1 Consider the supply chain involved when a customer purchases a book at a bookstore.

Identify cycles in this supply chain and the location of the push/pull boundary.
All provide chain processes can be broken down into four procedure cycles that join the
five tiers of the provide chain; the customer order cycle, the replenishment cycle, the
manufacturing cycle, and the procurement cycle.
The purchaser order cycle connects the client with the retailer; this connection is made as
the book, possibly Supply Chain Management by using Chopra and Meindl, is chosen
and paid for via the customer.
The replenishment cycle connects the retailer and the distributor and is prompted by
using the retailer’s want to fill the empty shelf space with any other reproduction of this
tome.
The manufacturing cycle connects the distributor and the manufacturer. As demand for
the book is realized and distributors empty their warehouses, they signal the producer to
print any other million copies to fill their empty warehouses.
Finally, the procurement cycle connects the manufacturer and the supplier. The
manufacturer requires uncooked material inputs of paper, ink, etc., to begin the assembly
system for any other batch of Supply Chain Management.
The push/pull boundary exists the place demand switches from reactive (pull) to
speculative (push) production. For most bookstall supply chains the push/pull boundary is
between the patron order cycle and the replenishment cycle. The patron order pulls the
book from the e book store shelf however the initial production of the book used to be
brought about by means of a build order that moved materials alongside the grant chain
to the retail outlet.

2 In what way do supply chain flows affect the success or failure of a firm like Amazon?
List two supply chain decisions that have a significant impact on supply chain
profitability.
The success or failure of a company like Amazon is decided with the aid of the fantastic
feature of its grant chain. The float of merchandise from publishers to distributors to
customers need to be rapid and dependable in order to satisfy customers. The waft of
information back thru the supply chain approves all individuals to coordinate efforts. The
 flow of cash allows all supply chain members to keep operations. Supply chain
profitability is influenced by sourcing, promotion, and fulfillment decisions.

3. Answer

Supply chain responsiveness takes many forms, including the ability to respond to a wide range of quantities, meet
short lead times, handle a large variety of products, build innovative products, meet a high service level,
and handle supply uncertainty. The XYZ Bank’s supply chain must be highly responsive in the areas of
handling highly innovative banking products, customer response, and service level; they are effective in supplying
well-heeled customers and their return policy is legendary in XYZ Bank’s.

Question 4

Answer

When customers go to a convenience store chain such as: Seven-Eleven, they go there for
the convenience of a nearby store and are not necessarily looking for the lowest price. Implied
demand uncertainty would be high as customers are looking for a variety of products and
convenience versus cost and demand levels are hard to predict.

Investors owning the riskiest type of bank of bank debt, which turns into shares or is
written down should the financial institution encounter trouble, are starting to focus on
uncertainty surrounding the way regulators will allow banks to treat their bond holders in the
future.
A supermarket chain focuses on cost and quality, with some specialty chains adding
flexibility by carrying a broader range of products that may be targeted towards customers
interested in organic products or ethnic cuisine. Implied demand uncertainty for a supermarket
chain tends to be low; shoppers are typically repeat customers and have a constant demand level.
The supermarket supply chain must be responsive by receiving produce quickly to ensure
freshness and have a high service level. supermarket supply chains tend to be well; established
and can improve strategic fit by emphasizing speed to maintain freshness, hence perceived
quality.

