Getting the Most out of Your Data CMPT 455/826 - Week 4, Day 2 (Various sources) Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d21

A tale of two Companies When bookstores went on-line –For years “Books in Print” provided bookstores with information on all the different books that are currently available –including information on the publishers of the books Blackwells Books (UK) –was a long established company when in (1994/5?) –it was one of the first companies to embrace e-Commerce –How many of you have ever heard of Blackwells? Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d22

How Blackwells used BIP BIP information can be used –as the basis for inventory records Blackwells e-Commerce site –offered to sell any books that they had in stock –just like a “bricks and mortar” bookstore –after all you can’t sell what you don’t have, or can you? They probably also used the BIP information –to help with reordering books, when needed Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d23

Amazon.com (1) In 1995 Amazon.com was a startup company It also used BIP –to provide the basis of the books it would sell Only it decided to sell anything in BIP –whether it had it in stock or not thus providing consumers with the widest possible selection –and to use it to order any books that it did not have in stock to fill the orders it took (“Just In Time” processing) Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d24

Amazon.com (2) It further used data to keep its inventory to a minimum –by analyzing changes in the rate of sales on individual items –to determine whether or not it would be profitable to keep books in stock (only big sellers) or to sell books and then get them to fill the orders –to avoid stocking books that won’t sell soon Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d25

The results How many of you have bought a book from a “bricks and mortar” (e.g. U of S) bookstore? How many of you have ever special ordered a book? How many of you have ever bought a book from Amazon.com/.ca? Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d26

Further uses and abuses of data After a while doing e-Commerce –Blackwells started requiring you to register e.g. give it data on you –before being able to look at its information on its books –e.g. charging for its information Amazon always –let you browse its information on the books it knew about –e.g. giving information away for free Which bookstore have you heard about? Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d27

Is giving info away always good? At about the same time cd-now.com –provided track listings of the cd’s it wanted to sell customers Lots of customers used this information –to be more efficient in using Napster.com –to get music for free –and to avoid buying it from cd-now The track listings were eventually removed Sometimes info works for you, sometimes against you! Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d28