E-Commerce Consulting Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the CSU E-Commerce Consulting Services. Answer: Porters Five Forces Model Analysis in the Floral Industry Threat of new Entrants The flower industry is growing fast, and as a result, many investors have been attracted to the business. The survival mechanism being improvised by the players in the sector is increasingly becoming complex, and as a result, the new entrants are finding it hard to dislodge the existing market incumbents (Gebreeyesus, Sonobe, 2012). Although they market seems competitive in nature, there is still a potential opportunity in online retailing of the commodity in many countries. The businesses like Amazon have dominated the online retailing industry for many years now since their strategies and customer loyalty are upbeat. Considering the frequency of new firms emerging in this industry, most of them do not have online market platforms from which distanced buyers can order. This has created an opportunity in the market for both the existing and new entrants who are ready to go digital in their flower sales. However, the challenging issue is the maintenance of an ordering system that ensures all the customers logging into the systems can complete their request and pay for the service (Schettler, Rombach Bitsch, 2015). Threat of Substitutes The floral industry is among the few industries that have very few substitutes for the products sold. This is giving the industry a niche in economic contribution and high returns on investments in the industry. More particularly, online selling of flowers have very few businesses, and as a result, there is a myriad of opportunities in this field. As for the actual threat posed by the close substitutes like artifacts and painting that can be used instead of flowers, their influence is negligible in the industry thus making the industry more open for investment. Developing an online retailing plan in this industry has gained momentum in the recent past owing to the improvements in technology. As a matter of fact, the income earned by businesses such as Amazon in retailing flowers in the United States exceeds the amounts being of those still selling through their physical stores. Judging from this revelation, it is evident that online business has more customers who are willing to order from their homes and get the products from the suppliers. Since there are no close substitutes for flowers, there are high possibilities of a business venture in this industry flourishing if the right strategies to reach the customers are used. It may include offering online ordering and home delivery services, which in most parts of Europe has proven effective. Power of Customers In the floral industry, buyers have less autonomy because there is also less substitute to the products being offered in this sector. For this reason, their pressure in regulating the prices of the flowers is less efficient and consequently giving the suppliers an opportunity to decide on the market prices of different brands of flowers. Considering the online marketing platforms that exist, many customers are willing to pay a stated amount for the flowers to be delivered at the doorstep (Mann, Jha, 2015). While investing in online retailing in the flower industry, it is worth noting that the potential buyers have a variety of platforms to source information on prices from and as a result, one ought to be keen on pricing and quality of the products. The most influential factor that is reducing the power of the customers in the industry is the quality and convenience of the services being offered by businesses that have embraced online selling of the flowers (Srinivasan, 2015). It has completely suppressed the bargaining power of the consumers making the less influential in dictating the prices of the flowers. Literally, this industry has more of has little customer bargaining power making it the most desired sector by investors. It is thus essential to design new strategies in both marketing and selling the products for you to reach out to as many people as possible. Power of Suppliers In the floral business, there are many suppliers many, but most of them are offline businesses. Only a small number of investors in this industry have ventured into online retailing of flowers creating a higher bargaining power in this category of floral business. However, in a general perspective, the flower industry have little supplier bargaining power despite the advantage of having fewer substitutes in the market. This is attributed to the large number of providers in the market, which according to Magretta (2012) makes the concentration ratio of suppliers to firms high. Judging by the influence the suppliers possess in the market, there are possibilities that other vendors can be cut out by the incumbent suppliers. This is a risk that most new entrants have to bear in mind before deciding to venture into the industry. However, there is less likelihood of the same happening in the online retailing category due to the less number of business in it. