E Commerce Readiness Assessment Tool

1. E-Commerce Readiness Assessment Tool
By
Dr. Ratish Kakkad
Faculty Member
R.K. College of Business Management
Kasturbadham, Rajkot-360020
Just how ready is your company to develop an e-commerce site where you can sell
products directly?
This assessment tool is rough, but will help you pinpoint some of the hurdles facing
your company.
We're assuming, of course, that you have a product that is suited to selling directly
on the Web.
Points Your Company's
Awarded Score
COMMITMENT READINESS (45 pts. total)
Company Commitment to Web Sales (35 pts.)
Without serious commitment on the part of top management any web sales
initiative is seriously crippled, since commitment brings resources and removes
barriers. However, sometimes-full commitment comes only after some web sales
success, and many companies have built stores with only tentative or partial
commitment from top management. Select one of the following choices:
Little commitment at any level -50
Full Commitment at sales/marketing level only 15
Partial Commitment by CEO and top officials 25
Full Commitment by CEO and top officials 35
Your Company's Score _________
Competitive Environment (5 pts.)
The degree of threat from online competition has a way of affecting top
management commitment. Select one of the following choices:
No competition threat from Web sales 0
Minor competition threat from Web sales 1
Moderate competition threat from Web sales 3
Major competition threat from Web sales 4
Acute competition from Web sales 5
Your Company's Score _________
Distribution Chain (5 pts.)
Distribution chain factors can create ambivalence in commitment to Web sales, and
therefore severely retard the process.
Committed to no sales on company website, display and referral only -25

2. Web sales will cause major distributor/dealer resentment/defection -20
Web sales will cause moderate distributor/dealer -10
resentment/defection
Web sales will cause minor distributor/dealer resentment/defection 0
Web sales welcomed by distributors/dealers who receive 5
commissions for sales in their regions.
No existing distribution chain to disrupt 5
Your Company's Score _________
CONTENT READINESS (25 pts. total)
The content is what the online shopper sees. Of course you'll need a graphic look-
and-feel, but the core is the product database and photos. Don't underestimate the
time to prepare these carefully.
Product Database (15 pts.)
The basis of an online store (except the very smallest store) requires a spreadsheet
or database containing SKU, product name, price, weight, description, etc.
Full product data exists only in page-oriented program such as -10
Quark, PageMaker, or Frame Maker. Since this will take not only data
entry, but a basic systems change in order to become efficient, count
this as a negative
Give points for each of the following fields included in an existing
spreadsheet or database.
SKU and Product Name 5
Price 2
Weight 2
Full description 2
Category/Subcategory 2
Filename of product photo 2
Your Company's Score _________
Product Photos (10 pts.)
For most products, photos are an important motivation to the customer to actually
complete the sale.
Do not exist -5
Obtainable from catalog printer at cost per photo 5
Exist as print or transparency 5
Exist in digitized form easily obtainable 7
Exist in Web-ready format (dimensioned) 9
Exist in Web-ready format optimized for minimum file size 10
No product photos required 10
Your Company's Score _________
SYSTEMS READINESS (20 pts. total)
Companies often underestimate the importance of the systems that support Web
sales. These may not be essential to launch readiness, but they are vital to
efficiency and profitability.
Mail-Order Experience (10 pts)

3. Companies that have only sold in physical retail stores are at a disadvantage, since
the distribution requirements for online sales are substantially different than in-
store sales. Customer service, order tracking, and shipping systems are vital.
Existing direct sales and mail order companies have a leg up here. This category
applies equally to inventory and drop-ship models.
No company mail-order fulfillment experience 0
Minor company mail-order fulfillment system already in place 3
Major company mail-order fulfillment system already in place 10
Your Company's Score _________
Legacy Computer Systems (5 pts)
The larger the company, the more important are connections to existing backend
inventory, accounting, and order fulfillment systems. This does not kill web
readiness, only web sales efficiency. Many companies, however, choose to develop
an online sales presence prior to full integration so they don't lose market share.
Select one of these measures of relative ease of bridging from Web ordering from
end to existing systems.
Very difficult and expensive 0
Moderately difficult and expensive 2
Relatively easy and inexpensive or no existing system 5
Your Company's Score _________
Internal Maintenance Staff (5 pts.)
Online stores must be maintained on a regular basis by in-house staff, not
outsourced. Select one of these two choices.
Maintenance staff budget commitment or in place 5
Maintenance staff inadequately budgeted or planned 2
Maintenance staff not budgeted or planned 0
Your Company's Score _________
DEVELOPER READINESS (10 pts. total)
Site Developer and store software readiness require some important decisions. (a)
selecting a developer to construct an online web store and (b) selecting a store-
building software environment in which to construct the store. Choose one of the
following:
Neither developer nor store software selected 0
Store software selected, but not developer 5
Developer selected, but not store software 5
Store software and developer selected 10
Your Company's Score _________
YOUR COMPANY TOTAL _________
Now add up your company's score in the right column and total it to determine your company's
"Readiness Score."
Readiness Score
A lot of blood, sweat, and tears
Under 50 pts.
ahead

4. Some elements in place, but
51 to 60
others need preparation
61 to 70 Good start
A lot of work, of course, but
71 to 80
you're well on your way.
Your online store will require a
81 and above major effort, but you're well
positioned already.
Dr. Ratish Kakkad
Faculty Member
R.K. College of Business Management
Kasturbadham, Rajkot-360020