Question 5

Answer
Commodity items are available from many sources and customers expect them to be
delivered quickly; if a supply chain can’t be responsive, the customers will move on to the next
source. A distribution network designed for retail storage with customer pickup achieves quick
response for high demand, low variety products. Other commodity products can be effectively
distributed using distributor storage with last-mile delivery, which is also suited for high
demand, quick response products. Commodity items means providing a product and service which
other suppliers could offer also. This also means you maybe pricing your service/sales based on your
cost of products plus cost of your Tim. So in view of the above, there is no point going for
distribution network that is 1-to-1, consultation or direct sales-meeting with your customers, because
it's too time-consuming for such channel, and other competitors will sell at lower prices.
By classifying Non-commodity items or commodity items, I do not mean here they are
profitable or not. Either can be profitable, or a loss. Next issue, is your commodity items, very
valuable, or they are low-cost items?
For e.g. light-weight umbrella can cost US$100-150 each and they are valuable, whereas
other light-weight umbrella can cost only US$7 and they are low-cost. Each (high or low cost) has its
suitable ways of distribution). For valuable commodity (e.g. gem stones, jewellery, limited edition
umbrellas, etc.), most likely you like to display them, and while displaying them, you like to place
them apart, instead of packing them together when displaying. For low-cost commodity (e.g. cakes,
computer gadgets like mouse, etc.), perhaps you have to take note of the costs of distribution,
because when dealing with a computer mouse (for e.g.), you have to sell bulk, and getting
distributors may be good, but employing salesmen for direct-sales may be difficult.
Question -6
Answer
The distributor can counter propose two type supply network designs to the manufacturer are
1. Distributor storage with package carrier delivery

Inventory is not held by manufacturers at the factories but is held by distributors/retailers in

intermediate warehouses, and package carriers are used to transport products from the
intermediate location to the final customer. Amazon, as well as industrial distributors such as
W.W. Grainger and McMaster-Carr, have used this approach combined with drop-shipping from
a manufacturer (or distributor). Information and product flows when using distributor storage
with delivery by a package carrier are shown in Figure 4-8. Relative to manufacturer storage,
distributor storage requires a higher level of inventory, as the distributor/retailer warehouse
generally aggregates demand uncertainty at a lower level than the manufacturer that is able to
aggregate demand across all distributors/retailers. From an inventory perspective, distributor
storage makes sense for products with somewhat higher demand. This is seen in the operations of
both Amazon and W.W. Grainger. They stock only the medium- to fast-moving items at their
warehouses, with slower-moving items stocked farther upstream. In some instances,
postponement can be implemented with distributor storage, but it does require that the warehouse
develop some assembly capability. Distributor storage, however, requires much less inventory
than a retail network. Amazon achieves about 12 turns of inventory annually using warehouse
storage, whereas Borders achieves about two turns using retail stores.

Transportation costs are somewhat lower for distributor storage compared to manufacturer
storage because an economic mode of transportation (e.g., truckloads) can be employed for
inbound shipments to the warehouse, which is closer to the customer. Unlike manufacturer
storage, under which multiple shipments may need to go out for a single customer order with
multiple items, distributor storage allows outbound orders to the customer to be bundled into a
single shipment, further reducing transportation cost. Distributor storage provides savings on the
transportation of faster-moving items relative to manufacturer storage.

Compared to manufacturer storage, facility costs (of warehousing) are somewhat higher with
distributor storage because of a loss of aggregation. Processing and handling costs are com-
parable to manufacturer storage unless the factory is able to ship to the end customer directly
from the production line. In that case, distributor storage has higher processing costs. From a fa-
cility cost perspective, distributor storage is not appropriate for extremely slow-moving items.

The information infrastructure needed with distributor storage is significantly less complex than
that needed with manufacturer storage. The distributor warehouse serves as a buffer between the
customer and the manufacturer, decreasing the need to coordinate the two completely. Real-time
visibility between customers and the warehouse is needed, whereas real-time visibility between
the customer and the manufacturer is not. Visibility between the distributor warehouse and
manufacturer can be achieved at a much lower cost than real-time visibility between the
customer and manufacturer.

