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Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness - e-Business 2.0 Roadmap for Success
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Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness

e-Business 2.0 Roadmap for Success

e-Business 2.0 Roadmap for Success

Dr. Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson

A book review by D. Richard Dance, CPA and Principal of SoftResources LLC

May 2001

This is version 2.0 of the e-Business Roadmap for Success book. Kudos to the authors for being able to re-write the book, with such insight, less than one year from their first edition. The review focuses on the principal changes between 1.0 and version 2.0. This will alert you to the new material and revisions that are worth noting and reading and perhaps implementing at your company.

Introduction
This is version 2.0 of the e-Business Roadmap for Success book. I appreciate anyone that can re-write a book. It is a monumental task, sometimes more difficult than writing, because like remodeling there is an existing structure to work around. Kudos to the authors for being able to do it, with such insight, less than one year from their first edition.

I will focus my review comments on the principal changes between 1.0 and version 2.0. This will alert you to the new material and revisions that are worth noting and reading and perhaps implementing at your company.

You may find it useful to read the first edition review found online at: http://ebusiness.byu.edu/education/bookReview.cfm?id=10.

A. Purpose of the Book

The purpose of edition 2.0 is still the same: helping senior management plan e-business strategy first as aid to evaluating specific e-commerce applications. The difference in edition 2.0 is that the authors more fully describe e-business waves, processes, and how to design and execute a strategy that works.

B. Mind Map of the Book's Contents

There are two new chapters in the book:

Chapter 3 on e-business patterns adds discussion on how e-business begins as a channel, but extends to a total transformation of business

Chapter 14 is the chapter I was missing in the first edition that explains how to make the e-business blueprint operational.

Taken by themselves, these two new chapters don't remake the book, but each existing chapter, except one, has been significantly enhanced and that is what makes 2.0 so much better.

Although in the preface the authors still claim that chapters 1-5 are enterprise applications, chapters 6-11 the various e-business design elements, and chapters 12-14 the how to do it chapters, I still disagree. Chapters 5-11 appear to be the enterprise application discussions so my map is as follows:

Chapters 1-4 Introduction, Trends, Patterns, and Interlocking layers
Chapter 5 Introduction to e-Business Applications
Chapter 6
 CRM (Customer Relationship Management
Chapter 7 Chapter 11. Developing the e-Business Design
Chapter 12. Translating e-Business Strategy into Action
Chapter 8 ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Chapter 9 SCM (Supply Chain Management)
Chapter 10 e-Procurement
Chapter 11 KM (Knowledge Management)
Chapters 12-14 E-Business Design, e-Blueprint, and Execution chapters

Each chapter follows the same outline as version 1.0, namely:

What to Expect A couple of paragraphs about the chapter
Chapter Body Chapter contents are covered here.
Memo to the CEO A couple pages of questions for strategic integration.

C. Enhancements

Overall, each table and figure in version 2.0 has been re-designed and is more graphical conveying greater meaning and insight, even if the ideas are the same. The following describes the specific enhancements found in version 2.0. Most of them are welcome and insightful:

Introduction and Preface Transaction costs: search costs, contracting costs, coordination costs
Chapter One

Now we're buying computers from DELL at $999 vs. Gateway in the first edition for $1,999.

Three e-business phases:

1994-1997: Web presence
1997-2000: Buy/Sell transactions
2000: Increasing gross margins and profitability

Two new rules have been added:

#8 Infrastructure can't be overlooked
#9 Swift execution is the norm
Chapter Two Major trends driving e-Business have been re-categorized and expanded from 14-20.The trends now have added a fourth common thread which is convenience to the customer.
Chapter Three

All New, notable ideas include:

Figure 3.1 Digitize Your Business chart
Figure 3.2 e-Business Structural Patterns
Table 3.1 e-Market Maker Business ModelsSix traits of long-term winners
Chapter Four The figure 4.1 e-Business Interlocking Layers is a great new chart that can help executives organize how the whole thing works. In this chapter you can tell that the charts have been redone much more graphically.
Chapter Five

The typical organizational barriers aren't really enhanced but they are still so impactful they are worth mentioning again:

· Focusing too much on efficiency and cost cutting
· Getting business units to understand the need
· Rehashing too many competitors ideas
· Pursuing drawn out, enterprise wide projects
· Frequently reorganizing
· Placing too much emphasis on outside consultants for execution.
Chapter Six

The Internet bill as an interactive entry point to a host of additional CRM type services is a new idea the authors espouse.

Figure 6.4: One of the best revised charts in the book that shows how the back office integrates to the customer through CRM. A huge enhancement over figure 5.4 in the first edition.

CRM Portals, sales force ASP's, and hosted application discussions are all new to version 2.0.

How to build a CRM infrastructure now has 14 points, not 12. The new ones are:

· Involve top management
· Establish a CRM strategy first

I believe the new section I enjoyed best was near the end of chapter 6 where the authors discussed the organization resistance to CRM that is unfortunate but almost inevitable.
Chapter Seven The principal enhancements were a discussion of the problem with disconnected front-office systems and figure 7.2 which contains a chart of the complete order life cycle.
Chapter Eight

The four wave evolution of ERP is creative and very useful.:

Wave 1: Manufacturing Integration (MRP)
Wave 2: Enterprise Integration (ERP)
Wave 3: Customer-Centric Integration (CRP)
Wave 4: Interenterprise Integration (XRP)

Same with figure 8.3 on the evolution of business models.

