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| ECMgt.com: May Volume 3, Issue 5 - Customers Rule |
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ECMgt.com:
May Volume 3, Issue 5 - Customers
Rule
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Subject: May2001 ECMgt.com: Customers
Rule
ECMgt.com brought to you by ECnow.com
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Developments
May 1, 2001 *4,200 subscribers* Volume 3, Issue 5
ECMgt.com
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Management
Perspective
by Mitchell Levy, Author, E-Volve-or-Die.com
New Expectations
for Customer Service
With the Internet, consumers have gained considerable power to choose with whom they will do business, as well as where and when. The need for intense customer focus and exemplary customer service will continue into the future, as customers remain central to the growth of e-commerce.
Today is it estimated that almost a quarter of all US businesses engage in B2B Internet e-commerce, totaling over 200 billion dollars in transactions, an number that is expected to triple by 2003. The expectation of flawless performance in ordering, delivery, and service is no doubt due to the perception that if you have ascended to the level of Internet commerce, you are ready to provide instantaneous, accurate response to customer needs. We expect that Internet-enabled businesses will have complete knowledge of our transactions and of our value to them as a customer.
While the consumer market is mostly satisfied with customer service, the business market requires more. Businesses cannot afford lost orders, incorrect shipments, or late deliveries, and they demand instant availability of customer service representatives. There are over 100,000 (SME) medium enterprise businesses that are transaction-capable, which are doing business with the global 2000 EDI-enabled firms and with 1,000,000 small business customers. Small and large firms alike have the power to choose with whom to do business. They make those decisions based on service, price, and availability, but superior performance and customer service are often the deciding factors.
EDI transactions by the majority of the Global 2000 move over $1.5 trillion in goods and service through supply chain networks, with very few errors. Internet-enabled businesses engaging in digital commerce must be fully wired for e-business, from catalogs to transactions, to internal and external business processes with trading partners and most favored customers. Customer service applies to all stakeholders in B2B commerce, internal and external.
All types of commerce today, from airline travel to information technology and software purchases to provisioning of telecommunications have migrated to the Web allowing more business employees to conduct commerce on behalf of their enterprise with greater speed, choice, and overall convenience. We expect that any firm with a paper catalog or even CD-ROM will have access to that information, and create fully searchable Web content. The Internet is often the first and last place business customers will look to fulfill a need, as digital convenience makes instant selection and purchase possible. But not every firm has made this transition.
Leaders like Intel, Cisco, SABRE, Microsoft, IBM, and countless others provide not only complete selection through the Web, but also resources for their sales force and most preferred customers, through semi-private extranets. Verticals other than IT, most notably health care, government, manufacturing, logistics, and telecommunications, have embraced the ability to synchronize business processes through middleware, exchanges, and the soon-to-be universal XML as the canvas for business documents of all types.
Ironically, the prowess of business in doing business makes us the most demanding of all customers - we know what to expect because we know what we are capable of delivering. The perspective of e-business to a customer-centric realm requires us to focus on delivering exactly what we would expect of our own internal operations. There is no longer a difference between "inside" and "outside" of an enterprise - it is all one big playing field.
e-marketplaces were conceived on the very premise that incumbents can and should be unseated by more nimble, niche-oriented, and customer-driven competitors, and their visibility should be made universal through sell-side exchanges. Adding to procurement portals, another 200 to 300 "stable" marketplaces are expected to conduct almost $1.5 trillion dollars in business to business commerce, roughly equal to what is already enabled by EDI.
To succeed in capturing new business, small to medium enterprises will need to be as visible as the incumbents in the supply chain, become more responsive in creating customized offerings, and make themselves as easy (or easier) to do business with than traditional EDI. To succeed in a customer-centric world with the stakes of B2B commerce, best practices are easy to define. Let's look at some key vertical markets to see examples of superior customer-centric business.
Manufacturing - GM, General Electric, and Grainger make engineering collaboration possible through integration of design, engineering, manufacturing, and servicing at all levels of manufacturing, from parts to subassembly to complete systems. Treating partners as customers and delivering the same level of service has proven to be a competitive advantage in manufacturing.
Government - The IRS, Social Security, DMV, and other state and local government agencies have all taken on customer service as the key metric for their measure of success. While "consumers" cannot pick and choose among agencies to deal with, we all benefit from efficiency, personalization, and convenience. As consumer satisfaction brings about a new relationship built on service-centric processes, benefiting most are government agencies that were once seen merely bureaucratic monoliths. They have entered the age of customer-centric, networked business processes.
Logistics - UPS, FedEx, and Airborne have become part of the supply chain for many Fortune 5000 firms. Through coordination with customers and integration of information technology, UPS has become a partner and intermediary in moving product and information-not just parts- between wholesalers, warehouses, value added resellers, and ultimately end users. Kinkoís has joined UPS and the US Postal Service in moving sensitive business information, with self-service customer orientation, to create value by delivering at the speed and efficiency e-business requires.
Telecommunications - Qwest and Bell Atlantic allow customer-facing, self-service provisioning of materials and services that once were the purview of select service intermediaries. Cisco sells 75% of its product through Internet-enabled channels, using its Web-based ëconfiguratorí to help customers and channel partners select, price, purchase, and deliver networking hardware.
Information Technology - Intel and Cisco and Dell gained an early reputation for business- focused customer service through highly functional extranets, allowing personalization and guided selection of products. Intel and Dell set the standard for e-business customer service, each moving over 50% of its products through Internet channels.
Software - Microsoft and Oracle were early players in ESD, (electronic software delivery through the Web), supporting everything from office and networking products to downloads of sophisticated operating system and commerce application platforms. Today virtually every software application provider offers downloads, support, FAQs, and purchasing over the Web, enabling global presence and competition.
