Take the global business picture. One hundred years ago, corporate managers were justifiably excited about telecommunications breakthroughs like coast-to-coast telephone calls and manufacturing advancements like the combustion engine and the automated assembly line. Toss in the imminent arrival of air travel, radio, and the typewriter and you can imagine a corporate executive's excitement about the future of business.

Flash forward one hundred years later, where equally excited business leaders have a box seat to some of the greatest advancements of the last hundred years. Real time teleconferences between parties thousands of miles away from each other, cellular phones no bigger than a stapler that carry news, names and numbers of key business contacts, and e-mail capabilities at the flick of a button, and the advent of online commerce. Who would have imagined such wonderful business tools even 10 years ago?

Recognizing the advantages of new business tools is one thing, doing something to maximize their potential is quite another.

The key to harnessing the power of these business tools, whether you ran a company in the 1890's or operate one in the 1990's, is adapting to new advancements and preparing for change. In commerce circles, a growing number of corporations have done just that in leveraging one of the most critical business tools of this or any other age - the Internet.

After all, It's no secret that technology is changing our world at a phenomenal pace. Computers are radically changing every aspect of our lives, especially the way we work. The hype is now the reality and like it or not, your company's ability to exploit this technology will be a crucial factor to its success.

Enter e-business, the hottest trend in the red-hot Internet technology. E-business is bringing businesses, employees, suppliers, vendors, and -- above all -- customers together easier, faster, and at a better price tag than ever before. Above all, e-business is about using the Internet and the Web to link companies and consumers together.

Using Web technology for e-business hardly existed four years ago, but today it is crowded with several business models, sliced and diced into different categories by different analysts. These commerce models fight for their share of a market that, according to Forrester Research Inc., will grow from $8 billion today to $1.3 trillion in 2002.

E-Business Defined

There’s a lot of confusion these days about what e-business means. Is it e-commerce, where business-to-consumer (B2C ) and business-to-business (B2B) markets are drswaing thousands of new customers per day? Or is e-business the business of corporate extranets and intranets, those bundled web sites that bring companies, suppliers, vendors and customers together at the flick of a keystroke? Or is e-business about digital marketplaces and portal partnerships, where companies can band together and sell their wares together, at one venue, on the Internet?

Actually e-business means all those things and a whole lot more. Sure e-business is about electronic commerce, intranets and digital marketplaces, areas we’ll cover in great detial inside this book. But for now, let’s try to keep things simple. Simply stated, E-business is about exchanging rich information at almost zero cost using existing communications networks and standard software than runs on virtually any computer in existence anywhere in the world.

E-business processes bring greater efficiencies, improved service and add value. This results in a tangible competitive edge for companies that allows them to offer the same commodity as their competitors quicker and cheaper. These companies can grow exponentially because they are built on scaleable technology platforms and run Internet linked applications, enabling them to move into new markets with relative ease. Their agility allows them to adapt to constant change and reduce costs.

What’s so great about becoming an e-business? As you’ll discover, that’s what this book’s about. But let’s take a quick look at some advantages right here:

The Internet is a global media. Almost anything can be sold on-line. You can generate quality leads, rapidly penetrate new markets (locally and globally) using your existing resources but without the costs of traditional media. Do you want to sell more to more customers?

How quickly can your company respond to market changes? Using e-business

you can change or update your information instantly - whenever you choose. Therefore, you can inform your customers immediately about new products, price changes and special promotions.

E-business removes the cost of traditional sales networks. It can replace expensive telephone sales operations, printed business literature, that can soon become out dated, and provide you and your customers with a quicker, cheaper and more convenient way to purchase.

Give your customers and more importantly your competitors customers' tangible reasons to buy from you. Many companies using e-commerce, as part of their e-business strategy, see massive reductions in costs and pass these savings on, attracting more customers. No wonder the Internet is growing so fast.

Can your competitors provide the same products or service but in less time and for less cost? Is their business open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Who will take the initiative first - you or the competition?

Supply chain management streamlines the distribution of real time information, data and goods across the entire business spectrum. It focuses on your customers, suppliers, employees and business partners, to maximise efficiency and productivity in every area of your business network.


What a Well-Honed E-Business Site Can Give Your Organization

1. Respond instantly to market trends.

2. Release capital by removing the need to carry excess stock.

3. Schedule 'just in time' deliveries.

4. Use quality information to make better business decisions.

5. Empower your work force with the tools to be more productive.

When you link your internal and external systems to your Web site they become Web-enabled. This allows authorized members of your supply chain, (your partners, customers, suppliers & employees) to receive the information they need when they need it, wherever they may be.

When you begin to e-business enable your customer service processes you create the concept of customer self-service.

Customer service focuses on attracting, supporting and retaining profitable customers. To achieve a successful customer self-service model, front-end e-business software can be integrated with Web-enable existing back office systems, giving customers controlled and secure access to the data that they require. This way you can manage your relationship with your customers and they can manage their relationship with you. In short, you give your customers what they want when they want it.

