e-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success (2nd Edition)

Description

Revolutions begin with attacks on the language. Todays managers are bombarded with an alphabet soup of technology acronyms such as CRM, ERP, and SCM. Managers must manage in the fog of this technology revolution. Kalakota and Robinsons book provides a lens for managers who want to understand the terminology and take action--to grasp the opportunities or defend against the invading virtual competitors. When the history of e-business is written--perhaps sooner than we think--this book will go down as a management landmark that helped clear the fog of mumbo jumbo and provided a beacon through which managers could chart their course. --Michael Quinn, eStrategy Director, B2B Commerce Ltd. To survive and succeed in todays complex business world, all companies--from established industry leaders to feisty upstarts--must develop a strategy that allows them to take maximum advantage of the latest trends in technology. Successful companies have implemented focused e-business strategies to build cutting-edge enterprises that serve and retain customers, manage suppliers, and integrate selling chains better than ever before. Others, unfortunately, are lured into ill-fated ventures by the ever-chIn e-Business 2.0, Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson present a survey of how the processes of business have changed as a result of computer-assisted communications, data storage, and data analysis. They explain recent technological advances--and those that may take place in the near and middle future--and explain how companies that sell products and services might put them to profitable use. With an emphasis on companies that sell things to large numbers of consumers, the authors argue convincingly that information technology isn t an end in itself, but a tool that can facilitate valuable changes in business processes.

This is a book for managers and organizational planners, but it commits none of the sins typical of such books. It neither oversimplifies technical matters nor serves as a mere platform for catchy phrases and obtuse illustrations. e-Business 2.0 is properly focused on the big technologies on which successful companies will capitalize. Kalakota and Robinson argue that it s a good idea to supplement live salespeople with self-service sales facilities, such as those on a Web site. They call this a part of selling-chain management.

The authors also explain how inefficiencies in the selling chain can make it prohibitively expensive to provide built-to-order products, which consumers increasingly want. They then present solutions: Internet and customer relationship management (IRM and CRM) software, sales automation systems, and proposal-automation tools. In each case, they cite specific examples (usually companies and products), enabling readers to dig deeper into specifics if they want. Similar attention goes to enterprise resource planning (ERP), trend-spotting tools, and half a dozen other technologies. Read this guide as you think about how to make strategic changes in your company s operating practices. --David Wall

Topics covered: Recent developments in technology that change the way companies do business, particularly in terms of determining and fulfilling customers needs and interacting smoothly with vendors. More broadly, this book deals with sharing information efficiently among all relevant parties inside and outside an organization. Technologies covered: Internet sales infrastructures, customer relationship management (CRM) suites, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, knowledge management tools, and data warehousing and analysis products.