Introduction
With changing landscape of the business environment globally has forced businesses to adapt and be more relevant to the customers. Companies that fail to do so promptly end up either ceasing to exist or losing market share. One of the most significant changes that the business world has seen over the last decade is the automation of business processes and electronic trade. As stated, e-commerce uses computer networks, primarily the internet, to buy and sell products, services, and information. A more technical definition is “a modern business methodology that addresses the need of organizations, merchants and consumers to cut costs while improving the quality of goods and services and speed of service delivery by using the internet.”
E-Commerce Application at McDonald
McDonald’s is the leading global foodservice retailer, with more than 31,000 local restaurants serving more than 58 million people in 118 countries. More than 75% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent franchisees. Though the company started with the opening of its first restaurant by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940; the way the formal company was organized began in the year 1961 with Ray Croc, who was a franchisee of Mcdonald’s before that buying out the concept and rights from McDonald brothers for $2.7 million.
Mcdonald’s has taken a lot of initiatives to provide customers with a faster, better, and more convenient service experience. Mcdonald’s website (www.mcdonalds.com) provides a lot of interactive tools to enhance the patrons’ experience. For example, the site has an online store locator that helps visitors locate restaurant locations and provides the facility details for each location. This allows customers quickly find the restaurants, especially in a new area, and plan events like parties depending on the facilities available at each location.
The website also has a feature that allows the patrons to shop online for various items like merchandise, gift certificates, and forms for Mcdonald’s Arch cards. Mcdonald’s arch Cards are like pre-paid debit cards and come in four denominations for users’ convenience. It is also available for large corporate sales in multiples of twenty-five cards. These cards are public at all participating outlets, and the form can be downloaded from the Mcdonald’s website. The website also allows customers to check balances online. The site also offers a wide selection of merchandise like T-shirts, caps, sweatshirts, pants, footballs, and other memorabilia, among other collectibles.
E-Commerce and Competitive Advantage
With facilities like restaurant tracker and online merchandise sales, Mcdonald’s can fulfill many objectives. While, on the one hand, it brings direct revenue and customers to the company, it also ensures customer loyalty by providing better services with speed and cost-effectiveness.
E-commerce helps Mcdonald’s achieve improved and lower costs while being available round-the-clock, virtually from anywhere in the world. This helps to expand markets for both buyers and sellers by increasing availability. This also decreases the cost of paper-based information and communication for the firm.
Louis Gerstner’s comment and e-commerce at McDonald
The former IBM chairman Louis Gerstner commented that e-commerce is “all about cycle time, speed, globalization, enhanced productivity, reaching new customers, and sharing knowledge across institutions for competitive advantage.” In the case of McDonald’s case, it is visible that new initiatives are targeted in the same direction. Providing online services is a way to increase traffic and loyalty while it also helps keep track of the customers and recognize their preferences. E-commerce helps McDonald’s achieve quicker turnarounds and make operations globally synchronized and standardized.
McDonald’s has other agreements with vendors like Torex that allow them to synchronize business and data to control the company better. For example, in January 2008, McDonald’s signed a five-year licensing deal with Torex to provide point-of-service (POS) software, dubbed NewPOS-POS, across the chain’s outlets worldwide. Among other automation initiatives, McDonald’s and MasterCard operate the OneSmart MasterCard PayPass transaction system. Consumers can tap their MasterCard card on a PayPass reader to purchase in selected McDonald’s restaurants. The technology also allows small value purchases to be completed quickly, securely, and efficiently. Such initiatives help cut costs and maximize revenue.
Bibliography
Goel, Ritendra. Electronic Commerce- Technology and Prospects, Chapter-1 in e-commerce, (New Age International: 2008), Page-1.
McDonalds Corporation, Our Company, 2009. Web.
Mcspotlight, A brief history of McDonald’s, 2009. Web.
McDonalds Website, Corporate Sales, 2009. Web.
computing.co.uk, Mc Donald’s signs up Torex, 2009.Web.
Mastercard Worldwide, About OneSmart™ MasterCard® PayPass™, 2007. Web.