In a world of economic instability around the world, some of the easiest things that businesses do is cut staff, cut advertising, extend payment terms as well as contractors, external companies and of course, dare I say it, consultants etc... anyway they can to help sustain their cash flow and cut their immediate monthly outgoings. All this is simple enough in terms of the balance sheet and P&L statements that then show an almost immediate impact and shows that the state of the company actually has a more healthier outlook.

In those troubled times CFOs and other Directors can feel confident that their short term goals of sustaining their business have succeeded. This is only the start around a sustained plan for growth and development. There are so many facets of a business that require analysis, development, structure and importantly strategy.

I say "importantly" as this is an area that I work within for EMC / Conchango - helping shape, devise, deliver longer term objectives and goals. This is also an area that EMC / Conchango excel in although perhaps not the first area that people think of. Conchango built its reputation as one of the leading systems integrators and development houses in UK - but now known for Interactive Design, Creative and a wealth of Business Consultants with experience through a range of vast disciplines.

This is where amidst the worry, confusion and cost cutting that the real Art of Conchango is worth it's weight in gold!

Looking at what is required and what Conchango do with our clients when looking for a strategy - especially one that is required for sustained business model beyond initial economic and social pressures. After speaking to a number of potential prospect clients - and giving them some initial free consultancy and help shape their thought process - I decided to replicate this here and share some of the Conchango best practices - that although may seem simple and logical, are the fundamental building blocks to creating a well rounded and flexible strategy for a business. flexibility being the key point of notice here.

Example, prospect client asked me about who and what company or partner that they should work with in order to meet their very short term directives and as such "a problem". I don't like to use the word "problem" as this means that there is something fundamentally wrong - when in reality there is not. There will be a need or requirement that in turn has created an opportunity to explore and discover new ways of working. This however was only part of the issue and process, as I moved away from their current need and looked at their entire requirement in some detail, I realised that in fact this company had only been "firefighting" any arising issues for the past 3 years. There was no overall solution, no overall goal, short term gains and no absolute strategy. This meant that the prospect client arrived with what they perceived to be a solution to overcome their adverse situation - where previous consultancy firms had pointed them in the direction of a "fix" and not a solution that would meet and exceed their overall absolute strategy. The short term goal can be easily achieved - that is the easy win anyone can deliver that (and judging by my conversations with them) and did.

However the prospect client had a bigger issue that needed some work and development - what was the business goals and ambitions with this service? That was the stumbling block and suddenly the inherent internal issues started to come to fore. Its not nice, pleasant and often messy - however in order to move forward a company must first look within themselves and agree as a cohesive unit what the direction and business goals are, how they plan to achieve these, what tools do they need, what are the stages to getting to that utopian situation, and where the juncture points are in terms of flexibility and what the outlook deliverable will be. Consultants will move in to help resolve situations such as these, they are not uncommon and in fact are quite wide spread. Most consultants will tend to move in and work with the key stakeholder almost in a unified confrontational position to "get their point home" to the rest of the internal squabbling team - I have seen this happen on a number of times and the result is that in 9 out of 10 times the stakeholder will win through via almost bullying tactics, however the "battle" may have been won, ultimately not the "war" - and when the stakeholder has gone (on average 12 - 18months post winning the "battle") the generals (including the consultancy firm) will be ousted as well.

The war and battle in this case and in most cases that I witness is normally around power and control; "my idea is better than yours" or "this is the way that I think we should move forward" key words there is that amidst the grapple for power and control - the classic "what's in it for me" scenario will crop up time and time again!

A good strategists approach, and one that Conchango delivers on time and time again - is that the overall business needs, requirements, longevity and growth has to form the strategy - and not the egos and fortunes of a short term "glory grabber"

Look at the past, the present and future of your industry.

What has been successful in the past and why?

Who is leading the way in this field and why?

Where are their weak points or weakness that could be exploited and used against them in the short term?

