The main purpose of this report is to evaluate current E-business strategies employed by such companies as Watani and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. In addition to that, I would like to make some suggestions, which may possibly contribute to the effective functioning of this hypermarket. In order to assess the efficiency of the methods used by the management of this organization, it is necessary to pay extra attention to such criteria as the degree of customization, the accessibility of products, the convenience of interface and so forth.
It seems that Watani is quite able to increase the level of its popularity, yet some amendments should be adopted. Overall, while determining the appropriateness of any e-business strategy, we should first ascertain whether it corresponds to the capacity of the company and promotes its development (Chaffey, 2007, p 55). It is early to make any assumptions but in my opinion the policy, pursued by Watani does not fully live up to the objectives that this enterprise sets.
Prior to analyzing E-business techniques of this company, we should point out that Watani is arguably one of the largest supercenters in Saudi Arabia; it offers a wide variety of products such as food, clothing, toys, hardware, domestic appliances, etc. Thus, it would not be an exaggeration for us to say the services of this hypermarket enjoy considerable demand.
On the whole, Watani strives to strengthen its position in the market and for that purpose its management has decided to make use of information technologies. At this moment we can observe that this supercenter intends to change its image of a traditional brick and mortar shop to a more modern one. Nevertheless, there are certain drawbacks that should be rectified. Certainly, we may not presume that this transition can be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time, this is a gradual process, requiring time and significant investment. At present, there are certain stumbling blocks or obstacles, but they can be surmounted.
First and foremost, we may say that Watani uses its website only for advertisement however; one may suggest this organization can easily enhance its functionality, for example by offering the opportunity to purchase the goods directly on the Website. It should be taken into consideration that Watani has four stores in Jeddah and Makkah; these cities are regarded as the leading resort centers of the country. Consequently, we may infer that the number of buyers should be constantly increasing.
It might be prudent to sell some of the products on in electronic shop. The thing is that some of the clients do not have time to do shopping and therefore it might be more convenient for them to make orders online. One cannot deny that such a shift in policy entails considerable effort and the management may even claim that such change is not cost-effective yet we may argues that a great number of hypermarkets give preference to Internet-based commerce (Farhoomand, 2000, p 85).
At this point, it is of the crucial importance for us to discuss the approach, which the company has taken towards its clients. The strategy that Watani employs now can be classified as Infomediary. The essence of this technique lies in the following: the organization reduces costs of customer search and advertising by means of Internet. In point of fact, this supermarket only intends to provide information about the goods and services, it offers.
According to such scholar, as Peter Vervest, this strategy can be defined a passive infomediary (Vervest, 2000, p 76). In other words, the potential client cannot interact with the shop; consequently there is no possibility to make an order. He or she may only get links for further information. Naturally, we should not say that such a method is entirely inappropriate, its effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) greatly depends upon the circumstances. It is impermissible to evaluate the use of E-commerce strategy without considering the context and the situation.
To a certain degree, such an approach is quite effective on the condition that the enterprise is a new-comer and its main priority is to advertise its products or services. But we can hardly claim that Watani is a beginner in this field. This supercenter established its reputation several years ago, thus, it might switch over to some other tactics, such as active infomediary. The major difference is that buyers would be able to conduct transactions.
We have to admit that this policy will require considerable expenses, especially if we are speaking about delivery service, but in the long run this investment will break even and yield results. We must not forget the fact that some of the companys stores are located in Jeddah, one of the biggest and also busiest cities in the country, and it is not surprising that many people give preference to E-commerce. The major problem is that now they do not have such a chance.
At this moment the relations between Watani and the clients appear to be somewhat one-sided, which does not contribute to the effective functioning of this organization. The company has yet to fulfill its potential but some changes may improve the situation which has recently emerged. In whole, the first suggestion is that Watani should probably try some alternative approaches such as active infomediary.
Another aspect, which we may not overlook, is the convenience of the Web site. The interface is quite practical and the potential client can easily browse through it. The information is presented in a clear and concise fashion, yet there are some inconsistencies. As it has been noted before, Watani offers a wide range of products, and thus, the company has to divide them into categories. The customer can search for the necessary item but the main problem is that the price is not specified.
Moreover, the company provides special offers at discounts but they cannot be accessed. The client may only find email addresses of the management but he or she cannot call the commercial department in order to make the purchase. It is also impossible to find the description of the particular item; one can only look at its picture. According to distinguished experts, such inaccuracies often make would-be clients refuse the services of any company (Gottschalk, 2000, p 31).
Apart from that, while analyzing any E-business strategy, we should focus on such questions as the degree of customization. Judging from the information, released on the web-site of this company, one may say that the well-being of clients is one of the main priorities for the management. At least, it is declared to be so. But there are some details, indicating that this statement is not quite grounded.
First of all, it can be observed that regular clients do not have personal space, and there is no greeting when a potential client enters the site. At first glance, one can raise objection, claiming that that these are just unnecessary formalities, but the experience of leading E-commerce companies tells us that in the overwhelming majority of cases, any person feels more comfortable if the website is more interactive and there are some phrases, which serve to emulate natural conversation. The issues, which we have discussed, are sometimes treated as insignificant or they are even labeled as trifles, but the outcome or success of any enterprise is determined by such trifles.
Therefore, it is quite possible for us to arrive at the conclusion that at present Watani employs such a strategy as passive infomediary, which consists only in providing the information to the client. Given the position of this company in the market we may suggest the transition from passive infomediary to the active one. As regards the overall effectiveness of this model, we should point out that the website of this organization does not give comprehensive data about the goods and services; in particular we can speak about the prices.
Apart from that, the management should not overlook such question as customization, because any potential client will be willing to make his or her purchases in this supercenter if he or she knows that the management is involved with the needs and demands of the buyers. On the whole, Watani should assume a more active attitude toward electronic commerce and should not limit itself only with advertising. The Internet has excellent prospects for continuous growth, yet the company has not utilized all of them.
Bibliography
Ali Farhoomand, Peter Lovelock (2001). “Global E-commerce: Text and Cases”. Prentice Hall.
Dave Chaffey (2007). “E-business and e-commerce management: strategy, implementation and practice”. Pearson Education.
Erik Brynjolfsson, Glen L. Urban. “Strategies for E-business Success”. Jossey-Bass.
Petter Gottschalk (2005). “E-business strategy, sourcing, and governance”. Idea Group Inc.
Peter Vervest, Al Dunn (2000). “How to win customers in the digital world: total action or fatal inaction” Springer.