Transcript Turning Momentum into Dominance

What Parts of E-Commerce
Should You Consider
Outsourcing?
presented by:
David Strom
David Strom, Inc.
(516) 944-3407
[email protected]
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
1
Summary



Outsourcing is not really a black or white
decision
Types of outsourcing services available
Typical vendors involved
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
2
Buy, Build or Rent?



Buy suite of software
Build it yourself
Rent or outsource to a eCommerce ISP and
other service providers
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
3
Why Buy or Build Your Store?



Control, trust issues
You have the staff and skills involved
Delusions: “I could do that myself”
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
4
The Cold Hard Reality of Suites






Suites are nothing more than a collection of
products
Lack integration among various elements
Difficult to setup, customize, and use
Require you to live “inside” their structure
Limited payment options
Sounds like early MS Office
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
5
Types of Outsourcing







Web server hosting
Payment processing
Storefront creation
Email and customer management
Shopping carts
Catalog and inventory fulfillment
Ad banner, one-click networks
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
6
Web Hosting c. 1996



You used ISP’s hardware and web server
software
Not a lot of choices: Unix and Netscape
Who knew from eCommerce?
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
7
Web Hosting Today





BYO server hardware
Cobalt Qube, Encanto e.go and others
Apache is the standard server
Store providers such as Yahoo and iCat
Every ISP wants to host your store
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
8
Evaluating eCommerce ISPs






Do they offer storefront design?
Have in-house programmers?
Hosting of your own web server machine?
How many payment systems do they support?
What kinds of accounting reports do they offer?
What prices and packages offered?
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
9
Earthlink eCommerce Pricing
Program
Monthly fee
Setup fee
$20
$25
Total Access Acct.
20
(waived)
SSL cert.
20
10
Domain fee
0
75
eCommerce
40
175
$100
$210
Starter Site
TOTAL
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
10
Payment Processing Options



Use gateway to banking network, existing POS
devices
Install PC POS software and link to web
storefront
Use third-party address verification service:
www.plugnpay.com/page1.html

Outsource everything
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
11
Storefront Creation Options



Create all HTML yourself, using page or text
editors
Use tools from eCommerce ISP, such as
AOLpress (AOL) or Home Page Creator (IBM)
Use third-party package, such as
StumpWorld/Alpha or Sitematic
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
12
Email Options



Use third-party list processing firms, such as
eGroups
Install email/customer contact management
software, such as Mustang’s IMC
Outsource all email services, such as to
Criticalpath
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
13
Shopping Cart Options




Build your own cart using perl or other tools
Buy cart software and run on your own server
Make use of eCommerce ISP and their cart
Best resource: PoorRichard.com
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
14
Catalog Options




Run your own catalog or use a service
provider?
Fees are steep, sometimes 15% of total sales
Useful if you are selling physical goods
overseas
Typical vendors: Eliancecorp.com, Evergreen
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
15
Ad Banner, One-click Network Options



Who will serve your site’s ad banners?
Should you enable 1Click-type purchasing?
Typical vendors: qPass, 1ClickCharge,
LinkExchange, NetCentives, Doubleclick
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
16
Decision Tree

To evaluate your various eCommerce
outsourcing options

newmedia.com/NewMedia/99/07/techreport/commerce.h
tml
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
17
Panelists




Tom Saichek, Director, Operations
Remedy Corporation
Martin Roscheisen, CEO
eGroups
Jackie Magno, Dir. Customer Service Systems
Novell
Scott Blum, Senior VP, K-Tel
Interop Atlanta 99 C30
© David Strom Inc.
18