制造业的互联网化转型3

极致供应链I2A供应链迎接挑战的变革时代杨大勇：供应链解决方案架构师

E-commercecontinuestoexperiencestronggrowth,impactingindustriesbeyondretailandinconsumer-facingandbusiness-facingcommercesites.AsperInternetRetailerMagazine,U.S.e-commercesalesalonegrewby16.1%to$194.3billionin2011from$167.3billionin2010.Retailcontinuesasthelargestsegment,whilebrandedmanufacturingshowsthefastestgrowthascompaniescreateadirect-to-consumerpresence.Mobile,socialandafocusoncustomeranalyticsallcontributetoe-commercesuccess,butalsoraisethecomplexityofane-commerceinitiative.Therapidevolutionoftechnologyandchangingcustomerexpectationsareimpactingthecustomerexperience.TheB2CandB2Bcustomerexperiencehasalreadyadaptedtothedemandsofmultichannelbrowsingandbuying,whereincustomersexpecttobeabletoaccesssearch,shoppingandsupportcapabilities,regardlessoftheirlocation(in-storeoroutofstore)andendpointdevice(laptop,tablet,mobile,kiosk,digitaldisplayorother).E-commercehasoftenbeenassociatedwithonlineretailing.However,thisisnottheonlyindustrythatistakingadvantageofsellingonline(see"E-CommerceHasSpreadBeyondRetail").ManyB2CandB2BindustriesareusingtheWebasasaleschanneland,wherepossible,leveragingtheknowledgeandcapabilitiesofeachother'se-commercecustomerexperiences.B2BorganizationsareseekingtomaketheircustomerexperiencesmoreB2C-like,whileB2CorganizationsareseekingtouseB2Bcapabilities,suchasproductconfiguration,fortheirmorecomplexproductandserviceofferings.Improvingthecustomerexperiencecaninvolvecomplexsolutionsthatrelyonfactorswellbeyondthescopeofthee-commerceinfrastructure.Theelementsofagreate-commercecustomerexperiencewillvaryfordifferentindustries—fromadvancedpersonalization,bettersearchandnavigationtoorderandfulfillmentexperience.E-commerceismovingbeyondjustanonlinesellingchanneltointegratedplatformsdeliveringaunifiedcustomerexperience.Traditionally,mostorganizationshavebeeninvestingintheonlinechannelswiththeobjectiveofdrivingadditionalsales.However,customersincreasinglyareexpectingaseamlessbuyingexperienceacrossallchannels,ande-commerceisacriticalpartofthisevolutionsinceitisapointwhereotherchannelsareintegratingtosynchronizethecustomerexperienceacrosschannels.

Gartnerisexperiencinganincreasednumberofclientinquiriesregardingintegrationbetweene-commerceandback-officesystemslikeordermanagement,inventoryandproductinformationmanagement,aswellasothersystemsimpactingcustomerengagementlikecontentmanagement,digitalmarketing,pricing,customerservice,loyaltymanagementandPOS.OrganizationsarelookingtooptimizetheirITsystems,andalsotorestructuretheirITprocessesandpeopletosupportthistransformation.