In times of pressure and uncertainty for lots of businesses - a good consultancy can come in with fresh eyes, clear perspective and some future knowledge that may just be the lifeblood and oxygen that a company needs to see them not only through troubled times - but in my example above - get them onto a path with a sustained strategy and development curve that will shape their future from perhaps a bleak and uncertain one to a flourishing and forward thinking business of the future.

Although it's not a black art as such, it is an art that Conchango deliver on time and time again!

So after a rather somber and sobering post around "recession retailing" and what that means for the consumer, retailer and other businesses in this current economic climate - I thought I was also time to look at some of the exciting and pushing the boundaries in 2009 - However I have another Blog where I will look at some of the new developments that will not hit the mass market until 2010 or so - but the technology is here now and will look at applications and delivery innovation.

So what will you friendly neighbourhood Madman be doing / hoping to do / blogging / tweeting... about in 2009!

As always with my rantings and raves is that what I talk about - is in effect what I end up doing and working with clients around the world on. So at this stage Conchango may or may not have clients lined up to do some of this work - but as always - feel free to contact me as you have continued to do throughout this year and see what is possible.

So {drum roll............} 2009...

m-commerce / Mobile Commerce / Mobile Retail / Mobile Innovation

One of the biggest winners and gains in 2009 will, at last be the humble mobile. Not so much humble but the converged device that can and will deliver work, media, games, LBS, commerce, apps, widgets, TV, VoIP... all great advances and opportunities abound. Mobile Networks will look more into media and community on how they can leverage some of the LBS (Location Based Services) as well as the old favourite RFID - or now known in the industry to get away from that aging tag - NFC (Near Field Communication) - I talked a lot about it this year - but only a few actually started to move with it (O2, Barclays TfL). Google & Apple will continue to grow with their mobile applications and great quick wins into the consumers hands via retailers, media providers or community aspects. Combine NFC / LBS with social apps to become a "Teenage Finder" keep track of your child's location??? Anyway maybe too big brother'ish - but if you have kids in this day - you are always keen to ensure that you are able to find them - and as their mobile is their device of choice...!

Retail / 360° Retail..

Still passionate about retail and the high street. However I want to see better standards, more drive and commitment and much more Retail Theatre. If you want to get people back into the high street and spend )(no matter how much or how little) you really have got to get back to basics and give the consumer a complete experience - a 360° experience. 2009 I will continue this theme and maybe publish the whole "bible" on where 360° Retail fits into other areas such as marketing, advertising, analytics, multi-channel, delivery...  Retail will also have a fall out post Christmas 2008 - there will be a lot of failed retailers - but there will also be retailers that will have survived and need to bolster their online presence, look to report and action correctly - they will have limited budgets, definitive ROI and KPIs so I will aim to continue the Open Source Platform and other vendors - as well as how you can add and grow your business in a cost effective manner.

ISPs

ISPs are looking to new ways to carry their business models forward as broadband penetration gets to the tipping point where growth is minimal and therefor capturing existing broadband customers with better, faster, more choice, more content no limits and no letters around illegal downloading ;) from their competition will be key to their continued success. Look for the mobile industry incentives coming here such as Free Laptops, Free Wireless Media Storage Routers, and of course Free Media Content! Free was the big buzz word of 2008 and in 2009 we will start to see how this can be utilised in a formulated business case. Here at Conchango we have developed a number of these for our clients and will see these to appear in early 2009. So what does that means for the you and me the broadband consumer? Well look for longer tie-ins only natural that they need to hold on to your £ for longer! The promise of gifts, free content and faster speeds.. Broadband on the move lined to your account with access to your virtual store is all in the pipeline. Mobile VoIP the list will be endless - more a case of who will be first out with a compelling offer that will lock in the customer for 24months...

