1 12 Chapter 12 Business Plans for Implementing Electronic Commerce

2 12 Objectives u Setting objectives for the benefits and costs of electronic commerce initiatives u Deciding which electronic commerce project elements to outsource u Selecting Web hosting services u Use project management techniques to plan and control e-commerce initiatives u Staffing e-commerce activities

3 12 Planning the Electronic Commerce Project u A successful business plan for an e-commerce initiative includes l Identifying the initiative’s objectives l Managing the implementation of those objectives l Overseeing the continuing operations of the initiative once it is launched

4 12 Setting Objectives u Should include expected benefits and expected costs u Measuring both benefits and costs is becoming increasingly important u Companies often create a pilot Web site to test an idea

5 12 Setting Objectives u Benefit objectives l Online surveys are used to gather data from visitors to the Web site l Statistical software is used to measure length of visit, return visits, etc. l Companies try to convert benefits of its Web site into dollar amounts, which often yield only rough approximations

6 12 Setting Objectives u Cost Objectives l Web development often uses new hardware and software, which makes it difficult to project the exact costs l Hiring, training, and paying the personnel involved with the Web site accounts for over 75% of the site’s total budget l Annual cost to maintain a site is often between 50% and 100% of its initial cost

7 12 Comparing Benefits to Costs Figure 12-1

8 12 Internal Development vs. Outsourcing u First step in any e-commerce project is to create an internal team who will be responsible for the project. Members should be l Knowledgeable about the Internet and its technologies l Creative thinkers l Successful individuals, respected by their peers

9 12 Internal Development vs. Outsourcing u Early outsourcing l Company’s information systems professionals work closely with the outsourcing team and learn the new technology before becoming responsible for the project u Late outsourcing l Company’s information systems professionals design, implement, and operate the system, then outsource once it is established

10 12 Internal Development vs. Outsourcing u Partial outsourcing l Company identifies specific portions of the projects that can be completely designed, developed, implemented, and operated by another firm that specializes in that function u Selecting a hosting service l Factors to consider include reliability, bandwidth, security, and cost

11 12 Managing Electronic Commerce Implementations u Project Management l A collection of formal techniques for planning and controlling the activities undertaken to achieve a specific goal l Software products, such as Microsoft Project and Primavera Project Planner give managers an array of built-in tools l Project Management Institute is devoted to the promotion of professional project management practices

12 Project Management Institute Home Page Figure 12-2

13 12 Staffing the Operation u Most important areas of staffing and e-commerce initiative include l Business management l Application specialists l Customer service l Systems administration l Network operations l Database administration

14 12 Post-Implementation Audits u A formal review of a project after it is up and running u Gives managers a chance to examine the specifics for the project outlined in the planning stage and compare them to what actually happened u Raises questions about the project’s objectives and provides feedback on strategies