Response time under distributor storage is better than under manufacturer storage because
distributor warehouses are, on average, closer to customers and the entire order is aggregated at
the warehouse before being shipped. Amazon, for example, processes most warehouse-stored
items within a day and then it takes three to seven business days using ground transportation for
the order to reach the customer. W.W. Grainger processes customer orders on the same day and
has enough warehouses to deliver most orders the next day using ground transport. Warehouse
storage limits to some extent the variety of products that can be offered. W.W. Grainger does not
store very-low-demand items at its warehouse, relying on manufacturers to drop-ship those
products to the customer. Customer convenience is high with distributor storage because a single
shipment reaches the customer in response to an order. Time to market under distributor storage
is somewhat higher than under manufacturer storage because of the need to stock another stage
in the supply chain. Order visibility becomes easier than with manufacturer storage because there
is a single shipment from the warehouse to the customer and only one stage of the supply chain
is involved directly in filling the customer order. Return ability is better than with manufacturer
storage because all returns can be processed at the warehouse itself. The customer also has to
return only one package, even if the items are from several manufacturers.

The performance of distributor storage with carrier delivery is summarized in Table 4-3.
Distributor storage with carrier delivery is well suited for medium- to fast-moving items.
Distributor storage also makes sense when customers want delivery faster than is offered by
manufacturer storage but do not need it immediately. Distributor storage can handle somewhat
lower variety than manufacturer storage but can handle a much higher level of variety than a
chain of retail stores.
1. Distributor storage with last mile delivery

Last-mile delivery refers to the distributor/retailer delivering the product to the customer's home
instead of using a package carrier. Webvan, Peapod, and Albertsons have used last-mile delivery
in the grocery industry. Companies such as Kozmo and Urbanfetch tried to set up home-delivery
networks for a variety of products but failed to survive. The automotive spare parts industry is
one where distributor storage with last-mile delivery is the dominant model. It is very expensive
for dealers to carryall spare parts in inventory. Thus, OEMs tend to carry most spare parts at a
local distribution center typically located no more than a couple of hours' drive from its dealers
and often managed by a third party. The local distribution center is responsible for delivering
needed parts to a set of dealers and makes multiple deliveries per day. Unlike package carrier
delivery, last-mile delivery requires the distributor warehouse to be much closer to the customer.
Given the limited radius that can be served with last-mile delivery, more warehouses are required
compared to the case when package delivery is used. The warehouse storage with last-mile deliv-
ery network is as shown in Figure 4-9.

Distributor storage with last-mile delivery requires higher levels of inventory than the other
options (except for retail stores) because it has a lower level of aggregation. From an inventory

perspective, warehouse storage with last-mile delivery is suitable for relatively fast-moving items
for which some level of aggregation is beneficial. Auto parts required by car dealers fit this
description.

Among all the distribution networks, transportation costs are highest for last-mile delivery,
especially when delivering to individuals. This is because package carriers aggregate delivery
across many retailers and are able to obtain better economies of scale than are available to a
distributor/retailer attempting last-mile delivery. Delivery costs (including transportation and
processing) can be over $20 per home delivery in the grocery industry. Last-mile delivery may
be somewhat less expensive in large, dense cities. Transportation costs may also be justifiable for
bulky products for which the customer is willing to pay for home delivery. Home delivery of
water and large bags of rice has proved quite successful in China, where the high population
density has helped decrease delivery costs. Transportation costs of last-mile delivery are best
justified in settings where the customer is purchasing in large quantities. This is rare for individ-
ual customers, but businesses such as auto dealers purchase large quantities of spare parts on a
daily basis and can thus justify daily delivery. Home delivery to individual customers can be
justified for bulky items such as five-gallon jugs of water in the United States and large bags of
rice in China. In each instance, last-mile delivery is cheaper and more convenient than every cus-
tomer picking up their own bottles or bags.

Facility and processing costs are very high using this option, given the large number of facilities
required. Facility costs are somewhat lower than for a network with retail stores but much higher
than for either manufacturer storage or distributor storage with package carrier delivery.
Processing costs, however, are much higher than for a network of retail stores because all
customer participation is eliminated. A grocery store using last-mile delivery performs all the
processing until the product is delivered to the customer's home, unlike a supermarket, where
there is much more customer participation.