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand for online purchase of flowers in many countries as it has been seen to be efficient and convenient and works within short deadlines (Gebreeyesus, Sonobe, 2012). Industry rivalry The floral industry has many players currently offering similar commodities in the market. Due to this, the competition is at its peak, and it takes innovation and advertising strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Due to this reason, many businesses have opted to migrate from offline to online. However, their survival some of them has been short lived due to technological challenges and suppression from the leaders of this category of floral business. Despite the risks, there are still chances that a new entrant can conform to the existing pressures and use its strategies to gain a larger share of the market. It all takes the contribution of advertising and maintaining existing customers from the offline business and convincing them to embrace the new retailing strategy the firm has adopted. Furthermore, as an entrepreneur, it is essential to note that widening the customer base is founded on the quality you offer and the pricing of the products (Kautonen, van Gelderen, Fink, 2013). Risks Involved As you plan to venture in online business, it worth noting that there are some risks associated with the decision. The following key risks are probably going to be present. IT related risks: There are possibilities that the developments in technology will not be congruent to the services being offered. At times, there is a massive change in technology that renders online business less effective (Trusculescu, Draghici Albulescu, 2015). Losing Loyal Customers: When a business migrates from operating offline to online, not all the consumers will be able to access the services depending on their locations, and technology status. This poses a danger in new entrants in such a market and a critical evaluation is thus needed. Innovation risks: As a businessperson intending to move your flower business online, you should be prepared to embrace technology change to keep up with the changes. According to Eun Lee Stoel, (2014), there are various aspects that online customers consider before deciding to purchase their products. Key among them is security and Thus it is necessary to innovate new services for a better rating frequently System Crush or Hacking: While operating an online business, you are prone to attacks or failure of the website. When this happens, the customers will tend to purchase from the next available firm that convinces them, and this can be a permanent loss in the market share of the business (Kautonen, van Gelderen, Fink, 2013). How to Start the Service Before you decide on investing your finances on online retailing, critical decisions have to be made. First, have a background knowledge of how you want to undertake the business. Collect all the necessary information. Second, develop an easy-to-use and friendly website from which your clients will be ordering the flowers. This is a critical stage in establishing an online business and embracing ICT is imperative (Huang, Benyoucef, 2013). Third, design a marketing procedure that will ensure that the availability of the products and where they can get reaches as many customers as possible. Using search engines to direct traffic to your website is one of the best strategies to achieve this goal. In addition, informing your existing customers will benefit the business, as they will move with you to the new platform and purchase from there. Lastly, establish a reputation for yourself through quality services to all the clients and giving them after sales, services to encourage them to p urchase more flowers. Additionally, encourage your customers to subscribe to emails so that they can have updates of new products in the market or any offers that may be present. Such a strategy according to Piotrowicz, Cuthbertson (2014) is meant to ensure the consumers are always updated on the progress of the business. References Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), 32-45. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cr-06-2013-0059 Eun Lee, J., Stoel, L. (2014). High versus low online price discounts: effects on customers perception of risks.Journal Of Product Brand Management,23(6), 401-412. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jpbm-06-2014-0633 Gebreeyesus, M., Sonobe, T. (2012). Global Value Chains and Market Formation Process in Emerging Export Activity: Evidence from Ethiopian Flower Industry.Journal Of Development Studies,48(3), 335-348. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2011.6351 Huang, Z., Benyoucef, M. (2013). From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features.Electronic Commerce Research And Applications,12(4), 246-259. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2012.12.003 Kautonen, T., van Gelderen, M., Fink, M. (2013). Robustness of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions.Entrepreneurship Theory And Practice,39(3), 655-674. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/etap.12056 Magretta, J. (2012).Understanding Michael Porter(1st ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. Mann, P., Jha, M. (2015). A Study on Indian Consumer Outlook towards Online Shopping and Payment.Asian Journal Of Management,6(3), 163. https://dx.doi.org/10.5958/2321-5763.2015.00024.4 Piotrowicz, W., Cuthbertson, R. (2014). Introduction to the Special Issue Information Technology in Retail: Toward Omnichannel Retailing.International Journal Of Electronic Commerce,18(4), 5-16. https://dx.doi.org/10.2753/jec1086-4415180400 Srinivasan, R. (2015). Exploring the Impact of Social Norms and Online Shopping Anxiety in the Adoption of Online Apparel Shopping by Indian Consumers.Journal Of Internet Commerce,14(2), 177-199. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2015.1008891 Schettler, C., Rombach, M., Bitsch, V. (2015, May). Perceived advantages and barriers of buying cut flowers online. In XVIII International Symposium on Horticultural Economics and Management 1132 (pp. 9-16). Trusculescu, A., Draghici, A., Albulescu, C. T. (2015). Operational Drivers of Business Valuations in the E-Commerce Sector: Focus on Public Companies That Assume Inventory Risk. In Managing Intellectual Capital and Innovation for Sustainable and Inclusive Society: Managing Intellectual Capital and Innovation; Proceedings of the MakeLearn and TIIM Joint International Conference 2015(pp. 787-794). ToKnowPress.