The Value-added Activity
Begins after the Customer hits 'Submit Order'
http://ecnow.com/top10trends1999.htm
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October 1, 1999 *2,400 subscribers*
Volume 1, Issue 09
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Print this Issue: http://ecmgt.com/Oct1999/full.issue.for.printing.htm ECnow.com 1999 trend #02: "Companies will begin to recognize
that the value-added activity begins after the customer hits 'submit order' and
that "Customer service will become the point of differentiation"
ALL ECMGT.COM E-NEWS - E-STRATEGIES
- E-PRODUCTS
- E-SERVICES
- E-MARKETING
- SUPPLY
CHAIN
- GOVERNANCE & GOING GLOBAL
- PARTNERS &
DEALS
- MOVERS & SHAKERS
E-STRATEGIES NEWS
This section sponsored by - ECnow.com,
please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com
ToC - 1999: The Year Of The
Customer
- Customer At The Core
- CheckFree to offer services via
Exite@Home
- GE brings Net
things to life
- Bolt.com Launches User-Created Store
- Data Quality
Moves To The Forefront
----
1999: The Year Of The Customer
Business can't survive over the long term without loyal customers.
That seems obvious- but not everyone gets it, as shown by the remarkable number
of businesses in which employees treat customers rudely or even crudely. Customer At The Core
The key metric for many
of the companies that made the 1999 InformationWeek 500 list is their strategy
for improving relationships with customers. These companies are finding ways to
apply IT to a standard business objective: keeping custom CheckFree to offer services via Exite@Home
CheckFree
plans to start offering its online billing services through a major Internet portal
and a new online bank before the end of the year, a spokeswoman said today. GE
brings Net things to life
General Electric, the second-largest U.S.
company by market value, said it plans to create a Web site to sell such consumer
services and products as mortgages. Bolt.com Launches User-Created Store
Teen site
Bolt.com has launched an e-commerce model in which its new Bolt Store will sell
merchandise determined solely by its audience of three million teens. Data
Quality Moves To The Forefront
E-commerce And Customer-Relationship
Management Have Given A New Urgency To Compiling Clean, Consolidated Customer
Information
E-PRODUCTS NEWS
ToC - eCenter Helps Users
Help Themselves
- Total E-Commerce Package
- Insurer Deploys Candle
Platform For Customer Management App
- Tool Taps FAQs For Better Support
- Virgin
to unveil online music service
- Sun-Netscape alliance polishes e-commerce
package
- IBM revamps software family for Web building
----
eCenter Helps Users Help Themselves
Servicesoft Technologies
Inc.'s new eCenter 1.0 enables a company to tie together its online help like
never before by combining a knowledge-base system and a rules-based e-mail system
for call centers. Total E-Commerce Package
Silknet eCommerce
is a Web application that integrates E-commerce transactions with customer-service
capabilities. The application gives companies a more complete product to handle
customer interactions and makes it easier for customers to do business with companies
online. Insurer
Deploys Candle Platform For Customer Management App
AXA Financial
Inc., until last week known as The Equitable Companies Inc., has just deployed
its first commercial middleware product after years of developing homegrown software
to link legacy and front-end systems. Tool Taps FAQs For Better Support
Right Now
Technologies last week released a new version of its customer service platform
that it says will help e-commerce sites better interact with their customers.
Virgin
to unveil online music service
Virgin Entertainment Group today
will launch an online service dubbed Virgin JamCast that delivers music without
the wait normally associated with downloading over traditional dial-up modems.
Sun-Netscape
alliance polishes e-commerce package
The Sun-Netscape alliance is
sprucing up its e-commerce software with features aimed at letting businesses
buy goods from their suppliers online. IBM
revamps software family for Web building
Big Blue will ship new
versions of its VisualAge development tool for the Java programming language and
update its WebSphere application servers in October. An application server is
software that sits between a Web browser and back-end database and runs the transactions
and business logic of an application.
E-SERVICES NEWS
ToC - E-Service At Hub Of Online
- When
Customers Are King
- Customer Service And Apple Pie? It's All Part Of What
IT Brings To The Table
- Traditional Values In A High-Tech World
- IT
Brings Manufacturers Closer To Customers
- IT Adds The Personal Touch
- From
Training On Demand To Full-Service Customer Care, It's All Online
- Online
Shoppers Frustrated By Confusing Sites
----
E-Service
At Hub Of Online
Mike Regan, senior global E-marketing manager for
Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., seems to be in a good place. The 24-year-old
company is growing by about 26% annually. It has a global distribution channel
and strong brand awareness. When
Customers Are King
As traditional businesses become customer-driven
enterprises, IT organizations find themselves in the middle of that transformation,
providing the technological foundation-and often the cultural impetus-to make
it happen. Customer
Service And Apple Pie? It's All Part Of What IT Brings To The Table.
