ECMgt.com Feb2000 E-Zine: Expanded e-commerce management (ECM) deployment

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February 1, 2000 *3,200 subscribers* Volume 2, Issue 2
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Our March issue deals with executive ability to adapt to e-commerce. In 2000, we feel that the majority of Global 2000 companies will recognize that e-commerce is a reality they must embrace. But, how well will top executives be able to adapt ("morph") their corporations into holistic Internet-enable entities in the year 2000? We'd like your opinion on the following questions:

Please include the city, state/province and country you're from since will publish your initials and geographic info with your response.

Expanded E-Commerce Management (ECM) Deployment
by Mitchell Levy
Executive Producer, ECMgt.com

As one month has passed in the 21st century, we are beginning to see the transformation of companies and people that's necessary for survival in the information age. Brick-and-mortar companies are continuing to deploy e-commerce efforts that integrate with their core business. Dot.com companies are figuring out how to provide the core services that their brick-and-mortar counterparts take for granted. Both types of companies are melding on and off-line marketing activities. To capitalize quickly, we're seeing a large number of partnerships established between the dot.com and brick-and-mortar companies to allow both types of companies to learn and benefit from each other's core competences.

With all these e-commerce management activities happening in both dot.com and traditional companies of all sizes, there is a strong need for technical and managerial talent who know how to deploy, manage and evolve e-commerce. This is currently a huge opportunity. There's just not enough talent out there. "If you look at the type of work that Viant and Scient (e-commerce/e-business integrators) do, they are booming" according to Tim Reed, Vice President of Marketing at I/Pro. "Trying to hire a Web development team is close to impossible."

One way traditional companies can get a leg up in terms of Internet knowledge and resources, is to partner with dot.com's and other Internet-savvy companies. A number of these partnerships are experiments. They'll either work and more time, money and effort will be deployed or they won't and "hopefully" another set of experiments will be tried. Some recent partnerships worth highlighting include the following:

Companies	Partnership Goal
United, Delta, Northwest and Continental partnered with American, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, KLM Royal Dutch, Singapore Airlines, US Airways and other carriers	Competitive answer to Travelocity.com, Expedia.com and other web-based travel sites
General Motors partnered with I2 and CommerceOne and is asking to partner with Toyota	Competitive answer to Autobytel.com, CarPoint.com, Carsdirect.com, Priceline.com and other web-based car sites
Ford with Yahoo, GM with AOL	To sell cars
7-Eleven with American Express	To introduce interactive touch-screen kiosks for check-cashing, money orders and wire transfers
Pizza Hut with CDnow.com	To sell more pizza while creating brand recognition and traffic for CDnow.com
Cisco with Whirlpool	To create traditional appliances that notify a repairman when service is needed
Webvan with Kellogg, Nestle USA, Pillsbury and Quaker Oats	Webvan to gain brand knowledge and exposure while the partners can deliver the "ultimate shopping experience"
Wal-mart with Accel Partners	To create a stand-alone Web retailing company carrying the Wal-Mart brand (Wal-Mart.com)
Kmart with Yahoo	To create a separate Web retailing company selling Kmart products on-line (Bluelight.com)

For a number of these partnerships, measuring success may not be easy and won't be measured by traditional methods. In some cases, the result of these partnerships are products and services that do a better job satisfying the customer. For others, the result will be better brand recognition, while for others, the result will be the acquisition of internal knowledge on how to proceed with future efforts. The question is how to effectively measure success. According to Reed "a lot of marketeers are trying to figure out what they are doing on-line with very traditional evaluation methods. This won't work. People should be evaluating their Web spending on their own merits. How the on-line expenditure is moving people through the product life cycle."

From a marketing perspective, companies that are capitalizing on the power of the Internet have integrated creative. Two companies that have consistent, integrated on-line, billboard, print and media advertising are IBM and E*Trade. The key for these companies is that both the on and off world marketing are working in concert toward the same goal.

For traditional companies to extend their brand and services to the net takes a robust "tops-down" integrated approach. Two companies that appear to be on the right path of making this happen is Futureshop.ca (Canadian-based computer/electronic retailer) and Coldwatercreek.com (US-based specialty direct mail retailer).

Coldwater Creek (sales of USD $315m last year) sells apparel, gifts, jewelry, and home furnishings through a family of three catalogs, a small number of retail and outlet stores and the Internet. "We have moved aggressively to position ourselves as the premier women's apparel site on-line", according to Dennis Pence, Coldwater Creek CEO and President of Internet Sales.

"Web sales represent about 12 percent of our business and has become a catalyst for company growth, providing a vehicle for sales and enhanced interaction with our customers". What's key for Coldwater is customer service, brand integration across the Internet, their catalogs (will send 150 million this fiscal year) and their physical stores. The Internet is so important to their success that their CEO is also their President of Internet Sales.

Futureshop (sales of Canadian $1.4b last year) is Canada's biggest retailer of computers, consumer electronics, audio/video products, music, DVD and appliances. Futureshop has 83 stores nationally and 5 Computer City stores. "Our goal with our Internet efforts is to be the leading Candian 'clicks and mortar' retailer," says Michael DeSandoli, Vice President of E-Commerce who reports directly to the CEO. "In addition to selling on-line and defending our position in Canada, we want to help our stores sell smarter, we want to use the Internet to help create new stores in new markets, we want to extend our line of products and services and we want to help our corporate sales be more efficient". Mr. DeSandoli drills these concepts home by creating metrics that he shares with the company and uses to compensate his staff. After running many experiments and successfully navigating Boxing Day (December 26, 1999) which turned out to be 3 times the busiest day they ever had, Mr. DeSandoli has come up with a couple of lessons he'd like to share. They are:

I think we have just seen the tip of the iceberg in regards to growth on the Internet, especially in the B2B channel. Brick and mortal will continue to expand their e-commerce management, basically because they have to, to compete with the straight e-tailer. The brand names will prosper. Partnerships are, and will continue to become a huge part of brand name brick and mortal growth. The growth will continue; the key is how to integrate the channels. Retail, Web, direct mail, etc.

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E-Commerce is going to rule the world in this millennium. Brick-and-mortar companies are going to implement e-commerce technology in their businesses and it will be a boom for job seekers because e-commerce has opened up vast amount of opportunities. On the whole, e-commerce will be the leading way of doing business worldwide.

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E-Commerce will change drastically the way we do business, think of customers, and accumulate marketing trends and statistics.

Spring Comdex ECM Symposium

In a special E-Commerce Management (ECM) Symposium at Spring Comdex (Chicago, IL, April 17-18, 2000), top e-commerce professionals will provide their insights about what works and what doesn't. The Spring Comdex 2000 ECM Symposium is comprised of 4 keynotes, 2 case studies and 9 panels with over 30 speakers. Come learn and network with fellow practitioners, managers and executives in this exciting field. Learn more at this url: http://ecmtraining.com/comdexspring

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Being Local Helps: The role of Brick & Mortar Strategies in e-business growth
Louis Columbus
Director, Market Research & Planning
ZLand.com

Increasingly the world's companies are realizing that having both a local presence in addition to a web site capable of being used on a global scale increases the number of customers reachable. Traditional telemarketing companies using the direct sales model can reach only so many customers on the phone. Moving into customers' communities with a retail store that is tightly integrated with the customer's telephone and online shopping experience creates a comprehensive sales experience for the customer. Creating as many points of contact with the customer as possible is increasingly becoming the central theme of many of the world's leading companies as they embrace electronic commerce.

