Guys, do you know that procurement is something complicated in the business? You know like, bidding the price, get the suplliers and the bla and the bla.
So in this article, I'm gonna analyze the procurement process for an organization that quite familiar and then I'm going to explain the changes and problems involved with introducing e-procurement.
we're starting from the definition, what is procurement?
simply, Procurement can be defined as the purchase of merchandise or services at the optimum possible total cost in the correct amount and quality. These good and services are also purchased at the correct time and location for the express gain or use of government, company, business, or individuals by signing a contract.
The example is in my company, Inixindo. I'm gonna focus on procurement with preparing the book for training material. First, The sales confirm that the class will be conducted on the schedule day, and then the Operational division, in this case the Education then order the material with Purchase Order (PO) to the Learning Partner, such as ElementK for Cisco material, Oracle material and so on. the shipping takes about 2-3 days.
E-procurement is purchasing implemented through the Internet. It has an important role in achieving efficiency and effectiveness in business today. This results in a reduction in the intermediate costs and labor that are associated with conventional systems.
The e-procurement initiatives involve many issues such as security, the products to be procured and also the investment needed. Despite the various complications, an increasing number of companies are joining the trend owing to the enormous cost savings e-procurement can bring in.
One of the major issues concerning e-procurement initiatives is security. Companies usually desist from sending sensitive information over the Internet for security reasons. The growing number of cyber crimes has added doubts regarding the reliability of the Internet. Security measures such as authentication and encryption are therefore employed while passing sensitive information between companies. Another major issue concerning e-procurement is the type of goods that are procured through the online medium. Companies usually prefer to source smaller, inexpensive goods such as office stationery. Larger complex orders that usually take weeks or months for negotiation are done in the traditional manner. However, the rapid improvement in software technologies has encouraged some companies to employ e-procurement for expensive products also.
Companies launch e-procurement initiative with a view to improve the overall performance of its business machinery. Although the initial investment required in hardware and software may be high, the return is even higher. Some studies indicate that a company can enjoy returns as much as 300% of the initial investment, within three years.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
e-Business Strategy - week 3
For a company with which you are familiar with, review the six strategy
definition choices
Bandung Book Center (http://www.bbc.web.id/) is the online bookstore in Bandung. BBC serve the customer quickly and accurately without having to visit the physical store. Here, the BBC provides a wide range of books for reference and customer. I'm gonna review the 6-e business strategy decision which is implementing on BBC
Decision 1: E-business channel priorities
BBC use Click & Brick strategy, the online channel has the shape and physical stores. But in this case, the BBC further prioritize the online store to market its products.
Decision 2: Organizational restructuring and capabilities
BBC to use the strategy Strategic Partnership, where the BBC has good relations with the suppliers, in this case are the publishers who wanted to sell their books through the BBC with cheap price.
Decision 3: Business, service, and revenue models
Marketplace position: BBC as a reseller, because the products sold are books published by other publishers, not the BBC own imprint.
Revenue model: Benefits that are based on Commission-based sales, which take a percentage of sales of its products.
Commercial model: the model used is fixed-price sale, because the price offered tends to remain from year to year (unless there are special promo)
Decision 4: Marketplace restructuring
Sell-side: BBC to be a mediator of publisher-famous publisher and customer. Most of the transactions conducted online, although there is also offline
Buy-side: products offered by the BBC come from publishers, large publishers that have a reputation in Indonesia.
Decision 5: Market and product development strategies
BBC using the strategy market penetration strategies for increasing the purchase of its customers with a fixed discount on every product. With this aproach, customers will prefer to purchase books in the BBC than in other stores. Profit can also be enhanced with online sales because it reduces the operational cost.
Decision 6: Positioning and differentiation strategies
Price performance excellence: Price offered below market price. This is a distinctive charm, because the BBC can provide a significant discount compared to similar stores.
Transactional excellence: Easy transaction also one of the key success factors BBC. With online transactions, the sale can be done practically and reduce operational costs.
definition choices
Bandung Book Center (http://www.bbc.web.id/) is the online bookstore in Bandung. BBC serve the customer quickly and accurately without having to visit the physical store. Here, the BBC provides a wide range of books for reference and customer. I'm gonna review the 6-e business strategy decision which is implementing on BBC
Decision 1: E-business channel priorities
BBC use Click & Brick strategy, the online channel has the shape and physical stores. But in this case, the BBC further prioritize the online store to market its products.
Decision 2: Organizational restructuring and capabilities
BBC to use the strategy Strategic Partnership, where the BBC has good relations with the suppliers, in this case are the publishers who wanted to sell their books through the BBC with cheap price.
Decision 3: Business, service, and revenue models
Marketplace position: BBC as a reseller, because the products sold are books published by other publishers, not the BBC own imprint.
Revenue model: Benefits that are based on Commission-based sales, which take a percentage of sales of its products.
Commercial model: the model used is fixed-price sale, because the price offered tends to remain from year to year (unless there are special promo)
Decision 4: Marketplace restructuring
Sell-side: BBC to be a mediator of publisher-famous publisher and customer. Most of the transactions conducted online, although there is also offline
Buy-side: products offered by the BBC come from publishers, large publishers that have a reputation in Indonesia.
Decision 5: Market and product development strategies
BBC using the strategy market penetration strategies for increasing the purchase of its customers with a fixed discount on every product. With this aproach, customers will prefer to purchase books in the BBC than in other stores. Profit can also be enhanced with online sales because it reduces the operational cost.
Decision 6: Positioning and differentiation strategies
Price performance excellence: Price offered below market price. This is a distinctive charm, because the BBC can provide a significant discount compared to similar stores.
Transactional excellence: Easy transaction also one of the key success factors BBC. With online transactions, the sale can be done practically and reduce operational costs.
