The eProcess Edge
A Book Review by D. Richard Dance, CPA, President/CEO of UPchannels
And Ann H. Jenkins, Office Manager of UPchannels in Seattle, Washingto
April 2002
Peter Keen of Keen Innovations and Mark McDonald of Andersen Consulting teamed together for 18 months to review over 80 eCommerce projects to identify the emerging business practices and principles to guide companies in the future.
Author's
Background and Value
Peter Keen of Keen Innovations and Mark McDonald of Andersen Consulting teamed together for 18 months to review over 80 eCommerce projects to identify the emerging business practices and principles to guide companies in the future.
Radical in Two Ways
The
book is radical in two ways:
1) They believe a web site is just the starting
point but not the creator of business transformation. It is the relationship interface
that transformers because it creates the possibility of infinite expansion.
2)
They have reinterpreted business process. It is not workflows and activities,
(the standard definition) but business rules and sourcing options.
Conservative in Two Ways
The
book is conservative in two ways:
1) Every development in eCommerce intensifies
a basic root in regular commerce. There is nothing new about it.
2) The world,
including the eCommerce world, belongs to well-run companies, as long as they
operate from a business model designed around eCommerce.
Organization of the Book
The book is organized into three parts:
Part
I "Defining the eProcess Edge" seeks to describe a new approach
to eProcess.
Part II "The Relationship Imperative" concentrates
on techniques for targeting value network relationships, new relationship types,
and making capability-sourcing decisions.
Part III "Delivering
eProcess Results" discusses how to build capabilities across each of four
sourcing dimensions:
1. Embedding business rules in software
2. Out-tasking
for speed and scalability
3. Being exceptional at exceptions
4. Managing
across multiple companies and channels
eProcess
Keen
and McDonald define eProcess as a matter of prioritizing and then sourcing processes.
They recommend using a combination of:
1) Software to convert what used to
be done by people, into an interaction with a web site.
2) Electronic links
to partners either to
a) out-task functions such as shipping or
b) to in-source
a new capability.
3) People, workflows, and software that provide exceptional
handling of the situations, which make or break relationships with customers.
Much of Part I of the book discusses strategies and ideas of how to do this.
(If you are wondering why TQM and other traditional process movements can't adequately diagram eProcess just read page 60 to 63.)
Defining Relationships
Keen and McDonald believe that relationships require touch and texture, which offer much more than just a plain transaction.
Touch involves a degree of interaction and awareness between customers and suppliers.
Texture describes the richness and personalization of information involved in the interaction.
Touch and Texture then combine to define the relationship interface: how it uses information content and how it establishes relationship context.
They
provide an illustration on page 116 to clarify these terms.
1. Embedding
Rules
Business rules define the interactions between players through
the procedures required to meet the request. An example of embedded vs. un-embedded
rules for a loan request follows:
Embedded rules take a loan application, apply a formula, and inform you of the decision.
Un-embedded rules take the application and tell you a decision will be forthcoming in 4-6 weeks.
2.
Out-Tasking
Out-tasking is not outsourcing for three reasons:
1. It
is not getting rid of a function.
2. It is not just shifting transactions.
3.
It adds something.
Out-tasking leases the legacy asset bases of their value network partners and allows them to design their eProcess base from scratch.
3.
Exceptional Handling
As normal tasks become routine, personnel and resources
need to be shifted to handle the exceptions. For example, when Schwab transactions
cannot be processed due to system difficulties, the company initiates a repair
of the problem and a linked account representative calls the customer and carries
out the trade.
4.
Managing Multiple Channels
You run an eCommerce business by running its
eProcess capabilities networked together rather than its corporate entities.
A channel is a way companies reach customers. There are direct and indirect channels. Multiple channels compete against each other at times, which undermine the brand value. To resolve these issues, look at channel conflict from the customer's perspective and then harmonize them to work for their benefit.
Conclusion
This book presents alternative actions to gain an edge in eCommerce. That edge, based on relationships, sourcing, and a new definition of process represents a path to the future.
It is not a beginner's book, it is not an easy read book; however, it presents enough new ideas and different angles of thought that for the serious and larger companies I would recommend its purchase.
End of the Book
In
the back of the book, the authors include these sections:
" Chapter Notes
- About 10 per chapter mostly regarding sources of information.
" Bibliography
- A list of 30 books with no narrative or comment about them.
" Index
- 12 pages
Where to Obtain the Book
It can be purchased directly from the following sources:
Computer
World Books
Osborne, A Division of The McGraw Hill companies www.osborne.com
| $29.99 US, Copyright 2000
Amazon.com web site (www.amazon.com)
Hardcover | $24.64 (also used books available)
Barnes and Noble web site (www.bn.com)
Hardcover | $23.99
Booksamillion web site (www.bamm.com)
Hardcover | $22.34, Club price $20.11
Standard Information about UPchannels
UPchannels is a spin off of SoftResources. UPchannels helps the software industry (vendors and VARs) provide the best possible experience for their customers (end-user). They help established and emerging companies achieve all the necessary ingredients for success whether it is in sales and marketing, product advisory, operations, training and certification or end-user conferences. Their products and services include custom consulting, whitepapers, boot camps, minute-by-minute support, and subscription channels of knowledge. For more information, visit www.upchannels.com.
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