One of the most successful companies in using the brick & mortar model as part of an e-business strategy is Gateway Computer. With now just over 140 stores throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan, one of the key messages in Gateway's advertising is "Call, Click or Come In". Promotional programs with strong tie-ins to the Gateway website have since been introduced first through the Country Stores, yielding significant sales gains. The YourWare Program introduced in the Fall of 1998 yielding close to a 30% gain in sales according to analyst's estimates.

Like many companies adopting e-commerce strategies, Gateway first looked to their strengths and built from what they knew best. In their instance, their key strength was innovative advertising that generates between 60,000 and 70,000 in-bound calls per day. Fully six out of every ten in-bound calls is generated from television advertising, which has increasingly focused on the e-commerce commitment Gateway has made. Only recently has Gateway made a philosophical shift to considering outbound calling, and only in business accounts. Why? Selling primarily to consumers, they did not want to be obtrusive.

Yet today Gateway is like many companies who have been successful in other arenas and want to extend that market leadership into e-commerce. Starting in 1999, the Gateway Country Stores were re-aligned under the Gateway Business division of the company. Further, Gateway created an Electronic Commerce Division in Gateway Business to specifically find areas of opportunity for partnerships which strengthen the computer maker's position in selling to other businesses. The challenge for Gateway and millions of other businesses is how to successfully implement a business-to-business e-commerce strategy.

The travel industry is another area that is seeing rapid adoption of e-commerce strategies to benefit both the consumer and business traveler. Microsoft's Expedia site is the leading portal in this area, providing trip planning and ticket purchasing capabilities many businesses use as their online travel agent. The interesting aspect of e-commerce adoption in the travel industry is the strategies airlines are taking given the predominance of online travel sites as the preferred method of planning and purchasing trips. Of the airlines who have most successfully integrated e-commerce into their existing reservation and booking systems, both Southwest and American Airlines stand out.

SouthWest Airlines is one of the few airlines using the Internet as a channel to market its low fares to both new and existing customers. Its Click `n Save weekly email updates include fares available only through SouthWest's Internet specials. As the first major airline to launch a Web site in the mid 1990s, SouthWest aggressively marketed its Web capabilities and currently allows members of its frequent flyer program to receive double flight credit for booking ticketless travel online. The site promotes hotel and vacation offerings from Hilton resorts and hotels, offers vacation packages, and even allows customers who are shipping cargo to track their shipments online.

American's Web site is typical of many airline Web sites in that it primarily focuses on its frequent flyer customers, allowing only registered AAdvantage members to book online. The site has a link from the AOL Business Traveler section and provides up to 1,000 bonus miles for customers who book flights online. The site offers Internet-only specials to registered users and Net SAAver fares on a weekly basis. In addition, AA.com provides links to AAVacations.com for vacation packages and offers competitive fares and links for markets that the airline does not currently serve.

Going Business to Business with E-Commerce
The market dynamics occurring in e-commerce today signal a coming generation of solutions which include the strengths of many companies in one. Due mainly to partnerships between e-commerce companies becoming commonplace, and the rapid increase in mergers & acquisitions, the future products and services offered will be more robust in their functionality and more adaptable in their content. AOL's acquisition of Time-Warner is just a foreshadowing of events to come. It is entirely feasible to assume that the missing component to date in e-commerce, which is e-fulfillment, will be supplanted soon in one of the major e-commerce providers' business model. As the velocity of transactions grows for any business, the need for being able to accurately and efficiently deliver ordered goods is crucial for growth. Many industry analysts agree that each holiday selling season is actually cathartic for the e-commerce industry overall as it points out quickly areas of expertise, in addition to areas of improvement. From the last holiday season, it became clear an area for growth is in the area of being able to fulfill orders when they are promised.

Just as each holiday season brings a multiplier to the number of holiday sales, there are two significant trends that will continue to propel e-commerce growth globally for the coming eighteen months at a minimum. First, there is an abundance of new technology in many cases, which is turnkey in approach. There are for examples of many procurement, auction site, marketplace software, and EDI translators for business-to-business use, which are capable of being implemented in months instead of years. The second key factor driving e-commerce growth is the sense of urgency created from early adopters who are significantly supplanting their businesses via e-commerce strategies. With the Wall Street Journal calling the dis-intermediation of a given industry "being Delled" the Web-enablement of the direct model is now a given.

Driving business-to-business e-commerce growth are sales of information technology products and services. Most commonly purchased products include computer software, hardware, information systems services including outsourcing and the emerging application service provider (ASP) model, telecommunication services, and telecom equipment. Information systems-oriented products have benefited from the rapid growth of business-to-business e-commerce as they are essential for a company to get their e-commerce strategy underway. Within the coming year however, this mix of products and services could potentially change significantly, as vertically-focused portals such as Chemdex, eSteel and PasticNet are expected to be among the top business-to-business e-commerce sites.

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

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More businesses and consumers will participate in e-commerce. The number of US consumers purchasing on-line will probably double. A broader list of items will be sold directly to consumers, things that weren't available in 1999. The Internet will streamline some processes like bidding for homes, which has been quite inefficiently done offline. More brick-and-mortar businesses will debut on-line.

Brick-and-mortar companies will deploy integrated customer interaction solutions, beyond just phone and email. Companies will expand the interaction choice to include live text chat, web collaboration, and voice over Internet in 2000. They'll also deploy self-help and digital marketing solutions.

Expect traditional companies branding to the Web to double in 2000. The advantage the traditional companies have at this point is learning the lessons from early e-commerce adopters, and will thus have a good chance at doing it right when they launch in 2000. Also, modern technology applications have been proven by this time for traditional companies to embrace with confidence.

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IS professionals, previously dedicated to Y2K, will be redirected to the e-commerce front. I don't think that e-commerce will hit the business world like a tidal wave in year 2000 since it is already here. However, the fiasco with an unnamed toy retailer will underscore to traditional companies the huge risk (to both the on-line and offline brand) of not being ready to go. Their established brand is on the line, and failure on-line can spell doom in their traditional realm.

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I believe E-Commerce growth will be explosive in 2000 and indefinitely beyond. I'm not sure of rates of growth, but I could easily see it triple in 2000. The growth will be in B2B as companies move historic mainframe and client server applications to Web centric where the browser is now the client. Companies will move to e-commerce deployments because they feel they have to for competitive reasons, for customer service, for employee empowerment, and for strictly cost reasons. Brick-and-mortar companies will expand more cautiously, first with utilizing the Web for extended marketing reasons, as an information resource, and for closer access to the customers through CRM implementations. The next step will be to automate the entire supply chain and automate purchasing, order processing, inventory, and tracking order fulfillment and delivery, which FedEX has been doing for some time. On-line buying services (CommerceOne) will revolutionize the way goods are bought and sold, similar to the on-line auction companies.

All companies of any size are currently expanding their brands to the Web. Most will have difficulty integrating on-line marketing with historical marketing techniques and processes. On-line marketing receives instant response and calculates instant marketing data, statistics and the buying ratios of people who visit the site. This will be different in direct consumer sales on the Web as opposed to B2B. However, the instant capabilities of Web marketing allow marketers to make decisions in real time, not based on statistics accumulated from sales people, who may or may not take the time to provide the input needed for customer feedback.

Major companies utilizing the Web will be those that have the vision to modify processes and cultures to accommodate a new way of doing business, e.g. Cisco Systems which now transacts about 65% of their business over the Web, even including sophisticated configuration schematics which the customer provides. The supplier has effectively offloaded a great deal of the process side of selling to the customer. Commodity products obviously lend themselves to Web marketing, but any business which requires customer to supplier and supplier to customer interface, can now be done in real time.

E-Commerce will change drastically the way we do business, think of customers, and accumulate marketing trends and statistics.

