In developing an e-business strategy some initial determinations must be made. One determinant is whether you are selling a product or service. The less apparent determinations involve business patterns and highlight observed interactions between users, businesses, and data. They are the fundamental building blocks of e-business solutions, and describe the interaction between the participants in an e-business solution. These determinants in combination with your expertise, are the tools at the core of the i-Way Solutions Executive Assessment.

Product Strategies

Companies offering a tangible product take advantage of the Web by offering product specifications, pictures and, secure online ordering. Transaction processing, community, immediacy, and interactivity are desirable for Internet consumers. Your strategy will differ depending on whether you are selling to consumers, other businesses, or to both.

Business to Consumer (B2C) selling to the public requires secure credit card, checking account, or savings account transactions. The options for payment should include phone and fax as well as secure online transactions. Manufacturers and merchants fall into this category.

Business to Business (B2B) transactions may be more complex. Efficiencies through cost reduction are a common goal. How much money could be saved by conducting your bidding process on line? Could you track and control your vendors and their delivery to you (JIT)? How could your transactions be made more efficient? These transactions involve different financial instruments based on your business model. Intranets and extranets can provide cost savings for a business and its suppliers. This category can include manufacturers and merchants who need to interact with suppliers.

Service Strategies

Service companies utilize the Internet to provide information for current and future clients. Customer service and functionality figure highly in the design process. E-commerce opportunities for service oriented companies rely on their ability to improve their service. Call backs from a web page, appointments on line, automatic responses, each can have an immediate effect on sales in your web site.

The finance industry needs to convey information through the website, allow the download of financial documents, and provide for efficient communications. Some financial companies may need to stream data on rates and indicators. Databases and streaming sources can augment the standard information provided from a site. Secure areas can be set up for Partners to provide private exclusive communications. Private areas can provide private deal financing, offers, and communications. Newsletters can become a way to keep the financial community returning to your website for fresh content. Newsletters can be automated and self-serviced to encourage return visits and ease maintenance requirements.

Security companies can extend service through live cameras in secure client areas. Private camera access, recording and playback, and audio response to intruders can all be a part of a secure interface. Physical security can be scheduled and verified through these same interfaces. CRM functions include customer access to billing and accounting statements, and automated notifications of intrusions to mobile devices as well as phones.

The Healthcare industry can enhance patient response through CRM approaches. Automating the process of replying to client requests and updates. This can be done though private on line conferences or more general e-mail communications. Information must be up to date and germane to subjects that clients are looking for. Lectures and demonstrations can help patients to learn about their illnesses and doctors learn about new treatment methodologies.

Hospitality is based on service to the customer, member, or participant. These people may need to make a reservation, schedule an appointment, or find specific information. Clubs, nonprofit and professional organizations need to focus on the exclusive needs of their memberships. CRM functions feature heavily in an implementation. A call center is an ideal way to automate access for dining and activity reservations from any location. This call center should be in a secure area where only authorized members can access it. Chat rooms can facilitate communications on a topic in a secure way between groups within the organization.

Non-profits need to inform, instruct, and solicit funds. Streaming videos, a call center, and automated access to documents are all important to the education and instructional focus. Donations should can be made through secure interfaces. These same priorities exist for political parties and politicians.

Business Patterns

Business patterns highlight the most commonly observed interactions between Users, Businesses, and Data. They are the fundamental building blocks of most e-business solutions, and describe the interaction between the participants in an e-business solution. i-Way Solutions uses four basic business patterns: Self-service, Collaboration, Information Aggregation, and Extended Enterprise. The patterns for e-business interaction include: User to Business (U2B) User to Online Buying (U2OB) Business-to-Business Integration (B2Bi) Business-to-Business e-Marketplace (eMP) User to Data (U2D) User to User (U2U) and Application Integration.

The Self-service business pattern

The Self-service business pattern, also known as the User-to-Business or U2B pattern, captures the essence of direct interactions between interested parties and a business. Interested parties include customers, business partners, stakeholders, employees, and all other individuals with whom the business intends to interact.

Self-service Examples:

• Insurance Industry
  
• Brokerage
  
• Banking
  
• Telecommunications and Wireless
  
• Government
  
• Manufacturing
  

The Collaboration business pattern

The Collaboration business pattern, which is also known as the User to User or U2U pattern, enables interaction and collaboration between users. This pattern can be observed in solutions that support small or extended teams who need to work together in order to achieve a joint goal.

Collaboration Examples

• e-mail
  
• Bulletin boards
  
• Newsgroups
  
• Instant messaging
  
• Team rooms
  
• Online meetings
  
• Ad hoc workgroups

The Information Aggregation business pattern

The Information Aggregation business pattern, which is also known as the User to Data or U2D pattern, can be observed in e-business solutions that allow users to access and manipulate data that is aggregated from multiple sources. This Business pattern captures the process of taking large volumes of data, text, images, video, and so on, and using tools to extract useful information from them. These tools may personalize data to suit user preferences, distill summary information from large volumes of data, use algorithms to identify trends hidden in the data, or answer users' hypothetical "what-if" questions about potential business scenarios.

Information Aggregation Examples:

• Strategy and Planning
  
• Product Analysis
  
• Marketing Analysis
  
• Sales Management
  
• Service Management
  
• Customer Service Analysis
  
• Internal Process Management
  

The Extended Enterprise business pattern

The Extended Enterprise business pattern, which is also known as the Business-to-Business pattern or B2B pattern, addresses the interactions and collaborations between business processes in separate enterprises. This pattern can be observed in solutions that implement programmatic interfaces to connect inter-enterprise applications. In other words, it does not cover applications that are directly invoked using a user interface by business partners across organizational boundaries.

Cross Industry Examples

Buy Side

• Direct Procurement (SCM)
  
• Indirect Procurement (MRO) Supply chain execution
  

Sell Side

• B2B e-commerce (Distributors)
  
• B2C e-commerce (Consumers)
• Trading Partner Modernization
  
• EDI Modernization

Exchange Participation

• Private e-exchanges
  
• Public e-exchanges

Industry Specific Examples

Manufacturing

• Supply chain planning
  
• Supply chain execution
  
• Vendor Managed Inventory

Travel

• Checking flight or room availability
  
• Making or modifying reservations

Retail

• Checking supplier inventory
  
• Placing replenishment orders
  
• Paying suppliers automatically

Financial

• Transferring payments
  
• Checking account balances
  
• Obtaining credit information
  
• Loan Origination
  
• Processing securities

Telecommunication

• OSS Integration
• Cross organization order management
• Managed service provider interconnect