I always like to see pros and cons of rapid ERP deployment as shown in figure 8.1 because most firms forget there are cons.
Chapter Nine By the time I reviewed figure 9.6 on Supply Chain Execution I had decided to purchase a copy of the book for each one of our consultants
Chapter Ten By the time I finished chapter ten, I had decided to buy this book for several clients also. The comparison of various e-procurement models on pages 309-310, the three generations of trading exchanges on pages 316-320, and the evolution of procurement processes on pages 322-325 became valuable enough information that the list price of the book became inconsequential.
Chapter Eleven Thank goodness that the authors started using the term knowledge management in this edition rather than "knowledge tone applications" as in the first edition. The evolution of KM on pages 351-360 and figure 11.5 on steps of personalization redeemed them.
Chapter Twelve Table 12.2 on clarifying strategic objectives is useful.
Chapter Thirteen

If an executive could take figure 13.9 containing a chart of the elements of an e-business execution plan and tailor it to their business and use it as a framework to go forward we would read about them shortly in the Wall Street Journal.

But to put some realism into business there are now 12 not 10 classic ways to fail including:

· Don't factor in periodic feedback
· Don't factor in existing projects

So maybe it won't be quite as easy to execute the e-business blueprint as envisioned.
Chapter Fourteen

This all new chapter contains the power packed ideas of:

· Five e-Business project management challenges

1. Speed
2. Resources
3. Requirements
4. Release Cycles
5. Technology

· An e-Business project management planning chart.
· A discussion about opportunity generation by discovering and capitalizing what customer pain you can solve.
· Figure 14.8 on the three interlocking layers of e-business is finally discussed in some detail after being initially presented in chapter four.
· And the Memo to the CEO on pages 494-496 concludes the book.

D. Distractions

In case you think I have quit doing book reviews and am now making commissions on selling this book because I'm overly ecstatic about it, here are a few negatives for the record. Things that could have been improved upon:

Preface As previously mentioned, the authors analysis of how the book is organized still seems backwards to me, especially based upon the assumption they propose that strategy and design must precede application evaluation. They got the chapters in the right order, but don't categorize the groups appropriately in the preface.
Chapter One The authors obviously wrote the book just before the dot.com crash in the fall/winter of 2000. This is evident because they discuss the strategy of GBF or "get big fast" which gave way in 2001 to the following strategies: make a sound plan, don't throw money away, and grow a bit more slowly to ensure profits and maybe some funding.
Chapter Five Figure 5.11 on e-Business Application Architecture could be a landmark chart that executives could use but it isn't quite configuring right to be useful.I still like our architecture better. If you'd like a copy of our powerpoint slide showing an Enterprise Application Footprint just request one via e-mail at mail@softresources.com and we will send it out to you.
Chapter Eight

"COTS". I don't know why that word gets to me, but COTS does. It stands for commercial off-the-shelf software. Consultant speak that isn't really used in real life, at least in this era, where most companies buy packaged software applications everyday without thinking about the traditional "make vs. buy" decisions we had to make in the 1970's.

Hosted ASP models. Read this with a grain of salt because it was written before ASPs started to go out of business due to lack of demand.
Chapter Twelve This was the only chapter that went backwards in version 2.0. In the prior edition (chapter eleven) it had a roadmap with phases as sub-phases that could be outlined. Now it has the same material but in a less intuitively organized fashion.
All Chapters The header on each page needs a chapter designator. It is hard to tell which chapter you're in just thumbing through the book.

E. Who the Book is Best Suited For, and Not Suited For

This is the first time I would agree with the authors whole heartedly. "This book is a must-read for all managers, consultants, entrepreneurs, and business school students who have been discussing and reading about e-commerce and who are interested in knowing how they can capitalize on the next wave of business innovation." Even small and mid-sized businesses would learn from it, although the case studies are geared toward larger businesses.

H. Conclusion

Go buy this book. Now. For everyone that could use it in your company. If you're a consultant, for yourself and for your clients.

It's that good, better than version 1.0 in many ways: charts, updated ideas, evolutionary explanations, and action steps.

I'm going to be hard pressed to beat it when my book comes out. Out of the six books reviewed so far, this is the one to buy. The next section tells you where to obtain it. Go buy it now from Booksamillion. We just ordered 10 more from them.

I. Where to Obtain the Book

It can be purchased directly from the following sources at the following prices:

Amazon.com's web site (www.amazon.com) for $31.96
Booksamillion web site at (www.bamm.com) for $19.98 (The price of 19.98 is not a misprint)
Barnes and Noble web site (www.bn.com) for $31.96
Contentville web site (www.contentville.com) for $29.96

The suggested retail by Addison-Wesley is $39.95 U.S. and $59.95 Canadian.

Information about SoftResources

SoftResources LLC is an unbiased software selection firm that works with over 7,500 software packages in 50 different categories of software be it Accounting, Manufacturing, Distribution, Customer Relationship Management, HR/Payroll, e-business, and so forth. They also help large and small clients select from over 2,500 software implementation vendors and Value Added Resellers (VARs). Then they perform contract negotiations so clients get a fair deal. SoftResources consults with companies all over North America in almost all industries including commercial enterprises, governments, non-profits, and school boards. Check out their web site at www.softresources.com for more details.

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