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I think you're going to see small businesses coming on-line in amazing numbers. The Web has leveled the playing field for all businesses, making it possible for smaller businesses to have an impact on-line. The largest area of growth will be B2B e-commerce.

Brick-and-mortar companies will have to be willing to cannibalize their own current business in order to grow their Web business. Many large companies will spin off their Internet business so they are operating as separate entities which may compete with each other.

All lasting brands will realize that the web is not optional and must instead be an essential part of their marketing and business plans. During the year 2000, brick-and-mortar companies will struggle to figure out the best mix. I think it will take longer than a year to understand this medium and make the most of its potential.

Major companies will have to rethink their strategy of mass manufacturing and change to a more personalized one to one marketing strategy spoken of by Martha Rogers of Peppers and Rogers. Those that design products will have to change what they make and how they make it to reflect the personalization and customization the Web makes possible.

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More of the major players will start tying in personalization with local stores and allow their customers to order on-line with the option of either picking up locally or having the items shipped. The return policy will start having a bigger impact on e-commerce and those click and mortar stores that allow returns locally rather than having to ship product back will come out ahead. Customers still like the personal service they receive at a physical store even if they order on-line for convenience.

Now that companies are done tying up their IT Departments with Y2K issues, a huge swell of momentum will hit the e-commerce world in force. Unfortunately, I don't think there will be enough developers with experience to meet this huge demand so you will see more products to make the development process faster and easier.

The most successful companies will be those that think out of the box and advertise not only in the traditional markets of TV, radio, and magazines, but also on taxi cabs or buses, or even banners pulled behind small planes. Sponsorships of events will also be popular. Basically, anyway that a company can get eyeballs and distinguish itself from its competitors. Branding is going to become even more important and those web development companies that can handle the entire project from beginning to end are going to come out ahead over those who just specialize in a given area.

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Expect e-commerce growth in the 150 to 200% area for 2000. E-Commerce will mainly grow in the PC-Internet area, this year, but by the end of 2000 mobile e-commerce will start and will be a great success in Europe. The growth industries on the Internet will continue to grow, but certain industries which were behind (eg. insurance, retail) will grow even stronger.

Brick-and-mortar companies will reorganize their internal structure and many will have new e-business departments. The traditional companies are mostly on the web in one form or another. But many of them do not actively push their old brand. Some will just push their old brand in an old fashion way on the Internet with an old marketing approach (not very targeted but a lot of money spend for attraction). Others will start with a new on-line brand, which is still loosely coupled to the old brand to maintain the trust, but gives freedom to expand into new business fields on the Internet channel. The meld of on- and off-line marketing game is still not really played yet. There is a huge potential for most of the companies! The successful companies will continue to dominate the web (Yahoo, Amazon, AOL-Warner etc.). New players will be companies which understand to serve the third wave Internet users, who are now entering the medium. This people are far less skilled to surf around and need very convenient and smoothly operating websites. They are still rare in the technology driven Internet world, where the customer is often still a disturbing factor and not really asked how he would like to be served. Companies who are the kings in the old world (Sony, Panasonic, P&G, Henkel, Nestlé...) will be the kings in the new world, if they discover this opportunity and really go for it.

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It's an interesting question, because it suggests that on-line marketing may become fundamentally different from traditional paper-based collateral activities. I have some fairly strong opinions, as a journalist and consumer of Web-based marketing efforts, that the whole Content show needs a serious revamping before it can really help foster development of on-line commerce.

Right now, a virtual visit to any number of technology solutions or service providers in the B2B e-commerce space reveal a wall of fluff: boosterism, buzzworditis, and blurred distinctions clogging what could be a clear, direct communications channel to customers. I spent yesterday trying to determine how much hosting Sapient, IXL, and Kinzan do, and differentiating their services was well-nigh impossible from the content on their Web sites. I'm talking about basic information, like what does the company do, what market does it serve, how will its technology/services help solve business problems. Seems like everyone's so in a rush to ride the e-commerce wave to prosperity that they forgot to explain what it is they actually do, leaving the uninitiated perennially confused. I can't help but think this confusion about Internet commerce is extending to potential customers as well.

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Most companies which are Internet savvy have already begun their progress into e-commerce. Those who have yet to do so may have a greater advantage due to their late involvement. More businesses are being created to assist the brick-mortars in making the e-commerce transition / deployment easier and with more sophistication. I expect that the trend for these late-adopters will be to bypass the first stage of having just a 'web presence' (ie: a web business card) and launch with a more advanced/useful website that will be the result of a more developed Internet industry. E-Commerce isn't just people purchasing on-line but the ability to conduct business on-line - it will be different for companies depending on their business model.

I expect there to be even more advertising, more focus on creating brand-recognition, more focus on translating individual attention into valued repeat customers. But 'tidal wave'? All growth is paced along the ability to obtain talent and we are still lacking an experienced talent pool that can support a 'tidal wave' <grin>

Most companies have a focus of giving their consumers information about the products/services that they provide. Off-line marketing is including a web address as a matter of fact, it no longer seems odd, it is expected. A recognized brand-name without an on-line presence will be considered archaic and (I believe) detrimental to their brand. Utilizing on-line marketing for off-line purchases I have yet to see but I expect it to be included eventually.

I think that the major instance for this on-line marketing will be at the portals, where your profile is already known and can be utilized. It is a waste of time & money to develop marketing plans that don't work, I think that more development will be made into 'smart ads'. Whether it is on a personalized homepage from a major site, banners on a search engine or web-site page, or (I dread the day) permanent browser pop-up advertising windows that is linked to your profile, marketing on-line will be just as routine as 'traditional' marketing means and just as targeted.

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Moving beyond Y2K issues now, we will see collaboration, consolidation and positioning for existing and new markets in all information and media sectors. Regardless of whether other players like it or not, they will have to move after the AOL-Time' catalyst maneuver. As these markets solidify, the markets will shift focus toward service oriented providers.

Brick-and-mortar's have to collaborate, Example: I can buy a Text book in Sydney at a local bookstore (+delivery) for $Aus160, but I can buy the same book from Amazon for $Aus125 (includes international courier charges and exchange rate conversions) Centralise billing, negotiate middle market players for stock they can't find, negotiate costs, expand offices, centralise management, call centers, share premesis, less stock "on the floor"

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Expect the B-to-C market to at least double or triple in 2000. I personally spent nothing in 1998, $100 in 1999, and nearly $1000 already in 2000. B2B will grow at a faster rate, but from a smaller base. Canned-solutions companies will fare well, especially those that can offer full portfolios of services (site design, hosting, fulfillment, etc.)

Any traditional merchandisers that don't open a dot-com group in 2000 are going to be in trouble if their competitors go on-line. So I'd expect to see over half the major brands having a site, and probably 5-10% having an e-commerce sales channel. One of the things that has held companies back from making the e-commerce investment is concern that it might compete with the traditional channels rather than adding incremental sales. Now that some case studies are available, this concern will probably diminish, and more companies will jump in with both feet. Which companies? The companies with reasonably progressive top management.

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Internet business will continue to expand. Emphasis for the prudent netpreneur will be on more interactive entertaining websites. B2B will continue to expand. Keep an eye on European and Latin American developments. Miami will become the Silicon beach, the Latin American hub of e-commerce. Brick-and-mortar companies will integrate e-business with their other business. Probably by gobbling e-business start-ups and then subsequent integration. Advertising will complement each other (e.g., TV ads will reference URL's, etc.).

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E-Commerce growth is going to be exponential! 2000 will be the year of e-commerce but not only via the classical web but also via digital TV... Keep in mind that most of human beings are not web addicted!!! work on other platforms!!!! Growth will not only be the result of e-commerce. A large and world-wide strategy is the key to succeed in e-commerce.