How are companies embracing and benefiting from these powerful new business breakthroughs? Well, as Thomas Edison once said, it's easier to show you than to tell you. Let's take a look at how some companies are using e-commerce to thrive in the new age of e-business.

When it comes to cutting edge companies, it's tough to beat Harley Davidson. The $1.2 billion world-renowned designer, manufacturer and marketer of heavyweight motorcycles, parts, accessories, collectibles and riding apparel is king of the road in the hearts and minds of motorcycle enthusiasts everywhere.

So it's no surprise that the company was quickly able to gain traction in the slick world of the Internet. Take a look at Eaglemark Financial Services, Harley-Davidson's majority-owned subsidiary, which provides financing for dealerships and retail customers. Eaglemark's back office functions are improving significantly with the company's recent implementation of a World Wide Web-based B2B transaction, invoice presentation and payment software package.

With the e-payment software, Harley Davidson dealers can access a secure web site and tap into a wealth of invoice processing and payment data, like money owed, money received, and payment exceptions.

"With 620 Harley Davidson dealerships to deal with, and 75 additional customers to handle, we've got our work cut out for us," says Al Ely, vice president of Wholesale Operations at Eaglemark. "We used to have a manual, heavily paper-intensive office. But the automated invoicing package that Bank of America has given us on the web has led us to that Utopian paperless workplace that everyone's talked about. Right now we're paperless and effectively communicating electronically with clients online -- I wish we'd done this sooner."

As part of Eaglemark's everyday business, the company handles an annual average of $2 billion worth of floor plan financings, account openings, products, parts and accessory financing, and working capital and real estate loans. If a dealership sells a motorcycle, then that sale generates one invoice. But closing the book on the sale used to take a week at a time. "We’d present invoice statements on Thursday, process them over the weekend, and mail them out on Monday for arrival on Wednesday or Thursday," recalls Ely. "It was completely inefficient."

With the electronic payment and invoicing software in place, that process is completed in 24 hours, with real-time electronic delivery of all the invoicing data. "People can make payments anyway they want," says Ely, "but we're really encouraging them to do it electronically." That shouldn't be a problem. At a recent dealer road show in San Diego where Eaglemark demonstrated the new e-payment software, 85 out of 85 dealers signed up to use it on the spot. "That was overwhelming," says Ely.

Ely estimates that his back office staffers are 50-to-60 percent more productive with the new software. "There's been a big efficiency boost, more accuracy and better overall customer service," he adds. "In the motorcycle business, there's a real pride of ownership with customers. So you want to talk to them as much as you can and make sure they're happy. Now, we have more time to do that."

"Better yet, our dealers have more time to sell motorcycles."

AMP Incorporated is the world's largest business-to-business provider of electrical components. The company makes connectors, cables, and components used in wiring, fiber optics, printed circuits, and wireless communications. Their products are found in household appliances by Whirlpool, batteries by Duracell, medical equipment by GE, and in computers by IBM, DEC, and Sun. In a world powered by electricity and information -- a world of voice, data, and video -- AMP connects people to each other across the vast reaches of the globe.

Like most B2B e-commerce providers, AMP is okay with the notion that people don't realize their computers, car stereos, or console televisions are equipped with AMP's electronic wizardry. In fact, they like it that way.

But that didn't stop the company from building one of the best e-business sites in the world. The web site, called AMP Connect, was designed to provide customized electronic commerce solutions for clients in business-to-business operations, and offer consulting, development of electronic catalog database and business transactions, Web site hosting, and support and systems integration for turnkey operations. AMP called on IBM's Net.Commerce e-business system to run the site.

AMP Connect lists almost half of AMP's 200,000-plus products. The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania company, with 45,000 employees in more than 200 facilities in 50 countries, was spending about $10 million (U.S.) annually to publish and distribute its 1,400 product catalogs. AMP's e-business site not only virtually eliminated company catalog printing costs, but provide customers with more timely product information. AMP adds products to its components lineup at an astounding rate even for Web software companies -- an average of 200 new products a day.

AMP launched their electronic catalog in January 1996 to serve its customers worldwide. Today, AMP offers its customers a global product information catalog in eight languages: French, Italian, Spanish, English, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean. Two-thirds of the catalogs 100,000 registered users (from over 138 countries) are engineers in industries such as computer peripherals, electronic/electrical equipment, aerospace systems, and communications equipment.

By the end of 1999, AMP's online catalog expanded to include over 100,000 parts and business was busier than ever. Not only were catalog costs were cut, customers were much happier using the site, and company revenues skyrocketed as a result.

With its implementation of an intranet/extranet solution (using Microsoft's BackOffice B2B platform) New York City-based Nautica has streamlines communications between Nautica and its business partners by giving all parties 24-hour access to design information, contracts, and sales data, and helps Nautica bring additional licensees online.

The B2B site has linked Nautica more tightly with its licensees all over the world, streamlining communication and making time-critical design changes instantly accessible to everyone.

Moreover, Nautica's e-business operation required minimal training for employees, who were already familiar with the Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Windows based desktop products.

