This document summarizes key aspects of electronic commerce in the service industries. It discusses how ordering journals electronically for a large university saved $365,000 per year by automating the process. It also describes how broker-based services like travel, employment, real estate, and stocks have benefited from electronic agents that can automate many value-added tasks previously done by brokers. Specifically, it outlines services provided in the travel and tourism industry through electronic commerce platforms.
2. 1. Ordering Journals Electronically
How a large university automated the
purchasing of magazines and journals,
saving $365,000/year
Direct Marketing: Buyer-to-seller; orders and
payments
Market maker charges $5/transaction Vs.
about $40 (conventional agents)
Ordering time reduced by up to 80%
2
3. 3
2. Broker-Based Services
Brokers work as intermediaries between buyers
and sellers
Agents basically make the markets
Agents provide many services
Most of the value-added tasks of brokers can be
automated
Major electronic agent-based services
travel
employment
real estate
stocks
electronic auctions
at-home banking
insurance
4. 4
Service Industries Vs. Manufacturing and
Product’s Retailing
Broker-Based Services (cont.)
Service Industries
pure EC substantially reduced cost
bank and brokerage houses
• possible digitization of the entire process
travel and real estate agents
• viewing an online video clip or seeing photos of a hotel
or a house for sale
Manufacturing and Product’s Retailing
physical delivery cost may be high
5. 5
3. Travel and Tourism Services
By the year 2000, close to 25 percent of all
business-to customer Internet commerce will be
related to tourism
The Internet is an ideal place to plan, explore,
and arrange almost any trip
6. 6
Services Provided
Information and booking
of airlines, hotels, cars,
and even golf courses
Fare comparisons
360 degree
video tours of
top destinations
Electronic Travel
magazine
Tips provided by people
that experienced certain
situations (like a visa
problem)
Pictures of major
attractions
Providing maps
Information about
entertainment and ticket
purchasing (such as
www.ticketmaster.com)
Converting 200
currencies
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
8. 8
Benefits and Limitations
Limitations
Not all people
use the Internet
It may take a
long time to find
what you want
People are still
reluctant to
provide credit
card numbers
Benefits
Free information is
tremendous
Free information is
accessible anytime
Substantial
discounts
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
9. 9
Corporate Travel: New Business Model
Corporations have additional special discounts
Companies can make arrangements for employees to plan and book
their own trips.
The Impact of EC on the Travel Industry
Porter’s framework of competitive advantage:
The five forces impact the competition in any industry i.e. new entrants,
substitute products, the bargaining power of buyers, the
bargaining power of suppliers and the rivalry of the competing
companies in the industry.
Focus:
Environment, competitive responses, firm’s strategy
The industry is clearly transformed by IT.
Taking away some functions traditionally performed by travel agents
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
10. 10
Impacts on the industry
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
Multimedia helps customers understand the
products
Offering of lower-cost trips
Providing a more personalized service
Saving money in a paperless environment
Increasing the convenience of getting
information at home
Supporting a customer-focused strategy (such
as targeted advertisement and integration of
products); push information to customers
11. 11
Travel agencies, as we know them today, will
disappear
Only their complex value-added activities will
not be automated
These complex activities will be performed
by a new breed of intermediates
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
12. 12
The Future
Travel and Tourism Services (cont.)
Collaborative organizational process performed
by multiple organizational intelligent agents
Acting autonomously
Work cooperatively
Work collectively to achieve the collective goal
Example — How will your next vacation be
planned, booked and paid for?
14. 14
The Employment Placement Market
Job markets
Employers are looking for employees with
specific skills, and individuals are looking for a
job
Very volatile market
Moved to the Internet
Millions of job seekers, hundred of thousands of
jobs
15. 15
Shortcomings of the Non-Internet Job Market
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
Cost—Classified ads are expensive.
Life cycle— Unless renewed, at an additional cost, the
life of the ads is only days or weeks.
Place— Most ads are local. Nationwide ads are very
expensive. International ads are even more expensive.
Minimum information— Because of the high cost, the
information provided is minimal and may not appeal to
some job seekers.
Search— It is very time consuming for individuals to find
all relevant newspapers. A trip to a library results in
finding only major out of town newspapers.
16. 16
Finding applicants— Most job seekers, in the pre Internet
era, did not place ads about their availability. Some sent
unsolicited letters with resumes. This situation made it difficult
for companies to find employees with special skills. They had to
use employment agencies and pay them high commissions.
Matching— It was difficult to match candidates to open jobs
as well as to match supply and demand.
Lost and dated material— Some applications or letters
of response tended to get lost, or arrive late. A letter in a big city
may travel two weeks to arrive at a distance of a few blocks.
Speed— Communication by mail is slow and so is the
processing of a large number of applications. Frequently,
employers lose good employees, since by the time the
application is processed, the applicant had taken another job.
Similarly, applicants accept less desirable jobs because they are
afraid to wait too long.