The information infrastructure with last-mile delivery is similar to that for distributor storage
with package carrier delivery. However, it requires the additional capability of scheduling
deliveries.

Response times are faster than using package carriers. Kozmo and Urban fetch tried to provide
same-day delivery, whereas online grocers typically provide next-day delivery. Product variety is
generally lower than for distributor storage with carrier delivery. The cost of providing product
availability is higher than for every option other than retail stores. The customer experience can
be very good using this option, particularly for bulky, hard-to-carry items. Time to market is
even higher than for distributor storage with package carrier delivery because the new product
has to penetrate deeper before it is available to the customer. Order visibility is less of an issue
given that deliveries are made within 24 hours. The order-tracking feature does become
important to handle exceptions in case of incomplete or undelivered orders. Of all the options
discussed, return ability is best with last mile delivery, because trucks making deliveries can also
pick up returns from customers. Returns are still more expensive to handle than at a retail store,
where a customer can bring the product back.
The performance characteristics of distributor storage with last-mile delivery are summarized in
Table 4-4. In areas with high labor costs, it is very hard to justify distributor storage with last-
mile delivery to individual consumers on the basis of efficiency or improved margin. It can only
be justified if there is a large enough customer segment willing to pay for this convenience. In
that case, an effort should be made to couple last-mile delivery with an existing distribution net-
work to exploit economies of scale and improve utilization. An example is Albertsons' use of
existing grocery store facilities and labor to provide home delivery. A portion of the grocery
store serves as a fulfillment center for online orders as well as a replenishment center for the
grocery store itself. This helps improve utilization and lower the cost of providing this service.
Last-mile delivery may be justifiable if customer orders are large enough to provide some
economies of scale. Peapod has changed its pricing policies to reflect this idea. Minimum order
sizes are for $50 (with a delivery charge of $9.95), and free delivery is no longer provided for
orders of any size. Peapod offers discounts for deliveries during slower periods based on what its
schedule looks like. To be profitable, home delivery companies almost definitely have to
eliminate free delivery. Last-mile delivery is easier to justify when the customer is a business
like an auto dealer purchasing large quantities.
Example of a hybrid network is that of W.W. Grainger, which combines all the aforementioned
options in its distribution network. The network, however, is tailored to match the characteristics
of the product and the needs of the customer. Fast-moving and emergency items are stocked
locally, and customers can either pick them up or have them shipped, depending on the urgency.
Slower-moving items are stocked at a national DC and shipped to the customer within a day or
two. Very-slow-moving items are typically drop-shipped from the manufacturer and carry a
longer lead time. Another hybrid network is used by Amazon, which stocks some items at its
warehouses. Other slow-moving items may be drop-shipped from distributors or publishers.
 Table. 4.7

Comparative Performance of Delivery Network Designs

Retail Manufactu Manufacturer Distributer Distributer Manufacturer

Storage rer Storage with Storage Storage Storage with
with Storage In-Transit with with Last Package
Customer with Merge Package –Mile
Pick Up Direct Carrier Delivery
Shipping Delivery
Response Time 1 4 4 3 2 4

Product Variety 4 1 1 2 3 1

Product 4 1 1 2 3 -
Availability
Customer Varies
1 to 5 4 3 2 1 5
From experience
Time to market 4 1 1 2 3 1

Order visibility 1 5 4 3 2 6

Return ability 1 5 5 4 3 2

Inventory 4 1 1 2 3 1

Transportation 1 4 3 2 5 1
Facility and
6 1 2 3 4 5
handling
Information 1 4 4 3 2 5

Key: 1 corresponds to the strongest performance and 6 the weakest performance.

