Taking baby e-steps

Phased e-commerce means setting small goals that are measureable and manageable

by Shawn Lee -- Industrial Distribution, 1/1/2001

What is phased e-commerce? It sounds complicated and high-tech, but it's not.

It is an approach in which you set up small independent phases and goals for your overall e-commerce plan. The chief advantage is to make the process measurable and manageable.

Phase 1-Sketch out your long term goals.

This step almost always determines the success of your plan. Figure out: what goals you need to reach for your site to be a success in the first year, in the fifth year? Which steps in the sales process can be automated? Can you start off without ERP integration and move into it later?

Phase 2-Locate your digital assets.

This data may be in mainframes and is sometimes difficult to find in the desired format. It may be a mix of Word documents, PDF's, Quark documents, or on laptops. Check with the printer of your last brochure. Once you have found it, there are conversion tools to help you extract this data.

Phase 3-Build or assemble your e-commerce shell.

Custom development offers you flexibility to do exactly what you want. In comparison, an off-the-shelf product gives you 80 percent of what you want, with an open source so you can develop the rest to fit your needs. That may give you exactly what you're looking for with the stability of a proven platform.

Phase 4-Clean and load the data.

This is usually the most time-consuming measure, and requires checking your data with a fine-toothed comb. The goals are to make sure all the data is correct and in the right formats, to know all the products that are available, and to track down any missing information.

Phase 5-Go live with light implementation.

Get orders going through the system so you can catch any problems your new system might have. It is key to not only focus on technical problems. Remember that the customer now expects this whole process to move much faster and to be kept informed along the way.

Phase 6-Determine needs for ERP integration: Real time or batch?

Do you need instantaneous access to your ordering and inventory system? Will a batch run once or twice a day be enough? Determine the advantages to hooking to systems outside your business, such as UPS package tracking.

Phase 7-Determine needs for reporting: Real Time? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

The reporting system should probably match or exceed your integration level. Sales coming in are especially important when your site is first starting out, to help determine what factors affect your sales.

Phase 8-Check systems for traffic, loads, security.

These affect not only technical needs and methods but business processes as well. A job well done here should create the appearance that nothing is different, except some orders come from a new channel. Make sure that your online system does not slow down your current system in any way.

Phase 9-Go live with integrated implementation.

If done right, this process is not hard, it just involves a lot of waiting on the computers to finish copying and moving.

Phase 10-Analyze if you accomplished long-term goals.

After you go live, do not modify the site for a while. Take the time to see how others are using it. Find out where the slowdowns are. Look closely to see how far off you are from your original intentions. Determine if you are satisfying your customers' needs and any steps that can be taken to do better.

Shawn Lee is chief technology officer at ASI Associates, an e-business consulting firm in Minneapolis.