Monday, April 6, 2009
e-Business Strategy - Homework week 2
create a summary guide for a small retailer company about the stages that are necessary in the creation of a web site & the management issues involved.
refer to the book "Access eCommerce Guide" published by University of Minnesota
1.Background Research
a. Learn about ecommerce
Pay close attention to ecommerce in action as you visit the sites in this curriculum and surf the Net. What seems to work well and what doesn't?
b. Check out the competition
Identify your online competitors. Do they have a website? virtual storefront? interactive catalog and shopping cart? How do they encourage repeat visits? What advantages does your business have off-line? online?
2. In-house Preparation
a. Develop a site concept
Decide what kind of a website you want to develop. Will it be like a book, tour, catalog, or newsletter? What level of ecommerce will it have at the beginning? eventually?
b. Select a team
Manager, writer, technical support, and graphics designer. If you are working alone, find folks who know about graphics and computers to help you. Find a proofreader! Line up your virtual consultants: on the Net or in print.
c. Create a paper plan
Use an organization chart or tree diagram to create a road map for yourself and your users. List each page's purpose, content, multi-media components, and links.
d. Create a prototype
Don't start with your homepage. Start with a few content-heavy pages or a contact page.
3. Test Site
a. Find ISP and web hosting service
Find the best Internet and/or web hosting for your needs.
b. Register domain(s)
Register at least one domain for your business. Try to make it short and memorable.
c. Create initial website
Start with pages that emphasize your products and services. Build your brand with content-rich pages intended to draw traffic. Include site index and easy means of navigation. Go easy on large graphics.
Keep in mind that the first page visitors see may not be your homepage. Make sure that contact information is easy to find from any page on your website.
d. Write a Privacy Statement
Use the Direct Marketing Association's Privacy Policy Generator to help you. Review DMA's own privacy policy to see what is covered.
e. Test the web site
Test for usability of layout and design, content, browser compatibility, server
performance. Validate all of the pages with an HTML checker. Try your pages with different computers and browsers. Ask volunteers to visit your site while you observe their actions and reactions.
4. Public Site
Going public for the first time can be a nerve-wracking experience as the team at LetsTalk.com found out. Be sure to readForbes'account of pre-launch jitters in "LetsTalk.com prepares for launch".
a. Real-world testing
Pay very close attention to site logs during the first few weeks to identify bad links and missing files.
b. Promote the site
If you build it, they will only come if they hear about it. Tell everyone you know about the site - and everyone you don't know. Register the site with search engines and directories. Send out a press release.
5. Continuing Site
a. Maintain the site
Add fresh content, check links frequently, and respond promptly to visitor feedback. Study your site logs to find out what people are interested in, what pages aren't working, what's popular and what's not.
b. Broaden site promotion
Continue site promotion, seek reciprocal links, and use opt-in email subscriptions to draw visitors back to website.
In my oppinion, the management issues involved in this case is the start-up cost which quite expensive.
refer to the book "Access eCommerce Guide" published by University of Minnesota
1.Background Research
a. Learn about ecommerce
Pay close attention to ecommerce in action as you visit the sites in this curriculum and surf the Net. What seems to work well and what doesn't?
b. Check out the competition
Identify your online competitors. Do they have a website? virtual storefront? interactive catalog and shopping cart? How do they encourage repeat visits? What advantages does your business have off-line? online?
2. In-house Preparation
a. Develop a site concept
Decide what kind of a website you want to develop. Will it be like a book, tour, catalog, or newsletter? What level of ecommerce will it have at the beginning? eventually?
b. Select a team
Manager, writer, technical support, and graphics designer. If you are working alone, find folks who know about graphics and computers to help you. Find a proofreader! Line up your virtual consultants: on the Net or in print.
c. Create a paper plan
Use an organization chart or tree diagram to create a road map for yourself and your users. List each page's purpose, content, multi-media components, and links.
d. Create a prototype
Don't start with your homepage. Start with a few content-heavy pages or a contact page.
3. Test Site
a. Find ISP and web hosting service
Find the best Internet and/or web hosting for your needs.
b. Register domain(s)
Register at least one domain for your business. Try to make it short and memorable.
c. Create initial website
Start with pages that emphasize your products and services. Build your brand with content-rich pages intended to draw traffic. Include site index and easy means of navigation. Go easy on large graphics.
Keep in mind that the first page visitors see may not be your homepage. Make sure that contact information is easy to find from any page on your website.
d. Write a Privacy Statement
Use the Direct Marketing Association's Privacy Policy Generator to help you. Review DMA's own privacy policy to see what is covered.
e. Test the web site
Test for usability of layout and design, content, browser compatibility, server
performance. Validate all of the pages with an HTML checker. Try your pages with different computers and browsers. Ask volunteers to visit your site while you observe their actions and reactions.
4. Public Site
Going public for the first time can be a nerve-wracking experience as the team at LetsTalk.com found out. Be sure to readForbes'account of pre-launch jitters in "LetsTalk.com prepares for launch".
a. Real-world testing
Pay very close attention to site logs during the first few weeks to identify bad links and missing files.
b. Promote the site
If you build it, they will only come if they hear about it. Tell everyone you know about the site - and everyone you don't know. Register the site with search engines and directories. Send out a press release.
5. Continuing Site
a. Maintain the site
Add fresh content, check links frequently, and respond promptly to visitor feedback. Study your site logs to find out what people are interested in, what pages aren't working, what's popular and what's not.
b. Broaden site promotion
Continue site promotion, seek reciprocal links, and use opt-in email subscriptions to draw visitors back to website.
In my oppinion, the management issues involved in this case is the start-up cost which quite expensive.
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