| E-commerce has moved well beyond novelty status. The Gartner Group predicts that online sales in the U.S. will represent 5-7 percent of total retail sales in 2004, up from less than 1 percent in 1999. And B2B e-commerce is expected to grow from $147 billion in 1999 to $7.2 trillion in 2004. To avoid e-mishaps, experts advise companies to heed the following:
• Don’t alienate channel partners. Less than four months after launching its online store, Reebok International closed it down. Analysts say the company stopped selling shoes online in order to keep its retailers happy.
• Focus on core competencies. After investing in excess of $20 million in an e-commerce effort, Levi Strauss & Co. turned its sales back to retail partners Macy’s and JCPenney. Often, channel partners are better equipped in such areas as distribution to sell products directly to consumers.
• Integrate customer service systems. Toys ‘R’ Us learned this lesson the hard way, when e-customers discovered they could not return goods purchased online to brick-and-mortar stores. Customers see companies as a single entity and expect them to behave accordingly.
• Involve salespeople. If the sales force feels threatened by online business, they will never promote its use. Tupperware Worldwide gives sales representatives credit for online sales referrals.
• Know when to outsource. Trying to retrofit a bulk distribution center to handle single orders can be both costly and inefficient. Recently, Wal-Mart hired Fingerhut Business Services, Inc. to process its online orders and handle distribution. | 