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I expect brick-and-mortar companies not to do as well in this arena; however, they will keep pushing. E-Commerce will be a sideline for couple years to come.

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I am a product and operations manager for a portal e-commerce company in India indiainfo.com and was one among the first employees. I have seen from the joy of first sale to volumes after media launch and coverage. Indian buying is minimal in spending or virtually nill and even NRI's spent between 10 dollar to $50. But if price and QC of products and services continue to get better, people will flow to cybercafes to access the net and buy.

Brick-and-mortar companies have to improve their services. Specific focus on timely delivery schedules, quality and pricing need to be logically and logistically planed as part of their goals and actions.

I expect all service oriented companies from groceries to Oil terminals embracing e-commerce. They must either embrace the technology and ensure good backend support resulting in higher quality and timely services.

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Brand name growth will be the most exciting. Many small retailers will go on-line to peddle their goods, however because of continued security of money transfer concerns, consumers will initially deal with reputable, known, recognized brand name companies. The growth rate will be exponential in the next two to three years and slowly weed itself out because of poor hit rate or no hit rate.

Basic product information and product usage with a definition of the industry or market segment is already provided by many companies. Once the prospect provides requested personal data, the system will issue a user name and password and allow the client or prospect entry into more sensitive date and pricing. The real issue is to what extent can they eliminate the middleman and regain control of promoting their own products within their guidelines.

We are already seeing tremendous growth of e-commerce. Anyone that has any service or product to offer will be on the web. Access to major sites is already becoming painfully slow as the numbers increase at an exponential level. Finding what you want is also painful as more and more popup windows automatically appear creating distraction and interfere with the original search. We believe that marketing is about to be redefined. As consumers, large and small appear on the web, the business transacted both ways will increase at an astounding rate. More and more companies are contemplating other, secure and less loaded networks to communicate and do business. We believe a new compression, transmission technology will be introduced to facilitate this process. Without exception, all major companies will embrace the Web or be out of business very quickly.
(L.J., Brossard, Quebec, CANADA)

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The Brick-and-Mortar push will be to develop e-Business Managers. The large multinationals have established e-Business teams that are facilitating the integration of information technologies, specifically the use of the Internet, into their standard business operations. Organizations like GE have large pools of experienced, hungry, young managers, eager to jump into the frey we commonly call e-Business. While there are many lessons to be learned. Superior institutional memory, corporate initiatives (push into the "on-line" arena by none other than Jack Welch himself), business cultures accepting of change, and umbrella organizations that ensure best practices and lessons learned are passed on to all companies w/in the corporation - all of these tools will be utilized to best ensure the continued strong performance of corporations like GE.

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I suspect the rate of acceptance and growth in e-commerce will continue to expand at an increased rate. The seasonal numbers look very impressive and the laggards will feel more pressure to jump on the band-wagon. The problem is still with the transaction execution. It has a long way to go to get to the critical mass. I don't feel that we are ready to Jump the Chasm (from Geoff Moore.)

Brick-and-mortar companies will copy what they consider to be state of art or what their competitors are doing. I see lots of me too from the masses. I really like what I read about what Wal-Mart is doing. And I think they have a good approach to develop a great model of a brick-and-mortar company.

The rate of investment will expand at an increasing rate. I don't see a reduction in off-line marketing to offset the increase in on-line marketing. Again, I see Wal-Mart becoming a leader during 2000. I think the relationship they developed with AOL will serve them very well. Now the only problem is keeping AOL's attention. But the fact that they set up a separate company in Silicon Valley should reduce this attention span problem.

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Growth in e-commerce will continue to move from basic presentation of content over the Internet to transaction based processing as more and more businesses move to the Internet. This will be evident in both the B2C and B2B sectors. With the Yr2k challenge behind us, corporate resources will be focused on transaction enabling business processes on the Internet while brick-and-mortar firms focus on attracting business through personalized marketing and sales. Acceptance is already there, it is only the rate of adoption which is in question.

Brick-and-mortar firms will focus on two basic items. The newcomers will focus their energies on establishing on-line catalogs and order processes. Those firms that already have a face to the consumer market via the Internet will begin to focus more on personalized marketing to target audiences and individuals. New comers with capital and vision will look to establish the personalized marketing aspect as they build their Internet infrastructures.

The Web will become an integral part of all traditional companies business strategy. You will see significant growth and commitment to resources across the board. You will also see supply chain initiatives which take advantage of the power of the Internet to reduce costs, and increase collaboration while reducing time to market. You will also have the initiatives to create on-line catalogs, on-line purchasing and personalized marketing. Forward thinking companies will embrace the Internet to create true virtual enterprises. The Internet provides some of the essential tools to create the virtual enterprise that to date have been lacking to enable real time collaboration.

It is no longer a matter of which firms will embrace the Internet, the question will become how does a firm utilize the Internet to enhance their market strategy and position.

***
E-commerce will continue to have more potential than continues to be realized. There are still a lot of folks who are suspicious of using credit cards on-line and are not so facile surfing the net (those of us involved in Internet non-profit organizations and businesses tend to forget this). Expect brick-and-mortar companies to continue to deeply discount. It's both for the convenience and for the price, though expansion will occur for certain products (pharmacy, books) but not for others where consumers want to try on, feel, hold, etc.

***
Growth in e-commerce will be due to CRM (live audio-visual interaction) and personalization. Rates of growth will be exponential. Brick-and-mortar companies will try to partner with co-hosting companies like Exodus Comm. & system integrators/ASPs as well as trying to partner with established e-commerce channels (e.g. Walmart.com with Fedex.com, etc.). This year we will probably see most companies getting an on-line presence.

***
Greater acceptance and increased distribution through broadband delivery and television will result in more net customers. This in turn will drive more Internet businesses. There will be lots of consolidation. The successful brick-and-mortar companies will buy pure Internet companies and/or spin off their own independent Internet business.

There will be an effort to go-direct with traditional brands but the resistance will continue due to channel conflict. Off line and on-line marketing are the same. Just different means of delivery. The media companies will embrace it first.

***
E-Commerce provided and still provides the world with an enormous amount of opportunities. Also new technologies (e.g. broadband) and a structural upgrade of networks, within for instance Europe, have a positive effect on the quality of e-commerce. Within the next 2 years, the world e-commerce market will grow at the same rate as the past 2 years.

Brick and Mortar companies have an important asset most cyber companies don't have: Brand and Image. I believe (and recommend!) they will use that as a primary competitive tool in developing their e-commerce capabilities.

If it isn't an extension of their current business, most traditional companies faced trouble launching an e-commerce capability within their companies. I believe that's due to important factors such as resistance to change, miscommunication (or worst : NO communication) or low skills/knowledge. As the Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, became more common, E-Commerce got more acceptable and several projects regarding to e-commerce got started in many companies around the world.

***
Generally, I think that companies are looking for faster ways to integrate their systems with the Internet.

***
E-Commerce is already accepted. Look at e-sales over the past holiday season. Will there be more

acceptance? If economies stay healthy, e-commerce will also stay healthy. If economies suffer, e-commerce will suffer. Remember that the e-commerce phenomenon isn't affecting everyone. The only way to sell gasoline is to first sell people an internal combustion engine. It's in the oil companies best interest to promote gasoline consuming equipment. Likewise, if e-commerce is going to stay healthy and be more widely accepted, the companies entering the e-commerce market are going to have a vested interest in making sure a greater part of the population has computer access ("drives a car") and has Internet access ("has roads and highways on which to drive that car"). This directly affects the answer to the growth part of your question and I will briefly switch metaphors to answer. Goldfish will grow only as large as the environment holding them. You want big goldfish, get rid of the fish bowl and get a 20g aquarium. E-Commerce will grow only as large as the current Internet infrastructure can support it, at which point it will either collapse under its own success or reach a stability point. Currently there are no taxes on e-commerce, just as originally there were no taxes on roads.