 We can now revisit the examples from the computer industry discussed at the beginning of the
chapter. Gateway's decision to create a network of retail stores without exploiting any of the
supply chain advantages such a network offers was flawed. To fully exploit the benefits of the
retail network, Gateway should have stocked its standard configurations (likely to have high
demand) at the retail stores, with all other configurations drop-shipped from the factory (perhaps
with local pickup at the retail stores if it was economical). Instead, they drop-shipped all
configurations from the factory. Apple has opened several retail stores and actually carries
products for sale at these stores. This makes sense given the low variety for most Apple products
and the high demand for some of their products such as iPods. In fact, Apple has seen consistent
growth in sales and profits through its retail outlets.

Table 4.8

Performance of Delivery Networks for Different Product/Customer Characteristics

Retail Manufactu Manufacturer Distributer Distributer Manufacturer

Storage rer Storage with Storage Storage Storage with
with Storage In-Transit with with Last Package
Customer with Merge Package –Mile
Pick Up Direct Carrier Delivery
Shipping Delivery
High-demand
+2 -2 -1 0 +1 -1
product
Medium-
+1 -1 0 +1 0 0
demand product
Low-demand
-1 +1 0 +1 -1 +1
product
Very-low-
-2 +2 +1 0 -2 +1
demand product
Many product
+1 -1 -1 +2 +1 0
sources
High product
-1 +2 +1 +1 0 +2
value
Quick desired
+2 -2 -2 -1 +1 -2
response
High product
-1 +2 0 +1 0 +2
variety
Low customer
-2 +1 +2 +2 +2 -1
effort
High-demand
+2 -2 -1 0 +1 -1
product
Medium-
+1 -1 0 +1 0 0
demand product

Key: +2 = very suitable; + I = somewhat suitable; 0 = neutral; -I = somewhat unsuitable; -2 =

very unsuitable.
Both of these counter-proposals offering higher order visibility for the customer while
having simpler information infrastructure than with manufacturer storage. The response time for
both is excellent, and the customer experience is also superior to the direct model. If the
manufacturer is still trying to provide excellent customer service, they me need to trade-offs the
increased transportation costs and higher levels of inventory may be acceptable tradeoffs. A
distributor's advantage is in providing small quantities and wide variety at same time. Also, if the
product is retail, a distributor can offer a show room environment where customer can come and
feel the product before buying it. This cannot be reproduced by the manufacturer alone, unless he
himself becomes the distributor. Hence, the distributor can have a deal with the manufacturer,
that if the manufacturer goes directly to few customers and not provide any compensation to the
distributor to supply the products, he would stop providing the above services to all the
customers. By carrying inventory closer to the point of sale, distributors are able to provide a
better response time than manufacturers. Distributors are able to offer one-stop shopping with
products from several manufacturers.

Question -7
Answer

1.0 E-Business Model

The e-Business model, like any business model, describes how a company functions; how it
provides a product or service, how it generates revenue, and how it will create and adapt to new
markets and technologies. It has four traditional components as shown in the figure, The e-
Business Model. These are the e-business concept, value proposition, sources of revenue, and the
required activities, resources, and capabilities. In a successful business, all of its business model
components work together in a cooperative and supportive fashion.

Figure: e-Business Model

Although an e-Business is often thought of as e-Commerce, there are other types of online
activities that fall under the definition of e-Business that can benefit from this discussion (see e-
Business Basics for basic concepts and definitions).

1.1 E-Business Concept

The e-business concept describes the rationale of the business, its goals and vision, and products
or offerings from which it will earn revenue. A successful concept is based on a market analysis
that identifies customers likely to purchase the product and how much they are willing to pay for
it.

1.2 Impact of e-Business on Cost

On the cost side, e-business affects inventory, facilities, transportation, and information costs. It
is important to observe that the impact in each case is not necessarily positive.

1. Inventory
2. Facilities
3. Information

The value of setting up an e-business is not the same in every industry.

2.0 Using e-Business to Sell Groceries: Pea pod

The grocery industry saw a spurt in new e-businesses in 1998 and 1999, although virtually all
have gone out of business. Peapod, one of the oldest online grocers, is one of the few left.