Energy - In a very complex network of producers and consumers of energy for resale and distribution, exchanges coordinate over half of spot purchases. As electricity, gas, and other utilities become more (and less) regulated, optimizing service to end customers will require knowledge of use and accurate forecasting of demand, so that precious resources can be shifted quickly to meet business needs in the private utility markets.
Summary: The dawn of the Internet and the phrase ìInternet timeî has given birth to the "Experience Economy". Consumers expect flawless performance from business as information technology systems and processes promise a new generation and level of consumer service. With the freedom to pick from a global palate, consumers have gained considerable power to choose their business relationships, as well as when, where, and how often they will interact with their business partners. The need for intense customer focus and exemplary customer service creates a unique challenge for business and government alike. Those who excel have simply gone back to basics: what is the value I provide to my customer, and how can a network of digital process deliver a more fulfilling experience? At the end of the day, your brand becomes that consumer experience, for better or worse.
I
hope you enjoy this eZine.
See you in cyberspace,
Mitchell
Levy
Executive Producer, ECMgt.com http://ECMgt.com
President, ECnow.com http://ecnow.com
Founder and Coordinator, SJSU-PD ECM Certificate Program http://ecmtraining.com/sjsu
To subscribe to ECMgt.com, please visit http://www.ECMgt.com or send e-mail to VMS3.Subscribe@ecnow.com?subject=ecmgt.May2001+subscribe
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E-Volve-or-Die.com:
Thriving in the Internet-Age Through E-Commerce Management Author: Mitchell Levy E-Volve-or-Die.com helps the reader
figure out how to help transition their company or suffer the same death of the
dinosaur. With 12 forewords, and 45 of the world's top ECM experts, Levy can help
your company with the biggest industrial transition the business world has faced
in the last 100 years. You
can read more about "E-Volve-or-Die.com"
at the official Web site: http://www.e-volve-or-die.com.
The book can be ordered from Amazon.com today.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
New Expectations
for Customer Service
E-Volve-or-Die.com - Chapter 8
By Mitchell Levy
Author E-Volve-or-Die.com
I find it interesting that so many companies talk about how they rank customer service as their highest priority, yet they pay their customer service representatives the lowest salaries in the company. There are a couple of different issues here. One is that everyone's job should be focused on customer service. The other is that everyone's compensation needs to be tied to customer service metrics. (And while you're at it, please pay those people more who have the customer service title or job description!)
Educating all employees about customer service should be a top priority for all companies. There are a number of ways to do this. Some companies require that all employees do a rotational assignment in the customer service organization (which can be a real eye-opener for employees). Another way to approach this is to have each employee use all aspects of the company's online business as if he or she were a customer -- and to resolve any problems without using internal resources. These are experiential methods of training employees to think and act customer service.
Other areas of training for customer service people or all employees include very basic people skills. The most important thing to teach employees about interacting with customers is that they are people -- just like your friends or your neighbors. It's critical to put a face on the customer, says Norm Hullinger, Vice-President of Sales and Operations for Egghead.com. In our business, there are usually a lot of technical questions that come up, and lots of things can go wrong. We make sure that our customer service people are trained to keep up with it all. And we have re-assigned people as necessary so that we have the best match of their skills with our service goals. This has resulted in high customer satisfaction levels for us.
If there is a separate customer service organization in the company, at what level should it fit into the hierarchy? Some suggest that it should report to the CEO or a Vice-President of Operations or Marketing. Another possibility is to create a position such as CCO (Chief Customer service Officer) or CCEO (Chief Customer Experience Officer). Some would argue that the CCEO and the CEO should be the same person. One of the reasons to elevate the customer service organization is visibility, especially in the area of performance against metrics. This high-level visibility keeps customer service at the top of the priority list during strategic planning and decision-making -- especially when decisions need to be made to improve company performance.
In addition to visibility, the people in the customer service organization need to have the budget and authority to solve problems for customers in real-time. If a customer service representative puts a customer on hold while he or she attempts to resolve an issue or check with someone higher in the organization for an answer, that customer likely will not appreciate the delay. It's a good way to lose customers.
There is a very long list of skills that are desirable for people who interface directly with customers on a regular basis. Most of these skills can be learned, but some relate to basic personality types and natural people skills. Personalities can't really be changed; it's important that you understand this and allocate resources accordingly. Indeed, a lot of people who work in technical support centers have excellent analytical and technical skills for solving problems, but have few if any people skills. Sometimes it's better to assign employees who have good people skills and then train them on the technical information they need to solve problems. This can greatly improve customer experiences.
Sometimes, customers have different experiences dealing with the various customer service organizations within the same company. The important thing is to remember that consistency across the entire customer experience is key, and you might have to assign or reassign your people resources accordingly to achieve that. Regardless of whether hundreds or thousands of customers have had ecstatically positive experiences with your company, just one unhappy customer can tell a multitude of online friends and colleagues, and word spreads quickly on the Web. Ultimately, this will have an impact on your future business.
Some of the people skills that are important include empathy, ability to listen, patience, conflict management, influencing skills, and the power to negotiate. It's important that customer-facing employees preserve their objectivity and do not take things personally which is often very difficult. If possible, try to find people who are enthusiastic and have a positive attitude; almost everything else can be accomplished through training.
The degree of technical training needed for customer-facing employees depends on the technical complexity of your products and services. Whatever level of training is required, it is critical to make sure that these people are trained before new products are launched.
Another area of technical training is how to use customer relationship management technologies or other tools that you have added to your infrastructure. People need to know how to use these tools efficiently when they are dealing with a customer in real-time.
E-Volutionary Tactics
About
Mitchell Levy
Mitchell Levy, is President and CEO of ECnow.com (http://ecnow.com),
a training business service provider helping companies transition its employees,
partners and customers to the Internet age through off-the-shelf and customized
on-line and on-ground training. He is the author of E-Volve-or-Die.com, Executive
Producer of ECMgt.com, an on-line E-Commerce Management (ECM) e-zine, Chair of
comdex.biz at Comdex Fall and Chicago and the Founder and Program Coordinator
of the premier San Jose State E-Commerce Management Certificate Program (http://ecmtraining.com/sjsu).
