Lesson 3 | Introduce e-Business models |
Objective | Identify common e-Business models. |
Identify common e-Business Models
Relationships are changing the way business is done. These relationships have led to the emergence of several successful business models to address the special needs of the Internet consumer. Some of the more common e-Business models include:
- Infomediary
- Trust Intermediary
- Infrastructure Provider
- e-Business Enabler
- The Storefront
We will now briefly discuss each of these models.
1) Infomediaries
2) Trust Intermediaries
Trust enabler include the Web Trust seal which the company believes will allow "people like you to feel more comfortable shopping on the Web, and taking advantage of the speed, convenience and ever-expanding universe of products and services it puts right at your fingertips. Quite simply, "It's a matter of trust."
3) Infrastructure Providers
Infrastructure Providers offer a playing field for
all or part of a marketplace. For instance, American Airline's
Sabre System enables each of the major airlines to store and retrieve reservation information.
For this service, American Airlines receives a 3 percent cut of each transaction. Other examples include all the Internet service providers.
ISP's such as
AOL.
Also included are network providers like
Akamai.
4) E-business Enablers
E-business Enablers provide add-on services to e-Commerce sites. For instance, where would Amazon.com be without the services of the United States Postal Service? These companies enable e-Commerce sites to conduct their business from a virtual marketplace. This business model is also referred to as a distributive network.
Other examples include
- FedEx and
- Ingram Micro, providing reseller service, and
- FingerHut providing direct marketing in a Web-mall environment for a variety of retailers.
5) Storefront
The Storefront is an entity in the marketplace in which business occurs, margin is created, and value is created using existing as well as new market channels. Amazon.com is the pioneer and leader of this business model. Many adaptations and examples of the storefront model exist, as you will discover in the next few lessons.