Database Reference
In-Depth Information
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Give customers the tools to assist in making the purchasing decision.
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Prepare the bills as desired by the customer.
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Enable customers to satisfy their own customer or target entities.
9.1.1.3.2 Let Customers Help Themselves
Listed here are some of the steps involved with this strategy pattern:
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Let customers help themselves to access information and perform transactions online.
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Let customers check on the status of orders, pay or adjust bills, and access related services.
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Let customers interact using whatever channel or media of communication they like: tele-
phone, voice response, fax, mail, and so on.
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Give customers the ability to customize the company's offerings to their requirements and
preferences.
9.1.1.3.3 Foster Community
Some of the steps involved with this strategy pattern are specified:
◾
Attract and encourage customers to become valuable members of customer communities
focused on specific areas of interest.
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Facilitate introduction of the customer to others with common interests.
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Reinforce the understanding and commitment on common standards, terminology, and
values.
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Enable members of customers to share the issues, resolutions, and experiences of using the
company's offerings.
9.1.2 E-Business Challenges
The challenges of E-Business are as follows:
1.
Business fit:
: Most systems are designed as point solutions for intraenterprise needs. But as we
have seen in Chapter 7, the processes are not necessarily confined to an enterprise alone but
can extend to incorporate the business partners as well as the customers. This fundamental
shift from enterprise-focused to primarily customer-focused multienterprise spanning busi-
ness processes is the most fundamental challenge faced by any E-Business.
2.
Time to market
: Because of the rapid changes in the market, it is essential that the E-Business
systems are able to adopt themselves quickly to the changes in the market environment and
respond with competitive offerings and solutions.
3.
Cost-effectiveness:
: However, this ability to change should be achievable in a cost-effective
manner without compromising on the quality of the design, maintainability, and upgrad-
ability of the E-Business solutions.
4.
Quality
: Since E-Business solutions are targeted at thousands of anonymous users, its design,
at both the user-interface and architecture levels, needs to be usable, intuitive, reliable,
robust, and consistent for enhancing the quality of the customer' experience.
5.
Adaptability
: E-Business solutions must enable business innovation and respond to strategic
opportunities while at the same time being able to interface or integrate readily with the
existing systems and databases.