Hot
apple pie with creamy vanilla ice cream. Lemonade just like Grandma's. Meat loaf,
chicken pot pie, and other treats that take us back to simpler times. Traditional
Values In A High-Tech World
Intense competition has shaken up most
markets in the United States, but nowhere is that more apparent than in the traditional
American industries of metals and natural resources, which continue to be hammered
from fast-moving usurpers. IT Brings Manufacturers Closer To Customers
From
makers of cereal boxes to producers of rocket boosters, the Internet, coupled
with off-the-shelf and custom-built applications, is bringing manufacturers closer
to their customers and suppliers. IT
Adds The Personal Touch
While big business has reduced the mom-and-pop
shop to a rarely seen anachronism, it has never fully embraced the customer as
well as smaller, more intimate enterprises. Ironically, computers are putting
the personal touch back into business. From Training On Demand To Full-Service Customer Care, It's
All Online
Much of the innovation in the IT industry can be summed
up in one word: online. It's not, however, simple E-commerce. Online
Shoppers Frustrated By Confusing Sites
A research company estimates
online retailers could lose as much revenue as the entire retail industry is set
to earn during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
E-MARKETING NEWS
ToC - Some Web sites
trying to help the e-buyer beware
- E-commerce sites not quite at your service
- Lands'
End gives Web shopping the personal touch
- Visa forms separate Net unit
- Ford ropes off e-commerce business
- eBay to ban some music and
software sales
----
Some Web sites trying to help the
e-buyer beware
Do you ever get the feeling as a consumer, even an
electronic consumer, that it's just you against the world? You should, and it's
a pretty old concept. It's called caveat emptor, or, let the buyer beware. E-commerce
sites not quite at your service
Does shopping make you happy? I often
wonder if the bozos focusing on the "customer experience" realize that
I'm just going to their site to purchase something-I'm not looking for a religious
experience. My idea of a good shopping expedition is one that ends quickly, but
most sites are trying to be sticky, like hiding the doors in a shopping mall.
Lands'
End gives Web shopping the personal touch
To help eliminate the
isolation of online shopping, the catalog apparel retailer this week launched
two new services on its Web site--"Lands' End Live" and "Shop With
a Friend." The features will enable two people at separate locations to shop
together and compare notes on what to buy through instant chat. The company said
shoppers need no special software or plug-in to participate beyond a browser.
Visa
forms separate Net unit
Stepping up its e-commerce efforts, Visa
USA today launched eVisa, a separate Internet unit.
The new unit, led by
Visa's former chief marketing officer Michael Beindorff, will focus on helping
its bank members differentiate themselves and compete online. It also is charged
with boosting acceptance of the Visa brand among merchants by developing online
standards and technology and new products, said Sean Healy, a company spokesman.
Ford
ropes off e-commerce business
Ford Motor Company is organizing all
of its various e-commerce efforts into a new enterprise, the company announced
today. eBay
to ban some music and software sales
eBay will prohibit the sale
of software and music on recordable compact discs and backup software packages,
except when the seller is the copyright owner, according to a message posted today
on the company's Web site.
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
This section sponsored by - CONNECTINC.COM,
please visit them at http://www.connectinc.com
ToC - B2B E-Commerce Market
Predicted to Hit $1.5 Trillion by 2004
- E-tail sales to reach $126 billion
by 2003
- Ariba Seals E-Commerce Deals, Unveils New Products
- Inacom
Readies E-Business Unit, Ariba Intranet Solution
- Distributors Hold The
Key -- Building A Backbone For E-Sales
- SAP banks on e-business portal
- E-Commerce
Is A Key Ingredient Of Supply-Chain Management In The Food Industry
----
B2B E-Commerce Market Predicted to Hit $1.5 Trillion by 2004
A new industry report says that the B2B e-commerce market in the United
States will grow to approximately $1.5 trillion by 2004 from a base of $39 billion
in 1998. E-tail
sales to reach $126 billion by 2003
The U.S. market for online retail
sales will increase to $125.6 billion in 2003 from $11.5 billion last year as
shoppers become less worried about the security of Internet purchases and as more
traditional retailers offer online shopping, according to a study by The Yankee
Group. Ariba
Seals E-Commerce Deals, Unveils New Products
Ariba Tuesday rolled
out several new deals and products for business-to-business e-commerce, including
agreements with J.D. Edwards, Microsoft Corp. and US Bancorp. Inacom
Readies E-Business Unit, Ariba Intranet Solution
Network integrator
Inacom Corp. is adding an E-business unit and creating additional service offerings
around two new products. Distributors
Hold The Key -- Building A Backbone For E-Sales
Picking, packing
and shipping has never been viewed as a glamorous business, even in the world
of high technology. But distributors are taking on a new luster thanks to the
rising tide of Internet reselling. SAP
banks on e-business portal
SAP doesn't intend to become a Web retailer
like Amazon.com. Nor does it plan to run auctions as eBay does. Instead, SAP hopes
to expand its stake in the business-to-business e-commerce market and build the
largest global network of business buyers and sellers online. E-Commerce
Is A Key Ingredient Of Supply-Chain Management In The Food Industry
Let's
be frank. Companies in the food and beverage industry haven't been the most aggressive
IT users in recent years.