Much of e-commerce at present is still based on an exchange of electronic currency for hard material. You can order books with a credit card but those books are delivered the next day. Same for cars, clothes, food, gifts, ... The next step will be in the exchange of electronic currency for information. That currently exists in the form of purchasing software on-line and downloading it, or perhaps purchasing a picture which you can print out or even some streaming video. Unfortunately, all of these require the information source to reside on the computer, ie, the information isn't mobile. The real e-commerce will be when you can order music on-line, download it to your CD writer and burn your own CD while you sit there, then take that CD with you to the gym and listen to it while you're doing your workout. When you can download a movie to your DVD burner then take that DVD out of the computer and play it on your home entertainment system, then the next wave of e-commerce will have arrived.

I expect brick-and-mortar companies to either succeed or fail. Success will come from the companies which extend their business to the new media rather than recreate themselves for the new media. Barnes and Noble is an example. They were losing when they went head to head with Amazon, then they realized that they had brick-and-mortar storefronts everywhere. Now if you order a book and it's in stock at the local store, you get it the same or next day, not in a few weeks. That's an example of taking stock of what you already have in place and leveraging (god, I hate that word) your existing assets to create value in the new arena. Failure will come from companies who think they need to reinvent themselves for the new market because there isn't a new market, only a new channel to existing markets. A recent study of brick-and-mortar companies which started eTailing and had existing mail-order catalog businesses (think "L.L. Bean", "Land's End", "Harry and David", etc.) showed that the business coming in through the front door grew as expected. Obviously e-commerce was totally unprecedented but only because it's such a new beast. The surprises came from the people crossing over from e-commerce to traditional catalogs and vice versa. The market hasn't changed, the way to reach the market has. Companies which aren't aware of this will have a hard time making it in e-commerce, unless they can define a totally new market for their product or service.

There's much demographic study being done to determine if the on-line and off-line markets will be traditionally or non-traditionally based. Do we follow the traditional views of retail anthropology? How does the consumer's experience vary from on- to off-line and vice versa? There will be some crossover, I'm sure, just as some advertising which is shown on Arts-and-Entertainment's "Biography" also shows up on NBC's "Friends". But how do you simulate a driving experience on the web? How do you smell garlic cooking or taste chocolate or feel fine silk?

There seems to be an oxymoron in that question; "major company" "embrace the web". One won't be without the other, either via e-commerce or e-business. Any company which starts with e-commerce is going to require e-business sooner than later. Any company doing e-business will probably find an e-commerce venue they can address. What will they be doing? Hopefully business with us, but in lieu of that they'll be utilizing new and existing web strategies to get their message and value proposition across. 'Nuff said?

***
Existing (successful businesses will continue to expand at their respective present rates. The new-comers are going to be of 2 categories:

a) The Brick and Mortar businesses (GE, HP GM etc.) will try to "get on the Band wagon "their way" (and will fail). They will re-try, until they get it right - or will find themselves being "absorbed"; i.e. recent AOL example

b) The less stable new-comers (resource poor) will follow "Beyond" into the neverland very quickly.

***
Now that the introduction to the Internet has been made, consumers are ready for the next phase of e-commerce. They are looking for "millennium" size i.e. bigger, better, and wow Internet activity. With the windfall of Internet transactions during the holiday season, there will be continued acceptance and growth in e-commerce in 2000.

I foresee a move towards "total virtuality" in 2000. You will most likely see this trend first in the workplace. Companies are trying to find unique ways to attract and retain workers. With technology, including the Internet, you can perform practically most job functions without face to face interaction. This virtuality concept will be extended to the consumer market where all purchases and business transactions will be performed on-line.

The B2C market is rapidly expanding. Companies are sponsoring computers and Internet access to school systems across the country. Recently, AOL, announced a plan to equip all schools in Mississippi with computers and access to the Internet. Although the intent is to ensure these children have the necessary tools to compete in today's society, consumer purchases will increase as school agers become familiar with this technology. AOL scores big points for this win-win situation.

E-Commerce and brick-and-mortar companies will have to co-exist to survive in 2000. Depending on the nature of the business, the ratio mix of where companies invest marketing and development dollars will swing more towards e-commerce. Some companies' brand identify will automatically draw Internet traffic to their sites; thus, this becomes a factor in determining the appropriate ratio mix.

Companies that are not embracing the Web will lose in the end. However, those that are, will have to constantly monitor Internet activity as part of their market research function to steer long and short term strategy. Companies that will have an easier time embracing the web are those that offer consumer products i.e. Kmart, Target, etc. and those that make consumer products i.e. Maybeline, pharmaceuticals, etc. However, those that offer services i.e. hair salon, could take advantage of the web marketing opportunities.

I expect brick-and-mortar companies to enjoy a shorter development cycle to prime time status due to outsourced solutions such as Doubleclick, BeFree, Kana. I expect brick-and-mortar business such as auto repair and child care to make slow expansions to on-line marketing that drives prosects to their existing flesh and blood relationships.

E-STRATEGIES & TRENDS NEWS
This section sponsored by - ECnow.com, please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com

ToC

Web Retailers Pressured on Profits
Wall Street is sounding a loud cry to e-retailers: Show us the money! Internet retailing stocks have been on a freefall recently, and analysts are steering clients away from the sector until there are signs that these companies are starting to reduce their losses.

Security Concerns Keep Women from Shopping Online
Concern about the safety of ordering online is the biggest stumbling block to more women shopping on the Net, according to a recent study from researcher Cyber Dialogue.

Retailers May Miss Out On New Net Customers
Bricks-and-mortar retailers slowly moving to the Internet need to hurry up, said a keynote speaker at the National Retail Federation 2000 conference on Monday.

Are Beyond.com's woes a sign of things to come?
Welcome to what may well be the "year of the shakeout" for online retailers.

Trouble Indemnity for Web Sites
It was inevitable: Insurance for e-commerce Web sites -- protection against loss from malicious crackers and unstable equipment -- is an acknowledgement that digital disasters can cause as much damage as any physical calamity.

Food: The Final E-Frontier
Messy, bulky and perishable, groceries aren’t easy products to sell online. So it’s no wonder the food business has lagged behind other industries in Internet sales. Industry types are looking to speed things up.

Couch Peddlers Love B-to-B, Too
For a while now, stores have been selling furniture online, even as the media scoffs at the very idea.

E-tailers look for profits with Net-only products
Taking a page from direct sales companies such as L.L. Bean and Dell Computer, a growing number of e-commerce firms are introducing products that consumers can only buy online.

Boo.com Trims its Bottom Line
Seventy editorial staff members fall victim to fashion site's post-Christmas "headcount reduction."

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
The mad dash to create e-commerce sites is forcing prudent business practices out the window. Instead of testing first and then deploying, e-tailers are deploying first, then testing.

The Customer Information Backlash
Customers are tired of giving up their personal information only to have it used without their knowledge in ways that don't offer them any benefit. Smart companies are going to start giving customers their information back. All of it. In a format that lets customers share their information not only with you, but with your divisions -- even your competitors.

Business-To-Business E-commerce To Soar
Business-to-business e-commerce will show blistering growth in the coming years, with the worldwide market expected to expand to $7.29 trillion by 2004, more than 50 times larger than in 1999, a market research company said on Wednesday.

