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The challenge is clear: to use IT to get closer to customers. There are already many examples of this. Dell is building a closer relationship with its end customer by letting them design their own PCs on the Internet. Customers who have ordered their computers from Dell can then follow their computers along the various stages of the production process in real time on their personalized website. Such experimentation is advisable because the success of ‘build-to-order’ models such as Dell’s represents a challenge to current ‘buildto-stock’ business platforms, which Compaq generally uses. In Exhibit 14.11 there is a comparison of the business models of Dell and HP. Dell’s basic business principle is the close relationship between the PC manufacturer and the end customer, without further intermediaries in the distribution channel. This allows Dell to individualize the computers more to customers’specific needs. Computers can also be remotely diagnosed and fixed over the Internet today; this may soon be true of many other appliances.Airlines now communicate special fares to preferred customers through e-mails and special websites. Cars will soon have Internet protocol addresses, which will make possible a range of personal, in-vehicle information services. Customers can also be involved in the early stages of product development so that their inputs can shape product features and functionality. Pharmaceutical companies are experimenting with the possibility of analysing patients’ genes to determine precisely what drugs should be administered in what dosages. The transformation in the business platform can be seen in university textbook publishing. This industry – which has seen little innovation since the advent of the printing press – is now in the midst of major changes. Publishers are creating supplementary website links to provide additional ways for students and lecturers to be connected during courses (e.g. www.pearsoned.co.uk and www.wiley.com). The publisher’s role, which traditionally was selling textbooks at the beginning of term,is becoming that of an educational consultant or value-adding partner throughout the term.
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