Question: CONSULTING OPPORTUNITY 2.1

The E in Vitamin E stands for Ecommerce

"Our retail shops and mail-order division are quite healthy," says Bill Berry, one of the owners of Marathon Vitamin Shops, "but to be competitive, we must establish an ecommerce Web site." His father, a co-owner, exclaims, "I agree, but where do we start?" The elder Berry knew, of course, that it wasn't a case of setting up a Web site and asking customers to email their orders to the retail store. He identified eight different parts to ecommerce and realized that they were all part of a larger system. In other words, all the parts had to work together to create a strong package. His list of elements essential to ecommerce included the following:

1. Attracting customers to an ecommerce Web site.

2. Informing customers about products and services offered.

3. Allowing customers to customize products online.

4. Completing transactions with customers.

5. Accepting payment from customers in a variety of forms.

6. Supporting customers after the sale via the Web site.

7. Arranging for the delivery of goods and services.

8. Personalizing the look and feel of the Web site for different customers. Bill Berry read the list and contemplated it for a while. "It is obvious that ecommerce is more complex than I thought," he says.

You can help the owners of Marathon Vitamin Shops in the following ways:

1. Make a list of the elements that are interrelated or interdependent. Then write a paragraph stating why it is critical to monitor these elements closely.

2. Decide on the boundaries and ultimate scope of the system. That is, write a paragraph expressing an opinion on which elements are critical for Marathon Vitamin Shops and which elements can be explored at a later date.

3. Suggest which elements should be handled in-house and which should be outsourced to another company that may be better able to handle the job. Justify your suggestions in two paragraphs, one for the in-house jobs and one for the outsourced tasks.