February 2000 Newsletters

Weekly E-Commerce Management Strategy Update February 27, 2000

by Donald L. Joseph, CMC

Here are the major stories on E-Commerce Management and Strategy this week. Please feel free to contact us for additional information on any of these clips.

Last week's interview with the authors of Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy brought more feedback than any other article we have included in any issue. Clearly its message challenges the traditional beliefs of executives and consultants.

But a similar message has been at the heart of virtually all of the e-commerce strategy articles or presentations we have seen recently. Some of the labels are different, but some are not. "Disintermediation" and "deconstruction" are becoming generally used.

One message is clear. E-Commerce is a strategic issue for every business. The first company achieving "critical mass" in market penetration has a good chance of being the sole survivor. Sector-leading businesses start out with the opportunity to be the survivor. Most E-Commerce strategies pose some threat to existing distribution channels and internal organizations. They may also cannibalize existing sales. Near-term profitability is doubtful.

Clearly such deconstruction of the present business model takes courage and flies in the face of most executives' own experience. But if they don't do it, someone else will.

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Here are the major stories on E-Commerce and Y2K this week. Please feel free to contact us for additional information on any of these clips.

TOPICS FOR THIS WEEK INCLUDE:

######### HOW TO DO B2B

######### U.S. STEEL MAY BEGIN WEB SALES SOON

######### B-TO-B PORTALS WORRY INDUSTRY: E-MARKETS MAY CUT MANUFACTURERS' PROFITS

######### REPORT: GLOBAL E-COMMERCE NEEDS MORE TIME, INVESTMENT

######### THE WOULD-BE WEB ENTREPRENEUR'S REVELATION: "THE INTERNET HAS NO PROFITS!"

######### THE BIG CHALLENGE: HR STAFFS TACKLE TASK OF MELDING DOT.COM UNIT INTO FIRM

######### NAM SURVEY FINDS RELATIVELY LITTLE BIZ-TO-BIZ E-COMMERCE

######### Y2K WATCHDOGS ON ALERT FOR LEAP-YEAR ROLLOVER PROBLEMS

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>>> Weekly E-Commerce and Y2K Update—February 20, 2000 <<<

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One of the best explanations we have of the impact of e-commerce on
business strategy is Blown to Bits—How the New Economics of
Information Transforms Strategy (by Philip Evans and Thomas S.
Wurster, Harvard Business School Press, 2000). Please read the
interview with the authors for a good perspective and an explanation
of some of the new terminology.

We conclude with a couple of Y2K updates.

Please continue to send us feedback on how well we are meeting your
needs.

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Here are the major stories on E-Commerce and Y2K this week. Please
feel free to contact us for additional information on any of these
clips. 

Topics for this week include:

######### INTERNET PORTALS PLAYING A GROWING ROLE IN SMALL BUSINESS
MARKETING STRATEGIES

######### B2B E-COMMERCE TO BECOME MORE GLOBAL - GARTNER

######### FREE SPEECH ON THE NET? NOT QUITE

######### BANKS WARNED OF HACKER ATTACKS

######### E-BUSINESS SERVICE DENIED

######### "BLOWN TO BITS"—AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHORS

######### WHITE HOUSE DECLARES Y2K "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"

######### Y2K BUG STRUCK 100 TIMES IN JANUARY-PRESS SURVEY

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>>> Weekly E-Commerce & Y2K Update February 13, 2000 <<<

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We are indebted to Business Week for two excellent articles. The first
covers the major news story of the week: the denial-of-service attacks
by hackers on several leading web sites.

The second explains how prospect and customer information can be
exploited by new technology to create sales and marketing efforts
tailored to the desires of individual customers. This has been dubbed
"one-to-one marketing" by others in the field. We plan more
discussions on this in future editions.

Because these lengthy articles repeat most of this week.s news and the
e-commerce concepts contained in the other material we collected,
there are only four items this week.

If you know of small or medium-sized companies that could benefit from
the kind of integrated information solutions described in these
articles, there are now easy-to-use, low-cost solutions for them.
contact us for more information.

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Here are the major stories on E-Commerce and Y2K this week. Please
feel free to contact us for additional information on any of these
clips. 

TOPICS FOR THIS WEEK INCLUDE:

######### FIRST YAHOO! THEN EBAY. THE NET'S VULNERABILITY THREATENS
E-COMMERCE--AND YOU

######### AN EAGLE EYE ON CUSTOMERS

######### FROM E-COMMERCE TO CRM: THE DATABASE AS CORE SYSTEM 

######### NO EASY TASK TO BUILD E-COMMERCE INFRASTRUCTURE 

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>>> Weekly E-Commerce and Y2K Update-February 6, 2000 <<<

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Bill Stocking, Principal of Northbrook Consulting Group will lead the
presentation, "Ten Tips to make the Internet Work for You - A
Consultant's Perspective", at the February 11 breakfast meeting of
the Institute of Management Consultants Chicago Chapter at the
Rosewood Restaurant in Rosemont, IL. Guests are welcome. Call
312/280-1385 for reservations.

If you know of a small or medium-size company that wants to automate
its sales and marketing systems and fully integrate them with their
financial and operations management systems, we may have the answer.
It is powerful, low-cost, extremely easy to use, and can be easily
customized to fit the needs of most companies. Contact us for more
information at

Northbrookconsulting@mail.com

Please continue to send us feedback on how well we are meeting your
needs.

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Here are the major stories on E-Commerce and Y2K this week. Please
feel free to contact us for additional information on any of these
clips.

TOPICS FOR THIS WEEK INCLUDE:

######### GE CAPITAL TO FLIP SWITCH ON PROCUREMENT PORTAL

######### WEB'S CHALLENGES EXTEND TO TRADE ASSOCIATIONS 
AND SOCIETIES

######### NEW STUDY EXPECTS HUGE GROWTH OF B2B SOFTWARE

######### US LAWMAKERS TO SEEK PERMANENT BAN ON INTERNET TAXES

######### PRIVACY: OUTRAGE ON THE WEB

######### GRAINGER'S NET INCOME DECLINES 57%ON COSTS TIED TO 
SOFTWARE PROBLEMS

######### UPS CREDITS E-BUSINESS IN PROFIT INCREASE

######### DOT-COMS SEEK SYNERGY WITH RETAIL PARENTS

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