ECMgt.com: Aug2000: Volume 2, Issue 8 - Dynamic Pricing Reaches Most Industries
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| ECMgt.com: Aug2000: Volume 2, Issue 8 - Dynamic Pricing Reaches Most Industries |
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ECMgt.com brought to you by ECnow.com
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August 1, 2000 *Over 4,000
subscribers* Volume 2, Issue 8
ECMgt.com Online: http://ECMgt.com
View this Issue: http://ecmgt.com/Aug2000
Subject: Dynamic Pricing Reaches Most Industries
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Introduction:
The concept of dynamic pricing, commonly used in market economies and auctions,
and popularized on the Internet by eBay, Priceline, eWanted, and Mercata, has
extended beyond the consumer market. The Internet Exchange model is rapidly being
used by both buyers and sellers in the B2B arena across a variety of industries
to gain efficiencies in apparent supply, to eliminate information inequity, and
to create new intermediaries and business models. One of the arenas of the online
world that is changing most quickly is the marketplace. Nowhere is this more obvious
than in the Internet Exchange, a term that refers to a set of websites used to
sell goods at auction. Exchange members meet to buy and sell goods for a market
price, negotiating according to a set of rules. In the process, they are creating
a new power dynamic between buyers and sellers. Dynamic pricing is going to control
a dramatically increasing proportion of transactions on the Internet. In the B2B
markets, Keenan Vision estimates that $129 billion of the Internet economy will
be conducted using Internet Exchanges in 2002. Dynamic pricing has included auction,
haggle, exchange, and the traditional bidding process in C2C, B2C, and B2B transactions
off the Internet, and now is moving onto the Web with vigor.
Dynamic
pricing benefits:
Online dynamic pricing can help businesses in a variety
of ways. It creates efficient markets by providing a mechanism to eliminate imperfect
information, by increasing the geographic reach of smaller suppliers, and by streamlining
purchasing processes. By eliminating inefficiencies, suppliers are able to decrease
costs and increase revenues on inventory, decrease overhead, eliminate costly
middlemen, increase inventory turns, and create new. In addition, dynamic pricing
allows for "test pricing", and can yield increased revenue from new and unique
items. All this is brought about through communities of buyers and sellers coming
together to aggregate supply and demand. Internet Exchanges and auction technologies
are creating a new class of intermediaries. These players create their own markets
by inserting themselves into niches which previously had been dominated by entities
who offered only fixed-rate pricing, and offer advantages to both buyers and sellers
in the process. The speed with which new companies can enter this space is increasing
with the rollout of new auction applications that are faster and easier to implement.
Better Experience:
A key factor
in the movement to dynamic pricing is the buyer experience itself. In a book titled
"The Experience Economy", Pine and Gilmore argue that the differentiation based
on traditional factors such as price, customer service, goods, etc., is less apparent
on the Internet, and that user experience is now the critical factor leading to
repeat purchases. Auction sites including eBay, eWanted, and Mercata have shown
the highest visitor time, and buyers and sellers in the B2B space require the
same fast selection of the most optimum solution at the very best price. Exchanges
with dynamic pricing and the largest apparent inventory, especially "distressed"
and "limited-supply" inventory, provide this. Implementing dynamic pricing applications
helps businesses decrease costs and increase revenues by creating more efficient
markets. These applications also help companies deliver better Web experiences
by providing more excitement, an increased sense of community, and a higher degree
of personalization.
Industry Analysis:
Which industries will be first to move toward the Internet Exchange paradigm,
and toward opportunities created by new, market-driven pricing technologies for
Internet commerce? Distribution channels that are inherently inefficient, such
as wholesale-retail chains, fragmented utilities markets, and small software publishers,
may become re-intermediated by new middlemen with Internet Exchange technology.
Keenan Vision estimates that in 1998, 10% of B2B transactions ($3.8 billion) were
conducted using Internet Exchanges, and by 2002, that number will rise to 29%
($129 billion dollars).
Financial firms:
Online stock brokers, such as Schwab and E*TRADE, and online auctioneers
ONSALE and eBay pioneered the Internet Exchange. E*TRADE and Schwab, the new intermediaries,
have stepped in and taken the exchange function away from full-service brokers
who used to supply the quotes. Middlemen offer a lower cost to a better informed
investor.
Automobiles:
autobytel.com
provides a user interface for car buyers to submit a request for bids on cars
they wish to purchase, and was an industry leader in this field. Processing of
bids to sell, including the ancillary services of financing, insurance, and repair
services, is propelling the automotive exchange to the number three category on
the Internet in terms of dollars spent. In the year 2000 it is expected that over
2% of all automobiles will be purchased using dynamic pricing.
Travel:
Business travel makes up the majority of travel dollars spent in the
industry, and as B2C sites like Priceline.com have shown, travelers appreciate
bargains, and purchasing agents appreciate them even more. Given the time constraints
put on business travel, shopping around usually isn't a luxury that time affords.
But as intermediaries appear on the horizon with technology and buying power,
B2B travel exchanges may arrive sooner rather than later. One specific site, Vacation
Point Exchange, charges a membership fee of $169.00 per year that provides full
access to an online property directory as well as the ability to arrange stays
at any of the member properties worldwide.
Computers,
peripherals, and software:
Strong momentum in this industry, which exceeds
500 billion dollars, continues to make this the number one market sector. Dell
and Cisco are moving towards 50% of their total sales generated over the Internet.
Both have used extranet technology successfully to maintain top accounts, but
the reverse auction model may help computer and parts suppliers liquidate older
inventory for smaller businesses, which will undoubtedly be facing more pressure
to integrate their business processes using expensive technologies that auctions
may put within their reach. In the B2B space, liquidation specialist ONSALE.com
was purchased by Egghead Software, whose new business model includes purchase
of distressed software inventory, especially older versions of popular software.
Egghead provides market efficiencies for both software sellers and buyers on commodity
software.
Industrial supplies and utilities:
This category includes semiconductors, other electrical components, and utilities,
which together exceeded $585 billion in sales in 1998. These items are often sold
as commodities, with market prices determined by non-Internet exchanges.
Telecom services:
Analysts predict
that this $233 billion industry will shift a large fraction of its services to
Internet exchanges, such as Arbinet, by 2001. Telecom companies are expected to
learn how to provision Quality of Service (QoS) and rapidly adopt the practice
of selling guaranteed bandwidth at auction.
Advertising:
Advertising agencies such as AdAuction, also known as OneMediaPlace,
now a CMGI company, have created a market for Internet advertising inventories.