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
17. 17
The Internet Job Market
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
The Internet offers a perfect environment; it
is especially effective for technology-
oriented jobs.
Job seekers
Job offerers
Recruiting firms
Government agencies and institutions
18. 18
The Advantage of the Electronic Job Market
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
For job seekers
Ability to find very detailed and timely information on a
large number of jobs world-wide
Ability to quickly communicate with potential employers
Ability to post resumes for large-volume distribution
Ability to search for jobs quickly from any place at any
time
Obtain several support services at no cost
• writing resume career development how to
interview
Find employer profile & industry guides
• www.valuereports.com
19. 19
For employers
Ability to advertise to a large number of job
seekers
Ability to save on advertisement costs
Lower the cost of processing (using electronic
application forms)
Ability to provide greater ‘equal opportunity’ for
job seekers
Ability to find highly skilled employees
Ability to conduct tests quickly, online
Ability to change and update ads quickly
Ability to fill up positions rapidly
Interviewing from distance
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
20. 20
The Limitations of the Electronic Job Markets
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
Many people do not use the Internet
Security
Privacy
Lack of face-to-face contact
21. 21
Major Services Available on the Net
Finding a job
Writing and posting resumes
Career planning
Newsgroups
The Intranet Job Market
Most companies organize an internal electronic
job market
Openings are posted for employees to look at,
and search engines enable managers to identify
talents even if the people were not actively
looking for a job change
The Employment Placement Market (cont.)
22. 22
Cyberbanking and Personal Finance
Electronic banking
Saves time and
money for users
Offers an inexpensive
alternative to branch
banking
Application Case:
Cyberbanking at
Wells Fargo
23. 23
Implementation Issues in Banking and Online
Trading
Cyberbanking and Personal Finance (cont.)
Encrypted
SSL Session
& Digital
Certificate
Verification
Initiated
External
Firewall
B of A
Web Server
Internal
Firewall
B of A
Application
Server
Bank of America Security System
Logon Screen
•User ID
•User Password
B of A
Web Site
Customer’s
Computer
Securing Financial Transactions
Application Case: Security at NationsBank
24. 24
Using the Extranet
Imaging Systems
Pricing Online Vs. Offline Services
The Future of Banking
building alliances quickly with banks, and
software vendors, and information providers
effective outsourcing without neglecting to build
in-house skills, particularly with respect to
customer information systems
focusing on the profitable customers to provide
broad channels for services and products
keeping a central role in the payment
environment
Cyberbanking and Personal Finance (cont.)
25. 25
Alternative Strategies for Banking
Customers’ Agents— banks unable to achieve economies of scale
Offer customers the widest possible choices, including products
from multiple sources, and provide the customers with integrated
information services
Product Manufacturers— banks able to achieve economies of
scale
It will strengthen a trend that can already be seen in a number of
product segments and in core processing services for small and
medium sized institutions
Integrated Players— banks with a strong brand and position from
manufacturing to delivery
Many banks will adopt a hybrid strategy, but every player needs
to make crucial decisions about which areas are strategically too
risky to outsource and which capabilities need to be built up in-
house
26. 26
Billing Online
Automatic transfer of mortgages
This method has existed for several years. The
payer authorizes its bank to pay the mortgage,
including tax escrow payments.
Automatic transfer of funds to pay monthly
utility bills
As of fall 1997, the city of Long Beach has
allowed its customers to pay their gas and water
bills automatically form their bank accounts.
In 1999, many utility companies worldwide,
including those in Hong Kong, allow customers to
pay from bank accounts, or ATMs.
27. 27
Paying bills from online banking account
Billing Online (cont.)
Consumer
Bill Consolidator Billers
Phone
Credit Card
Utility
Such payments can be made into any bank
account. Many people pay their monthly rent and
other bills directly into the payee’s bank
accounts.
28. 28
A merchant-to-customer direct billing
Billing Online (cont.)
Under this model, a merchant like American Express
posts bills on its Web site, where customers can
view and pay them . This means that the customers
have to go to many Web sites to pay all their bills.
Several utilities in Los Angeles allow customers to
pay bills on the utilities’ Web site, charging
customers 20 cents per transaction, which is less
than the price of a postage stamp.
29. 29
Using an intermediary
According to this model, a third party like
MSFDS (Microsoft and First Data Corporation)
consolidates all bills related to each customer in
one site, and in a standard format. Collecting a
certain commission, this intermediary makes it
convenient both for the payee and payer to
complete transactions. This model is of interest
to vendors such as E*Trade, and Intuit.
Personal finance online
Available from many banks and other financial
institutions, frequently free of charge.
Billing Online (cont.)
