Deciding Which Type of E-Commerce to Pursue?

Deciding which type of E-Commerce we would like to pursue, we can look at 4 different types of sites. By looking at the strengths and weaknesses of these sites, we can determine which type of site would best fit the needs of Grandma's Treats, a cookie company.

First, Bodacious Food Company (2005), storefront and portal combination website. It is a business to business and business to consumer company. They also offer a portal to retail stores where you can go and purchase their products. In their website they have additional information such as nutritional information and background information on how their company was started, and can view their most recent televised ad. They have a technical advantage over their competitors by being able to offer their food in bulk over the internet.

Cheryl & Company (2005) is a storefront website. They are a business to consumer company. They have shorefront shops located though out the United States. According the Food Network (2005), special on Recipe for Success, they struggled to get into the brick and mortal storefront business. Then the owner came up with a good idea. If she offered gifts, she could get cheaper rates in shopping malls for her lease. This was key element to her success, it allowed her to keep her costs lower then other snack companies. They also offer corporate gifts. They have a technical advantage over their customer by being able to drop ship corporate gifts for their clients.

Confetti Cakes (2005) is what I would consider to be a brochure site. It allows you to view products that they make for special occasions. However you must call or drop by her shop to order any of the products. This site allows those that would come into the store wanted to purchase one of their cakes, to look over with friends and family at home their different options in ordering. This gives Confetti Cakes a technical advantage over other specialized cake companies by allowing them to put up their latest creations, and allowing potential buyers to view and make decisions on their orders in the comfort of their home.

The last site I would like to compare is the Gourmet Food Auction (2005), it is an auction and portal combination site. It is a site that allows gourmet food producers to establish a link to their site. They hold auctions where the gourmet food producers can auction off their food for sampling and consumers can bid on these items. Gourmet food producers who use this site have a technical advantage over their competitors allowing for their food to reach more consumers.

For Grandma's Treats, the best model would be the storefront and portal combination site. Similar to that of Bodacious Food Company (2005). The company would be most profitable using these types of business to business and business to consumer site. It will allow the company to expand their sales to caterers and restaurants, while still allowing the company to sell its low sugar cookies to the consumer. Consumers visiting the site could find where they could purchase the cookies on a local basis, or order the products online to be shipped to their home. Those consumers who didn't want to wait for shipping could find a local restaurant to purchase the cookies.

We would offer dynamic pricing model to allow for discounts to caterers and restraints and other small stores. We would even offer a bulk pricing to consumers for special events such as weddings and graduations.

Any company that produces its own products would best benefit from this type of site. It will save their company money from having to open up their own store fronts by allowing them to sell their goods to other companies for distribution to consumers, but also allows those that wish to purchase directly to do so.

References

Bodacious Food Company, Retrieved May 16, 2005 from http://www.bodaciousfoods.com .

Cheryl & Company, Retrieved May 16^th, 2005, from http://www.cherylandco.com .

Confetti Cakes, Retrieved May 16, 2005, from http://www.confetticakes.com .

Food Network (2005), Recipe for Success show, Episode RA1A06, Aired May 10, 2005 12:30 PM ET/PT.

Gourmet Food Auction, Retrieved May 16, 2005, from http://www.gourmetfoodauction.com .