Mitchell is a popular speaker, lecturing on ECM issues throughout the U.S. and
around the world.
All reader comments are available at our bulletin board. Please go to http://venus.beseen.com/boardroom/s/26553 to read them your self or to post your own comments.
CONTENT - ECMGT.COM E-COMMERCE NEWS
STRATEGIES &
TRENDS
This section sponsored by ECnow.com, please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com
Certification:
What's hot, what's not?
As the economy cools, some employers are more
selective about what IT skill sets and certifications they'll pay employees extra
for.
Study
outlines the cost of internal spam
While the government and ISPs are concerned
about incoming spam, Gartner Inc. says companies should first take a close look
at the internal spam in their own back yards.
Internet
security will get worse
The state of Internet and network security is
bad and getting worse.
Canadian
E-Commerce Soars, Despite Shutdowns
Despite an accelerating rate of e-tailer
closures, e-commerce spending in Canada increased by 73.4 percent in 2000 over
1999, according to a study released by Statistics Canada, Canada's census agency.
Tablet
PCs stirring minimal interest
High cost and notebook inertia stand in
the way of widespread deployment of Microsoft devices
Cost
cutting may spur IT outsourcing deals
Analysts say a cooling economy may
prompt companies to outsource more IT to reduce costs, though technology users
said the economy will probably have little impact on their outsourcing decisions.
VC-Backed
Dot-Coms Need Quality Time
With the IPO market continuing to languish,
a report released by IDC advises venture capitalists that the current economic
climate makes it more important than ever to maximize the attention they provide
to each firm in their portfolio.
---
E-PRODUCTS NEWS
Tool suggests rise
of new breed of hacker
So, you want to be a cracker? Well, thanks to lax
security by vendors and network administrators, not to mention an underground
network of devious and talented souls churning out user-friendly cracking tools,
it's never been easier.
HP
unveils new server appliances
Hewlett-Packard Co. beefed up its hardware
line with the release of 19 new server appliance products designed to handle specialized
Internet content management functions.
Bluetooth
Takes a Hit
The wait has stretched longer than anticipated for the release
of products that use Bluetooth, the wireless standard designed to allow devices
within 30 feet of each other to communicate.
SilverStream
to make Web services splash
As competition intensifies among application
server vendors, SilverStream is looking to Web services to provide a way to leverage
apps on any platform.
Sony,
HP halt future DDS products
Sony Electronics and HP, two of the largest
producers of the popular DDS tape backup, say they're no longer considering future
incarnations of the 10-year-old DAT technology.
New
ERP Tool To Customize Manufacturing, Sales
Mapics, Inc. has released a
new, Web-based, integrated product configuration tool designed to automate the
processes of manufacturing and selling complex products to meet a customer's exact
requirements.
Microsoft
server vulnerable to DoS hit
The company has acknowledged that the firewall
and proxy server it released earlier in the year is now vulnerable to a denial
of service attack.
Nokia
misdials with handsets
Nokia is working to fix a software glitch that
could cause connection problems for up to 10 percent of all cell phones sold in
the United States when carriers upgrade to higher-speed network equipment later
this year.
iPlanet
steps up efforts to woo developers
New resources and tools to help developers
build Java 2 Enterprise Edition applications on top of the iPlanet Application
Server were announced by iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions.
Red
Hat offers software management service, new OS
Red Hat Inc., a leading
Linux software vendor, has unveiled a new service designed to simplify the administration
of systems running its software, as well as a new release of its operating system.
SkyCross
Announces New 800MHz-2.5GHz Antenna For Telematics & Other Wireless Applications
SkyCross Inc., has announced a new wide-band antenna capable of handling satellite
and terrestrial communications -- reducing the need for multiple antennas for
next-generation mobile wireless applications
Toshiba
Eyes July Launch For Pocket PC PDA
Toshiba is planning its long-awaited
entry into the personal digital assistant (PDA) market for July, according to
a company source.
Time
For A Computer Magazine Comeback?
About two years ago, I wrote a controversial
column entitled "Are computer magazines dead?"
IBM Drops Price, Boosts
Quality of Flat-Panels
New monitors include $600 LCD at low end, plus
high-resolution option for $5929
Macromedia
to deliver 3-D Web tools
Developers looking to provide three-dimensional
images on the Web got a big boost last week when Macromedia Inc. announced it
will release 3-D-enabled tools next month.
3Com
to Embed Firewall On Network Interface Cards
3Com and Secure Computing
announced they would embed Secure Computing's Sidewinder firewall technology in
3Com network interface cards.
Worth
The Switch ?
"Softswitches" promise Web-like flexibility for industrial-strength
telecom in your office. But some performance and security hurdles remain.
Aiming
for an A in wireless LANs
Chipmaking start-up Atheros is tuning in to
802.11a, a standard that promises both higher performance than the popular 802.11b
technology and lower power consumption.
Packaged
Software Addresses Mid-Market CRM Needs
Sweden-based CRM services provider
IFS has unveiled an initiative it claims is the first prepackaged, portal-based
program designed for mid- size companies.
Ultimate
CDS
What could you do with a 100-gig CD, or a digital camera that packs
2,000 snapshots in the space of a business card?
Chips
speed secure Web data
New dedicated wares from Andes, Corrent and Accelerated
can help alleviate processing bottlenecks
---
E-SERVICES
IBM
strengthens its services hand
Flush with cash from a stellar first quarter,
IBM Global Services announced an agreement to acquire e-business strategy consulting
firm Mainspring.
Just
Blame The Software Guys
After Nike blamed its back-office software vendor,
i2 Technologies, for lousing up its latest quarter, executives and investors alike
are paying more attention than ever to the prosaic science of managing supply
chains and inventories.