Given the tight inventories in banner advertising on key sites, as well as the
80% unsold inventories (typically "run-of-site" at large portals), opportunities
abound for both buyers and sellers to leverage auction technology for better market
efficiency. Utilities: The restructuring of the electric power industry is fundamentally
altering the methods by which electricity is priced. In place of published tariffs
established by utilities and their regulators, restructuring is creating opportunities
for suppliers to offer a wide variety of new products to retail electricity consumers.
Among them are "dynamic pricing" products, which have retail prices that change
rapidly in response to shifts in wholesale market conditions. The Utilities Exchange
was conceived, developed and successfully tested in 1994/95. In its simplest terms,
energy buyers and suppliers are linked by computer using specialized software
to negotiate contracts with more speed, accuracy and cost-effectiveness than was
previously possible. Reverse auction: eWanted.com now has a complete B2B section
that includes Agriculture, Apparel & Textiles, Arts & Crafts, Autos &
Transportation, Business Services, Computers & Electronics, Construction,
Food & Beverage, Health & Medical, Industrial Needs, Maintenance/Repair
Procurement, Mined Materials, Miscellaneous, Office Needs Packaging, Printing,
Processing Equipment, and Publishing & Media. In addition to its B2C offerings,
the B2B participation has created an exchange that spans the majority of business
verticals in the United States.
Technology:
Internet Exchange technology is founded on the concept of an auction object, and
the auction object is central to the design of the leading commercial auction
packages. Successful integration of auction technology into e-commerce applications
will require Internet architects to link the auction objects into a robust and
manageable network design. Using the n-tier architecture approach, application
servers can be linked to distributed databasesand integrated into enterprise e-commerce
frameworks in order to display prices, conduct price comparisons, and complete
transactions. Five leading technology providers include Moai, Tradeum, and WebVision
with enterprise application solutions, OpenSite (now Siebel) with a complete stand-alone
application, and Microsoft SiteServer Commerce Edition 3.0.
Predictions:
Online auctions and exchanges can leverage every stage of the product life cycle
and integrate with an overall pricing strategy. Businesses must first examine
their overall product set, establish goals for a new dynamic pricing strategy,
and then implement, observe, and adjust over time. Each implementation will vary
by industry and target market, but the trends are clear. The Web is behaving as
a growing organic system of buyers, sellers, products and services, and disintermediation
is leading to the destruction of information inequity. As the Internet grows to
offer an apparent "increase in supply", pricing will be set by the equilibrium
created between communities of buyers and sellers, with the enhanced "experience"
of market participation driving new Internet exchanges.
Let me leave you with a few of my favorite quotes this month:
***
I believe that for the short-term, dynamic pricing will be a driving force for
a great deal of activity. Some businesses
will be caught up in frenzy of price-cutting, providing both the B2B and consumer
markets with some terrific opportunities to pick up a few bargains.
Ultimately, however, like
the "gas wars" earlier this century the trend will self-destruct--something
has to give, probably quality and service.
(Judy Wogoman, Publisher, NetNuggetz Newsletter)
***
Dynamic pricing will not disappear. But not everything will be
negotiable and dynamic.
(M., NETHERLANDS)
***
Dynamic pricing will continue for high dollar volume, infrequent purchases. It
will not play a large part in low dollar, frequent purchases (unless its part
of a package such as paying $20 for 10 gallons of milk, each gallon retrieved
separately; even then this will have limited usage).
(Ken
Aust, Portland, Oregon, USA)
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>
Chair, ECMsym.com ECM Symposium (Oct 4-5, 2000) <http://ecmsym.com>
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Dynamic Pricing, Models
that Work by Bennet Harvey
Vice President of Product Strategy, Esurance, Inc
One price fits all? Never again. The networking realities of the Internet combined with direct customer access to vendor pricing systems has resulted in an explosion of new pricing models, and no one can put this genie back in the bottle. For consumers, the payoff is the ability to shop in many new ways for the best price with greatly reduced effort.
The impact of this pricing revolution on the business community has also been profound. Companies have had to scramble to keep up with their competitors, invest in new technologies, reconcile or eliminate channel conflicts with agents and brokers, and slash overhead to protect ever-tightening profit margins. The change has been most humbling to major brands, which have found themselves competing solely on price against upstart companies that have not had to invest millions of dollars over generations to build their brand equity. The Internet has made the slope to commodity status very slippery.
It all started with the migration of simple auctions to the Internet in 1996, and then the landscape of commerce began to change dramatically. Where once consumers called a travel agent and trusted them to give you the best fares (and paid a premium for the service) now they can go to www.priceline.com and use reverse-auction technology to define a destination, the preferred travel dates, and the price the consumer is willing to pay. Within 24 hours consumers receive an e-mail confirming that an airline will or will not honor their price on the day they wish to travel. The airline currently reserves the flexibility to define the time at which the consumer will travel, and Priceline does not guarantee direct flights. Even this new model is not immune to competition through innovation, however. The airline industry is moving online in a belated attempt to maintain control over their own pricing. In September a consortium of airlines plans to launch Orbitz, an online travel agency designed to compete with www.travelocity.com and www.expedia.com for leisure travel ticket sales, possibly improving on the Priceline model by allowing customers to specify flight times as well.
In a similar mortgage industry model,
companies like www.lendingtree.com and
www.getsmart.com allow customers to enter
personal profile data and define the mortgage rate and points they want, and within
a matter of hours a selection of lenders will respond directly to the consumer
with either acceptance of the customer’s terms or a counter-offer.
In these new models, the customer sets the price,
usually having done previous research to determine what a good value would be.
In the case of an airline, the company then models the likelihood that
they will be able to sell the seat at full price and determines whether it is
in their best interest to take the lower fare now rather than nothing at all later.
Under this model, the airlines must respond using either automated systems
or dedicated teams of reservations agents to efficiently manage the volume of
inbound offers from customers. In
the case of mortgage companies, the decision of how to respond to a customer’s
offer is more complicated. The company
must decide whether they can diverge from their standard underwriting policies
to accept the customer’s offer, and still be able to sell the resulting loan in
the secondary market.
Another new pricing
model is demand-based pricing. This
model is a new spin on the old concept of volume discounts.
Sites like www.mercata.com, and www.mobshop.com
allow users to commit to buy a product if the price drops at least to a specified
level within a time period, usually a few days.
When enough people have signed up, the price drops to the next threshold,
and then if enough people agree to buy at the new price, the price will drop again
to a third level. Eventually the
clock runs out and everyone gets the same price – the price associated with the
final number of people who committed to buy.