Newspapers

The demise of printed media continues - news & media aggregation and distribution, where the media comes from | how it is managed and delivered | how is this then monitized  Affiliate / marketing strategies to help run the online advertising. There are a great number of ways that this can be achieved. However Newspapers will look for loyalty in this sector - but where is loyalty unless the news is relevant, upto date, accurate, well written and has images (whether that be pictures, video) the user will be more willing to get their information updates from that. The real wins for the newspapers has always been on the rich journalism and commentary. People from specific political and liberal views will chose to read a certain newspaper in the past because of the way, tone and spin that has been put on it. How can this then be digested in a digital world? Very similar apart from the user now has the choice and control. Perhaps they would like to comment, add pictures, add video, link it to their blog - the new way that we use the media is going to become a reality in 2009.

IPTV

Great challenges and development in this area. Working with our clients in OTT delivery (Over The Top) and how this is then distributed to the consumer is one key area that has been discussed in 2008 and will move into 2009. More and more companies will look to deliver their own version of IPTV from dedicated sports and lifestyle, to entertainment and recreation. We will have a mix of both retailers and content owners looking to deliver a similar service. IPTV gives a much greater reach for the advertiser and will be interesting to see how OfCom, ASA and other approach this level of direct targeting to the consumer. Delivering a live stream of content across an IP network has a much greater chance of conversion than say a blanket ad spend. Look at how bad ITV have come in the past year - ad spending has never been so low since 1992. Times are changing and advertisers would rather spend on a direct and as such interactive model than watch as their ad is delivered within a plethora of other messages vying for the consumers attention. mIPTV will also come into play (again) in 2009 - although I am not expecting anything too groundbreaking in this area until 2010 having the BBC iPlayer on a Nokia phone may be a good start but lets see what else will fall out onto the mobile device in 2009.

Surface

After seeing this at its very early stages and coming up with some new innovative ways to use Surface. Conchango worked with one of our clients this year and delivered a fantastic wine application with our partners in the US. This is just the tip of the "surface" no pun really... but I can see more application next year in this area using surface as a selling tool for services, hardware etc.. again the list is almost endless really down to how and what you can think of in terms of delivering a touch experience - as well as reducing stores head count and increasing conversion - more innovative delivery - travel centres, mobile stores, banks (what's left of them), restaurants...

 

 

Macro & Micro Distribution

Mr Reuben and myself have been "bigging" this up at this year with a number of our clients and potential clients and with how this can work for businesses's, groups and individuals. How the whole eco system of distribution and syndication becomes blurred and more exciting. How your products services, media can be shown, sampled, distributed, delivered and managed through a variety of new channels and with champions of your brand or products pushing them to a wider audience that you may have previously not been able to touch before. This is something that we will look and continue to pursue with our clients in 2009 and have some great examples and case studies of where and how this can work for your business.

 

Wi-Max

I have been talking about Wi-Max since its first announcement back in 2005 and where and what the potential was for it. I have looked and discussed with various people the ways that it could enrich and help some of the areas in isolated areas in Africa, Middle East and start to deliver communication and data services to people that could use it without the expansive and cumbersome satellite infrastructure. I know and spoke to companies out in the middle east that were developing Wi-Max infrastructure plans and how to deliver a managed service that could deliver the data, VoIP, media and access controls across the region on a free for all basis. We also looked at how we could create an African infrastructure that could deliver vital data and communication services to villages and people in medical and education which to me was much more than a business plan but a vital link to the outside world to help and push the availability beyond the developed world where we take it for granted. There are companies that have started to create a "blanket" over London for 100% wi-max broadband coverage - which Google will be happy with for their continued Android phone development! With a potential range of 30 miles in open areas (ie great for that  Out-Reach Project in Africa etc..) has average of 4 - 8 miles in built up areas VoIP & Wi-Max great for non mobile carriers to get involved in - services can be tied and linked to the apps coming from Google and Apple blanket coverage of say San Francisco could be controlled by a mainstay portal or municipal to ensure no abuse of the access this should be free and needs to be monetized.