BT
Launches 'Always-On' Mobile Web Phones
BT Cellnet said long-delayed mobile
phones with permanent Internet connections will reach British shops on May 18.
Getting
help desk to fly high
Boeing gets users to manage own passwords
Microsoft
gets into the groove
Microsoft is throwing its hat into the post - Napster
online music ring, targeting the same audience rival RealNetworks seeks with its
ambitious MusicNet service.
It's
All About Speed: AARO Demonstrates `Speed of Deployment' for Wireless Internet
Services
As a pair of recent corporate projects show, it's not simply
that AARO can deliver blazing-fast 155 Mbps Internet connectivity to its customers.
Outsourcing
Wave Hits N.Y. Hospitals
Regional pressures to cut costs, combined with
an industry wide drive to improve technology services, have prompted several New
York hospitals to outsource their IT departments.
Company
Gives Voice to Self-Service
Voice-based CRM services provider NetByTel
has launched a new application designed to slash call-center costs by automating
routine information requests.
Yahoo!
Joins Online Music Crowd
Amid a slew of new partnerships and product announcements
in the digital music field, Yahoo! said it has formed an alliance with Duet, a
subscription-based music service being developed by two of the world's largest
record labels.
Compaq
banks on rickety Ricochet for mobile
Compaq Computer Corp.'s decision
to extend mobile Internet services on foundering Metricom Inc.'s Ricochet wireless
network is raising questions about the offering and fueling speculation that Metricom
may be ripe for a takeover.
DaimlerChrysler's
Net Designs
Designing a car is expensive and time-consuming. But the automaker
thinks it can use the Net to shave both time and money from the process.
MTVi,
RioPort put toll on music downloads
MTVi Group and infrastructure company
RioPort said that they would offer paid song downloads through MTVi's Web sites.
Service
bots are hot
Smart software can save bucks, improve support
Multi-Unit
Broadband Market Hitting Some Bumps
The market for multi-hospitality unit
(MHU) broadband hardware and services will resume robust growth next year and
surge from $59 million in 2000 to $679 million in 2005
Gary
Arlen - Satellites Aimed In New Directions
Such rare candor - especially
from a company president speaking during a conference panel - triggered unprecedented
neck-twisting
Qualcomm
Boosts Security for Eudora E-mail Software Program
The new version offers
support for the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Internet security standard, enabling
more secure connections for sending and receiving e-mail.
Internet
Can't Match Branch Banking
Bank branches and other traditional channels
are here to stay, despite Americans' growing comfort with technology and Internet
use, according to research by TowerGroup.
Delta
to change core technology
Steeped in a tradition of mainframe computing,
Delta Air Lines has made a radical change, turning to a software vendor to replace
the proprietary reservations and pricing systems that have helped run its operations
for more than 30 years.
MSN
filter sparks user fury
Microsoft gingerly added a widely used spam filter
to its MSN Internet service and in the process found itself facing some irate
customers.
EMI,
HitHive Launch Wireless Music Sharing Service
The substantial archives
of EMI Recorded Music, ranging from the Beatles to Frank Sinatra to Garth Brooks,
will soon be available on wireless devices, as the world's third largest recording
company has linked up with HitHive, Inc., a wireless music network provider.
ISP
CEOs Focus on DSL, Fixed Wireless
In a free exchange of ideas at Spring
ISPCON 2001, about three dozen owners of ISPs of all sizes got together to talk
about broadband and other assorted gripes.
CRM
Market Appears Headed for Shakeout
The softening economy and the proliferation
of smaller players has made the field ripe for consolidation or downsizing,
Online
Travel Planning a Good Bet
We are going to Iceland. I had heard that online
tour deals can put travel agents' "bargains" to shame, so despite my unpleasant
tile - purchase attempt a few weeks ago, I decided to take a virtual fantastic
voyage before setting foot outside the door in real life.
...
E-MARKETING NEWS
Dell
bumps Compaq as top PC maker
It may have ended Compaq's seven-year reign
as PC leader in the first quarter, but Dell Computer now finds its empire is on
distinctly shaky ground.
Retention-Based
Advertising
Advertising columnist Tom Hespos explains why marketing to
existing customers is at least as important as trying to win new ones.
New
technology serves ads sans cookies
An advertising technology company is
hoping to turn concerns about Internet privacy to its advantage, offering a way
for companies to deliver online ads without using electronic markers known as
cookies.
Online
Advertisers Must Deploy Campaigns That Match The Behavior Of Europe's Multi-Channel
Consumers
Net-based advertising will grow to Ä6 billion, or 5% of
all advertising spend in 2005, but to exploit this potential, marketers must redefine
their own goals and organization
ASK
JEEVES Launches AD Network
Ask Jeeves--the Web's most popular butler announced
the DirectHit Network, an advertising network based on its keyword search infrastructure.
Web
auction site meets resistance to storefronts
eBay Inc. is looking to leverage
its 28 million registered auction customers by expanding its e-commerce offerings
with hosted storefronts for small business.
AOL:
The New Online Profit Model?
Now that AOL Time Warner is proving that
its ultimate hedge combination of Internet access and media is working better
than most analysts expected
Email
Worth its Weight in Clicks
Flash-enabled email helps Northwest Airlinesí
online mall take off.
Dell
seeks to keep the wolves at bay
With revenue declining for the first time
in its 17-year history, Dell Computer is looking at foreign markets and computing
services to boost its fortunes.
Should
Ad Agencies and PR Firms Eliminate Their Internet Divisions?
A few years
ago all we heard about were agencies starting egroups. Now, the client-side integrated
online / offline marketing trend is extending to agencies.
Bear
Opportunities
An economic slowdown doesn't mean abandoning marketing plans--it
means being clever enough to take advantage.