IMPACT OF E-BUSINESS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE GROCERY INDUSTRY

Peapod and other online groceries have tried to sell convenience and the time savings they offer
customers. For many people, grocery shopping is a chore that is time consuming and rarely
enjoyable. Peapod allows customers to place orders at any time and have them delivered at
home, eliminating a trip to the supermarket. This can be a significant convenience, especially in
urban areas, where customers have to walk to a supermarket and carry all their groceries home.
In a suburban area, the benefit is smaller because people can drive to supermarkets with relative
ease. The convenience of saving rime, however, remains quite valuable. The convenience factor
related to access is even more significant if a specialty-food provider goes online. For example,
ethnic food stores are not as accessible as supermarkets and people often drive long distances to
reach them. Offering ethnic foods on the Internet provides easy access to customers and saves a
long drive. Ethnicgrocer.com is an e-business that specializes in, as the name suggests, ethnic
groceries and products. Peapod, however, does not offer significantly more variety than a typical
supermarket. Most large supermarkets offer sufficiently large variety to cover the needs of most
households.
Peapod is able to increase revenues by creating a personalized shopping experience for
customers and delivering customized, one-to-one advertising and promotions. This is done using
extensive member profiles that Pea pod creates based on online shopping behavior, purchase
histories, and surveys. Unlike a supermarket, where the store does not know what customers
have selected until they check out, Peapod can guide online customers based on what they
purchase. For example, if a customer buys some pasta, Peapod can suggest a type of pasta sauce
or some Parmesan cheese. Over longer periods, Peapod can collect shopping patterns and
suggest products mat match a customer's preferences. Such suggestions enhance revenues by
increasing customers' impulse purchases. Peapod also adds to its revenues by giving consumer
goods companies a forum for targeted interactive advertising and electronic coupons. Peapod
increases revenues by selling data on consumer choices to product manufacturers. Consumer
choice data available to an online grocer is more valuable than scanner data from a supermarket
because scanner data only reveals the customer's final purchases. An online grocer, in contrast,
can record the customer's decision process. For example, an online grocer can record a
customer's substitution patterns for items that are out of stock. With scanner data, a supermarket
cannot record substitutions because it has no way of finding out if the customer looked for
something that is out of stock.

IMPACT OF E-BUSINESS ON COSTS IN THE GROCERY INDUSTRY

Peapod and other online grocers use e-business to lower some facility costs and, to an extent,
inventory costs. Picking costs and transportation costs, however, are much higher than for
traditional supermarkets.

Inventory Costs. Compared to a supermarket chain, an online grocer such as Peapod can lower
inventories by aggregating the inventory in a few large replenishment centers. The degree of
aggregation, however, is less than that achieved by Amazon.com or Dell, because Peapod needs
fulfillment centers in every urban area it serves to get food to customers in acceptable condition.
The benefits of aggregation are further diminished by the fact that the majority of products sold
at a supermarket are staple items with steady demand. Thus, aggregation provides a marginal
benefit in terms of improved forecast accuracy and reduced inventories. The benefits of
aggregation are higher for specialty, low-demand items with high demand uncertainty. These
products constitute a small fraction of overall sales at a supermarket. Thus, aggregation allows e-
grocers to lower their inventory costs only marginally compared to a typical supermarket. If
online grocers focused primarily on specialty items such as ethnic foods, the inventory benefits
of aggregation would be larger. Facility Costs. Peapod's e-business allows it to lower facility
costs because it needs only warehouse facilities and can save on the cost of retail outlets such as
supermarkets. Processing costs at Peapod to fulfill an order, however, are significantly higher
than those for a supermarket, and overwhelm the savings from needing fewer facilities. Peapod
saves on checkout clerks compared to a supermarket but must pick the customer order, a task the
customer performs at a supermarket and one that is much more time consuming than checkout.
Thus, e-business results in a loss of customer participation compared to a supermarket and raises
overall facility costs.

