eCommerce in the UK RPI – a final call to arms

1999-10-11

Last week, the UK government announced that it would be including online shopping statistics as one of the sources of information it uses for its retail prices index, once of the principal measures used to determine inflation. This is a move which will be seen as overdue by some and maybe irrelevant by a few luddite diehards, but which cannot be ignored by the vast majority of organisations in the UK, which have so far failed to use the Internet for anything more than brochureware. According to a recent Economist survey, the UK lags 2 years behind the US in exploiting the potential of eCommerce. That’s one heck of a long time in dog years, the rate at which the Internet is understood to be moving. Plus, given the global nature if the Web, the issue becomes even more stark: by the time the UK gets there, the market may well already be sewn up.

This article does not want to spew out the usual FUD. Let’s face it, we’ve heard it all before. “The Internet is here, embrace it or die.” True or not, there’s some good money to be made online – EasyJet, for example, has already sold over one million airline seats, online. We’ve been scared enough, however – the question is now – what can we do to profit from the Web?

The answer to this question has three, mutually dependent parts. At the top level they may be considered as:

- the business strategy covering, for example, how can I align my organisation to best profit from the Web? What products and services should I offer, and what markets should I target? Who are my customers and suppliers?

- the technical strategy – what are the most appropriate technologies to meet my needs? What can I use to implement something quickly and gauge the reaction of the public so I can move on?

- the operational strategy – how can I resource the 24x7 operation that my online service requires? Have I the necessary pieces in place to provide the best possible customer service?

All of the above need to be addressed simultaneously to make a success of the Internet. Too often, still, it is the technical issues that are tackled first (“Give me a Web site!”) without giving due attention to the business and operational issues. Each of the above has a responsible party – the CEO, CIO and COO – who must work together to draw up a coherent eCommerce strategy.

There, that’s it, now it’s over to you. The intention here is not to scare or patronise. No FUD here, just a single question. Does your organisation have a strategy for exploiting the Web? If not, you may be resigning yourself to watching from the sidelines while others steal the rewards.

(First published 11 October 1999)