Chapter 12
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Business Plans for
Implementing
Electronic Commerce
Electronic Commerce
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Objectives
 Setting
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objectives for the benefits and
costs of electronic commerce initiatives
 Deciding which electronic commerce
project elements to outsource
 Selecting Web hosting services
 Use project management techniques to
plan and control e-commerce initiatives
 Staffing e-commerce activities
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Planning the Electronic
Commerce Project
 A successful
business plan for an
commerce initiative includes
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e-
Identifying the initiative’s objectives
 Managing the implementation of those
objectives
 Overseeing the continuing operations of
the initiative once it is launched

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Setting Objectives
 Should
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include expected benefits and
expected costs
 Measuring both benefits and costs is
becoming increasingly important
 Companies often create a pilot Web
site to test an idea
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Setting Objectives
 Benefit
objectives
Online surveys are used to gather data
from visitors to the Web site
 Statistical software is used to measure
length of visit, return visits, etc.
 Companies try to convert benefits of its
Web site into dollar amounts, which often
yield only rough approximations

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Setting Objectives
 Cost
Objectives
Web development often uses new
hardware and software, which makes it
difficult to project the exact costs
 Hiring, training, and paying the personnel
involved with the Web site accounts for
over 75% of the site’s total budget
 Annual cost to maintain a site is often
between 50% and 100% of its initial cost

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Comparing Benefits to Costs
Figure 12-1
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Internal Development
vs. Outsourcing
 First
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step in any e-commerce project is
to create an internal team who will be
responsible for the project. Members
should be
Knowledgeable about the Internet and its
technologies
 Creative thinkers
 Successful individuals, respected by their
peers

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Internal Development
vs. Outsourcing
 Early

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Company’s information systems
professionals work closely with the
outsourcing team and learn the new
technology before becoming responsible
for the project
 Late

outsourcing
outsourcing
Company’s information systems
professionals design, implement, and
operate the system, then outsource once it
is established
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Internal Development
vs. Outsourcing
 Partial

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outsourcing
Company identifies specific portions of the
projects that can be completely designed,
developed, implemented, and operated by
another firm that specializes in that
function
 Selecting

a hosting service
Factors to consider include reliability,
bandwidth, security, and cost
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Managing Electronic Commerce
Implementations
 Project
Management
A collection of formal techniques for
planning and controlling the activities
undertaken to achieve a specific goal
 Software products, such as Microsoft
Project and Primavera Project Planner
give managers an array of built-in tools
 Project Management Institute is devoted to
the promotion of professional project
management practices

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Project Management Institute Home Page
Figure 12-2
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Staffing the Operation
 Most
important areas of staffing and
e-commerce initiative include
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Business management
 Application specialists
 Customer service
 Systems administration
 Network operations
 Database administration

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Post-Implementation Audits
 A formal
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review of a project after it is up
and running
 Gives managers a chance to examine
the specifics for the project outlined in
the planning stage and compare them
to what actually happened
 Raises questions about the project’s
objectives and provides feedback on
strategies
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