Transportation. An online grocer such as Peapod has significantly higher transportation costs
than a supermarket. Supermarkets have the advantage of having to bear only inbound
transportation cost for products, with customers providing transportation from the supermarket to
their homes. Inbound transportation costs tend to be low because supermarkets have large
deliveries that enable them to exploit economies of scale in transportation. Peapod, in contrast,
has to bear inbound transportation cost to its fulfillment centers and then outbound delivery costs
from the fulfillment centers to customer homes. Outbound delivery costs are high, because
individual orders must be delivered to each customer's home. The task becomes all the more
problematic given the different temperature requirements for different types of food.

Compared to computers and even books, groceries have a low value-to-weight/volume ratio. For
example, paper towels and bathroom tissues have very low value but occupy a lot of space in a
truck. Thus, transportation costs are a significant fraction of the cost incurred by online grocers.
This makes it very difficult for an online grocer to compete with a supermarket on prices.

Information Costs. Again, the IT infrastructure required for an e-business increases costs. In the
case of an e-grocer, this is somewhat more significant than with the other e-businesses we have
been discussing, because an e-grocer takes on a wider range of functions that shoppers do
themselves. Therefore, IT costs are higher for an e-grocer. As in the other examples, however, IT
costs are not a deal breaker for this business model.

IMPACT OF E-BUSINESS ON PERFORMANCE AT PEAPOD an e-business offers some

revenue enhancement opportunities in the grocery industry. Supermarkets are large enough to
enjoy most of the inventory benefits that aggregation offers, without having the additional
delivery cost incurred by an online grocer. Online grocers cannot compete with supermarkets on
price, and can succeed only if there are enough people willing to pay a premium for the
convenience of home delivery. Online grocers, however, can provide some cost advantage when
selling specialty groceries, whose demand tends to be low and uncertain.

VALUE OF E-BUSINESS TO A TRADITIONAL GROCERY CHAIN

Traditional supermarket chains can benefit by using an e-business to complement the strengths
of their existing network. The e-business can be used to offer convenience to customers who are
willing to pay for it. Supermarkets can be used to target customers who value lower prices.
A supermarket chain with an e-business has the opportunity to offer an entire array of services at
differing prices based on the amount of work the customer does. The cheapest service involves
customers walking into the supermarket and shopping for the products they want. In this case,
the customer picks the order from the shelves and provides outbound transportation for it. For an
additional charge, a supermarket might allow customers to place orders online to be picked up at
a later time. The supermarket personnel would pick the order from the shelf, but the customer
would provide outbound transportation. The most expensive service is when the customer places
orders online for home delivery. In this case the supermarket chain is responsible for both
picking the order from the shelf and delivering it to the customer's home. The varying services
and prices would allow supermarket chains to efficiently satisfy the needs of a variety of
customers.

3.0 Using e-Business to Sell Banking Product

Computers are getting more sophisticated. They have given banks a potential they could only
dream about and have given bank customers high expectations. The changes that new
technologies have brought to banking are enormous in their impact on officers, employees, and
customers of banks. Advances in technology are allowing for delivery of banking products and
services more conveniently and effectively than ever before - thus creating new bases of
competition. Rapid access to critical information and the ability to act quickly and effectively
will distinguish the successful banks of the future. The bank gains a vital competitive advantage
by having a direct marketing and accountable customer service environment and new,
streamlined business processes. Consistent management and decision support systems provide
the bank that competitive edge to forge ahead in the banking marketplace.

IMPACT OF E-BUSINESS ON IN BANKING INDUSTRY

Impact of e-Business on Customer Service

As with distribution networks considered earlier, we start by studying how e-business affects
customer service elements such as response time, product variety, availability, customer experi-
ence, time to market, visibility, and return ability. Look at factors such as direct sales and the
ability to offer flexible pricing that help e-business in Banking industry.

