards thoroughly before entering into contract with suppliers.

Priceline pharmacy should manage their inventory by tracking the store items with the help
of RFID technology which help in tracking the stored items in database, which should not be
ignored as it plays the major role in technology issues in e-SCM.

As Singapore is a tropical climatic country the product delivery should be regulated

depending on those weather conditions, the product delivery should be on right time and in
right location and the information regarding the delivery should be updated in the Priceline
database, the information should be able to tracked by the Priceline staff, there should not
be any delays in updating the information, the logistics manager should make the necessary
arrangements for the items that need to maintained in cool chain during transit.

E-Procurement Issues
Some of the e-procurement issues are Technology risks, Economic issue, Maverick
purchasing, Trust Issue.
Technology risks: To avoid technology risk and to make e-procurement to be successful,
Priceline should install the ERP software without any errors and should appoint the staffs
who are skilled in ERP, which help in managing the procurement activities and can be able
to track the sales activities and business activities without any difficulties

Economic issue: Priceline is an Australian based company, which is going to be established

in Singapore, to establish the company the Priceline has to acclimatize to the trade and
business environmental conditions and even to economic issues, when Priceline purchase
raw materials from the suppliers in Singapore, they should consider the currency exchange
rates and warehouse and manufacturing factory should be away from residential areas as
per the Singapore rules, so the transport cost should be considered, as the Priceline is
establishing its company in Singapore it should follow the rules of Singapore in order to be
successful in Singapore.

Maverick purchasing: Priceline have contracts with regular suppliers for purchasing raw
materials but the staff of Priceline may purchase materials from other suppliers due to the
information they received from others, purchasing huge amount of material may cost more
sometimes and may cost even less sometimes, this may lead to poor management, in order
to avoid the issues, planning should be proper and should be followed properly.

Trust Issues: trustworthiness and honesty should be considered while employing a key staff
in Priceline to keep the values and standards of company and avoid trust issues between the
company and the staff.
5. e-Marketing & e-Customer Relationship Management

E-marketing is the most important management process that could make or break a new
product launch. It is very important to identify, anticipate and satisfy customer’s
requirements to achieve maximum profitability. (Chaffey, 2012)

Priceline must market its products on the following platforms to make them a successful
venture in Singapore:

• Worldwide Web

• Social media websites such Facebook, Pinterest etc

• E-mail Newsletters

• Advertising on TV and the web

Web: E-retailing has become an important part of the business these days and chemist
shops are doing a hefty business on the internet. Since large part of the sales would be
coming through online sales, Priceline must make sure its website is SEO- Search engine
optimised. This will ensure that the website ranks well in search engine results especially
Google. This will help in bringing a lot of online business.

Social media: Social media is a great way of promoting products, and if implemented well,
they can be a huge success. Websites such as Facebook, twitter, Pinterest etc have huge
user base. Thus a well implemented campaign can help in giving Priceline a huge exposure
to a large number of people. “Like to get” kind of offers work very well and can help the
company make a customer database as well for targeting future promotional campaigns.
E-mail Newsletters

Email newsletters are a great way of reaching the customers directly and is a proven way of
marketing that can bring some very good dividends. However for the e-mail newsletters to
be effective the company must have a good database of customers that are actually
relevant to the products the company is offering. 

E-Customer relationship management Issues and Opportunities

E-CRM is the online version of CRM, which uses digital communications to target customers
for selective promotions and offers which helps in maximising sales to loyal customers.

E-CRM ISSUES

Priceline might have to deal with the following e-Customer relationship management issues
in Singapore:

• Due to lack of trust being a newer company in Singapore there will be poor User

Acceptance

• Lack of well-established senior management

• Difficult to create an effective e-CRM strategy at the start

6 Localization Issues & Change management

Environment analysis

As this is located at the crossroads of the international trade roots this forms one of the top
locations to establish a business. Singapore’s economy also facilitates the procedures of
establishing a business, double taxation agreements and free trade agreements help in
providing a less restrictive environment. Big Asian markets such as china and Hong Kong can
provide us with re-stocking mechanisms. As Singapore has a strong and growing economy,
declining inflation rate, rising income; all of which are positive signs for setting up a business
in the market. As the country’s economy is not stagnating the initial process of setting up a
business should be smooth and not an uphill battle.
Legal issues

After the above stated environment analysis, the next step is to find the business specific
provisions and constraints. For setting up a pharmacy it requires application of certification
of registration of a pharmacy which will operate under a management as specified in the
pharmacy-in-charge named in the application. As per the laws they require us to provide at
least 35 hours of service per week. Thus the prospects of business are really strong in
Singapore (more hours mean more profits). Apart from the above certificate we will also
require to apply for Form A Poisons License. As this will be required for dealing in medicines
which might be controlled under the poisons act. Moreover the license needs to be
renewed every year and if it is not renewed before expiry then we will not be allowed to
continue the activities as previously authorized (through the license). Another thing to keep
in mind is that the pharmacies are required to maintain Form E under poisons act which will
maintain a wholesale supply record of any poisons or medicinal products containing any
poisons. Under the medicine’s act we are also required to provide the wholesale sales
record to the government.