30. 30
Used when the conventional marketing
channels are ineffective or inefficient
Offer trading opportunities for both buyers and
sellers which are not available in the
conventional channels
Internet provides much cheaper infrastructure
with many more involved sellers and buyers
Individual consumers and corporations alike can
participate in this rapidly growing and very
convenient form of electronic commerce
Auctions: From Theory to Practice
31. 31
Types of Auctions
Auctions: From Theory to Practice (cont.)
Auction
Type
Co-ordination
Mechanism
Price
Discovery
Allocation
Mechanism
Distribution
Mechanism
Buyer
Role
Short term acquisition
of resources, e.g. for
demand peaks, auction
as a mechanism to
achieve an equilibrium
Often experts/
professional collectors
trying to acquire rare
items at a reasonable
price
Bargain hunting,
gambling motive
Bargain hunting,
gambling motive;
possible side motive:
charity
Supplier
Role
Short term allocation of
resources, load balance
Exposing items for
sale to a sufficient
breadth of demand,
hope for a high price
Clearance of
inventory
Attention, direct
sales channel, public
relations; possible
side motive: charity
Auctioneer/
Intermedi-
ary
Role
Often electronic auction
without auctioneer
Achieve high breadth
and depth of the
auctions, high trading
volume results in high
returns, competitive
advantage over other
auctions
Achieve high breadth
and depth of the
auctions, high trading
volume results in high
returns, competitive
advantage over other
auctions
Limited role because
of 1:n supplier -
buyer relation;
possible function as
service provider for
the supplier side
32. 32
Limitations of traditional auctions
Last only a few minutes for each item sold
Give buyers little time to make a decision
The bidders do not have much time to
examine the goods
Exclude many potential bidders
May be complicated for sellers to move
goods to the auction site
Commissions are fairly high (rent,
advertising, auctioneer and other employees)
Auctions: From Theory to Practice (cont.)
33. 33
Electronic Auctions
Auctions: From Theory to Practice (cont.)
Early auctioning done on local area networks
the auctioning of pigs in Taiwan and Singapore
the auctioning of flowers in Holland
the auctioning of cars in Japan
Auctions on the Internet started in 1995
similar to offline auctions, except for the fact that they are
done on a computer
some last days, others a short time
detailed information is available
start bidding by sending e-mail or filling out an electronic
form
names of bidders are kept coded to maintain privacy
34. 34
Auctioning methods
Yankee method
Dutch (Reverse bidding) method
“Straight sale” method
Examples
www.usaweb.com/auction.html ; a directory of
sites, search
Onsale, eBay, uBid
Auctions: From Theory to Practice (cont.)
Electronic Auctions
35. 35
Benefits
For seller
• Sells goods efficiently
• Sells goods with little action
or effort
• Creates a greater range of
potential buyers
• Sells excess inventories
quickly via this process
For buyers
• Gets a huge variety of goods
• Finds quality goods for largely
discounted prices
Limitations
Inability to
physically see the
items
Possibility of
fraud
Less competitive
atmosphere may
prevail on the Net
Benefits and Limitations
Auctions: From Theory to Practice (cont.)
36. 36
Impacts
Parameter Impact of the Web
Auctioneer Lower entry barriers, opportunity for direct sales
Access rules Customizable, theoretically millions of potential customers
can be reached
Items
auctioned
Focused product segments can be auctioned off, the
technology extends the complexity of the product
description
Trading rules The trading rules reflect the lack of a guaranteed service
Execution
process
For digital products the entire trading cycle can be
handled on the Web; for physical products the trading
process and the physical logistics of the trade objects can
be separated, leading to a reduction of costs
37. 37
Online Publishing
The electronic delivery of newspapers,
magazines, news, and other information
through the Internet
Online Publishing Today and Tomorrow
Today— mainly used for disseminating
information and for conducting sales
transactions interactively
Tomorrow— include more customized material
that the reader will receive free, or will pay for
38. 38
Publishing Modes
newspapers, magazines, news, textbooks,
music, artwork, video clips, and movies
Publishing Methods
online archive approach— a digital archive such
as library catalogs and bibliographic databases
new medium approach— add extra
comprehensiveness to any issue or topic
publishing intermediation approach— an online
directory for news services
dynamic or just-in-time approach— create
content in real-time and transmitted on the fly
Online Publishing (cont.)
39. 39
Virtual Teaching and Universities
Knowledge Dissemination
Many universities are offering limited courses
and degrees but use innovative teaching
methods and multimedia support
MBA program in Hong Kong
lectures are delivered as an interactive TV (iTV)
students can decide what and when they want to
‘attend’ the lecture
lecture, support material, exercises etc. are
provided on the Web
40. 40
Online Consulting
Knowledge Dissemination (cont.)
Medical advice— provide consultation with top
experts
Management consulting— provide accumulated
expertise from knowledge bases
Legal advice— delivery of legal consultation services
to business has considerable prospects
Financial advice— offer extensive financial advice
Other service online
insurance, healthcare, future exchanges,
matchmaking, venture capital, finding a college, digital
delivery of documents, and electronic stamps