Dynamic
pricing is not only about new pricing models, it is also about companies pushing
access to their pricing engines past the biased screen of middlepersons directly
to consumers. This can take place
directly on a company’s own Web site, or through aggregator Web sites where consumers
can shop across multiple vendors. At
www.esurance.com, we collect information
on a customer’s driving record, vehicles, occupation, marital status, age, and
geographic location and deliver an immediate online quote for auto insurance that
the customer can customize and buy online within minutes.
They can even print their proof of insurance card and policy on their home
printer. To reinforce our price positioning
we use a third party service to offer customers competitive quotes from other
insurers in their state so that our customers can feel secure that Esurance’s
rates are indeed among the most competitive available.
Esurance also participates on insurance aggregator sites including www.quickeninsurance.com
where we are one of many companies offering quotes to customers.
Once the customer chooses us, they are passed directly to our Web site
to complete the purchase of their policy and continue their online experience
with Esurance throughout the life of their policy.
The customer controls the experience, and interacts directly with Esurance
by Web, phone, online chat, e-mail or fax.
An agent never gets in the way.
Aggregator
sites serve the mortgage consumer as well, with the most popular sites including
www.quickenmortgage.com, and www.eloan.com.
These aggregator sites ask a range of very personal questions about income,
expenses, assets and liabilities, etc. without requiring customers to identify
themselves specifically. They compare
an applicant’s data to a matrix of approval and pricing criteria, then deliver
to the applicant a list of providers and rates that has been dynamically built
for them. These sites link directly
to credit agencies while the customer is on the site in order to present a qualified
approval based on the consumer’s credit history.
Most
consumers have no idea of the calculations that are made in order to deliver this
dynamic pricing, and many are suspicious about how their pricing might differ
from that offered to the next visitor to the site.
This suspicion is unfounded, as the financial services industry, whether
on-line or off-line, is one of the most closely regulated in the U.S. economy.
Both the insurance and mortgage industries are governed by extensive state
and federal regulations, and are policed by regulatory agencies that license lenders
and insurers and require filing of underwriting guidelines and pricing plans.
In the mortgage industry, approval criteria include ratios of income to
expenses, credit ratings, property value, loan amount, property type and usage
and more. Insurance criteria include
age, occupation, claims history, property type and usage, etc.
The B2B world is experiencing its own revolution,
where purchasing managers can now interact directly with vendors over the Web,
often finding vendors at B2B vertical portal sites like www.verticalnet.com.
In that environment vendors are free to segment their pricing as they see
fit in order to maximize profits. Variables
might include geography, the size of the client firm, the credit-worthiness of
the purchaser, and more. Business
purchasing managers can also take advantage of the demand-based pricing sites
just as consumers do.
You can’t play in the dynamic pricing arena without technology. Whatever your pricing model, you will need to invest in the technology to deliver differential pricing to consumers on a timely and reliable basis. Dynamic pricing engines must satisfy several basic requirements:
Data collection – The engine must have a user-friendly interface that allows consumers to input the variables that will drive your pricing logic. Usability contributes significantly to conversion rate – the ratio of buyers to total visitors.
Customer Segmentation – Your engine must be able to differentiate between customer segments and assign pricing appropriately. As discussed below in Regulatory Compliance, this segmentation must pass review by your industry’s regulatory agencies, as well as by the Federal Trade Commission.
Pricing Maintenance – You must be able to set up, maintain, and modify multi-dimensional pricing matrices based on the performance of your pricing scheme. It must be possible to modify your pricing on as close to a real-time basis as possible. Pricing decisions must be driven by careful pricing analysis of reports from your pricing engine.
Reporting - A good reporting engine is critical to the success of your dynamic pricing initiative. You must be able to not only report on the sales performance of your pricing scheme according to your existing segmentation strategy, but you must also be able to cut your reports by additional variables to determine if your segmentation plan is optimal.
Security – Dynamic pricing usually requires the transmission of personalized data between the consumer and the vendor. 128-bit encrypted transmission from behind your firewall to the customer’s browser is industry standard.
Scalability
and Reliability – You need 24/7 site availability if you don’t want your customers
to go somewhere else. If your company
does not have a big technology budget or staff, look into the services of a new
breed of Web Operations Companies like Marc Andreesen’s new venture LoudCloud.
They can set up your e-commerce site from start to finish, and maintain
it as you grow.
The bottom line is that companies
in many industries are finding they cannot hope to optimize their profits or compete
based on price without mastering both the buyer and seller sides of the dynamic
pricing revolution. Among the biggest
issues companies must face when embracing dynamic pricing are:
Channel
conflict - Many firms with captive agents and internal and external sales
forces have initially sought to offer the same pricing through their corporate
Web sites as has been available through their traditional sales channels. Amway chose to maintain pricing and to give their sales force
credit for each sale over their www.quixtar.com
Web site to one of their network of representatives. Merrill Lynch (www.merrilllynch.com)
had initially defended their sales force of financial consultants from the onslaught
of low-priced online brokerages. They
finally accepted reality last year, and now offer four tiers of investment services
and pricing for individuals, ranging from fully-discretionary asset management
by a professional investment manager to two variations of a one-to-one relationship
with a Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant to self-directed online investing through
Merrill Lynch Direct for $29.95 per trade.
Allstate Insurance (www.allstate.com)
has elected to cut loose their captive sales force of Allstate agents and re-position
their services around ubiquitous access to services over the Internet, by phone,
through independent agents, etc.
Regulatory
compliance – The financial services industry, among others, must be ever vigilant
so as not to be perceived as varying pricing based on customer demographics like
race, gender, geography, education, etc.
The offline term for this issue, “red-lining,” has been coined in the online
world as “Web-lining.”
Technology
– Web-based dynamic pricing requires robust back-end systems that can handle
large volumes of transactions with high security and reliability. Flaws in pricing systems can lead to lost revenue, regulatory
violations and public relations disasters.
Systems driving pricing for offline channels like brick and mortar sales
forces must be in synch with Web and phone-based transaction systems so as to
prevent customer services issues or arbitrage by savvy consumers.
As you can see, fixed prices are a thing of the past.
If you're not providing dynamic pricing in your business, you need to. You need
to choose the model and implement it in a way to ensure success.
Bennet Harvey is Vice President of Product Strategy at online direct insurer Esurance, Inc. – www.esurance.com. Bennet’s previous e-commerce experience includes building and implementing Cendant Mortgage’s online mortgage strategy at www.cendantmortgage.com, and launching AOL’s Classified Advertising service at www.aol.com or AOL keyword “classifieds”. Bennet received an MBA from the University of Chicago specializing in new products.