Market research and language barriers

As Singapore lies at the junction of east and west, it is a multi-cultural cosmopolitan city.
This implies that people from across different locations reside in one place which opens up
job prospect for pharmacy. This comes from the fact that some people may not find the
environment that friendly and may be vulnerable to a number of allergies. Thus the
opportunities for sale increases many fold in such an environment. We also need to
consider some of the key players already operating in the market such as Watsons, P & L
pharmacy, guardian etc. these pharmacies already have their well-developed logistics chains
and access to local markets. Thus Priceline will have to compete with such well-established
pharmacies. Another key issues need to be tackled is the language barrier. Although it
should not be that important because of the multicultural set up but it always facilitates to
have knowledge of the local language as it makes the communication easy.
After taking into consideration the above mentioned factor, the Priceline pharmacy will
require to hire a local business consultant which who will be aware of the current market
scenario and thus help in providing a valuable feedback in terms of locations which Priceline
pharmacy can aim for setting up their business.

Change management

Change management is the process of managing process, structural, technical, staff and
cultural changes along with the organization. Establishing Priceline pharmacy in a
completely new environment will definitely cause some organizational and management
changes within itself. For the successful implementation if a project change management
plays a very vital role.

As the Priceline pharmacy is well established in Australia but the chances may not be as
bright in Singapore due to environmental changes. Thus the pharmacy will need to modify
itself or its products according to the requirements of the particular country which is
Singapore. The pharmacy will need to keep an eye over the day to day operations according
to the market and business of Singapore. They may need to add some extra services to
make their name recognized. The cultural behaviour also plays an important role which
cannot be ignored as well from any business. The change management demands well
planned strategies and sensitive implementation of different ways for managing the changes
in the business. To handle all the new challenging while establishing the pharmacy it will
require to keep a check on analysis of the market and competitors as well as its customers.
As the pharmacy will be opening its branch in a new country it does not need to change
their business the only thing which is needed to be changed is the way of doing it as per the
country’s requirements. A very important thing is the awareness of the culture out there
which indicates that the training should be given to the staff as well and they must be told
that how to deal with customers who belong to different cultures.

Mc Kinsley’s 7’s organizational theory can be used in a very effective way to manage the
changes across those elements (lecture notes).
 (Source
: Lecture Notes 1, Slide 25)

Staffing

Any business is not supposed to be run without hiring the staff. Changes in the requirements
of hiring staff can be balanced by providing the opportunity to local people of Singapore as
they will be good at understanding the country’s culture and also will be able to
communicate with customer in their native language. It will also save the pharmacy from
additional cost as compared to sending the staff from one country to another with high
packages of pay.

Subordinate goals

As goals of Priceline will be as same as in Australia, which will be earning profit and creating
a good name in the market.

Strategy

It refers to the overall planning of business about how to achieve the goals. To set up a
business in Singapore Priceline needs to make a strong strategy which involves three
procedures which can be finished in three days. Opportunities exist, but costs of startup
could be a bit high, depending on a particular type of business.
Structure

The way of gathering the different parts of a business into a well-organized way is known as
the structure of an organization. The structure should be able to deal with any occurred
changes. The whole business is dependent on the structure of a business as a result it needs
to be specified properly.

System

Systems are the structure around which the other parts of our work are linked and without
them. There would be nothing. Thus we need to have the right systems. The Priceline
pharmacy will need to have the awareness of understanding regarding the four types of
systems such as-

• Create a vision of what your systems will accomplish.

• There is no system perfect.

• Is one of your systems broken?

• The knowledge of fixing a broken process.

Style

It refers with the style of culture in which the pharmacy’s team need to work together to
achieve their goals. The changes in any of the organizational structure and management
style needs to mentioned in a proper way.

Skills

The distinctive capabilities of staff members to reach the set target. The pharmacy will need
to hire people with different set of skills to do their tasks in an appropriate way. Different
skills need in different areas such as project management, content management and e-
marketing approaches.
Conclusion

Starting up a new business in Singapore will definitely require due diligence and proper
consideration of the some factors such as political climate and property rights, economic
situation, personal knowledge of the industry, market research, language barriers and the
last but not the least the incorporation process. Things can change quickly. New options
come up, while others disappear. This is why it is important to have the most up-to –date
and accurate information possible. Spending thousands and thousands of dollars just for
getting a business degree is not the only way to start for opening and running a business
overseas. While study of business can really be very helpful.
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