Ebusiness 2

What is the industry? Who are the customers? What are the current practices of selling and buying? Who are the major competitors? (How intense is the competition?) What e-strategies are used, by whom? How is value added throughout the value chain? What are the major opportunities and threats? Are there any metrics or best practices in place? What are the existing and potential partnerships?

Approaches… Problem-driven—attempt to solve a problem such as: – Excess inventory – Gaps in value chain – Delivery delays Technology-driven—try to use new technology – Find problems no one knew existed – Be a first mover

Questions Can I realize significant margins by consolidating parts of the value chain to my customers? Can I create significant value for customers by reducing the number of entities they have to deal with in the value chain? Can I offer additional information of transaction services to my existing customer base? Can I use my ability to attract customers to generate new sources of revenue, such as advertising or sales of complementary products?

Global Ebusiness Supply chains are increasingly global; Initiatives need to be global too Challenges include – Legal challenges Taxation Privacy Product laws – Culture and language differences – E-business “readiness” may vary in different countries

Interactions

Technology Infrastructure

Ebusiness Architecture

Real World Examples

Time-definite express delivery Small-package ground delivery Exclusive-use, expedited, Door-to-door delivery FedEx Structure Regional Carrier Consolidated sales, marketing And information technology Copy Printing & Document Solutions Freight Forwarder, Customs Brokerage

FedEx API Server FedEx Server 2 Customer’s Computer (PC, Web Server, etc.) Internet Transactions flow from customer’s computer over the Internet to FedEx. 2.The data is decrypted and routed to the appropriate server within FedEx. 3.The response is then encrypted and sent back.

AIR PRODUCTS Gases and chemicals company Fortune ranking: 311 Revenues of more than $6 Billion Chemical industry safety leader Geographically diversified, with more than half of our sales outside of the U.S. – Operations in more than 30 countries 17,200 employees worldwide

APDirect Customer Portal – automating information sharing with customers (savings of $9M) Showcase sites - A low-cost way of reaching new customers, telling them what they need to know about products and services B2Bi Connections - Strengthening customer relationships by lowering overall supply chain costs via ERP-to-ERP, system- to-system transaction processing (increased partners from 22 to 112, 50% of all transactions) E-Procurement - Driving benefits from supply relationships through transaction efficiency, contract compliance and reduced cost of goods and services (savings of $4M)

Fastsigns FASTSIGNS is the sign industry’s leading franchise More than 500 locations in six countries. The company designs, creates and installs virtually any type of sign for all types of businesses, ranging from custom banners to point-of-purchase signage and vehicle graphics.

Problems FASTSIGNS realized the business value of enabling customers to send files electronically via the Web to FASTSIGNS locations. The company had been using a cumbersome process requiring customers to install a file transfer protocol (FTP) client. FASTSIGNS continually had to walk both franchisees and customers through the entire FTP path for sending files, reducing time available for completing other projects and engaging in sales activities.

Problems The process was causing aggravation on the part of customers and FASTSIGNS franchisees. Customer satisfaction levels suffered from this interruption to the company’s workflow and customer-response process. The FASTSIGNS IT department was bogged down with maintenance associated with sending files via FTP and wanted to offload the bandwidth, back-up and restore activity, as well as FTP management and administration.

Solution FASTSIGNS incorporated YouSendIt SiteDrop into its Web site to allow its customers to quickly and easily deliver graphic files to local FASTSIGNS franchisees. Customers visit the FASTSIGNS Web site and find a nearby FASTSIGNS center. They click on the “Send a File” button and can upload files of all types to send to FASTSIGNS, along with instructions or comments. This step eliminates the heavy administrative demands inherent in FTP transfers. The customer receives a confirmation automatically to verify that the file was delivered successfully

Solution SiteDrop was configured and embedded seamlessly into the FASTSIGNS Web site in just a few easy steps. SiteDrop allowed FASTSIGNS’ IT staff the ability to manage all file delivery and server notifications as well as capture data from those uploading files for future use, such as in marketing campaigns, order tracking and communication. There was no risk involved because sending files via SiteDrop requires no training for users, no administration of passwords and no additional burden on the FASTSIGNS’ own servers.

Solution FASTSIGNS branded SiteDrop with its own name and design, controlling the look of the customer experience throughout the process. In this way, YouSendIt extended the marketing program of FASTSIGNS without any major new investment.