So these are only a tiny snippet of what is going on within the technology space as well as some of the great stuff that is coming to and strategic nods and appreciation as well approach for our clients. However one final point of caution. I love technology and gadgets and new innovation - however what is vitally important is how or why this is good for the consumer or end user and where we can make a difference.

Conchango has and will continue to be, honest and open to our clients and deliver solutions and strategies that we build end to end that fundamentally will always have the end user at its core. User Centred design as well as user focused innovation...

Retail readiness... Retail is in the detail... Christmas is coming..READY??

For retailers that have checked, double checked, reviewed, written post-Christmas documents around key learning’s from the past year – and how to ensure that next Christmas is even more successful that the one just passed.

The teams then go into overdrive around campaigns, stock, web and stores schedule how this should be implemented and executed with military precision!

Then – something that although was always in the back ground since the start of 2008 – an imminent recession!

The impact of this across retail and other sectors is significant. However as retail rely on a huge amount of their business at key holiday seasons - Christmas & Easter - then the continued viability of some retailers can hang on a single successful Christmas period – of which if you are not prepared could ultimately cause the demise by the time the needles have dropped off the tree and turkey has been gobbled up.

 What to watch out for during a recession

PRICE – PRICE - PRICE – so crucial that I named it thrice! Indeed with wallets being tightened within an inch of their very being price will be a major factor in deciding what and where to shop. There are other factors that are effecting this recession, such as high petrol prices – so here are some pointers on the behaviour patterns:

Stock & Campaigns

Price is the focus here – so ensure that your best offers are communicated across the marketing and advertising channels that you are using. No point in having that ultimate gift on a key display point – if the consumer is always thinking about the price and cost of goods. Don’t make it look like a tacky sale point – it takes a few scared retailers to scream SALE and this always has an a negative effect on all retailers – as the consumer thinks that the January sales have suddenly hit early and will ultimately look for even cheaper bargains and offers. So stay clear of SALES – use your messaging and pricing as key indicators that you are aware of the credit crunch and your prices reflect what is happening out there. Keep the Christmas spirit alive and keep upbeat – this is time where although “penny pinching” will be in full effect – entice them into a warm and inviting environment that is price conscious, well staffed, happy to help and assist and get the best out of the consumer who ultimately will leave a happy shopper and you as a happy retailer – if you have done your homework.

Web and other channels

The web has similar properties – but is faceless to the point that consumers could, and do enter your store at any point in the day or night to do a spot of shopping or price comparison – so make sure that your site is well maintained and available! (downtimes should always be kept until 3.00am) Deliver crystal clear messaging around P&P, shipping, estimated delivery dates – think of worst case scenarios, because if you use Royal Mail for example – you will be competing with the millions of packages per day that they will need to handle and process and deliver – so be realistic and your customer will reward you with returned loyalty – over promise and under deliver (or fail to deliver) then you will become victim of the consumers wrath.

360 Retail

The 360 Retail that I have been talking about for the past few weeks is key here, in that if you have a high street or just a bricks and mortar estate – make sure that the same principles apply on the channels that you sell through as well. Be this website, kiosk, mobile, catalogue, floor space within a department store even to the point that you have a small stall in a shopping mall with a supporting website – all areas here are critical that you deliver a fully rounded experience from entry to exit. As simple as local paper advert to national TV advertising – whatever was the entry point ensure that this a clear concise message that the consumer can relate to and is greeted with when entering the retailers point of contact with the consumer. Let’s face it if you have attracted then thus far and enticed them to come and visit you – don’t let them down with irrelevant offers or conflicting messaging – For example if you advertise that you have a flat panel 32” LCD TV that is half price – make sure that you have this item as a key focal point either in your store, online etc.. I may sound simplistic and almost Retail 1.1 – however I have seen so many retailers fail to keep their marketing promise and the offer that they enticed the consumer in with is no longer there or has been replaced with a slightly more expensive (or higher margin) product that will ultimately annoy the consumer and almost immediately leave. You can cross sell, up sell and co-promote other offers and suggestions but learn the 360 Retail rule by delivering what you are promising from beginning to end.

