Page 389 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

376 11 Electronic Commerce Payment Systems and Order Fulfillment

nature of these relationships, how do they differ, and are 4. Have one team represent MasterCard® Pay Pass™ (mas-
they successful? tercard.us/paypass.html) and another represent Visa pay-
7. Visit freightquote.com and the sites of two other online Wave (usa.visa.com/personal/security/card-technology/
freight companies. Compare the features offered by visa-paywave.jsp). The task of each team is to convince a
these companies for online delivery. company that its product is superior to the other.
8. Enter efulfillmentservice.com. Review the products 5. Research and write a report on the differences among the
you find there. View the video about their operation. cloud-based and device-based digital wallets, giving
How does the company organize the network? How is it examples of each and noting the pros and cons of each
related to companies such as FedEx? How does this approach.
company make money? 6. Each team should investigate the order fulfillment pro-
9. Enter kewill.com. Find the innovations offered there cess offered at an e-tailer’s site, such as gap.com, staples.
that facilitate order fulfillment. Compare it with com, or walmart.com. Contact the company, if neces-
shipsmo.net. Write a report. sary, and examine any related business partnerships.
10. Visit b2b-today.com. Go to the B2B Communities area Based on the content of this chapter, prepare a report with
and identify the major vendors there. Then select three suggestions for how the company can improve its order
vendors and examine the services they provide to the fulfillment process. Each group’s findings will be dis-
B2B community. cussed in class. Based on the class’s findings, draw some
11. Go to ariba.com. What is Sap Ariba and what supply conclusions about how companies can improve order
chain solutions does it provide? Prepare a report describ- fulfillment.
ing the solutions they offer in the procurement arena. 7. FedEx, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, DHL, and others are
12. “The food industry has been the slowest major consumer competing in the EC logistics market. Each team should
sector to expand into e-commerce.” First, read foodlogis- examine one such company and investigate the services it
tics.com/article/12021908/food-and-beverages- push- provides. Contact the company, if necessary, and aggre-
into- e-commerce-raising-questions-for-the-supply- gate the team’s findings into a report that will convince
chain. Based on the article what are some of the major classmates or readers that the company is the best. (What
issues that the food industry faces with EC? What are are its best features? What are its weaknesses?)
some of the solutions that have tried to address these 8. The competition on “same-day delivery” is intensifying
issues? with more and more competitors entering the race.
Investigate the status of the competition including deliv-
ery by drones (e.g., FAA’s approval). Start with Bowman
TEAM ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS: (2014). Write a report.
ASSIGNMENT FOR THE OPENING CASE 9. Read about the warehouse management systems provided
by JDA and Manhattan Associates (including some of
1. Read the opening case and answer the following ques- their warehouse case studies) and answer the following:
tions: (a) What supply chain processes are supported by both
(a) What is cross-border research and under this defini- systems?
tion is trade between two member countries of the (b) What are the major benefits of each system?
European Union cross-border or not? Explain. (c) What are the major differences in the capabilities
(b) Describe the current and estimated size of the cross- provided?
border market.
(c) What are the key elements of success for a EC com-
pany wanting to expand into global markets? CLOSING CASE: SEND MONEY
(d) What is the basic approach that Costco used in enter- HOME—M- PESA AND THE KENYA
ing the Chinese EC market? EXPERIENCE
(e) Would the approach used by Costco work for a com-
pany like Walmart? Explain. The slang term unbanked refers to people who do not use
2. The competition within the mobile payment reader indus- banks or other financial institutions. Instead of using checks
try is very intense. Each team selects a company in this and cards, they conduct most of their financial transactions in
field (e.g., Square, PayPal, Groupon) and presents the cash. While there are many reasons for people to be unbanked,
company’s capabilities and weaknesses. most of them are poor and either lack the credit standing to
3. Write a report comparing smart card applications in two have a bank account or they are located in poorer regions
or more European and/or Asian countries. In the report, where there are no banking services. In many countries
discuss whether those applications would succeed in around the world, moving from the ranks of the unbanked is
North America. almost a necessary step for getting out of poverty.