READER COMMENTS
Our bulletin board allows readers to comment on trends and issues throughout the month. Please stop by to add your comments and see all the responses at http://ecmgt.com/bulletinboard.htm
***
I believe
that for the short-term, dynamic pricing will be a driving force for a great deal
of activity. Some businesses will
be caught up in frenzy of price-cutting, providing both the B2B and consumer markets
with some terrific opportunities to pick up a few bargains.
Ultimately, however,
like the "gas
wars" earlier this century the trend will self-destruct--something has to
give, probably quality and service. In
the long-term, I foresee several events occurring:
Businesses who try to survive solely on competitive pricing will paint themselves into the proverbial corner, and go broke;
First consumers, then businesses, will rebel against poor quality and service, opting to pay a little more for some guarantee of a certain quality level.
Unfortunately, the overall quality level will probably drop in many industries--for example, you can go into any McDonalds and get an "adequate" cheeseburger at a competitive price, but you never get a really "good" cheeseburger (imho).
There are both opportunities and pitfalls
in competitive pricing. The challenge will be to make the most of the opportunities
without suffering the pitfalls.
(Judy Wogoman, Publisher, NetNuggetz Newsletter)
***
Dynamic pricing will effect all industries, but at different paces. When pricing
is not simple (adhering to KISS), there is a growing need to speed up the calculation
of the price. With technology based purchasing or sales systems, a fast price
is expected. Those industries that offer IT based sales (promo only) and purchasing
systems will have customers who expect fast responses from these systems. Other
industries whose customers have grown accustomed to fast and complete responses,
will also demand a quick response to pricing questions. If dynamic pricing is
a part of the equation, a fast response will be expected. I still believe, however,
that all customers prefer simplicity in pricing and will ultimately avoid dynamic
pricing models if they are complex.
(Veronica Williams, Founder, DiscoverIT)
***
Dynamic pricing will continue for high dollar volume, infrequent purchases. It
will not play a large part in low dollar, frequent purchases (unless its part
of a package such as paying $20 for 10 gallons of milk, each gallon retrieved
separately; even then this will have limited usage).
Regarding
the future, dynamic pricing will have limited appeal.
Dynamic pricing for common, frequently purchased items is not practical.
(Ken Aust, Portland, Oregon, USA)
***
Dynamic pricing
will not expand into all industries. When a company sells services, dynamic pricing
is less interesting. In production companies, dynamic pricing is interesting for
selling old goods or surplus.
Dynamic pricing
will not disappear. But not everything will be negotiable and dynamic.
(M.,
NETHERLANDS)
***
Dynamic pricing will expand to all
industries, this seems to be where the new economy is heading. I'm excited about
dynamic pricing, because this will help the economy as well as make consumers
happy since they might have a chance to spend less money to do more things.
(Lilian, Beijing)
***
The auction form of dynamic
pricing will proliferate; if a product can be commoditized, it will be. Small business will attack new markets as friction free
B2B transactions drive profit expectations. Automated "buying-agents"
will lock in lowest worldwide price. Prices fall inexorably, middle-men disappear,
suppliers' margins are cut to the bone. In response, suppliers move to one-on-one
pricing, offering ultra-high value products bundling unique information and interactive
services with physical goods. Niche markets proliferate, and spawn the likes of
haggleware.com - software that allows an on-line salesman to haggle with a buyer
over the price of an unique product.
(Jon Koerselman, Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
USA)
CONTENT - ECMGT.COM E-COMMERCE NEWS
E-STRATEGIES & TRENDS NEWS
This section sponsored by - ECnow.com, please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com
Andersen
Says Sites Need To Rethink E-Commerce
Research just published says that
e-commerce sites that only allow customers one way to buy a product are missing
out on opportunities to expand their businesses.
The
ones that got away
The "build it and they will come" commerce mantra is
giving way to "build it right and they will stay."
Are
Customers Ever Right? Service's Decline and Fall
American consumers are
more unhappy with the service they are receiving in nearly every sector of the
economy as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
New
Systems for Better Customer Service
Some companies have recently begun
synchronizing their catalog, Web and retail operations, which they hope will yield
not only better customer service but higher profits
A
Word to the Wise: Multilingual Means Multi-Dollars
A new industry research
report states conclusively that for U.S., companies, multilingual e-commerce and
business sites "are no longer optional."
Get
a head start in e-business
The four components critical to startup success.
Seniors
Top Online Shoppers
American seniors 55 and over have embraced the Internet
and are shopping and surfing online in ever increasing numbers, according to a
study released Tuesday by Internet research firm Greenfield Online.
U.S.-Asian
E-Commerce Alive and Clicking
While still facing language and cultural
challenges in the international e-commerce arena, Asian e-commerce is set to boom
at home, and U.S. companies smelling opportunity are already diving into the region
with big-dollar investments.
Demographic
dotcoms dividing, but not conquering
Owning a demographic niche doesn't
guarantee a successful website.
Some
Drastic Dot-Com Remedies Aren't So Smart
Net consumer companies need to
creatively rethink their strategies. Wild cost-cutting could make matters worse
Future
of E-Tail Lies with Multi-Channel Retailers
Online B2C sales in the US
will grow from an estimated $25 billion in 1999 to $152 billion in 2002 and $233
billion in 2004, according to Giga Information Group, which predicts multi-channel
retailers will benefit the most from the Internet, and new categories will take
charge.
Track
the transforming future
There are some near-term bottlenecks b2b businesses
will need to overcome.
Trends
in the b-to-b space
Brick-and-mortar aggression and subscription-based
revenue are two rising trends to watch.
Gartner
survey sparks debate on Internet retail fraud
Gartner Group Inc. yesterday
released the results of a survey showing that online retailers get hit by fraudulent
credit-card purchases much more than their brick-and-mortar counterparts do. But
some observers said they aren't sure the problem is as dire as the survey indicates.
Finding
the Best I-Builder
Picking an e-commerce consultant is part investigating,
part begging and part crossing your fingers.
Chief
privacy officers report for duty
As concern about online privacy violations
grows, companies are staffing up with watchdogs to guard consumers' rights.
Money
switches from dot-com to comm
Communications startups replace dot-coms
as the beneficiaries of a VC investment frenzy. Amber Networks, Astral Point,
and CopperCom fetch more than $220 million combined
Online
Site Says Male and Female Job Seekers Have Different Goals
Differences
in compensation and work environment requirements between men and women were shown
in a recent study by Wetfeet.com
World
Wide Wireless Web
As investors have turned a cold shoulder to the glut
of cash-guzzling, unprofitable dot-coms, attention is being diverted to a whole
new World Wide Wireless Web (WWWW).
