The Evolution of E-Commerce : How to develop a successful Strategy?

Abstract: E-commerce presents a new format for doing business. It creates an efficient, yet complex, system providing potential time and cost savings. The main question is then how a comprehensive strategy is developed to outline the new process. Whether an MNC can successfully develop an e-commerce strategy or not, depends on their understanding of customers within their global environment and the secure transfer of customer information. They must adjust their company operations to concentrate on identifying sources of customer relationship management, such as segmentation, needs and abilities, benefits, values, buying behaviour and trust aspects. Companies need to differentiate their ecommerce approaches from their competition, in order to enable and motivate their transition to an online system. In the case of our methodology, a qualitative, single case study approach of Electrolux Professional Laundry Group was used. Interviews of their customers and sales offices from around Europe determined their understanding and opinions of the closure of warehouses to concentrate on e-commerce within the company. Findings indicate that there is a need to clarify the role of the system, the safety of the customer's information and how it relates to the responsibilities of the sales offices in question. In addition, customers must be carefully researched in order to make the new system congruent with their purchasing preferences and abilities. Once created, a clear model is established to determine their affects on the process of creating a successful e-commerce strategy. Due to the increasing presence of e-commerce amongst competition in Electrolux's industry, the need to develop a detailed e-commerce strategy is crucial. Their products and services are some of the highest-rated in the industry, but their e-commerce system needs to be improved to match the standards of their well-known brand name. Therefore, careful development of their e-commerce operations will require detailed attention to every stage of the strategy process.