Sprint
Gains Channels in Multiple Markets for its Broadband Wireless Service
Sprint
announced airtime agreements with several Instructional Television Fixed Service
and Multi-channel, Multi-point Distribution Service license holders, bringing
Sprint's spectrum portfolio to more than 1,100 channels in 90 markets
Success
One Account At A Time
Account development is driven by improvement in
customer loyalty. But it's still good for your bottom line.
Three
global ad firms team up to modernize sales
Three of the largest global
advertising companies are joining forces to create a new Web-based system designed
to cut the high costs of bringing ad buyers and sellers together.
Web
Travel's Next Big Opportunity
As airlines see their revenues decline and
look to cut commissions on ticket sales, online travel companies would be wise
to turn their attentions to the virtually untouched opportunities in hotel reservations.
Cisco
launches major storage networking initiative
Cisco Systems Inc. is taking
its experience in networking and applying it to the storage industry.
USi
leads worldwide ASP market
Application service provider USinternetworking
Inc., whose customer list includes Hershey Foods, Legg Mason and Kinkos, leads
the worldwide ASP market, according to market research firm IDC.
Awash
In A Sea Of Blue
Visitors to CBSMarketwatch.com may have noticed that
the site's homepage loaded washed in a blue hue that fades a few seconds later,
followed by synchronized Flash animation ads in two coordinated ad slots on the
site. Or at least, Kmart hoped site visitors noticed.
A
spoonful of e-medicine
Extranet helps drug company digest ad material
The
Sizzle
What's Up In Digital Marketing and Advertising.
Judge
allows Juno Online to resume banner ads
A federal court judge lifted a
temporary restraining order against free Internet service provider Juno Online
Services Inc., allowing the company to again place third-party advertisements
on its floating banner.
Wireless
Firms Target Healthcare
Doctors were among the earliest adopters of cell
phones and pagers, so it makes sense that they would be willing to use wireless
devices to access critical patient information.
Canadian
Retailer: We Deserve 'Crappy' Internet Domain
In a move that would make
most marketers cringe, an icon of chain-store retailing in Canada is asking an
international intellectual property organization to rule that, when shoppers say
"Crappy Tire," they really mean "Canadian Tire."
Meeting
the Needs of Traditional Advertisers
Advertising columnist Jeffrey Graham
offers advice on how to win back the dollars of traditional advertisers.
---
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
This section sponsored by - Sameday.com,
please visit them at http://www.sameday.com
Private
exchanges, integration technology to drive b-to-b
Vendors need to shift
strategies to address evolving business-to-business trading models during a panel
session at the Internet and E-business Expo
Linking
to the e-marketplace
Upgrade provides private e-marketplace support for
Allegis partnership management software
PeopleSoft
Opts In for Personalized E-Mail ASP
PeopleSoft and e2 Communications have
formed an alliance to create an ASP-based e-mail messaging platform that promises
better delivery and personalization options for PeopleSoft customers.
GE
Global eXchange acquires content management company
GE Global eXchange
Services (GXS), a business-to-business e-commerce exchange, announced that it
has acquired TPN Register, a Rockville, Md.-based content management services
company.
CRM
systems require a mixed bag of apps
Despite the complexity of implementing
software from different CRM vendors, big companies such as Bank of America, UPS,
Fingerhut Cos. and FedEx are hard-pressed to find a single package that serves
their needs.
Integrating
the back end
Tibco, Commerce One and SAPMarkets to ease connecting the
back office with B2B marketplaces
North
American B2B Dominance to Diminish
North American business-to-business
(B2B) e-commerce spending reached US$255 billion in 2000, or 59 percent of the
$433 billion spent worldwide, according to a study released by Gartner.
Asian
B2B E-Commerce Approaches Quarter of World's Total
B2B Internet commerce
in the Asia/Pacific region reached $96.8 billion in 2000, which was 22 percent
of the worldwide total of $433.3 billion, according to Gartner Group, Inc.
Keeping
partners together
Suppliers tap PRM to boost channels
Rockwell
App Transcends Call-Routing Barriers
Information services provider Maxxar
Corporation has agreed to distribute a customer contact routing application from
Rockwell Electronic Commerce, the CRM-services unit of Rockwell International
Corp.
Portals
to Evolve Into 'E-Commerce Brokers'
The future of e-commerce will include
beefed-up portals, dubbed "e-commerce brokers," that will offer more than a list
of links and a passive handoff to online retailers, according to a report released
by Forrester Research.
Infrastructure
breakdown
Companies stranded when suppliers close doors
Peoplesoft
Eyes New CRM Licensing Model
Wth the release of the latest version of
its CRM (customer relationship management) software, PeopleSoft has changed the
way it sells the product to a value-based licensing plan.
NCR
Finds Flexible Financing for Teradata Systems
NCR Corp. has entered into
a seven-year agreement that establishes GE Capital Vendor Financial Services as
the preferred provider of leasing services for NCR customers in the United States.
Ford
Gets E-Commerce Act in Gear
B-to-b software company WebMethods will help
the automaker clean up its mountain of consumer data by syncing its e-commerce
systems.
Let
your Internet browser do the shipping
Transportation.com links shippers
and carriers that are equipped with computers and Web connections
Fishing
for a deal
Internet data centers are the focus of a burgeoning alliance
ecosystem. But these unions are not just marriages of convenience.
Verizon
to keep Northpoint users in service
Verizon Communications says it will
leave Northpoint Communications DSL customers in service "for the time being"
to give them ample time to find a new provider.
Tearing
into waste
Dow Corning moves lots of paper, more than 5,000 pieces of
printed literature, from business cards and corporate brochures to product spec
sheets and order forms in several languages.
Syncra
launches supply-chain product
Syncra Systems is reaching deeper into the
supply chain with the announcement today of its new supplier-to-manufacturer collaborative
replenishment and inventory management solution.