---
E-PRODUCTS NEWS
eGain
Offers Three New Customer Service Apps
Customer relationship management
company eGain Communications Corp. delivered three new applications -- eGain Voice
UPS,
AmericasMart deliver credit to retailers
Package delivery giant United
Parcel Service plans to offer a credit card and unsecured line of credit to retailers
that buy merchandise from AmericasMart.com, according to a report.
CheckFree
Will Incorporate Equifax ID Technology
Electronic billing and payment
company CheckFree signed a multi-year agreement with Equifax Inc. Wednesday, allowing
it to incorporate the Equifax Secure authentication engine into its EBP enrollment
process.
Payment
System Adds Fraud Protection for Visa
A new payment system for online
transactions announced Wednesday by Visa and Trintech Group is expected to lower
the cost of online transactions for merchants.
Excite's
Free Online Stores an Overnight Hit
Excite@home reported that it already
signed up more than a thousand new e-tailers within the first 24 hours of launching
its new free online storefront service.
Retailers
May Not Like Sony's New Look
The electronics giant plans to open a new
online store, skirting companies that sell its products.
Start-up
to fuse file swapping with e-commerce
Lightshare is preparing a service
to allow individuals to sell digital goods directly from their computers rather
than going through centralized servers from companies like eBay or Amazon.com.
Toysrus.com
launches Babiesrus.com
Toysrus.com will announce the launch of Babiesrus.com,
an online store that will accompany the offline chain of Babies R Us stores.
Visa
targets Web payments with new Net unit
Visa International said today it
has formed a new Internet unit to focus on expanding the top credit card network's
share of payments crisscrossing the Web.
The
Far Side of E-Commerce
If you want Harry Potter, you can get him on the
Internet. But if you are in the market for the blood of a real live wizard, guess
what? You can get that on the Internet too.
Big
record labels tune in to digital downloads
As if competing against free
downloads weren't enough of a headache, now small online music companies have
to contend with the big record labels.
Portal
Wave Launches Enterprise Suite
Portal Wave Inc. Monday kicked off an enterprise
application portal solution designed to merge companies' enterprise tools into
one e-business platform.
Webtrends
Targets Firewall Security
WebTrends, a provider of solutions for ebusiness
intelligence and visitor relationship management, this week upgraded its flagship
firewall solution.
MSN
Adds Voice Capabilities to Messenger
The company Thursday sealed a deal
to give its instant messaging utility long distance capabilities.
Webtop
Brings Search to Desktop
Upstart search firm WebTop Wednesday unveiled
a new tool that's designed to expand Web searches beyond the browser.
Critical
Path Unveils Secure Messaging Services
Critical Path Inc. unveiled two
products aimed at ensuring secure digital messaging.
EverAd
Inks Deals with Software Developers
A new player on the ads-in-software
scene rounds up software developers that will make programs that carry ads.
PeopleSoft
Introduces Internet-based Software
PeopleSoft, the Pleaston-based eBusiness
applications provider, announced plans to deliver PeopleSoft Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) for Communications, a new generation of Internet-based software
today.
--
E-SERVICES NEWS
UPS Sees
The Writing On The Web
The United Parcel Service is about to let companies
verify that a package was signed for and even view the handwritten signature online.
Blockbuster
To Rent Videos Online
In an attempt to extend its dominance of the video
rental market to cyberspace, Blockbuster, Inc. has inked a deal with utility firm
Enron to offer videos for rent over the Internet.
Online
Privacy 101
Backed by 12 other Net companies, TRUSTe will seek to educate
consumers about its seal of approval.
Poor
Customer Service Cost E-Tailers $6 Billion in '99
Internet retailers lost
about $6.1 billion in online sales last year from transactions that were abandoned
by consumers but could have been salvaged with decent customer service, says a
new industry study.
Alternative
Payment Options Abound For E-Shoppers
Not too long ago, if you didn't
have a credit card, you didn't shop online. But a growing number of companies
are giving online shoppers more choices and flexibility than ever.
Try
Explaining eCRM on an Airplane Banner
Definition of what eCRM is all about
and some examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly in electronic customer relationship
management.
Equifax
Trumpets Online Shopper ID Method
As part of the industry-wide effort
to make e-commerce more secure, credit reporting giant Equifax, Inc. has announced
plans to positively identify online shoppers through quizzes based on their credit
reports.
MasterCard,
Motorola to Develop Wireless Buying
MasterCard International, the leading
credit card network, and telecommunications giant Motorola Inc., said on Tuesday
they will work together to develop a standard for wireless purchasing.
Destination
Contentville
Steven Brill's new Web site will offer all kinds of content
- books, magazines, speeches, even doctoral dissertations. It's also got serious
competition.
Hack
Attack? Relax, You're Covered
Lloyd's of London is offering coverage of
up to $100 million for customers of security firm Counterpane.
Verizon
Launches Mobile Web Service
The company aims to become the nation's largest
wireless Internet service, but does Mobile Web offer anything new?
A
T1 now connects lattes and loans
Hey, at least you'll stay awake while
clicking through your account activity. This fall, Dutch giant ING Group will
open cafés to serve its American online bank customers.
MasterCard
Launches Electronic Wallet Service
MasterCard International launched the
MasterCard e-wallet -- an electronic wallet service designed to simplify online
shopping.
New
Moon ASP'd On Me!
Like the rampant transition from a B2C to a B2B strategy,
the ASP revolution has exploded as the chic (and sometimes very profitable) thing
to do for new companies competing in the Internet economy.
Siebel
Joins LivePerson Ranks
E-business software giant Siebel Systems, Inc.,
is the latest company to take advantage of Live Person, Inc., a live chat company
offering sales and customer support for Web sites.
Encanto
Launches Rent-an-App Portal
Encanto Networks, Inc. made a grab for market
share with the launch of its RentableApps Web-based applications portal on Monday
(Jul 24th).
SBC
gears up e-commerce services
The telecom company takes a number of new
steps, which include deals for offering Web hosting and other services, as it
attempts to expand into Internet commerce.
Agilera
Adds BroadVision E-Commerce Solutions
Agilera Inc. will host BroadVision's
One-To-One Commerce applications via its Extended Enterprise line.
---
E-MARKETING NEWS
Jump
Start Your Affiliate Program With Internal Support
Your boss wants an
affiliate program, and you've just been anointed as the affiliate manager. So
you pick a solution provider, and things are ready to roll, right? Well, not exactly.
For
E-Tailers, the Price-Cut Paradigm Doesn't Pay
Deep discounts don't make
for good marketing. Cyber-sellers have better reasons for getting shoppers to
buy online
Direct
Marketers Try to Change the Approach of Internet Retailers
Until recently
Internet retailers paid little attention to the lessons of an industry that long
ago learned to choose its media carefully and to control the costs of acquiring
customers.