The Future of Retailing
The future of retailing will be in advanced showrooms without cash registers, without any turnover and without price tags. Retailers will become big entertainment centers - the "Disney Worlds" of shoes, cars, and so on.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wal-Mart?
On January 1 Wal-Mart opened the latest version of its online store, and the consensus among the press and analysts was much the same: Be afraid, they wrote, be very afraid.

New year spells tough times for e-tailers
Despite booming holiday sales, Web retailers can't seem to get a break from Wall Street.

Failed Blackmail Attempt Leads to Credit Card Theft
In what may be the largest credit card heist on the Internet, an 18-year-old Russian cracker claims to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers from an online store and dispensed them to visitors of his Web site.

E-Tailers Dodge Christmas Bullet
The Toysrus.com almost-disaster at Christmas was important from a number of perspectives. It not only demonstrated that we are past the novelty phase of e-commerce, but also showed that how well an e-business is run can determine its success and failure.

Report: Women Enjoy E-Shopping Less Than Men
While women now comprise 49 percent of online users, they still lag behind men in online shopping, according to the latest American Internet User Survey published by customer relationship management firm Cyber Dialogue.

DoubleClick sued over privacy
The Web advertising company is accused of unlawfully obtaining and selling consumers' private personal information without their consent.

Report: Healthcare E-Commerce to Hit $370 Billion by 2004
A new research report estimates that the healthcare industry will reach $370 billion in online transactions by 2004.

Study: Online Consumers Willing to Pay More for Food
Convenience and quality, not price, are the major motivators for online grocery buyers, says a new study.

IBM hones B2B apps, message
IBM is about to plant a very large foot in the middle of the business-to-business e-commerce marketplace.

AltaVista targets B2B e-commerce with new unit
AltaVista is planning to launch a new business unit to sell the company's search technology to business-to-business e-commerce firms.

NYToday.com to offer local dinner reservations
NYToday.com and OpenTable.com together plan to help New Yorkers pick a local restaurant, then reserve a table--direct from their desktops.

ICOMS To Outsource Fraud Screening
Internet Commerce Services is looking to help e-retailers take a bite out of crime. The company, which provides transaction processing and fulfillment services for companies on an outsourced basis, is teaming up with eHNC, the electronic commerce subsidiary of HNC Software, to add credit-card fraud detection to its services platform.

Mercury to launch load testing service
Load testing the performance of a new e-commerce site before it goes live will get a bit easier and less expensive with the advent of a new service from Mercury Interactive Corp.

New E-Commerce Site Raises Bar on Competitiveness
A new site called Nosaleisfinal.com that allows shoppers at both Internet and bricks and mortar stores to learn if they received the best deal in time to cancel or return a purchase and buy from a store offering a better deal.

Priceline kicks off "yard sale" site
Internet pricing firm Priceline.com said today it had launched an e-commerce Web site bringing together buyers and sellers of second-hand goods in a virtual yard sale.

Outsourcer offers one-touch service
Get the customer to click "buy" on your site and a new outsourcing firm backed by USWeb co-founder Joe Firmage says it will take care of the rest.

UPS helps online grocers cart goods
Roadnet Technologies, a subsidiary of United Parcel Service that concentrates on solving logistical problems associated with home delivery, will license hardware and software systems to online grocers to help provide their customers next-day or same-day delivery.

Web Shoppers Vexed by Poor Customer Service, Survey
The final week of holiday shopping proved the toughest for Internet retailers as consumer satisfaction evaporated after many so-called "e-tailers'' failed to provide adequate customer service, a recent survey found.

Future of E-Commerce May Rest on Customer Service
Now that the shopping has been done, the real fun starts. Returns, exchanges, gifts that didn't make it home for the holidays... It's time for e-tailers to flex their customer service muscle, and their future may very well depend on it.

Glitch-free online shopping tips
Holiday disappointments change consumer behavior

Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your ShopBots
The artificial intelligence laboratory at the University of Michigan is organizing a competition to find a champion software-based shopping agent.

Airlines' Ticket Comparison-Shop Site Cleared for Takeoff
As industry consolidates, the as-yet-unnamed venture hopes to compete with other sites' name-your-price model.

Customer Service Goes Virtual
Personalized beauty-care site Reflect.com is making a big bet on an innovative new form of customer interaction replacing service reps with software.

Online Customer Service Tough To Implement
E-tailers are scrambling to come up with the right solutions to satisfy customer service needs. While the most comprehensive solution is to provide live representatives, it is also the most expensive solution. Many cost-conscious online merchants are looking at natural language processing software. The big question is whether it will work.

Can Exchanges Put Energy Into E-Commerce?
Ariba, Commerce One pair off with petrochemical corporations in hopes of beginning b-to-b-eautiful friendships.

E-Business Means E-Relationships
Web retailers must gain consumers' loyalty and trust before making the sales pitch.

Tax Planning With ISOs
One of the most popular and useful forms of stock-based compensation is the incentive stock option, or ISO. Rapidly growing e-commerce companies, which are always short of cash, see options as a way of conserving cash; and, employees see options as a way of participating in company growth.

It's Not Big Brother, It's Customer Service
Many companies are making it possible for e-commerce sites to pipe live customer service representatives to shoppers over the Internet. The company representatives -- however unseen in the background -- are sometimes able to get in contact with Web shoppers, many of whom believe they are browsing the Net unobserved.

Outpost Leaves Data Unguarded
Outpost.com lets you track your orders online -- and everyone else's too. A security glitch leaves names, purchases, email, and shipping address exposed.

The Internet Retail Revolution
Although the shape and form of retailing has continued to evolve throughout history, its significance to society in distributing goods and services cannot be understated. To get an idea of how important retailing is to our economy, one need only look at current figures.

Amazon.com Tops Shopping Sites
More than one in four Internet users did part of their holiday shopping online. So how come sales fell short of Ernst & Young's US$15 billion predictions?

Online Consumer Spending Growth Slowing
The rate of growth of online spending per person is declining even though total online retail spending is increasing, according to a study by the The Wharton School of Business.

E-Holiday Sales Peak During 2nd Week of December
Online shopping reached its peak during the week of December 6th through 12th, according to a Goldman Sachs / PC Data Online survey that was released today. Spending then fell from $1.25 billion to $495 million during Christmas week December 20 – 26 , as online visitors turned to greeting cards and computer game sites.

AOL users spend billions over holidays
Internet giant America Online said members of its service spent $2.5 billion shopping on the Internet during the holiday season, a total that more than doubled from the same period last year.

Consumables Market Takes Larger Share of E-Commerce
Total online retail sales during 1999 are expected to reach $66 billion, according to ActivMedia Research, and the buying of consumable products will lead the way into the next century.

Would you buy an Old Master online?
How about a New Master? Online galleries are hoping to make art lovers -- and buyers -- out of us all, using the power of the Internet.

Affiliate Marketing's Last Stand?
Two years ago at this time, affiliate marketing was flying under everyone's radar. Last year at this time, affiliate marketing was a real hot topic. These days, it's mostly under the radar again.

"Dot coms" look to score from Super Bowl ads
Super Bowl Sunday may not wind up so super for Internet companies that are spending huge chunks of their marketing budgets on the advertising world's premier showcase.

Pet Sites Vie To Be Top Dog
Startups, chain stores, and venture capitalists alike are all betting big bucks on building the perfect online pet store.

Virgin Megastores keeps customers in hand
Virgin Megastores next month will offer 10,000 preferred customers a free personal digital appliance that they can use to browse the Net--but not before logging on to Virginmega.com.