The largest local government in the United States buys $650 million worth of goods and services each year from a list of 25,000 bidders-everything from hard drives to helicopters. Until recently, all of those purchases were made using paper forms. The time delays inherent in paperwork created chaos, waiting, and huge warehousing costs. With

e-commerce heating up, L.A. County got online. Using a Web-based purchasing solution the county now lets buyers shop, order and pay for goods over the Internet.

L.A. County immediately garnered big savings from easier comparison-shopping and lower inventory costs, faster order cycles, less paperwork, and more opportunities for small businesses. It spends $650 million each year on an incredible array of goods and

services: tortillas, road graders, helicopters, livestock, paper clips, pacemakers, artificial limbs, automobiles-and much more. Until recently, all of it was purchased through catalogs and paper forms. It was almost impossible to compare prices when shopping

because of the mind-boggling numbers of items and suppliers involved in even simple purchases. Twenty people might buy toner cartridges at one time, without knowing that a central warehouse already had hundreds in inventory. This meant the county missed out on opportunities for volume discounts and incurred unnecessary inventory costs, not to mention the delays of paper-based order fulfillment.

At Pittsburgh-based Freemarkets Online, Inc., bringing e-businesses together online is the company's reason for being. Part auctioneer, part matchmaker, the company employs specialists called "market making engineers" who do nothing but scour the corporate landscape for the best prices for corporate clients.

Companies that were faced with the grim prospect of leafing through hundreds of print product catalogs use Freemarkets Online to winnow down the best products and the best prices for them. For example, a manufacturing company that traditionally had a list of 2,500 potential widget suppliers ion the U.S. could spend months trying to find the best business relationship. By using an online middleman like Freemarkets Online, that company could get an "e-list" of the 20 or 30 companies best suited to buy those widgets from, and then get an online comparison of the companies, their widget offerings, and their price ranges. All within one day.

Estimates savings from using an online e-business middleman can be as much as 20 percent, Freemarkets Online says. In 1998 and 1999, their market makers have conducted more than 50 bidding events, and they claim to deliver an average savings of 17 percent to manufacturers such as United Technologies, General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Westinghouse and Whirlpool. With every deal, FreeMarkets makes money from both

ends, taking a fee from the buyer and a sales commission from the seller.

But the company isn't done after the vetting process is over. It continues to help the buyer

choose the best supplier, often counseling rejection of the lowest bid and recommending a supplier with better delivery systems or long-term potential.

Amdahl Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, provides integrated computing solutions to many of the largest users of information technology in the world. Founded in 1970, Amdahl employs more than 10,000 professionals in 33 countries.

Amdahl's 350-strong sales force offers complete business solutions to organizations with a heavy investment in System/390-compatible technology that are now integrating MVS, Windows NT, and/or UNIX into their computing environment.

After trying out a client service platform to streamline its company sales efforts, Amdahl switched to an online B2B platform that enabled company sales staffers to compress the product selection process from several days involving multiple personnel to a single task as short as 30 minutes by one person. As the system guides sales

representatives through building their orders, they can check their selection against an illustration on the left side of the computer. They can also print corresponding solution specifications and incorporate them into their sales proposal-increasing the probability of closing the sale. The system also screens for conflicting specifications and

suggests appropriate alternatives.

While the company doesn't say how much it has saved from its new e-business venture, it has recorded its highest profits ever after the implementation of its e-business web site.

At first blush, you wouldn't think that Claimsnet.com was a ready-made e-business success. Yet that's exactly what it is. Its specialty is the little-understood and distinctly unglamorous field of moving claims from health-care providers to insurers. With only 60 employees and 2,400 customers -- a pittance in the health claims processing field, it's making headway in the industry thanks to its e-business web site.

The health-care industry, including doctors, pharmaceutical companies, home-care supply firms and insurers together add up to about $1 trillion annually, or 13 percent of the U.S. gross national product. And about 25 cents of every health-care dollar-or $250 billion a year-goes toward administrative costs.

Historically, the health care industry processes paperwork at a snail's pace. First the provider-whether it's a two-doctor practice, a giant HMO, a hospital or a laboratory-must fill out and mail the forms for each insurance company used by each patient. (Multiply the number of claims by the number of patients and visits, and it's easy to see how the industry racks up those 4.4 billion transactions.) Then the insurer's claims-processing representatives determine whether providers have sent the correct information and whether the patient is in fact eligible for treatment. If not, the form goes back to the provider, starting the whole cycle over again. The practitioner also needs to ride herd on the submissions, making sure they've been received and processed. Typically, physicians

wait anywhere from several weeks to a few months for payment. But Claimsnet.com, with its ramped-up e-business site, whittles that process down to hours.

With it's e-business site, Claimsnet.com has an advantage that many of its customers don't -- it can process health-care claims at a rate of ten cents each -- about half the industry average. A dime here and there may not seem like much, but after billions of transactions, you're starting to talk about real money. In 1998 alone, there were 4.4 billion transactions between health-care providers and the businesses that pay the bills.

These companies are at the forefront of the e-business revolution. While the e-commerce table has room for all kinds of diners, it seems that the early arrivers are going to be feasting longer and more richly than those who wait e-business out for a year or two.