By effectively outsourcing e-commerce for Web and telephone shoppers, the client has one source for reports, customer service and merchant banking. Ingram Micro has applied a similar principle to a more vertical market. Ingram thus deepens its ties to the reseller, adding tangible service to a relationship previously based solely on product availability and price. Both of these new opportunities illustrate the potential of e-commerce, and why it's important to analyze the economic fundamentals of your business to see how you can apply them on the Internet. Be aware that pursuing a new e-commerce clientele will change your organization in ways you may not be able to anticipate.
Every Web store is in the information business.
Companies shipping physical goods likely will need to connect their e-commerce platforms to an inventory or manufacturing system, and companies shipping strictly digital goods will need to perform electronic software distribution or manage subscriptions. By the time you read this column, many of the questions racing through my mind probably will have been answered, but I'm guessing the answers will not be satisfactory. I am writing this on Tuesday, September 11, the day we, as American citizens, lost our innocence. Due to the tragic events within our country, The Network Computing Shoot Out and Best of Show Awards ceremony have been postponed until a later date. Please check back for information on revised event dates.