CyberCash Denies Fault in Security Breach Case
After coming under heavy scrutiny for an alleged software failure that allowed an unidentified hacker to purloin and publish confidential credit card information on the Internet, CyberCash has issued a terse statement denying that its product contributed in any way to the security breach.

E-commerce sites target women
The Web sites with the highest percentage of women viewers last November, the start of the holiday shopping season, were toy retailers, women's portals and greeting card sites, according to a report released on Monday.

BizTalk: All Talk?
Key pieces of Microsoft's e-commerce strategy are still missing in action.

IBM lukewarm about Microsoft's 'proprietary' BizTalk
A key IBM executive, in an interview here at the company's Partner World 2000 conference, said Big Blue will only support the BizTalk Framework -- a Microsoft-developed framework for describing how the Extensible Markup Language is to be used in business-to-business commerce -- in Windows environments.

Channel Companies Invest In First E-Business Hub
Channel giants Ingram Micro Inc., Tech Data Corp., Avnet Inc., Arrow Electronics Inc., FDX Corp. and Softbank said today they have collaborated to help create the first e-business hub for the IT industry. The venture, Viacore Inc., is a service provider developing the first e-commerce business-to-business hub linked with RosettaNet Internet-based language standards and designed for the IT industry, organizers said.

Consumer sites adopt barter model
A new crop of start-ups and their heavyweight financial backers are betting that the next wave in consumer e-commerce will have people trading their belongings without cash.

Exchanges for Everything
Buyers and sellers are leveraging the power of auctions for every good imaginable. Are you ready to compete in the new exchange economy?

Gartner ultrabullish on B2B
The market research firms sees big things ahead for the B2B commerce market and for the B2B market makers.

Amazon buyers choose Barnes & Noble for returns
Amazon.com touts a quick and easy return policy, yet some of its customers find it easier to return books at rival Barnes & Noble superstores

Commerce One, Ariba in B2B e-commerce battle
Online procurement rivals Commerce One and Ariba are engaged in a marketing battle for the ages.

Attention shoppers
Top consumer goods manufacturers wisely look to ally with Web grocers while it's still cheap.

Manufacturers Grapple With Online Sales
Just as Amazon.com has led millions of would-be entrepreneurs toward the e-commerce promised land, so too has the success of Dell Computer led countless manufacturers to believe that their future success rides on the ability to sell directly to consumers over the Internet.

Luxury Watchmakers Are Web Wary
Luxury-goods companies like Europe's makers of high-end watches are getting increasingly uneasy about the Internet, which threatens to loosen their control over distribution.

'Be Prepared' Not Just a Motto in Post-Y2K Era
The peaceful passage of the Y2K weekend hasn't prompted massive returns, online retailers say.

The Y2K Bug Was in the Channel
There is a serious Y2K problem, after all, and it originates from Cybercash's ICVerify unit, recently victimized by a cracker-embezzler who tried to post 300,000 credit card numbers online. The problem lies in those terminals merchants use to process credit card transactions, and how they got them. It's estimated that some 6,000 stores are impacted.

ToysRUs.com Sued: Santa Failed
A customer files a class-action suit against the toys giant Internet division because it couldn't get the gifts under the Xmas tree in time.

Barter Exchanges on the Internet
The Internet is an ideal medium for bartering goods and services. Barter exchanges, when brought to the Web, enjoy a great potential for growth. The tax rules for recognizing income from bartering transactions present no great difficulties. The rules that apply outside the Web will apply equally to Internet-based transactions.

Can FedEx Get Up to Net Speed by Slowing Deliveries Down?
With its stock in the dumps, the air express giant reorganizes operations to better reach the e-commerce customer on the ground.

Ship happens: Same-Day Delivery Woes
Ordering online gets easier with practice. Actually receiving what you ordered, however, can be more of a challenge. Until goods can be beamed up, Star Trek-style, e-commerce companies will keep coming up with new delivery strategies.

Study: retailers remain unready for online sales
Despite the growth of e-commerce, many offline companies remain unprepared to compete on the Internet, according to a new study.

GM pushes for Toyota to join e-commerce site
General Motors is intensifying its talks with Toyota Motor to involve the Japanese automaker in TradeXchange, and it is open to offering Toyota a stake in the new business-to-business e-commerce site, a senior GM official said today.

Vertical Portals Pick Up Steam
Microsoft, SAP and a host of newer players are seeking new ways to reach target markets.

Disney's Go.com narrowing focus
The company's online directory is changing its Web strategy, narrowing its focus to play up its strength as an entertainment destination.

Yahoo! Plans 'Group Buy' Service
Navigation hub Yahoo! is preparing to launch an aggregated selling service in the second half of the year, a move signaling that the idea of "group buying" may be on the verge of becoming a mainstream part of Web commerce

Internet shoppers are a new source for charitable donations
Each morning, Paula Duffy powers up her computer and takes on the weight of the world.

New Ranking Service Shuns Leading E-tailers
Customer service portal Feedback Direct joined the ratings game this week by launching the Feedback 50 online companies with the best customer service operations.

Will NBC viewers become Net shoppers?
NBCi and ValueVision will invest in Roxy.com, an online consumer electronics store, as part of a broader strategy to turn TV viewers into Net shoppers.

CNET gained 6M shopping 'leads' in December
The online technology company CNET Inc. Thursday said December shopping activity on its site was more than double year-ago levels.

Commerce: E-Marketplaces Getting Connected
Name the commodity or service and there soon will be an Internet marketplace specializing in bringing together buyers and sellers for that sector.

Marketplaces Where Businesses Meet
In the world of business-to-business Internet commerce, it has become difficult to keep up with the rapid-fire creation of so-called e-marketplaces -- the darlings du jour of the investment community.

B2B E-Commerce Transforms Chemical Industry
Chemical auctions, exchanges and a variety of e-commerce sites have altered the way that chemicals are bought and sold worldwide, according to Forrester Research.

Web Markets Booming
A bumper crop of electronic marketplaces blossomed onto the Internet scene Monday.

UPS sees regulations hamper Latin e-commerce
Tariffs, cumbersome customs rules and other government regulations are a big hurdle to electronic commerce throughout Latin America, according to a leader of U.S. deliveries-giant United Parcel Service Inc.

European E-Commerce To Hit $1 Trillion by 2004
According to a new report by Forrester Research, European e-commerce will grow at triple-digit rates over the next five years to a total of more than $1 trillion

No e-taxes, says CES panel
E-commerce isn't ruining bricks-and-mortar businesses and should be left alone, Virginia governor says.

U.S. Hispanic E-Shoppers Indifferent To Language
Spanish-language online retailer Espanol.com has found that few Hispanic Internet shoppers in the United States care whether their shopping destinations are in English or Spanish.

European E-Christmas Sales Fly, But Not Profits
Online shopping boomed across Europe over Christmas as expected, but Internet retailers piled up heavy losses and goods were often delivered late.

Japan convenience stores in e-commerce battle
The battle for Japan's fast-growing e-commerce market among operators of huge convenience store chains intensified on Tuesday when five firms teamed up to compete with top chain store operator Seven-Eleven.

Net Taxes: When, Not If
Economics will force tax equality for online and offline merchants.

European E-Commerce Still Lags Behind U.S.
Despite recent gains, European e-commerce still lags behind online sales in the United States, according to a new study from International Data Corporation

Singapore encourages e-commerce with incentives
Singapore said on Thursday it had approved its first two companies under a tax incentive scheme to encourage firms to set up regional e-commerce trading centers in the city state.

National Retailers Mull E-Tax
The din of whether to tax Internet commerce is destined to become louder Jan. 18 when the 99 member board of the National Retail Federation votes to take a position on the issue."