Marketing
the Electronic Marketplace
With projections of 10,000 digital marketplaces
by 2003 it's been said "If your company is not building or planning to participate
in an electronic trading network, it probably won't be around within three years."
The problem is: Net market makers haven't been focusing on marketing their marketplaces.
Companies
Seek Reciprocal Deals
A technique known as reciprocal marketing, which
allows companies to offer their paying customers discounts at other online retailers,
allows merchants to attract customers at little expense.
Report:
Online Ads Boosting E-tailers
Online advertising campaigns result in significantly
more traffic to e-tail Web sites and attract attentive visitors who are likely
to linger, according to new research by Media Metrix division AdRelevance.
Developing
a Successful Online Brand
One of the assumptions in the early days of
the web was that it was a level playing field. Smaller businesses actually had
an advantage -- they could move more quickly than the clueless big guys. It hasn't
quite worked out that way. But sometimes the savvy little guy does win.
Six
Weeks to Building an E-Commerce Brand
BrokersPortal.com went from nothing
to a success with just six weeks worth of work.
Hey,
Big Spenders
Some Web sites spent more than 20% of their ad revenue to
advertise themselves last year, a report states.
FTC
to ToySmart: Define "Never"
ToySmart says that when it said it would never
disclose customer data, it meant "unless someone wants to buy it."
Online
Advertising Speaks Out
Frustrated with ineffective banner ads, advertisers
are screaming for alternatives. Will audio ads help get their messages heard?
Retailers
May Not Like Sony's New Look
The electronics giant plans to open a new
online store, skirting companies that sell its products.
Is
WSJ.com 'Sticky'?
For the first time, Dow Jones discloses how many pages
users view at the site per month.
Sears.com
bulks up
One of the oldest names of the old economy expands online, and
should benefit further from a competitor's problems.
Industry
Reacts to FTC Online Profiling Report
The FTC's recommendations to Congress
regarding online profiling are provoking a mixed reaction.
Banner
Ad Frequency = Branding
A study by Dynamic Logic shows the benefits of
showing a banner ad to a single person more than four times.
Toyota,
MindArrow Develop Interactive Brochures
Multimedia e-mail presentations
go out to promote Toyota's new cars.
eBay,
Mediaplex Team For "Real Time" Banners
Mediaplex wins a big-name client.
Direct
Partners Creates Online Division
A traditional direct marketer jumps into
the Internet biz.
Pay-to-surf
site moving into prizes instead
mValue, an online direct marketing company
with a "pay-to-surf" program, will announce later this week that it is changing
its name and its game.
From
Print Page To Web Page
Three companies are bringing hyperlinks to magazines
and newspapers. Advertisers love the idea, but will readers?
---
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
This section
sponsored by - Sameday.com, please visit them at http://www.sameday.com
Harry
Potter tests dotcom wizardry
Harry Potter is set to arrive in 250,000
U.S. homes Saturday in a feat of high-tech wizardry by Federal Express Corp. and
Amazon.com Inc. that will mark the biggest single order in the history of e-commerce.
Risk-Sharing
as B2B Ideal
A study by Beta Consulting Group says that success in the
B2B marketplace depends upon the establishment of true business partnerships which
transcend the production and delivery of goods.
Web
leaves businesses nowhere to hide
When you make the decision to become
an e-business, one thing you can't ever forget is that all those little operational
foibles you've been hiding will be out there in front of customers and competitors
alike.
Federal
agencies look to pool buying power online
Uncle Sam is moving online with
a new Web site launching next month that will allow the government to save money
on small IT-related purchases for its widely dispersed agencies.
New
Sites Make Businesses Bid For Consumers
A new breed of online bartering,
known as "reverse auctions" or "shopping by request" are designed to draw merchants
into bidding wars for a consumer's pocketbook.
Birth
of a PrintNation
Startup brings Net's efficiency to mom-and-pop print
shops.
Same-day
delivery faces high hurdles
Same-day delivery companies that support online
commerce face an interesting dilemma. They offer a highly compelling service,
but delivering that service profitably is extremely difficult. To ensure their
survival, companies such as Kozmo.com will have to work hard and form the right
partnerships. In part, however, survival is, unfortunately, beyond their control.
AllBusiness.com
to Offer firstsource Procurement Engine
AllBusiness.com and firstsource
Corp. agreed to create a business marketplace and procurement engine for AllBusiness.com's
small business users.
Coffee
Trading Goes Online
Now even Juan Valdez is getting wired with a new business-to-business
marketplace called eGreenCoffee.com set to launch next month.
For
E-Tailers, the Shipping News Isn't Good
Next week a key policymaking group
is expected to adopt an accounting change that will make gross margins at many
e-tailers look even more pathetic than they are now.
Amazon
space in Lexington sitting unused
Amazon.com spent millions during the
last year transforming a Lexington warehouse into a high-tech distribution center.
Now the e-commerce giant isn't using it.
GE
gets e-commerce boost
The world's largest company, US-based General Electric,
has recorded a 20% rise in its second quarter profits thanks to its increasing
activity in e-commerce.
The
higher cost of business online
Some banks are charging dotcoms up to $1
more per transaction than their brick-and-mortar cousins to process credit card
purchases, a Gartner Group survey has found
FTC
fines e-tailers $1.5 million for shipping delays
Seven Internet retailers
agree to pay a total of $1.5 million in fines stemming from charges by the Federal
Trade Commission involving shipping delays last holiday season.
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Commerce
Brick-and-mortar bookstores must wait
until midnight, but Amazon has special powers.
Can
Stephen King Scare Publishers?
An e-book venture from the horror author
is the highest-profile end run around traditional publishing yet.
Delivering
Red Ink
The ouster of Kozmo chief Joseph Park is only the latest sign
that last-mile delivery services are headed for a fall.
13
Airlines to Launch B-to-B Exchange
Aeroxchange is expected to handle $45
billion worth of goods and services - but faces stiff competition.
U.S.
Fines E-Tailers $1.5M for Late Holiday Deliveries
Seven online e-tailers,
including Macys.com, Toysrus.com and CDNOW, will pay fines totaling $1.5 million
(US$) to settle a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit over late deliveries
made during the 1999 holiday season. According to the FTC, the e-tailers promised
delivery dates when fulfillment was not possible and failed to notify customers
when shipments would be late.
IBM,
Ariba unveil software package for suppliers
The computing giant and the
software maker want to reach companies looking to quickly develop a Web site that
will automatically connect to partners, buyers and marketplaces.
