my
experience on e-commerce is not a good one. mostly regarding to online shopping
activities, most of time I preferred to use this online shopping to buy sports
items and jerseys, which is not available in domestic Sri Lankan market such as
the soccer jerseys of Chelsea football club, Byran Munich football club
jerseys, spring box (South Africa) national rugby team jerseys, mostly visited
website to buy those items are daraz.lk previous kaymu.lk but in there
interface those sporty item looks more colourful and attractive, but advertised
in there that these items are high quality ones and but offer no guarantee
after the sale. Two or three times I used to buy from them and prices was mostly
reasonable was offered option to pay
from credit card and also offered the delivery to the home with additional
charge.
but
there was not enough details available about the product and there was not any
after sales services, or guarantees about the product so the assessing their
marketing strategy there is not substantial effort to reduce perceived risk
level of the customers so the initially customer has to take high risk when
purchasing from them.
So,
I accepted risk and purchased from them. Since I live for away from Colombo.
regarding that their delivery efficiency was high but the packing was awful and
there was not only due care about the product. Product was not that mush colourful
and durable than they advertised in their site since there was no way to return
product once customer unsatisfied. That purchase was a loss from my prospective
and I had to bear that in two or three occasions.
As
an investor in Colombo stock exchange, I used to do my most of trading
activities via online trading flat form. My first CDS account with the TKS
securities put LTD and the early they had a system which was very attractive and
very mush user friendly one to do the transaction and was a most efficient
trading flat form to use because it has the all the technical tools to analyze
the trends on share trading especially.
-
It
was very much descriptive and all account details such as the current portfolio value, the cost
basis value, the cash amount on account, Total port folio balance, margin
balance on the account was on the interface and in one click you was able to
get the details summary of all the share and cost and their relative gain and
adjusted balance in one interface.
-
Due to the cost cutting policies which TKS (Pvt.) Ltd. adapted
they introduce new trading flat form and the initial logging password to that
flat form was very lengthy one and it took little bit more time to log on to
system.
-
Once log on to system the limited data was available on the
interface and he had to separately open few more drop boxes to get other
details unlike earlier interface. shifting among those drop boxes was tough and
some important details was not update especially margin balance. So we had to
take a phone call to investment adviser and he has to check with finance division
with the remain balance, so the online trading become a mess and I had to close
down the account and shifted to company which have maintain prevailing
interface.
This
was United Kingdom furniture seller and put product and saving front and center
in clean in visually stunning interface.
What works?
-
The products are featured in visually over powering way. The item
was too big and it feels like you can though it. Compare to other. Furniture
seller products feel more alive and vibrant.
Really get a better sense for what you are buying.
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Product Specifics, including delivery information and dimension
are all presented in friendly and intuitive format.
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The clean checkout, including guest option, makes completing
transaction painless.
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Recommendation from made.com staff reinforce the appeal of the
product and help given on added opinion for shopperson the fence.
amazone.com
This
has the industry leading abandonment rate is said to be around 65%.
What works ?
-
Most get top billing, the
price, your savings, custom rating its availability and its price in multiple
formats give the shopper the most information right off bat.
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Free shipping tied with
purchase urgency creates a compelling reason to buy now. knowing that the book
will be at your door step by soon solves for the instant gratification problem
that pulgs on line shopping.
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The buy button are set to the right on a different colour
background than anything else on the page, also the biggest element on the
page.
Group on
Their
checkout is a study in simplicity, social proof and instant gratification.
What works ?
a
house discount and group on hummers home just how much you will save buying
now. Most of discount are 50% and creating compelling reason to buy.
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The clock is literately ticking on a every group on deal. The
limited time frame creates a buy it or lose it impulse that makes a buying it
now safer than waiting and possibly missing out.
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Social proof, It is their name, group on shows you how many people
are buying the deal, validating your buying stinct and giving you the
confidence that others think it is a deal too.
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The checkout page is simple, clean from, making it easy to get
through and complete transaction.
Threadless.com
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A clean visual search page make it easy to see designs and quickly
brows through hundred of shirts design the filters are intuitive (size, style,
price) make a narrowing down available choices.
