Architects of E-Marketing Strategy

Shopping online has become a fashion statement with most people. Be it convenience or fad, thousands of people are learning to buy products and services online. Online shopping is not restricted to B to C segment alone. B to B segment happens to be larger than B to C and the transactions carried on are of much higher value. However online banking, online insurance, travel booking and buying books, music and CD etc happen to be the most favourite and often used services by people.

When you look at any business or industry vertical you will find that the product lifespan is shortening, consumer behaviour is changing so also is the business Organisation changing. To keep up with the changes be it in the market or technology, organisations are slowing beginning to understand and accept the reality that change is the only permanent solution. How fast an organisation is able to change and adapt to the new environment will determine how well it will perform in the market. Technology is the architecture of every business Organisation today. Embracing, investing and integrating technology has become inevitable. The CTOs of the Company are partnering with the Managements in guiding the future of the Organisation.

Today’s CTOs have major strategic responsibilities in the Organisation. They are required to scan the environment, analyse the future trends and equip the IT architecture of the Business Organisation to be able to survive and perform well in the years to come. Especially in the case of E Business, the CTOs have got to ensure that the backend enterprise architecture is able to deliver the business performance.

E Commerce model demands immediate business delivery on the part of the Organisation. This is possible only when the business is built on and integrated using ERP applications. IT applications supporting E Commerce models have got to be integrated seamlessly with the internal ERP systems as well as the third party systems that have been bundled together to facilitate seamless transactions. Any problem faced by customers in any of the online transactions, be it caused due to the system failure from the Company or from the third party service provider, could result in loss of confidence in the Company and resultant loss of business as well as risk of damaging one’s reputation.

Amazon has managed to score phenomenal success in its online selling business. They have managed to provide seamless process for the online buyers. Further, the online buying experience and satisfaction is enhanced by providing prompt and immediate deliveries which ensures customer loyalty and retention. To back up the online sales module, Amazon has set up equally efficient Order management and fulfilment systems coupled with physical infrastructure in terms of setting up warehouses in strategic locations, holding and managing inventories, fast and accurate operations in terms of order picks and despatch. The inventories of the warehouse are integrated with the Order management applications as well as the third party transport| courier service providers. Thus from the point of sale to order processing, inventory, shipment, tracking as well as POD recovery, systems drive the processes. This is not all; online payment is supported by third party bank that provides financial transaction support. All these and many more systems and IT architecture makes up for the Online Sales model of Amazon a runaway success.

E Marketing or E Commerce strategy therefore needs to involve the active participation and ownership not only from the Management and Marketing but also the IT |Technical teams too. It is the IT teams who become the principle architects of designing and implementing the E marketing strategy of the Company.