Group
maps RosettaNet to supply-chain process
For the past year, Intel and Siemens
have been working together to automate very complex supply-chain processes in
the electronics industry.
B2B
firms victims of own failures
B2B software providers are the latest to
take their turn at the Wall Street whipping post.
Retail
exchanges push on despite B2B travails
Key executives involved in the
retail industry's major competing online exchanges - GlobalNetXchange and the
WorldWide Retail Exchange - discuss the progress and future directions of the
B2B marketplaces.
CRM,
One Step at a Time
Deploying CRM analytics companywide via a data warehouse
is far too complex and costly for companies to do all at once. Fortunately, there
are ways companies can simplify the process...
Pay-per-use
models ready for online business
With the demise of the pure-play dot-com
business model - which said you could give away content and make it up in volume
- technology providers are readying pay-per-use content management systems to
allow content providers to change the way they run their businesses.
---
CONTENT, PORTALS & COMMUNITY
What's
holding up media convergence?
Convergence--a buzzword much employed in
certain circles--is a lot like the weather: Everybody's talking about it. No one
can control it, and how you prepare for it depends on where you are.
WLANs
extend Tarheel net
Wireless LANs make financial, practical sense to UNC's
tech chancellor
New
security initiative raises concerns about duplication
A fee-based security
information service announced by the Internet Security Alliance prompted some
analysts to question whether the new effort will duplicate other programs that
have already been set up.
IE
Hole-Finder in Odd Position
A hacker who discovered a potentially devastating
security hole in Microsoft's Internet Explorer says he has found himself in the
undesired position of providing technical support to people who cannot install
the patch that Microsoft released to fix the flaw.
Napster
alternatives start blocking songs
The record industry's attempts to stop
online song trading are gaining traction beyond Napster, as other leading music
swapping sites have begun blocking downloads of copyrighted tunes on their services.
The
Real Wireless Innovators
The wireless business is futile if you know technology
but don't know what your customers want.
Phone
search site adds fees for heavy users
Online telephone directory service
555-1212.com is now charging fees for customers who seek more than 30 residential
phone numbers a month.
Techies
plug into hot skills
If it doesn't produce ROI, kiss the bonus goodbye
Did
AOL shoot the messenger?
A little - publicized but startling study released
showed that one of AOL's chief rivals in this market, Microsoft's MSN Messenger,
tallied more subscribers worldwide.
Yahoo
to remove adult-related products from Web sites
In response to media attention
and concerns from users, Yahoo Inc. said it would no longer provide adult-related
products on its Web sites.
Blockbuster's
Big Turnaround
Viacom's announcement that it has abandoned its plan to
sell off its 82-percent stake in Blockbuster represents an important milestone
in the video-rental chain's history.
IRS
Call Center Upgrade Aims To Boost Tax-Time Services
Among its initiatives,
the IRS has recently completed a $2 million upgrade of its call center applications,
in time for this year's tax season spike.
Acquisitions
squeeze DSL
Prospects dim for greater choice, lower subscription cost
Biggest
Job Losses Since 1991 Recession
The U.S. economy lost 86,000 jobs in March,
the Labor Department said. It was the biggest job loss since November 1991.
Borderline
Savings
Big money is lost every day while trucks sit idle at international
crossings, waiting for paperwork clearance. A new technology hopes to streamline
the process.
Despite
growth in online usage, banks urged not to forget their roots
Consumers
still see the brick-and-mortar bank branch as their main source for financial
services, despite a growing comfort with online services offered by such institutions.
E-Commerce
Shakeout: Mature Web Emerges
In the face of a very public shakeout of
Web businesses, a new, increasingly mature online business picture is emerging
GM
updates BuyPower technology
GM announced a deal to upgrade its consumer
Web site, GMBuyPower.com, with new technology that lets car buyers access the
site faster and on a variety of platforms, from cell phones to handhelds.
DOT
refuses to block launch of Orbitz travel Web site
Despite fears from competitors
that the not-yet-launched Web site Orbitz will be anticompetitive, the U.S. Department
of Transportation says any such designation is premature.
Money!
I Spammed the Kids
Once again, e-commerce is getting just a bit too comfortable
with itself. Just when the dot-com shakeup seems to be leveling off, surviving
companies are neglecting one of the key issues that could prove to be their undoing:
children's privacy.
More
Bangalore For Their Bucks
The expanded H-1B visa program lets U.S. firms
recruit heavily from India. But Indian firms are also profiting.
...
GOVERNANCE & GOING GLOBAL
Cheney
backs Net access tax ban, more R&D spending
The Bush administration
supports a permanent ban on all Internet access taxes and wants Congress to approve
such a measure by the end of this year.
White
House proposes spectrum plan
The Bush administration will support efforts
to move TV broadcasters off a portion of the airwaves earmarked for advanced wireless
services.
Baby
Bell Broadband Deregulation Bill To Resurface
The leaders of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee plan to reintroduce legislation that would dramatically
expand the number of high-speed Internet customers that baby Bell operating companies
are permitted to serve.
Feds
look for better data on attacks against agency systems
Federal officials
estimate that only about 20% of the computer crimes committed against government
agencies are being reported -- a level that the Bush administration and Congress
want to increase.
Worldwide
E-Government Still Overcoming Hurdles
Although many government bodies
are taking steps to implement online services, a report released by consulting
firm Accenture concludes they still have "a long way to go."
Desperado
storms Capitol Hill
The battle over online music drew stars to Congress,
as singer Alanis Morissette and former Eagles musician Don Henley joined Napster
and record label executives to debate the future of Net music.
Microsoft
makes 'clean break' on security policy
Microsoft Corp. announced a broad
set of security initiatives and new product features that it says will make the
Windows product line among the most secure software on the market.
Canada
Earns Top Loyalty Points for E-Gov Services
Noting that governments have
the largest customer bases of any entities in the world, global consulting giant
Accenture released the results of its eGovernment study of 22 countries and how
well they are delivering government services online to their citizens.
