 May 1999
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In 1996, the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota became an early leader focusing on the new concept of commerce on the Internet and e-Commerce. In November 1996 they launched the first annual international e-Commerce conference. Since then, they have also established some of the first graduate and undergraduate programs in the field of e-Commerce under the leadership of Dr. Les Wanninger. All along, CSOM has sought to involve local industry and educators in defining, developing and educating Minnesota on the subject of e-Commerce. Dr Wanninger instructs both undergraduate and MBA students in Information & Decision Sciences. His current research focuses on e-Commerce and the emerging information industry and its applications. Dr. Wanninger has an extensive background with several large corporations in the industry including; National Computer Systems, Pillsbury Company, Consumer Foods, General Mills, and Chevron Oil. To view an extensive list of Dr. Wanninger's activities, memberships, honors, and accomplishments, go to http://webfoot.csom.umn.edu/faculty/wanninger/. Wanninger created a new program at the University of Minnesota in 1995 called, the Information Industry Initiative, referred to as III (I-I-I, not the Roman numeral 3), a collaborative industry-academic program. Its purpose is to "blend the talents of people across industries, technologies and disciplines to help Minnesota and the Upper Midwest become a major force in the information industry." The Information Industry Initiative IIIs objectives in regard to the information industry - deliver education, conduct research, provide outreach and service, and furnish leading-edge knowledge. Its focus includes industry context, technologies, marketing, business strategy, managerial tools, and industry legal and social environments. III activities manifest in a series of monthly seminars throughout the year that feature skilled professionals and educators in the areas of e-Commerce. Since this is school, Dr. Wanninger usually incorporates audience participation as well as a question and answer session with the featured speaker. Seminars so far this year have included the following topics and speakers: "Agents and other 'Intelligent Software' for e-Commerce" - Professor Maria Gini, Department of Computer Science and EngineeringThe seminars are no charge to members of the Information Industry Initiative, MIS Research Center, Marketing Center, or Journalism Center. Registration for others is $50. The cost of the workshop is $100.00 for non-memebers. Seminar Focus and Format The overall focus is making, accepting, and keeping business promises in relation to business functions and processes that are crucial to any commerce is the focus. Advertising, marketing, web site design, and the supporting business infrastructure are key areas. The seminars include case examples as illustrations of the underlying business principles and technology functionality. Attendees include business professionals, middle management and above and those who provide and use information products and services. Presentations are targeted at business people who must deal with the technology questions from a pragmatic business perspective. University faculty who are active in the III include Information & Decision Sciences, Journalism & Mass Communication, Marketing & Strategic Management departments in the Carlson School, Humphrey Institute, Law School, Education, and Institute of Technology. You may register by e-mail: iii@csom.umn.edu or through the Information Industry Initiative web site: http://www.iii.csom.umn.edu. At the site you can also find a map and directions to the school which has ample parking in the ramp nearby. Retailing Still Matters The most recent seminar of April 16, 1999, entitled, "Retailing Still Matters," featured Rich Essigs of Procter and Gamble. Rich is P&G's Associate Director, e-Commerce North America. He is the founder of their e-Commerce team. Being a founding member of the P&G e-Commerce team (now three years old), Essigs might be considered a veteran in the fast-paced, fast-emerging world of e-Commerce. In his presentation, he emphasized that taking a look at the past always gives us a key to solutions for now and the future. Today's Internet commerce mimics retailing in the 50s. Consumer behavior changes very little. Today, in Essig's view, we are just trying to leverage current technology to accommodate consumer behavior. Many business decision makers still do not understand the Internet, but realize that understand it they must. After all is said and done, there is no denying that for nearly every sort of retailer, the network is the pathway to the future. Like it or not, survival depends on pushing ahead into this new, active communications technology. To do this, he says, they must meet the demands of the Internet paradoxes for consumers, ho can now go everywhere in the world and never leave home, can be in touch without touching. Though the methodology is dramatically different, Essig believes that retail shopping on the Internet still mimics old traditional consumer patterns: people shop where they do because the retailer has met their level of trust needs. Consumers want to be assured that you can meet this need as well as they expect, without frustration or undue cost. They want service but at the same time they want to maintain control and have choices. Essig sees this as the real challenge. Internet retailers need to focus on what shoppers want, not what they don't want. Following Essigs' presentation and a brief round of questions, Dr. Wanninger put the audience to work after dividing them into four groups: retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and consumers. Each group was to determine e-Commerce plusses and and minuses for their group in six sections: objectives/motivations; channel management; fulfillment; profit; product; and uniqueness - all in TEN MINUTES! Needless to say, the four groups barely got started thinking, but each was able to spring a few good points. The overall most challenging area seemed to be fulfillment, getting business processes and distribution to support the swift and trustworthy delivery of what the consumer wants. III Annual international e-Commerce Conference Detailed information regarding this year's III e-Commerce conference was not available at the time of this publication. If it follows the pattern of the past three years, it will be a two-day conference held in mid-November at CSOM. Individual registration fees of around $395-$445 will apply. Call (612) 625-3585 for more information, and check for updates on the Conference home page: http://www.iii.csom.umn.edu/ This conference is well worth attending. Many of last year's participants deemed it the one worth attending because it addresses meaty issues and attempts finding creative solutions that work as well as pointing out future visions. The III e-Commerce conference is not overly "techie" in focus but spotlights the areas that planners and decision makers need to deal with, such as how to make e-Commerce pay off for a company and what the real costs are. III Corporate Membership Membership to the III is open to all industry and technology companies of all sizes. Larger companies pay a fixed fee of $10,000 per year, which allows several individual participants in seminars and workshops plus a discount for the Annual Conference. Small companies may join on a fee-per-individual basis of $1,000 per year. Large companies and small benefit in the collaborative activities of the III and also benefit as a means of developing their e-Commerce advantage as well the learning advantage and contacts they receive from participation. Corporations can consider III membership as a training expense. III Research Membership Organizations may sponsor and participate in specific research activities. They may act as research sites and have early access to research results. Companies usually consider research membership as an operational expense. III Sponsors Some companies choose to support specific III activities, such as sponsorship of the yearly international Electronic Commerce Conference or workshopsponsorship. III Advisory Board The III Advisory Board includes one representative from each member organization and representatives of several University departments and schools. The III is also involved in a research project funded by the National Science Foundation - "The Role of Customer Relationships in Electronic Commerce" (L. Wanninger, C. Adams, W. Durfee, G. John, M. Subramani, D. Wackman .W Xia) The three-phased project focuses on understanding the role of customer relationships in electronic commerce. Phase one will refine and confirm a model of how customer relationships and communications influence electronic commerce and the central role of communications in developing relationships. Phase two will focus on how communications technologies can be applied to develop such relationships. Phase three will focus on methods that get customers involved the effectiveness of electronic commerce applications and products. Seven companies make up the industry team: 3M's Baldrige Award winning Dental Division has developed a web site specifically to foster relationships with its customers. Dr. Wanninger welcomes active participants to all the III activities. You can contact him for further information: http://webfoot.csom.umn.edu/faculty/wanninger/ Donna Sierk, donna@ladybug.net., is a freelance writer and owner of LadyBug Communications, an e-Commerce and business network communications company. |
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