E-commercehasmovedbeyondretail.Consumerizationandbusinessmodeltransformationaltrendsareaffectingallindustriesasmorebuyersexpectretail-likeonlinebuyingexperiences,andasnew,disruptivebusinessmodelsemerge.Industry-specificissues,suchasthemovementofsalestotheonlinechannelandhowfastthatchangeisoccurring,areinfluencingorganizations'interestine-commerce.Organizationsinmanyindustriesarepursuinge-commerceinitiativestoreducetheoverallcostofsalesastheymovesalesfromstore/branch/location,telephoneorface-to-facemodelstoonlinesalesmodels.Alltypesoforganizationsarelaunchingnewsitesorupgradingtheirsitestoincludeonlinesalescapabilitiesthatmimicconsumer-basedsalesmodels.Thesitesincludee-commercetransactionalcapabilitiesthathelpwithB2Bfunctions,suchaseaseofentryforlargeordersandrepeatorders.Organizationsarefocusedonoptimizingtheire-commerceapplicationportfolios,consolidatingtheB2BandB2CapplicationswithasingleunderlyingplatformservingB2BandB2Ccustomers'needs.EnterprisesarecriticalintheirevaluationandareincreasingtheirpreferencestoshortlistplatformsthatcansupportB2BandB2Crequirements.B2Be-commerceisbeginningtoresembletheB2Cexperiencemoreclosely,withbusinesscustomersexpectingauserexperiencewithdynamiccatalogs,recommendationenginesandpersonalizationsimilartoorbetterthanwhattheyaregettingfromtheirfavoriteconsumersites.Companiesinhightech,industrialandmanufacturing,businessservices,lifesciencesandfinancialservicesarecreatinge-commercesitestoreplicateand,insomecases,replaceadirectsalesorindirectsalesexperience,andtoprovidetheircustomerswitha24/7onlinesalespresence.E-commerceisgoingglobal,withB2BandB2Corganizationsexpandingintoemergingmarkets.Enterprisesareadoptingmultiplestrategies,suchasasingleplatformsupportingmultiplegeographiestofullyoutsourcedmodelsforemergingmarkets.Itisimportantforvendorstosupportmultipledeliverymodelsastheirclientsgrowandexpandintointernationalmarkets.Globalizationhasshiftedfromjustlanguage-specificmultisite,currencyandtaxationtolocalizeddatacenterswiththeabilitytodeployandsupportcustomerrequirementsindifferentmarkets.Gartner'sNexusofForces—mobile,social,informationandcloud—isimpactingthee-commercemarketandtransformingbusinesses.Customers'growingdesirestointeractthroughdigitalchannelshavereinvigoratedinterestine-commerce,butthemarketforthesetechnologiesiscomplex,andhowthesetechnologiesareleverageddeterminesanorganization'ssuccessatdeliveringagreatcustomerexperience:Supportformobiledevices—includingphonesandtabletsenablingcustomerengagementacrossthecustomerlifecycle,fromsearch,browse,buyandservice—isnolongeranoptionordifferentiatorfore-commercevendors.Rather,mobiledevicesupportisexpectedandmandatory,andtheonlydifferentiatorforvendorsistheflexibilityoftheapplicationtosupportthefullrangeofcapabilitiesandinteractions,regardlessoflocationordeviceendpoint.Thenextwaveofrequirementswillbeforamobileapplicationplatformthatcanenableorganizationstodeliveracontextuallyawaree-commerceexperienceacrossalltypesofmobilebrowsersanddevices,andtodevelopapplicationsforthemultiplemobilehardwareoperatingsystems.ThismobileapplicationplatformwillalsoenabletheintegrationofpaymentsandotherCRMsystems,suchasloyaltymanagement,todrivecontext-basedoffers,transactionsandinstantgratificationonthego.Userorganizationscontinuetoevaluateandquestioninvestmentlevelsfore-commercetechnologies,andarechoosingfromamongarobustrangeofcapabilitiesprovidedbylicensedon-sitesoftwaresolutions,hostedandSaaSsolutions,andinternallydevelopedsolutions.WhilecostandROIcontinuetodominatetheconversation,organizationsarealsolookingforshorterimplementationtimeframes,flexibleandrobustuserinterfacecapabilities,integrationwithback-endERP,financialmanagement,ordermanagementenvironmentsandminimalsupportrequirements.SaaSandintegrationasaservicearethepredominantcloud-basedsolutiondeliverymodelsinthee-commercemarket.SMBswereearlyadoptersofSaaSfore-commerce,largelyduetolimitedcapitalbudgets.Enterpriseswithe-commercesalesbetween$10millionand$100millionarealsoembracingSaaSe-commercemodels.However,examplesofenterprisesoperatingabovethatrevenuerangearelesscommon.ThiscouldbebecauseorganizationsfindthatSaaSvendors'pricingmaynotsuittheircurrentandfuturee-commercesalesvolumes,and/ortheirdesiretodeliverahighlycustomizede-commerceuserexperience.However,SaaSandoutsourcingoptionsarefindingincreasedtractioninternationallyaslargerenterprisesexpandintonewmarkets.OrganizationscontinuetowitnesschallengestoavailabilitySLAsbySaaSproviders,withmostvendorscommitting99.5%andabovewhileclaimingtodeliverabove99.8%.Also,clientsshouldunderstandlimitationstotheamountofcustomizationaSaaSproviderwillallowforindividualcustomers.Mostcustomersalsofindthegovernancemechanismforongoingcustomizationandchangerequesttobechallenging,withfrequentdelaysandlongertimetoimplementsame.

Socialcommercehasenjoyedalotofhypeinthee-commercemarket.However,someorganizationshavenotrealizedonlinesalesequaltothehype.Someorganizationshavehadsuccesswithusingsocialcommercetodrivesales,butthesesalescameatalossofmarginbecausediscountingandpromotionswereusedtoengagethecustomer.Veryfeworganizationshavebeenabletousesocialcommerceasawaytodrivefull-pricesalesandtoshapedemandfornewitems.However,organizationsareleveragingsocialmediaasachannelforideation,buildingbrandawareness,customersupportandfeedback.Overtime,organizationswillbecomebetterskilledatusingsocialcapabilitiestobuilddemandanddrivefull-pricesalesastheydevelopmoreexpertisewithsocialmedia.Information(alsoknownasbigdata)andanalyticsareevolvingthemesaroundorganization.AlthoughmostorganizationshavebasicreportingandanalyticscapabilitiesalignedwiththSocialcommercehasenjoyedalotofhypeinthee-commercemarket.However,someorganizationshavenotrealizedonlinesalesequaltothehype.Someorganizationshavehadsuccesswithusingsocialcommercetodrivesales,butthesesalescameatalossofmarginbecausediscountingandpromotionswereusedtoengagethecustomer.Veryfeworganizationshavebeenabletousesocialcommerceasawaytodrivefull-pricesalesandtoshapedemandfornewitems.However,organizationsareleveragingsocialmediaasachannelforideation,buildingbrandawareness,customersupportandfeedback.Overtime,organizationswillbecomebetterskilledatusingsocialcapabilitiestobuilddemandanddrivefull-pricesalesastheydevelopmoreexpertisewithsocialmedia.Information(alsoknownasbigdata)andanalyticsareevolvingthemesaroundorganization.Althoughmostorganizationshavebasicreportingandanalyticscapabilitiesalignedwiththeonlinechannel,theyhaveyettoinvestinananalyticalframeworkthatcanprovidestrategicandtacticalinformationacrosschannelsandfunctions.Organizationsneedtomovebeyondasingle-channelviewtoa360-degreeviewofthecustomer.However,somee-commercevendorsofferonlybasicanalyticalcapabilities.eonlinechannel,theyhaveyettoinvestinananalyticalframeworkthatcanprovidestrategicandtacticalinformationacrosschannelsandfunctions.Organizationsneedtomovebeyondasingle-channelviewtoa360-degreeviewofthecustomer.However,somee-commercevendorsofferonlybasicanalyticalcapabilities.WithOmni-channelexcellencefastbecomingacustomerimperative,retailersandbrandsalikearer