FTC
sues to stop gathering of personal data
The Federal Trade Commission said
it has filed lawsuits aimed at halting the operations of three online "information
brokers" that offer to locate personal financial data, such as bank balances,
in return for fees.
Siberia's
Silicon Valley
When Dmitri Simonenko visits his company's 35 programmers,
it lends new meaning to the word commute. It's a 20-hour haul from his Chantilly,
Va., home to his native Novosibirsk, Russia, a city of 1.5 million people dubbed
"Siberia's Silicon Valley"
FTC
assesses first fines for violating online kids' privacy law
The Federal
Trade Commission said three Web sites will pay penalties totaling $100,000 for
violating the year-old Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and warned that
more fines are likely in the next few months.
Frustrated
Tech Investors Trade Brokers for Lawyers
Just over a year ago, investors
were pushing each other out of the way to place "buy" orders for soaring tech
stocks. Today, the crowds are forming instead at lawyers' offices.
Tech
lobbyists dangle stock carrot
Back in the days of heady stock prices and
endless launch parties, a group of hotshot dot-com executives had a dream. Reveling
in the promise of newfound wealth, the group, formed Pac.com, a political action
committee that planned to collect money and stock from flush dot-commers and divvy
it out to candidates who supported a Democratic, tech-friendly vision.
Fifty-Four
Percent in U.S. Support FBI E-mail Snooping
"While an overwhelming majority
of U.S. residents worry about Internet crime like child pornography and credit
card theft, slightly more than half say it's OK for the FBI to monitor suspects'
e-mail.
Law
Requiring Schools To Filter Internet Access Causing Problems
For Twin
Cities schools, the information age soon will be turned upside down. It won't
be what students see on the Internet that matters, but what they don't see.
Bush
names insiders to FCC
President George W. Bush has named three Washington
insiders with extensive experience in both policy-making and politics to the Federal
Communications Commission.
Europe
Learns Its E-Commerce Dos and Don'ts
With European e-commerce lagging
some 18 months or so behind that in the States, the U.S. dot-com shakeout has
served as a highly visible business lesson for European e-tailers -- helping to
prevent them from making many of the same mistakes.
Computer
Vandals Face 10 Years' Jail Under NSW Laws
"Online fraudsters and computer
vandals who spread viruses face up to 10 years jail under new cyber crime laws
introduced in the New South Wales parliament.
Federal
government eyes more IT outsourcing
The Bush administration is ordering
federal agencies to consider outsourcing an increased amount of their services,
and IT operations are viewed as prime candidates.
E-mail
Could Cancel Saturday 'Snail Mail'
Neither rain nor sleet nor snow can
keep mail carriers from their appointed rounds -- but maybe e-mail can. The easy,
instantaneous and worldwide communication offered by the Internet was one of the
factors cited by the U.S. Postal Service in its decision to consider the possibility
of eliminating Saturday delivery.
...
PARTNERS & DEALS NEWS
Pivotal, Evolve
Go Full Circle with Strategic Alliance
Pivotal Corporation and Evolve
took a page from Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, announcing that they have
formed a strategic alliance to integrate their CRM and business intelligence software
products...
Internet
Security Alliance takes shape
Several high-profile industry groups joined
forces to form a new consortium that is dedicated to improving the security of
the Internet.
Drkoop.com
buys in-home IV therapy provider
Online health and wellness Web site Drkoop.com
is buying an in-home intravenous therapy company to try and boost revenues by
adding new patient services.
Loudcloud
pumps up enterprise volume
The managed service provider continued its
attack on enterprise computing, announcing new products and partnerships aimed
at the Fortune 1000.
Aspect
Cements CRM Portal Deal in Mexico
Aspect Communications passed the scrutiny
of Mexican conglomerate Grupo Carso well enough to emerge with a contract to supply
its portal contact server to four Grupo Carso call centers.
RIAA
Licensing Deal Lets You Be An Online DJ
Online music startup Kickworks
has landed a licensing deal with the recording industry to build a digital library
of 25,000 songs for broadcast via its Internet radio network.
Kinko's
Links with Nortel To Boost Loyalty
Kinko's, Inc. has decided to do e-business
with networking communications giant Nortel Networks, giving more than 25,000
Kinko's workers access to an online CRM system...
E-Stamp
and Learn2.com to merge into e-learning company
Two e-commerce companies,
Learn2.com Inc. and E-Stamp Corp., plan to merge later this year to focus on the
online learning market.
digiMine
to acquire CoRelation
Business intelligence service provider digiMine
Inc. will announce plans Monday to acquire data mining software company CoRelation.
Companies
Personalize Web Insurance Services
Insurance CRM providers Acentas and
Entresoft are joining forces to streamline and automate the global insurance industry
with a joint system that aims to keep online insurance shopping personalized while
improving customer management for service agents and call centers.
Kana,
Broadbase announce merger agreement
Two struggling CRM companies have
decided to join forces as cash-strapped Kana Communications Inc., announced plans
to buy, through a stock swap, only slightly better off Broadbase Software Corp.
Borders
Turns to Amazon for Outsourcing
After three years in the red, the second
largest U.S. bookseller is calling it quits online, choosing instead to outsource
its operation to Amazon.com. For an undisclosed fee, Amazon will to take over
the Web operations of Borders.com and relaunch it as a co-branded site.
Digital
River buys e-commerce platform
E-Commerce Services Digital River has acquired
Calico Commerce's e-commerce platform business line in a deal worth $8 million,
the companies announced.