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The Product pages are on education in less is more with big images
and easy sizing options and giant “add to court” but that dominates pose.
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Social proof in the form of facebook likes, Tweets, Google+ are
shown on item’s popularity, reinforcing your purchase decision.
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Lack of Personal Touch
Will miss the touch and relationship that develop with retail
store
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Inability to experience product before purchase
They are many product consumers want to touch, feel, hear and
taste, smell before they buy. E- commerce takes away the luxury of that.
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Need for an internet Access Device
E-commerce can only be transacted with help of an internet access
device such as computer or smart phone.
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Need for an internet connectively
Not just does one need an access device, one also needs internet
connectively to participate in e-commerce
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Credit card fraud
Consumers and business alike suffer from credit card fraud. Some
doomsayers go so far as predict that fraud will lead to the demise of online
business.
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Security issues
Consumers can run the risk of identify fraud and other hazards as
their personal details are captured by e-commerce business.
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Delay in receiving goods
If shopping is about instant gratification, then customers are
left employ handed for sometime after making a purchase in e-commerce
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Inability identify scams
Consumers are often taken in by fly-by-night e-commerce web site
that look good but are up to no good. Scam artists often accept order and then
disappear.
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Extra ordinary high reliance on website.
For a e-commerce business, its web site is everything even a few minute
of down time can lead to a substantial loss of money.
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Multiplicity of regulation and taxation
Regulators are still not clear about tax implication of e-commerce
transactions. This is especially true when seller and buyer are located in two
different countries. This can be lead to multiplicity of taxation as well as
higher expenses on accounting and compliance.
-
Charge backs
Credit card issues are quite liberal in permitting charge backs
upon customer request. This put e-commerce business in a bad position if the
goods have already been delivered.
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Need for expanded Reserve logistic
In case at physical retail, customer are usually willing to travel
to the retail outlet to return or replace if required. But receiving goods back
is bigger night more on e-commerce business. This has led to the growth of the
reverse logistic functions.
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Easier to compare prices
There several shopping search engine and comparison shopping
website that help customers to locate the best price.
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No need for a physical store
Since there is no need for a physical store e-commerce bussiness
save on one of biggest cost overhead that retailers have to bear.
Through there is nothing about e-commerce that makes intractably
oriented to discounts the way online business has led to lowered prices on
line. this is an advantage for the buyer.
-
Lot of choices
Since there are no shelf size or store size limitations e-commerce
business are able to list any different items.
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Stores are open all the time
Eliminating the limitation of store timing is a bigger convenience
for customers.
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Ability to buy and sell to other consumers
Action sites and listing sites allow individual to buy and sell for
each other this operas whole new paradigm of e-commerce.
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Ability to have vendors bid for your business
Online business has opened new vistas for consumers. It is now
possible to list your requirement online and have supplier bid for your
business.
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Not about location
Conventional wisdom lay a log of emphasis the location of physical
store but e-commerce has liberated business from shackles of location.
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Ability to scale up rapidly
E-commerce business are able to scale up easier than any physical
retailers as they are not bond by physical limitations of self space. With the
choice of right third party logistic provider one can scale up one’s logistic
too.
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Unlimited self space
Being liberated from physical store also entails being liberated
from the limitation of self space. This allows e-commerce business to “stock”
wide range of products.
Since the e-commerce merchant captures contact information in the
form of e-mail sending out automated and customized e-mail is quite easy.
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Superior customization
Using cookies and other methods of monitoring a consumer’s behavior,
on e-commerce website can customize
may aspect of what customer sees.
-
Efficient procument
Because entire supplicant can be linked with business to business
e-commerce system, procument became faster ,transparent ,cheaper.
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Superior inventory management
If e-commerce business can tune in to order processing system of
their suppliers, they can maintain lower inventors and still not face stock out
situations.
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Reduce employers cost
Since e-commerce process automated to large extend fewer employ
are required for lower end jobs. Human
resources can be used more effectively for high level functions.
-
Ability to track logistics
Since effective logistics is the key to successful e-commerce
business, the ability to trigger
and monitor logistic
online is available
tool for the e-commerce business.