E-COMMERCE GOVERNANCE & GOING GLOBAL NEWS
ToC - China
may alter Net investment laws
- Bill would prohibit Net taxes
- Sales
Tax Would Harm E-Commerce
- White House proposes looser crypto exports
- Comparison
shopping sites in copycat lawsuit
----
China may alter
Net investment laws
China's laws do not permit foreign investors
to provide Internet content or servers, but the legal framework could be changed
by the end of the year, Minister of Information Industry Wu Jichuan said today.
He said issues related to Internet investment by foreigners are now under discussion,
but he offered no clue as to what the resolution might be. Bill
would prohibit Net taxes
While a congressional commission studies
Net taxation, McCain (R-Arizona), who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee,
has introduced legislation to make a moratorium on "discriminatory"
Net taxes permanent. Sales
Tax Would Harm E-Commerce
Seventy-five percent of online buyers will
buy less on the Internet if sales taxes are instituted on the World Wide Web,
according to a survey by BizRate.com. White
House proposes looser crypto exports
The federal government took
a substantial step today toward loosening controversial restrictions on the export
of data-encryption software. Comparison
shopping sites in copycat lawsuit
Priceman, a relative newcomer
to the comparison shopping business, lifted verbatim passages and services from
a competing Web site, a federal lawsuit filed this week alleges.
E-COMMERCE PARTNERS & DEALS NEWS
ToC - Budget joins
Priceline's Net service
- Beyond.com Buys European Online Software Seller
- Softbank
increases stake in Buy.com
- Pinacor partners with iTool.com -- To build
reseller Web sites
- Leading Net sites team on auctions to catch eBay
- IBM
acquires Web-based security firm
- Microsoft, Cirrus team on Net music
- Inktomi
adds to Web service arsenal
----
Budget joins Priceline's
Net service
Budget Group, the third-largest U.S. auto-rental company,
agreed to join Priceline.com's planned Internet name-your-price car-rental service
as Budget seeks more online business. Financial terms of the three-year agreement
were not disclosed. The venture will replace its own online bidding service, called
BidBudget, started in May, Budget said. Beyond.com
Buys European Online Software Seller
Online software retailer Beyond.com
Wednesday bought Paris-based online software reseller SoftGallery SARL, marking
Beyond.com's expansion into Europe Softbank
increases stake in Buy.com
Buy.com, an Internet retailer, agreed
to sell a stake to a group led by Japan's Softbank for $165 million to help the
closely held company expand in Europe and Japan. Pinacor
partners with iTool.com -- To build reseller Web sites
Pinacor Inc.
entered a partnership with iTool.com Inc. to build E-commerce sites for resellers.
Leading
Net sites team on auctions to catch eBay
The companies will share
auction listings so that an item listed on one site can be found throughout the
network, said Susan Zaney, vice president of marketing at Woburn, Massachusetts-based
FairMarket. FairMarket will be responsible for managing the new network, and already
conducts auctions for Lycos and Dell. The venture marks Microsoft's first venture
into online auctions. IBM
acquires Web-based security firm
In a move to boost its e-business
offerings, IBM today agreed to acquire Dascom, a maker of Web-based security products.
Microsoft,
Cirrus team on Net music
Microsoft said Cirrus Logic will unveil
a new audio chip next month designed to work with Microsoft software in portable
music devices, in a bid to grab a bigger share of the fast-growing online music
business. Inktomi
adds to Web service arsenal
Inktomi, which supplies software and
services to Internet service providers, today agreed to buy privately held WebSpective
for $106 million in a stock swap.
E-COMMERCE MOVERS & SHAKERS NEWS
ToC - HomeGrocer.com
appoints new CEO
- AutoNation nabs Mercedes-Benz CEO
- Peapod taps
AT&T exec as president
- NBC exec joins Primedia as CEO
- Intuit
CEO steps down
----
HomeGrocer.com appoints new CEO
HomeGrocer.com, a closely held online grocer, named former Citicorp and
Federal Express executive. AutoNation
nabs Mercedes-Benz CEO
Leading car retailer AutoNation said Friday
that Michael J. Jackson, the chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz USA, will
become AutoNation's chief executive on October 11. Peapod
taps AT&T exec as president
Online grocer Peapod said it named
AT&T executive Bill Malloy as president and chief executive. Malloy, 46, was
formerly executive vice president of AT&T's wireless operations, the largest
in the United States. Malloy succeeds Andrew Parkinson, chairman and a cofounder
of Peapod, as president and CEO. He will also join Peapod's board NBC
exec joins Primedia as CEO
Primedia, publisher of Seventeen, New
York, and other publications, named Thomas Rogers, president of General Electric's
NBC cable unit, as chief executive in a move to further intertwine its print,
video, and Internet businesses. Intuit
CEO steps down
Intuit said that chief executive Bill Harris, architect
of the company's Internet strategy, resigned to return to his roots as an entrepreneur.
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