Sony,
Ericsson in Talks on Mobile Alliance
Swedish telecoms equipment maker
Ericsson and Japan's Sony Corp said they were in talks to team up in mobile phones,
sending shares in both companies sharply higher
Sprint
PCS and BlueKite.com Join WirelessReady -TM- Alliance
Sierra Wireless
Welcomes Two New Valuable Solution Partners to Assist in Creating Compelling End-to-End
Mobile, Wireless Data Solutions
Mail.com
sells e-mail users to Net2Phone
Looking to focus more on businesses, Mail.com
Inc. has sold its five million consumer e-mail users to Internet telephony provider
Net2Phone Inc.
Compaq
provides infrastructure to MS tech center
Compaq Computer Corp. said that
it has contributed $6 million to the new Microsoft Technology Center, representing
a commitment to a marketplace seen as hungry for e-commerce technology, hardware
and services.
Microsoft
makes headway with mobile deals
The launches of a two-way pager and a
mobile phone with a color screen that browses the Web are among a flurry of deals
being announced by Microsoft Corp. as the software giant makes headway expanding
beyond its core personal computer business.
SAP
Teams with Yahoo! on Portal Venture
German e-business software giant SAP
AG said it has finished constructing a company based on the four main pillars
of its mySAP.com e-business platform by announcing the formation of SAP Portals,
Inc. and creating a partnership with Internet giant Yahoo!
Returnbuy
Snags EBAY
New, used, or returned? eBay wants to sell it. The San Jose,
Calif. based online auction site announced that it has made a minority investment
in ReturnBuy, which resells returned items on behalf of traditional merchants
and distributors, as part of the company's $15 million second round of funding.
---
MOVERS & SHAKERS NEWS
Microsoft
spreads more .Net dollars
First came the $135 million bailout of Corel
last fall. Now Microsoft is making a $25 million investment in CommerceOne to
buy backing for its new .Net strategy
Class-action
suit filed against cell phone makers
Noted class-action attorney Peter
Angelos has filed suits in four states against 25 cell phone manufacturers and
wireless services providers, charging that they failed to warn users about potential
health risks posed by the devices.
CRM
Companies Lock Step with Mid-Size Trend
"Think mid-sized" seems to be
the mantra on the minds of many high-tech company officials these days, as they
deal with marketplace uncertainties by tailoring products and services to customers
with room to grow.
Intel
slashes price of 1.7GHz Pentium 4
Although Intel Corp. won't even start
selling its 1.7GHz Pentium 4 until Monday, the chip maker is already cutting its
price, sources say.
MP3.com
To Pay Copyright Damages
A jury ordered MP3.com to pay a small music company
$300,000 in damages for copyright infringement.
Captain
Connected
E.piphany CEO Roger Siboni relies on his sizable Rolodex and
his gospel of austerity to lead his young software company into battle against
Oracle and Siebel Systems.
Thousands
of UK E-Tailers Breaking the Law
Thousands of UK e-tailers may be breaking
the law by failing to comply with the Data Protection Act, a report released by
the London Chamber of Commerce said.
Microsoft,
HP settle with FTC
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have agreed not to run
ads in the future that suggest Pocket PC-based handheld computers come with built-in
wireless Internet access, the Federal Trade Commission said.
Microsoft
in Hot Pursuit of Software Pirates
Software giant Microsoft Corp. announced
that it has targeted counterfeiters in more than 20 nations around the globe and
removed thousands of illegal offerings as part of its increasing fight against
software piracy.
Tech
Companies Warding Off Takeovers
A growing number of technology companies
are beefing up their defenses against hostile takeovers, from drawing up shareholder-rights
plans to staggering the terms of their boards of directors.
E-Biz
Powerhouses Come Together Right Now Over Music
More than a year after
the first salvo was fired between the recording industry and digital downloading
freeloaders, the music industry is still trying to develop a subscription-based
service that rivals Napster in popularity.
Foreign
Hackers Stepping Up Attacks On Federal Agencies
According to a government
study, at least 155 federal computers systems - some with sensitive research or
personal data about Americans - were temporarily taken over by hackers last year.
$65M
Awarded in SEX.COM case
Online pornography isn't cheap--especially if
it's stolen. That statement rang true in San Jose, Calif., as U.S. District Judge
James Ware found the former owner of Sex.com liable for fraud and forgery and
awarded $65 million to the domain name's original holder.
New.Net's
New Deals Will Promote Unsanctioned Internet Addresses
A startup that
sells unsanctioned Internet domain names has reached deals with five software
companies to promote the use of such Web address suffixes as ".kids" and ".travel."
Cybernanny
Web site hacked with vulgar language
Internet filtering software Cybernanny
was unable to practice what it preaches this week, as a series of attacks left
its Web site smeared with vulgar language.
Red
Hat Hit by Class Action Suit Over IPO
Leading Linux software maker Red
Hat was sued Tuesday in class action lawsuits filed on behalf of shareholders
over the company's initial public offering (IPO) two years ago.
Xerox
bars installations of Windows XP beta
Xerox Corp. has pulled the plug
on employees running beta versions of Windows XP after the document company experienced
several major outages over the past 10 days.
Microsoft
discrimination case grows
Celebrity lawyer Johnnie Cochran has filed a
consolidated complaint on behalf of four plaintiffs in the ongoing discrimination
suit against Microsoft.
Web
Site Tax Schemes Up
The number of Web sites selling illegal tax evasion
schemes has exploded, bilking consumers and costing the U.S. government $70 billion
to $300 billion annually because no one shuts them down
Losses,
Job Cuts Rake CRM Industry
A wave of losses and job cuts swept through
CRM-related companies, further eroding a foundation that has been battered by
the relentless tide of bad news about the U.S. economy.
Big
Blue Wages Open Warfare
IBM, the $88 billion behemoth, is committing itself
to one of the most radical shifts in its corporate history: a move away from proprietary
systems and toward an open computing environment.
Winstar
files for bankruptcy, sues Lucent for $10 billion
Telecommunications service
provider Winstar Communications Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
and is suing Lucent Technologies Inc. for $10 billion for allegedly violating
a vendor financing agreement.
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