When I first learned about the Professor William Edwards Deming
idea that 95% performance should addressed to the system and only 5% to the
people it seemed totally counter intuitive to me. Not even the idea it self but
its consequences. I mean a simple thought that you can basically stop working
individually with people on their performance as it just not make any
sence. The impact of suboptimal system
improvement should be ten fold or better than the best possible people related
changers.
The original theory of 95 / 5 was not about performance I think
literal but about variability in performance. Let me use a sport analogy to
explain that let’s take a basketball player if he scores anything between 5 and
30 points game and neither of extreme is an extra ordinary bad or extraordinary
good game for him,variability of his performance high, as a comparison we can
have another guy, a second tier player who regularly score anything between and
0 and 5 points. Variability of his performance is significantly lower, Even
though his average performance is significantly worse.
Now is not surprise that system
govern variability, I mean the more repeatable the situation the less
variability you can expect . If the team player are consequently set to create
situation for one player his performance. will be sort of repeatable. He won’t
suddenly disappearing from the game. At
the same system also govern the variability of performance of a role player who
joins the game only under special circumstances (eg:- when team need more three
pointers or may be when one of important player is injured variability of
performance of such a play will be significantly higher).
Of course to some points system
also governs performance itself, think what happens when the star player sits
on the bench through out whole game or when a guy who is typically a sub
players in thewhole game. It does not mean, however that you tell a third-tier
player to substitute team leader and expect them to score 30 points a gone. It
is not going to happen in consistent manager.
What professor Deming was talking about basically that system
governance is responsible for creating stable and repetitive environment. So
people’s performances are controllable. Again it is not about how exactly
people perform but how their performance varies day to day.
It can be true to factory
floor in other words it is place where workers are suppose to produce same thing
in repeatable manner. I could exploit the basket ball analogy further pointing
that every game, every play is different, but I guess in software development
we simply do not need that analogy anymore it’s enough to ask him many time
have you built extract the same feature.
And for all sometime who accidently have this chance, but how many
times have you built the feature in second time in exactly some way you did
first.
I bring this argument to show that in knowledge work, or sport, we
naturally have significantly higher variability to deal with and unlike shop
floor that is good, what more there is different value attached to every single
thing we develop in fact even worse them that. Very often we do not know
exactly what value attached to each item we are going to build so we need to take
account both expected cost and expected pay off. Naturally is not consideration
on a shop floor as in this situation pay off or each part is well known. In
knowledge work on the other hand pay off function is extreamly important and
never flat.
Coming back to basket ball analogy it youwanted to bet which
player is going score 30+ points during next game would you rather chose
reliable guy who avarage 15 and who always score double figure but rarely, if
never exceeds 20 or rather crazy shooter who average is as well but depending
on the day can score either nothing or 40+ points. Bravo you have just chosen
higher variability. This is because you have taken pay off into account in
former case any pay off is almost impossible as because of low variability. it
is highly unlikely that the guy is going to score 30+ points. the other case is
different story though.
Now especially when we think about product development we are in
betting business, we bet that this or that feature will bring a ton of new
users or track load of money. We can’t ignore the pay off function, we can’t
assume the pay off functions flat. In either case we would be throwing the baby
out with the bath water.
Let’s try to translate low level many factoring process> The
production line would be a sort of process. Analyzes, coding, testing,
development what interesting thought is what is happening on each of these
stations how exactly the work done, who make
the decisions by whom the work is done. Take coding for example who
decides whether unit test are there or
not, how many of them, what kind of them, who decides on specific coding style
a manager. Most of even every, of those division made by coder or worker.
The conclusion of this theory is that in our world workers can be
influence the system heavily. Thus completely change the Demings equation. All
n’ all in knowledge work there is clear line that separates system from people
thus the whole notion of addressing the specific part of influence to one or
the other is flawed.
My massage in all that is that we should first understand our
work. How it gets done and what kinds of system we operate in. Because when we
think about that it is become oblivious that there is no simple way of
separating the people from the system in knowledge be work so the my argument
is people are equally important or sometime more important than system
according the types of work that engaged in and some time system are more
important in less variable, respected work.