IVillage
Enters Retail (Super)Market
The U.S. dot-com and U.K. grocery chain Tesco
will launch a content site in a cross-promotion deal.
---
CONTENT, PORTALS & COMMUNITY NEWS
Trucking
E-Marketplace Breaks Down
FleetScape.com closes its doors after Accel
Partners fails to get more funding.
Minority-geared
Net marketplace shuts down
An online marketplace linking minority-owned
suppliers with U.S. corporations closed its doors today less than four months
after a former General Motors vice president founded it.
Food
and Drink Exchange Going Hungry
Efdex is out of money and its employees
are walking out, proving that even b-to-b plays can turn sour.
China
Portals Go Splat
After a pair of failed IPOs in the past month, Chinese
consumer sites are scrambling to solidify their businesses.
French
Court Gives Yahoo More Time
The portal has until Aug. 11 to remove Nazi-related
auction items or to block French residents' access to such merchandise.
Gay.com
Comes Out to Latin America
The gay and lesbian community site has launched
a Spanish-speaking portal as part of an international expansion.
AOL,
NTT DoCoMo Near Cellular Pact
The deal would add content from the world's
largest ISP to the Internet services available by cell phone.
New
E-Marketplace for the Legal Industry Launching
More than 30 law firms
from Silicon Valley, Wall Street and across the United States will be charter
members in the LawCommerce.com e-marketplace.
B2G
Site Selects BroadVision One-To-One
FCW Government Technology Group has
selected BroadVision's e-commerce applications for its upcoming business-to-government
Web site.
Five
European Banks to Launch E-Marketplace
Five leading European financial
institutions announced Thursday their plans to launch an e-marketplace for Treasury
and Capital Markets products by the spring of 2001.
Research
Firm Predicts Enterprise Portal Shakeout
E-commerce is not the only sector
to have a research firm rain on its promise of success.
AdStar.com,
dbusiness.com to Serve Business Advertisers
The classified advertising
portal and the business content site join forces.
Gnutella
not ready for prime time
Could music-sharing network pick up Napster's
slack?
The
iGroup, Enterworks Deliver Portal Solution
The iGroup has signed a deal
to integrate Enterworks Inc.'s products suite with its intranet technology.
MSN
inking deal to place reviews on shopping site
MSN and Epinions.com will
announce a deal tomorrow that will bring customer reviews to the Microsoft-owned
portal's shopping area.
B-To-B
Exchanges Ache From Growing Pains
Online marketplaces have raised a great
deal of fanfare in the business-to-business space, but these new models face a
number of challenges, said executives and analysts last week.
---
GOVERNANCE & GOING GLOBAL NEWS
Sign
of the Times
Electronic signatures are now legally valid. So what's an
electronic signature?
Report
Slams European Govts Over E-Commerce Support
Research just published says
that, while the tide of e-commerce is steadily rising across Europe, European
governments aren't doing their bit when it comes to helping companies embrace
selling on the Web.
U.S.-EU
Data Privacy Deal Panned
The European Parliament rejects the proposal,
saying the 'safe harbor' agreement does not do enough to protect Europeans.
European
Parliament Hears E-Commerce Tax Pitch
The European Parliament in Brussels
today received the Internet-based value-added tax pitch from EU Commissioner Frits
Bolkestein, who explained that - despite American IT company objections - e-commerce
should be taxed within the European Union in the same fashion as traditional sales.
Regulating
e-commerce: lessons from India
Governments around the world are waking
up to the fact that the Internet and e-commerce need to be regulated.
FTC
policy chief: E-marketplaces are on the radar
Q&A with the FTC's director
of policy planning, Susan DeSanti.
Japan,
EU execs to propose WTO e-commerce round
The business leaders are expected
to call on their governments to push for deregulation of the IT and e-commerce
sectors and for a WTO round to standardize e-commerce systems.
U.S.
Seeks Dialogue With EU On E-Commerce
The United States is seeking a dialogue
with the European Union on electronic commerce issues, including an early warning
system to preempt disputes, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
FTC
Goes Public With Privacy
Orson Swindle, who heads the Federal Trade Commission,
tells the Internet industry to pay strict attention to consumer privacy concerns,
or else.
EU
to Restrict Use of Spam and Cookies
The measures signal a significant
strengthening of data-privacy rules in the European Union.
E-Commerce
Promotion Bill Moves To Senate Floor
A bill that would create a centralized
federal government clearinghouse for e-commerce issues and would promote the use
of e-commerce in both the public and private spheres is awaiting a full vote in
the Senate.
Europe
Looks at B2B Exchanges
The European Commission is preparing a key antitrust
ruling on a business to business Internet marketplace which could have huge ramifications
for similar Web sites, European Union officials said.
U.S.
Treasury Unveils E-Commerce Initiatives
The U.S. Treasury Department announced
two e-commerce initiatives Tuesday designed to streamline the process of doing
business with the government.
Cyberlaws
Emerge, Slowly
Experts suggest that existing laws in many countries can
cover such crimes as fraud, trespassing, and causing harm. But they also point
out that improving cyberlaw globally could take years, as many countries' citizens
are just seeking to get online.
Tackling
the Web's Language Barrier
The Multilingual Internet Names Consortium
wants ICANN to allow domain names to recognize Asian-language characters.
White
House Submits Web Surveillance Plans
The chief of staff says Web surfers
are entitled to the same protections as telephone conversationalists.
U.S.,
Europe to Unite on Web Traffic Standards
Advertising officials are convening
to develop guidelines and methods for measuring online audiences.
---
PARTNERS & DEALS NEWS
Million-dollar
merger helps CDNow play on
German media conglomerate Bertelsmann today
said it has agreed to buy cash-strapped online retailer CDNow for $117 million.
Drkoop.com
calls merger offer "premature"
Drkoop.com said today although it will
consider the merger offer it received from a health care news company, the announcement
of a transaction is "highly premature."
iVillage
unloads iBaby e-commerce unit
Online women's network iVillage today said
it will sell its iBaby e-commerce unit to Babygear.com for an undisclosed amount.
Mail
Boxes Etc., Juniper ink online banking deal
Starting this fall, customers
of the financial institution will be able to deposit their checks free of charge
at any of the postal services company's locations.
Don't
Win, Don't Tel
Gateway and AOL have a deal with upstart Transmeta to build
an "Internet appliance." Translation: "No Windows."
Two
Tickets to Paradise
Ticketmaster says its acquisition of TicketWeb in
a $35 million stock deal is a 'terrific fit.'
You'll
Never Walk Alone
E-Trade, trading 75 percent below where it was a year
ago, has lined up with venerable Ernst & Young, and it's not sounding so radical
these days.
