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A sudden change of perception, where a new door of opportunity opens as a traditional belief is overturned.
What happens when business meets the web? At first - a lot of confusion. But out of this confusion emerge new opportunities for businesses with the vision to thrive on the cutting-edge. In this section, I hope to share the possibilities with visitors and perhaps help your business achieve new levels of success by undergoing a Paradigm Shift.
Fulfillment: New Opportunities for Existing Companies
Fulfillment. Surprisingly, it's one of the least discussed aspects of Internet commerce, even in spite of the fact that consumers rank speed of delivery as one of their top priorities when purchasing goods and services online. (1)
While many companies are focussing on processing online transactions, there seems to be a wonderful opportunity for companies that can automate the transaction–to–delivery process.
Simply put, it is often cheaper for one company to come up with a solution that can be applied 100 times than it is for 100 companies to come up with one-off solutions. Couple that with the fact that many smaller companies handle their shipping indirectly through a third party warehouse or fulfillment company, and things start to get interesting.
Currently there are companies that specialize in fulfillment, processing orders for many different companies through 1-800 phone lines, as illustrated in Figure 1:
Figure 1
What I am proposing is simple. For companies that currently manage fulfillment through 1-800 and mail order, why not add Internet-based transactions to your service offerings, as illustrated in Figure 2?
Figure 2
This way, you can allow the client to create the "front door", which is the website through which people will learn about and order products online, while you manage the "back door", where the actual transaction processing and fulfillment will be managed.
One solution, for multiple clients, from companies that are already fulfillment experts. New technology applied to old processes, and cost-effective solutions for the business person that can save money and time by outsourcing the entire process to a single company. It is amazing what simple yet effective solutions can be found when one rethinks traditional processes and concepts for the digital arena.
- (1) "The 3 most important merchant attributes in considering a purchase are: On-Time Delivery, Product Selection, and Product In-Stock (availability)." Source: BinaryCompass, _The Spring 1997 On-Line Retail Commerce Report_, http://www.binarycompass.com/.
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Julie King is the co-founder and publisher of CanadaOne.com®
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