U.S. Culture Pervades Global E-commerce
Outside the United States, consumers are increasingly shopping online, but it's a young market slowed by security concerns, a developing infrastructure, and cultural risks, said speakers at a conference in Ontario.

Pushing for a Crackdown on Auto Sales Done Directly Online
Internet companies that sell cars directly to consumers are encountering stiff opposition from auto dealers, who are using their influence in state legislatures and with state regulators to protect their businesses.

A Merry e-Christmas for UK?
It appears that many people in the UK went online to find the cheapest prices for gifts - but then headed to the high street to buy them.

Web brings boom for small businesses
UK e-commerce minister Patricia Hewitt launches a national award scheme for small businesses who go online.

’E-commerce backers are targeting Latin America, but its a tough sell
Latin America is heralded as the next frontier for electronic commerce. But making e-commerce happen in countries such as Mexico will require overcoming some serious obstacles. Antiquated back-office computer systems, inefficient distribution networks and widespread credit-card fraud have kept many businesses from jumping online.

CMGI's Engage buys Flycast and Adsmart
Engage Technologies agreed to buy the two smaller Internet-advertising companies from majority holder CMGI for $2.5 billion in stock

Medtronic enters alliance with Healtheon/WebMD
Medtronic, a maker of medical devices, said today it has formed a $100 million, four-year partnership with Healtheon/WebMD to provide health care information over the Internet.

CA Expands E-Services Portfolio
Computer Associates International Inc. has acquired a minority stake in I-Storm Inc., a specialist in developing and operating e-commerce Web sites. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but CA was said to have paid $2 million-plus for an under-10 percent share of I-Storm. CA will have a seat on I-Storm's five-member board

Microsoft Takes B2B Stake In VerticalNet
Microsoft is making a play to get more directly involved in the business-to-business marketplace arena by taking a large equity stake in VerticalNet.

New York Times to spin off Net division
The publisher files to raise as much as $100 million in an initial stock offering for a tracking stock to represent its Internet business division, the Times Company Digital.

VC firms hot on trail of B2B startups
The venture capitalists who flocked to the Showcase conference in Palm Springs were gaga to find new business-to-business opportunities.

Softbank considers additional banking operations
The Japanese Internet investor is in informal talks with Fuji Bank on an online banking venture as it tries to push to the forefront of the restructuring of Japan's financial industry.

PricewaterhouseCoopers denies report of IBM ties
The Company denies a report that it is considering selling its consulting unit to IBM or teaming up with the computer maker.

A new spin on e-commerce
More and more large companies are spinning off their e-commerce units to maximize valuations. The rewards could be great, but so are the risks.

CNET Acquires mySimon
Internet publisher CNET Inc. Thursday acquired comparison shopping service mySimon for $700 million.

Time Warner, EMI rock the music world
AOL's new partner, Time Warner, will become the world's largest record company -- controlling about 20 percent of global market.

What EMI deal means for the Web
AOL-Time Warner-EMI deals have rocked the music business and showed it finally awakening to the not-so-distant multimedia future.

B2B expert Breakaway buys Eggrock for $250M
Breakaway Solutions Inc. today announced it will acquire systems integrator and consulting firm Eggrock Partners in an all-stock deal valued at about $250 million.

IBM and SAS enter e-business partnership
IBM and SAS Institute Inc. on Monday announced a partnership to tighten integration between IBM's DB2 Universal Database and SAS analytic software and to provide enhanced consulting services to e-businesses

Ask Jeeves buys Direct Hit
Search company Ask Jeeves Inc. will acquire Direct Hit Technologies Inc. in a deal worth around $507 million. The deal calls for Ask Jeeves to exchange 5.12 million shares, approximately 12 percent of the company, for Direct Hit. Ask Jeeves closed at $99 Monday

Commerce One to buy product information manager
Commerce One (Nasdaq: CMRC) slid in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company announced plans to issue 870,000 shares as part of a deal to buy a system for online catalogs.

Mexico retailer to buy CompUSA
Mexico-based retailer Grupo Sanborns said today it plans to acquire computer retailer CompUSA in a tender offer worth $10.10 per share.

Wal-Mart, Accel To Create Web Company
The discount retailer late Thursday said it is partnering with venture capital firm Accel Partners to create a stand-alone Web retailing company carrying the Wal-Mart brand.

Cisco, IBM join forces on e-business offerings
IBM and Cisco Systems Inc. added some meat to an ongoing technology alliance today, announcing two initiatives that could help IT managers better manage Internet transactions

Airlines join forces on new Web site
American Airlines, US Airways and other carriers have signed up to offer tickets, including Internet-only discounts, on a Web site being created by United, Delta, Northwest and Continental.

Nearly two dozen U.S. and foreign airlines have signed up to offer tickets, including discounted Internet-only special fares, on a Web site being created by UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines.

Net Perceptions buys data analysis vendor
Net Perceptions Inc., a maker of software that enables e-business Web sites to deliver personalized Web content to surfers, is fortifying its portfolio with the $126 million acquisition of a data-analysis developer.

Independents merge to fight the flower powers
Proflowers.com and Flowerfarm.com joined forces today to compete in the fast-growing online flower market.

Drugstore.com Buys Beauty.com
Online pharmacy Drugstore.com is buying cosmetic retailer Beauty.com for about $42 million in stock.

MGM, Blockbuster team for Net movie delivery
Film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the home of classic musicals and holder of the rights to 19 James Bond movies, today reached agreement with rental giant Blockbuster to find ways to give customers movies via the Internet.

BroadVision to buy Interleaf, profit nearly triples
BroadVision, which makes software for Internet commerce, said its fourth quarter profit rose 287 percent, and announced it would buy Internet e-commerce software maker Interleaf.

Ariba, Ernst & Young in E-Commerce Deal
Ariba Inc., a maker of software to help businesses use the Internet to buy supplies, said Monday it had entered a deal with Ernst & Young LLP to provide products and services for electronic commerce.

Online merchants seek to improve e-commerce
Electronic commerce executives said they want to make online shopping better than any experience in a physical store at a conference of Texas e-commerce companies.

Amazon.com Announces Layoffs
Amazon.com Inc. said yesterday that it will lay off 150 employees as part of a company-wide reorganization, just five days before it is expected to report further losses in its fourth quarter. The Internet's largest retailer wouldn't say why it's cutting staff. But a spokesman said the firings are not related to the losses. The layoffs will be spread across its divisions and hit mostly at its Seattle headquarters. The company has 7,500 employees, up from just over 2,000 a year ago.

Beyond.com hits hard times
CEO Mark Breier will step down and the company will lay off almost 20 percent of its work force. Beyond.com will lay off around 20 percent of its work force in a restructuring move that will shift the company’s focus away from consumer sales.

Barnesandnoble.com CEO closes chapter
Jonathan Bulkeley, just a year on the job, is leaving the online bookseller to focus on investments. Barnesandnoble.com Inc., the online bookseller in heated competition with Amazon.com Inc., has lost its chief executive after just one year on the job.

TheGlobe.com founders step aside as CEOs
Online services firm Theglobe.com Inc. said on Thursday that joint CEOs Stephan Paternot and Todd Krizelman were stepping down as the leaders of the company they founded five years ago. Theglobe.com said it would initiate a search for a new chief executive with a view to taking over during the second quarter

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THINGS TO PONDER

Is there another word for synonym?
Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice?"
When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their signs?
Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?"
If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?
If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

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408-257-3000 (Phone)
E-mail: General (VMS3.Executive.Producer@ecnow.com), Webmaster (webmaster@ecnow.com)
Copyright © 1999-2009 by ECnow.com, Inc., All rights reserved