Multi-Channel Commerce & Retailing

Some analysis that I have attempted to capture classified as positives and drawbacks based on three options - Custom build, Managed Services, Package implementation.

The observations on the Custom Build options are:

Positives:

1. One can build the site according to one's own needs. No waiting for the business for any new initiatives introduction into the market.
2. This would mostly be managed by internal IT team of the organization & hence have a better understanding of the business needs.
3. Not bound by any package or technology restrictions, hence no boundaries in terms of technology.
4. Not a significant licensing fee cost provided the technology & tools used to develop the applications are relatively commonly accepted frameworks / tools.
5. Internal teams working to build the technology for the commerce site, hence the ability to request for a quicker turnaround.

Drawbacks:

1. Time consuming and takes too long to build a good & stable online commerce platform.
2. Internal IT teams expectations or goals not in alignment of the business needs as IT team may fall under organization IT department & may not have a dedicated online commerce team.
3. The internal IT teams land up using a plethora of technology tools where beyond a point, things become unmanageable.
4. IT team may take too much time to make minor changes, hence losing out on potential business. Business team is challenged to respond to the competition & may not have the IT team support its initiative time to respond to the competition.

Observations on Managed Services Providers:

Positives:

1. The Retailers concentrate on what they do best - provide the best products & Services. Focus on its customers and trust the Managed Service Provider to provide end-to-end solution.
2. Quick enablement of the web site & business is pleased on quick turnaround timeframes.
3. Transactions oriented pricing / license structure. Not heavy on IT budget.
4. Best returns of Investment (ROI) in terms of enabling the Retailers go live in the shortest possible.

Drawbacks:

1. New features or additions will be delayed as this has to undergo an internal analysis by the vendor & evaluate if the request adds value to their platform.
2. Outsourced SLAs have to be met, outsourced risk as the retailer has to trust the vendor to deliver to set expectations.
3. No control over the website layout & day to day events except having the ability to control the content displayed.

Observations on Packaged vendors:

Positives:

1. Out of the box features available for basic retailing with limited complex feature support.
2. Some package maturity is fairly advanced & can support seamless integration into different sub-systems (Order Management, Content Management, Web Analytics etc)
3. Business user friendly on top of being IT friendliness.
4. Robust & high performance ability from some of these packages

Drawbacks:

1. Packages on Commerce have been of relatively newer developments and the level of maturity is gaining over the last 2 - 3 years. Not all have achieved the same level of maturity.
2. Complex requirements land up being heavy customizations & some have the ability to break the core of the product, hence rendering the package upgrades untenable.
3. Most packages claim to meet basic retailing as out of the box but in reality some amount of customization is essential (not 100% plug & play).
4. Expensive annual license fee & yearly maintenance fee structure not suited for medium to small businesses. Package / product support is expensive as well.

In conclusion, retailers have to evaluate the options based on - investment capability, internal capabilities & technology challenges, ability to take risks & so on..