Out of Town Complexes

Some consumers will look to some of these retail outlets as a key opportunity to get all their shopping in one fatal swoop. So expect a horde of shoppers that have travelled there for a one hit visit – a list as long as...well Santa’s list! They will not want to leave until all the names on the list have been ticked and checked twice. They may decide to plan the entire day there to be sure – kids could be at Nans or even a babysitter booked to ensure a pure focus on shopping. So retailers have to be ready at this point to cater for the consumers and to some point – look toward the channels that they have available to them. If what the consumer is looking for is no longer on the shelves, not arrived yet, failed to appear in the last delivery – size the opportunity – do not let the consumer out the store without trying all available avenues to you to be sure that you have secured that sale and not your rival / competitor. This could be as simple as taking their order, and telephone number to call the customer when it arrives and then arrange an over the phone transaction and send the item to the customer. If you have a website – check availability on there and help them create an order there and then to guarantee the customer will receive their goods before the big day. Give them options, alternatives speak to them understand what they are looking for and entice information out of them – see my last post around Operations – to engage with consumers – they don’t bite and do prefer face to face communication. This will be one of the biggest threats to retail this year – staffing – easiest element of the business to keep low and ask the staff that are there to “push harder” – but if your staff are talking, advising, dealing with your customers – who is ringing through the transactions? Never underestimate the staffing value

Traditional High Street

In that same light due to petrol prices and other factors some will avoid these and opt for the traditional high street (that after my earlier blog in the Summer showed that things are not great there) where they can “pop” in to their local high street to do their shopping in comfort of their own surroundings or closest town to do their shopping. Again the key factors are the same as the out of town experiences – but more so as I know of a few key traditional high street retailers that are on the brink of collapse and will need a really good Christmas to survive – so complacency has no part in this Christmas trade. I fear that this Christmas we will see a good deal of these retailers fail to meet their targets and vanish off the high street for good – they will blame the web and online – but I think that looking at their proposition, location, stock and effectiveness to compete ion 21^st century retailing will be the factors here and not just the web.

Exchanges, Returns, Refunds...err!! (ERR)

Is that not the normal response that consumer face in today’s retail climate when they ask for an exchange or refund? Sales Assistant first words “err....”

This is the time of the year that retailers will see consumers that for the other 51 weeks of the year have not been to your store / site. To ensure that you are not immediately alienating these new consumers and that if they are unsure that you are the best or correct fit for their Christmas shopping needs – you may have completed or about to complete your transaction due to following all the above steps – but just at point of purchase the “err” question arises – “if this is not suitable, not the right one, not the left one... can I.....”

The high street has been awash with reports and research that consumers have not been best pleases shall we say around some of the latest “ERR” positions of retailers. This will be due to return rates, impact on their bottom line, speed of turning these returned items around and a whole host of other issues (especially in Entertainment Retail where piracy has led to a massive push back on consumers) However looking at the 360 Retail model again – if you want loyalty and a return customer – do you really want to alienate them?

Summary

So what has been unearthed from these words of wisdom? Nothing revolutionary I guess (one would hope) however where retailers are trying to get everything in place for the beginning of Christmas – perhaps some of these key points have been overlooked or not even on the radar. So quick coffee break moment:

Reload, Refresh, Review: at your forthcoming Christmas line up – does it still hold value and a comprehensive offer that is aimed at a much more price conscious consumer

eCommerce, e-tailing, e-store: the web will grow even bigger this year with industry experts declaring an estimated 20% lift on last year – which will place strain and endurance tests on even the most robust eCommerce platform. Get ready by evaluating your platform NOW! Invest in some load testing, analyse your analysis’, ensure that you have enough bandwidth available – speak to your hosting company about your previous peaks and look to have additional bandwidth or burstable bandwidth.