IBlast
Gets Digital-Spectrum Boost
The Web broadcaster moves to expand its coverage
by entering licensing deals with 85 local TV stations.
Feed
and Suck Link Up
The two dot-com content providers join forces to create
Automatic Media.
Copycats
Battle for Small-Biz Market
IPrint.com, an online print shop, is teaming
up with IKON to take on Kinkos.com.
CNET
to Grab ZDNet for $1.6 Billion
The planned merger of the tech-info giants
would create the eighth-largest Net firm.
Commerce
One, GE Unit Start B-to-B Venture
The companies would jointly offer technology
and transaction processing for online marketplaces in various industries.
The
Internet Deal Nobody Likes
Investors don't like the new Jupiter Media
Metrix combo, but the merger could push Internet research forward.
Nortel
Acquires Alteon For $7.8 Billion
Nortel Networks' $7.8 billion deal to
acquire Alteon WebSystems in an all-stock deal is a boon for both companies and
essential for Nortel's own data networking strategy, say analysts.
Intel,
SAP Joint Venture Calls It Quits
Pandesic, which provided e-commerce support
to B-To-C e-tailers, ceases operations due to low demand.
Cisco
Aims for EMC
The company is adding storage area networks to its arsenal
with a $450 million acquisition.
InfoSpace
Acquires Portal
Infospace is spending $4 billion to add more broadband
content to its offerings.
Firms
Merge to Form Security Powerhouse
Symantec Corp. Thursday purchased a
smaller rival in a deal valued at $975 million.
Lucent
Snatches Network Switching Firm
Lucent Tuesday continued its aggressive
acquisition spree as it continues to chase market leader Cisco Systems.
HOTBIZ.COM,
InfoSpace Offer B2B Services
Global e-commerce service provider InfoSpac
Tuesday inked a B2B hosting deal with infrastructure firm HOTBIZ.COM.
Dell
Invests Heavily in SiteSmith
Often the best way to determine the future
success or failure for a new application service provider is to take a look at
its friends. SiteSmith picked up a hefty affirmation from an industry leader Friday.
AskWeb
Partners With Morningstar
The Waltham developer of natural language search
engines has teamed with the Chicago investment ratings firm to launch a new product.
Quokka
Sports Announces Acquisition of Total Sports Inc.
San Francisco-based
online sports network says acquisition doubles the network audience size, consolidates
production technology leadership, and will accelerate path to profitability.
Home
Shopping, Excite@Home Team for Broadband Shopping
HSN and Excite@Home
are developing a co-branded shopping experience to be broadcast both and on HSN
TV.
---
MOVERS & SHAKERS NEWS
Kozmo.com
founders step down; new CEO named
The two twenty-somethings who founded
Kozmo.com and built the Net's largest same-day delivery firm have stepped down,
sources close to the company said.
President
of Amazon Quits for VerticalNet
Joseph Galli, the president and chief
operating officer of Amazon.com, resigned after a year to become president and
chief executive of VerticalNet, an Internet company that runs 56 Web sites devoted
to specific industries.
The
fall of a dotcom king
Remember Jason Silverspoon, who, in the fall of
1998, was on the cover of Fortune magazine with the cover line, "Could this 19-year-old
be the next Bill Gates?" Where is he now after the fall of the market?
Cyberbuck
President Quits Over Hidden Past
The president of an Internet firm that
offers to protect consumers from fraud was forced to resign after admitting that
he lied about his past and hid his criminal record, company officials said on
Friday.
Red
Hat shares dive on news of CFO departure
In a surprise move, the company
hires Red Hat's Hal Covert to become chief financial officer, just four months
after he started his last job.
IBM
taps new president, vice chairman
Big Blue names Sam Palmisano to become
its president and chief operating officer and John M. Thompson to the position
of vice chairman in what could be the first stages of a succession plan for Lou
Gerstner.
Amazon,
Marimba lose key personnel
As the dot-com shake-up continues, some companies
are starting to see new faces in top jobs.
Two
More Execs Fly the Drkoop
The resignations of health site's COO and CFO
come as the company issues a warning about 2nd-quarter losses.
DoubleClick
Names New CEO
Former president Kevin Ryan will fill the role, following
months of controversy over the ad firm's privacy policies.
IVillage
CEO Says Farewell
Candice Carpenter leaves the women's site behind, as
the firm struggles with mounting losses.
A
Cowgirl Without Wires
When asked to describe the wireless landscape, Motorola
senior VP Janiece Webb says it's the "wild wild west - and I'm a bit of a cowgirl."
All
In The Family
Austin Hill seems like he can go on forever about Zero-Knowledge
Systems USA, the company he has built with his brother, Hamnett, 28, executive
VP, and his 56-year-old father, Hammie, CEO
Five
Questions With...
The second of the "Five Questions With..." series presents
conversations with the CEOs of Fogdog, Salary.com, Myplay, and Vignette as they
talk about online retail, compensation, digital music, and employee retention
and international ventures
Alan
Baratz, back in the Valley again
The former Java chief quits commuting
to NYC's Warburg Pincus and takes over at Firedrop. Also: Another analyst goes
VC, Salon expatriate founds book site, and Enermetrix management gets a shot in
the arm.
Eric
Schmidt, the future is calling
Novell's CEO needs to find more fertile
fields for his forward-thinking agendas.
Incubator
chief comes home to roost
The founder of The Enterprise Network, one of
Silicon Valley's oldest incubator, takes back the CEO role. Also: new iBenefits
CIO's been around the block; former 49ers quarterback Steve Young hops on the
VC train.
Profile:
Jared Schutz, founder of Blue Mountain Arts
Jared Schutz the founder of
Blue Mountain Arts and Proflowers.com considers his greatest professional achievement,
"Bringing smiles to hundreds of thousands of people every day through Bluemountain.com
cards and fresh Proflowers.com flowers." Awww ... Isn't he sweet? Read
Profile:
Austin Hill, president of Zero-Knowledge
Austin Hill, president of Zero-Knowledge
Systems, is quite confident in himself; when asked what failed predictions he's
made, he replied, "All of my predictions come true, it's just a matter of waiting
long enough." Find out more about Austin in The Network at:
DoubleClick
Brings Ryan Upstairs, Makes O'Connor Chairman
DoubleClick makes personnel
shifts at the top.
Returns
Online Adds Two Directors to its Board
James D. Robinson, III, co-founder
and general partner at RRE Ventures and Chad Waite, partner at Olympic Venture
Partners will both be joining the Board of Directors of the Mercer Island-based
company.
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