Case Scenario:
You own a bakery named Sweet Treats, and you are faced with an interesting dilemma. You have inherited your grandmother's low carb, low sugar, low sodium and low fat recipes that she modified to accommodate her diabetes. Neither you nor your family could tell that her creations were not high sugar gourmet style and word of her delicious treats spread throughout the community. You recently left your job to produce and sell these delicious creations to the public, caterers, and restaurants. Recently, a restaurant chain approached you to supply all of their locations. They also suggested that you could attract more customers and operate your business more effectively if you creates a website, advertises, and sells his "treats" on the World Wide Web.
You have business experience than and need to investigate this opportunity. Starting an e-business, or expanding a current business into the Internet, involves as much planning and risk as starting or expanding a traditional business. Some of the things that you have to consider include:
- The cost of the technology.
- The design of the website.
- The marketing strategies you will use.
- The choices of what to sell and how to sell it over the Internet.
- The advantages of online communication with customers and suppliers.
- The risks of doing business on the Internet.
You start exploring alternatives and seek the advice of experienced e-business professionals. There is a lot to learn, and you have heard many stories about people who have started e-businesses (or traditional businesses) and end up failing because they did not have or follow a solid plan.
You will strive to understand some of the basic principles of e-business in addition to understanding traditional business strategies so you can make wise choices as you bring your brother's business into the Information Age. The varieties of tasks you will pursue are the development of an e-commerce plan, the exploration of different technologies that are used competitively in e-business, Internet marketing strategies, security, and ethics.
Questions and the Internet:
Problem 1: Describe the new business environment that Sweet Treats Face will face online, discuss issues such as the current market, potential customers, the competition, how Sweetperform a SWOT analysis, etc
Problem 2: What e-business model(s) would you suggest that Sweet Treats use and why?
Problem 3: Describe several B2B technologies and applications that Sweet Treats could utilize as part of an e-business strategy.
Problem 4: List some security concerns that Sweet Treats should address as it considers how to develop a web presence. What are the risks? How can they be lessened? Are you confident that the Internet is secure enough to handle these transactions for Grandma's Treats or other more information-sensitive businesses?
Problem 5: Analyze the future of doing business on the Internet, where do you see the internet in 5 years, 10 years etc.?
Problem 6: As a wrap up:
o Summerize the concepts that you learned this session,
o What did you learned that you did not know before taking this class?
o How has what you learned benefited you currently and how will it benefit you in the future?