TUTORIAL WEEK 7

ICB 26303 – INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE

Answer ALL Questions – From Chapter 1-3

1. Defined E-commerce and E-Business.

2. Explain why a firm's online inventory control system is an example of e-business rather than e-
commerce. What is the key factor in determining if a transaction is "commerce"?

3. Identify the eight unique features of e-commerce technology and explain how these features
set e-commerce apart from more traditional ways of conducting commercial transactions.

4. List and briefly explain the main types of e-commerce.

5. Explain FIVE (5) revenue models used by e-commerce firms by providing suitable examples.

6. Identify the categories of the following e-commerce:

A. E-procurement:
B. Exchanges:
C. Industry consortia:
D. Market creator:

7. Discuss any THREE (3) of website principle designs to attract customers .

8. CASE STUDY

Raffles Hotel, one of Singapore’s colonial-era landmarks, is part of a worldwide group of luxury and
business hotels. Raffles Hotel operates in a very competitive environment. To maintain its world-
renowned reputation, the hotel spares no effort on every facet of its operation. The success of the group
and each of its hotels depends on the group’s ability to attract customers to its hotels and facilities and
on its ability to contain costs. The group also operates the Swissôtel brand of hotels worldwide. Both the
Raffles and Swissôtel brands share a reservation system.

The Web site uses an architecture with logical and consistent navigational tiers, which has proven to be a
highly successful approach. Based on the individual hotel strategy, product mix, and target audience, the
Web site navigation reflects the multitiered navigation structure. Each tier represents an order of
authority that helps lay out the organization of the Web site. The tiered structure moves users
comfortably and easily toward a set of services, including the reservation process. This helps to focus on

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incremental reservations growth and dynamic content management. The Web site has an integrated
online reservation system that provides bookers with instant online booking facility. One section of the
site, Raffles Direct, is designed to provide the corporate market with a user-friendly tool to book with their
negotiated rates online. The strategic focus of using the Internet as a key driver for distribution is based
on its being the ultimate direct-to-consumer distribution medium. It conforms to the lowest cost and most
inexpensive method to distribute hotel room inventory. A direct-to-consumer model provides long-term
competitive advantages. It decreases dependence on intermediaries, discounters, and traditional
channels that are slowly becoming obsolete. The Web site has recently been updated with improved
booking functionalities and new interactive features. The site includes information in multiple languages
to leverage the fast-growing Internet booking trends in some of the company’s key markets.

On the B2B side, in 2006 hospitalitybex.com, an e-marketplace for the hospitality and service industry,
was set up with a few strategic partners to offer a solution to streamline the procurement process and
enable the hospitality and service organizations to reduce costs across the supply chain by eliminating
inefficiencies. The portal offers product and service sourcing, negotiation, selection, ordering, fulfillment,
payment, and reporting. Buyers and suppliers have real-time access to business intelligence to assist in
the successful and efficient management of their procurement and supply operations. All procurement
activities are deployed through the HospitalityBex data center, so users do not need to purchase or lease
any new hardware or software. Buyers use online catalogs of more than 30,000 products and services
including office stationery, laundry and cleaning products, and perishable goods, and submit order
requests via a standard Web browser. User organizations incur considerable cost savings, because the
portal aggregates orders through strategic partnerships with major suppliers and service providers.
Procurement negotiations now take place online. Buyer–seller relationships have been strengthened by
the private, online marketplace.

Increased bookings through Raffles’ proprietary Web sites resulted in a strong growth of 77 percent in
rooms revenue from this channel, exceeding both 2004’s strong growth of 64 percent and the industry-
wide 2004 Internet growth rate of 32 percent (as reported by TravelCLICK in its 2004 eTRAK report).

In 2005, the global portal community consists of over 5,900 organizations. Annually, more than 470,000
purchase order transactions worth over $100 million are accrued.

Forty-two active buying organizations including hotels, offices, and retailers from around the world
provide more than $1 million in savings. The portal also generates regular reports for buyers, showing

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savings gained from this competitive pricing model. Buyers and sellers garner improvements by using
technology to increase productivity per human capital, linking to supply chain solutions through the
Internet, increasing inventory management, procurement operations, and B2B collaboration in a
knowledge-based environment. The hotel was purchased in 2006 by an investment group that has made
it the second-largest luxury hotel chain in the world.

Answer questions below;

1. Explain the problems faced by Raffles Hotel .

2. Based on the case study, discuss how Raffles Hotel address the problems they are facing

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