1. Responds Time to Customers

2. Product Variety
3. Product Availability
4. Customer Experience
5. Faster time to Market
6. Order Visibility
7. Return ability
8. Directs Sales to Customer
9. Flexible Pricing, product pricing, Product Portfolio and Promotions
10. Efficient Funds Transfer

Major applications. The advantages accruing from computerization are three-directional - to the
customer, to the bank and to the employee.

For the customer. Banks are aware of customer's need for new services and plan to make them
available. IT has increased the level of competition and forced them to integrate the new
technologies in order to satisfy their customers. They have already developed and implemented a
certain number of solutions among them:

 Self-inquiry facility: Facility for logging into specified self-inquiry terminals at the
branch to inquire and view the transactions in the account.
 Remote banking: Remote terminals at the customer site connected to the respective
branch through a modem, enabling the customer to make inquiries regarding his
accounts, on-line, without having to move from his office.
 Anytime banking- Anywhere banking: Installation of ATMs which offer non-stop cash
withdrawal, remittances and inquiry facilities. Networking of computerized branches
inter-city and intra-city, will permit customers of these branches, when interconnected, to
transact from any of these branches.
 Telebanking: A 24-hour service through which inquiries regarding balances and
transactions in the account can be made over the phone.
  Electronic Banking: This enables the bank to provide corporate or high value customers
with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) software on a PC, to inquire about their financial
transactions and accounts, cash transfers, cheque book issue and inquiry on rates without
visiting the bank. Moreover, LC text and details on bills can be sent by the customer, and
the bank can download the same. The technology used to provide this service is called
electronic data interchange (EDI). It is used to transmit business transactions in
computer-readable form between organizations and individuals in a standard format.
 As information is centralized and updates are available simultaneously at all places,
single-window service becomes possible, leading to effective reduction in waiting time.

For the bank.

During the last decade, banks applied IT to a wide range of back and front office tasks in
addition to a great number of new products. The major advantages for the bank to implement
IT are:

 Availability of a wide range of inquiry facilities, assisting the bank in business

development and follow-up.
 Immediate replies to customer queries without reference to ledger-keeper as terminals are
provided to Managers and Chief Managers.
 Automatic and prompt carrying out of standing instructions on due date and generation of
reports.
 Generation of various MIS reports and periodical returns on due dates.
 Fast and up-to-date information transfer enabling speedier decisions, by interconnecting
computerized branches and controlling offices.

For the employees. IT has increased their productivity through the followings:

 Accurate computing of cumbersome and time-consuming jobs such as balancing and

interest calculations on due dates.
  Automatic printing of covering schedules, deposit receipts, pass book / pass sheet, freeing
the staff from performing these time-consuming jobs, and enabling them to give more
attention to the needs of the customer.
 Signature retrieval facility, assisting in verification of transactions, sitting at their own
terminal.
 Avoidance of duplication of entries due to existence of single-point data entry.

A search of the banking literature reveals that banks are moving rapidly to take advantage of
recent and new customer service and cost reduction opportunities that new technologies offer.

For the Future Banking Industry will be face many serious challenge. The basic structure of the
bank is increasingly in conflict with the changing product, delivery, and service needs of the
customers The future belongs to financial service providers not traditional banks. The vast
majority of large banks, will create value networks. Doing so presents tremendous challenges.
Banks will have to first develop a comprehensive distribution system that will enable customers
to touch them at multiple points. Banks must also create performance measurement systems to
assure the mix products and services they offer are beneficial to both the customer and the bank.
They must determine whether to deploy new technologies themselves or with other service
providers. Nevertheless, technology alone will not solve issues or create advantages. This
technology needs to be integrated in an organization, with the change management issues linked
to people resisting new concepts and ideas.
Reference

Supply Chain Management, Seven-Eleven Japan Company Limited (2018), Retrieved

from., seven-eleven-case-study-answer-inventory-point-of-sale-.pdf.

www.anvari.net/.../Chapter_04/Discussion_Questions/Discussion_ch04.doc ·, Retrieved
from 2018.

https://www.ft.com/content, Retrieved from 2018.