Tailor your campaigns, offers and Christmas strategy around the current climate around financial instability and uncertainty. Consumers will look to give themselves a feel good factor at Christmas – but not at a cost that could cripple their finances.

Analysis, Analytics, Action: Look at your stats (this covers both web and physical stores) they will give you an ideal picture of what has happened in your business over the last 9 months – in the run up to the peak trade moment. What are your like for like sales showing? How are you figures year to date? Budgets – achievable or are you way out on these? Re-forecast to ensure high levels of productivity within your business by showing newly defined targets and goals that could, must be achieved. Amazing what realistic targets can do to a team!

Inspire: your consumers and potential consumers by delivering an inspiring Christmas that looks after their finances by delivering value for money and quality – but inspire with products and service that will leave a permanent impression post-economic slowdown. It may well be a time to watch the pennies, but there is no need to make everything look and feel that it is on the cheap side.

Listen, Look and Learn: we all need to continue to learn and grow. Look at what your competition is doing both right and wrong. Compare that to what you do rightly or wrongly. Ask for help and advice – what you already know and have used previously may no longer be relevant or current in this retail space. That could be as little as 12 months ago. Back to basics – 360 Retail is a great way of establishing your entire offer – from Entry > Exit > Return

Although you will read, see and hear that Christmas 2008 is a “belt and braces” time, yes it will be a tough ride, following some of these rules and guide notes will ultimately leave you post-Christmas ready for the immediate challenges that lie ahead in 2009 – but at least you may well be one of the retailer winners that get to face 2009!

Have A Merry & Successful Christmas 2008

What to do? You spent months pouring over your choices, listened to internal concerns and external advice. You raised your CAPEX over 5 years for your businesses eCommerce / web platform - and that was in 2003! Now as 2008 fast approaches it's finale - IT Directors, eCommerce Directors.... now look at what to do next? Review their KPIs and decide "Divorce" from my current platform - or seek advice and "counselling" to work through what has been a difficult time for most in the glorious marriage of eCommerce and Retail!                                                                                                                                                                        

The great divide? What will your businesses next move in eCommerce be?

So what will retailers, e-tailers and most companies that have a commerce related business in 2009 look to do (assuming of course that you have just finished your 5 year plan of eCommerce development and you have to decide what to do next!)

So first set of questions, would be something like: How was it for you?

Looking at the start of this blog, business leaders already went through the process to get your business into a "Live" eCommerce environment - so:

• Did you achieve the results that you were looking for?
• Did you hit all the KPIs that were agreed as part of the investment?
• Did you eCommerce Teams work and deliver efficiently as they could?
• What were you key pain points? but also...
• Where were your best wins? (let's celebrate success!!)
• Was the integration that seemed straight forward back in 2003 - as straight forward as you expected?
• Anything still outstanding from your development path that you feel you missed some key opportunities?
• In house skills - have these developed and adapted?
• Are you ready for the next 5 years?

Enterprise |Robust | Scalable

These are the key words that we, as consultants, use with our clients - and in return are these are the same words that our clients and potential clients use when describing their requirements, wants and needs for their next e-commerce platform.

The list below (in no particular order!) is a small snapshot of what has been discussed in terms of Enterprise ready, Scalable and Robust eCommerce platforms available to retailers, all in addition have a selection of tool sets and applications to keep the most adventurous e-commerce team busy for years:

Elastic Path: One of my current favourites just now. Nimble, agile and cost effective. They have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to integration and adaptability. This cost effective Java eCommerce platform suits a wide range of businesses and with its customisable business logic that allows very simple shopping cart checkout procedures or even more complex ones is a key consideration when it comes to the consumer being able to checkout quickly however the complex nature of the basket algorithm. As it’s a Java/J2EE framework, it can be expediently integrated with most existing data stores and even legacy applications as well as accounting, ERP, CRM, and SCM systems.

