Risks of e-commerce and e-Business... (be careful)

The main risks of your company NOT being part of any e-commerce or e-Business strategy is that it won't be banking on all the important features and benefits it has to offer your valued customers, while your competitors all move forward. E-commerce is strategically converting many industries. Here are some important facts to seriously consider as you study how it will impact your industry:

The usual flow of business basically is constituted of:
    1- The manufacturer
    2- The distributor
    3- The retailer
    4- The end consumer

Your company probably is included into any one of these four previous categories.

The traditional flow of business through the supply chain looks something like this:
    a: Raw materials supplier
    b: Manufacturer
    c: Distributor
    d: Retailer
    e: End consumer

Now e-commerce and e-Business is completely revolutionizing this linear view of the supply chain. Instead of goods flowing from one participant to the next, this new online marketplace can connect each participant with the end-consumer. For some links in the supply chain, increased access to customers could be dangerous to you and your business. Your current industry partners could even become your most "unwelcomed competitors" ...

The risks if your company does not act today:
The new e-commerce supply concept requires every link in the supply chain to "value-add" to it's existing features and benefits. As e-commerce evolves, it will present huge risks for those who don't take advantage of it. You as a manager SHOULD be worried a lot...

Retailers:
Retailers rely on expensive real-estate locations to display and sell their products to their customers, the end-consumers. Both manufacturers and distributors can bypass retailers by using e-commerce to sell directly to YOUR CUSTOMERS !

Distributors:
Electronic commerce gives manufacturers the power to sell directly to consumers or to retailers. The best distributors will move further ahead of the competition by using e-commerce capabilities to share product, billing and availability information to their partners. That means lower costs and higher profit margins for them !

Manufacturers:
In order to maintain equity and prompt future sales, manufacturers need to own public mind share for their brands. E-commerce threatens this mind share ownership because consumers have a wider range of product selection and are not as influenced by physical placement of goods or packaging.

Now some e-Business opportunities not to be missed:
Some good news: e-commerce also means unprecedented opportunities for everyone. Your partnerships can become stronger !

Retailers:
Because retailers know more about how to reach consumers, what products customers are looking for and after-sale service, they can share that information, both accurately and in real time, with their supply chain partners. The results are happy customers and MORE orders !

Distributors:
Distributors may use electronic data to increase value to their clients, the retailers. By so doing, distributors can easily link the best manufacturers with retailers and provide true end-to-end service. And, in some instances, e-commerce may make it possible for the distributor to reach consumers directly...

Manufacturers:
With e-Business, manufacturers can adjust production cycles to adjust to variations in consumer demand and inventory levels. With a faster, more accurate flow of information, hot-selling items will rarely be out of stock and costly overruns reduced...

What all this in mind, whats a company to do ?
1. Get a GCIS Web address for your corporate Web site.

The most important aspect of starting a new business or expanding an existing one is location, location, location. The same holds true in the virtual world. So before you do anything, secure your dot.com location by registering a domain name with the General Center for Internet Services. We are experts in full e-Business solutions to today's challenges in the world of international business and commerce.

Once you have secured a virtual location for your business, it's time to start developing a clear Web strategy. Technology is not the final answer. Look for natural complements that fit your business and focus on those solutions. We can help you and assist your company a lot in these matters. We have been there. We know how it is today. Business is business. Competition will get tougher and tougher as we go forward. Technology and progress go hand in hand. It is something that nobody can change. We have (and your company has) to adjust to it, in order to survive.

The pace and magnitude of change in the e-commerce environment means that no one has the chance to re-invent the wheel. Whether you are just getting started or are ready for a more advanced, custom-built e-commerce site, the General Center for Internet Services will build your company, from the ground up.

Any new information or data system must provide for open connectivity and inter-operability. You should always carefully consider the downstream requirements of integrating that technology throughout your business operations and be prepared to respond if a given technology will not only empower your business, but those of your customers, clients and partners. At the General Center for Internet Services, we would be happy just to discuss and evaluate with you and your peers, the many avenues that are open to you in the fascinating world of e-commerce and e-Business ! We have counselling staff and expert business consultants standing by ready to assist you and your company all the way. Just contact us at a convenient moment for you and we will get to work right away, as a team. Your business is our business... we want you to GROW. If you grow, we will too.

Web: www.gcis.ca e-mail: info@gcis.ca TEL: (450) 437. 8757 FAX: (450) 437. 7785

The General Center for Internet Services Inc.
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