ATG: a robust, flexible, scalable e-commerce software platform designed and tuned for top performance and maximum uptime. ATG installations have supported over 10 million visits and over 100,000 completed orders per day, and over 300,000 concurrent users. The ATG Platform is a complete e-commerce Internet solution for business that reduces risk, cost, and project duration with no sacrifice to flexibility or future expansion

WebShphere: WSCommerce provides companies of all sizes with a powerful customer interaction platform for cross-channel and online commerce - supporting all business models. WebSphere is designed to set up, operate, and integrate e-business applications across multiple computing platforms using Web technologies. It includes both the run-time components and the tools to develop applications that will run on WAS.

MS Commerce Server: is a Microsoft tool for building e-commerce systems. It helps businesses to create e-commerce solutions and Web sites with high-performance, familiar tools that simplify setup, management, and administration tasks. Full-featured Web business applications and extend your business across networks, while allowing you to integrate e-commerce solutions within your existing infrastructure and B2C and B2B opportunities as well.

DCP: Conchango’s very own commerce platform based on Commerce Server 2007 - but with added functions and features making this application an out of the box ready proposition for e-tailers. DCP will provide retailers with greater flexibility over their online content. The DCP can be integrated within retailer’s back end systems to create a scalable solution that allows retailers websites to be easily managed and a great platform to develop in the future.

Amazon: Winning clients such as M&S, Toys ‘R’ Us and using the 10+ years of the Amazon heritage within e-commerce – with the benefits that this bring with their additional developments in consumer centric features and solid robust framework that drive clients to align with such a powerhouse of a brand in e-commerce. The commerce platform is a multichannel solution that empowers retailers to quickly and easily enable a unique, branded customer shopping experience, providing an unprecedented choice in how customers discover, order, pay for and receive products across store, web and phone channels.

However the costs associated with e-commerce development, delivery, licensing and on going management and support - never mind new feature sets and enhancements to keep up with the latest changes in the way that consumers use and interact with the web - and most important of all - purchase products from!

The above list of e-commerce partners, platforms and software gives the client the security and reassurance that the software that they are licensing has been devised, built, maintained and supported by a crack team of developers and business architects that will continually release the updates that the client needs. This is why of course they pay their annual, monthly or quarterly license fee? They also look for technical support and advanced technical support that only the creator of the software understands fully - and again - this is why in some cases these fees are set with a premium.

I have spoken to a few IT Directors and e-commerce Senior VPs that have been tasked with either a "divorce" or "Counselling" but with even more stringent KPIs and deliverables - as well as a head count cut to keep the profitability as high as possible - as margins get squeezed out even more to compete on the world wide web. So the old adage "one bitten, twice shy" seems to make sense here.

These companies - are no longer looking at e-commerce "blind" anymore but instead looking at hard and fast figures in order to plan how they execute their next 5 year CAPEX and deliver some real tangible and actual year on year results - which will be based on actual deliverables and pre-requisite features and functions that their business has now either grown into or developed via their usage and web statistics. To some of the already existing platforms this could have an impact on timescale, licensing, complex infrastructure changes or additional changes to their business practices that although defined - may need to change to accommodate the platform rather than the platform adopt to their business practices.

Open Minded to Open Source

It's to this end that more and more larger companies are now looking to the Open Source community and associated platforms and software that is available for their e-commerce requirements. Once regarded within the business community as a place "only for hackers and geeks"  as well as "not for enterprise standard software" - as time change so do peoples mind set with what the Open Source Community can bring to the table in terms of a flexible, open platform that delivers

 

To this end I have been looking at what Open Source ‘alternatives’ to the ATG, DCP, WebSphere, MS Commerce Server... etc.. platforms that come with a high degree of ‘tools’ and ‘scalability’ but also come with a lot of integration, development and licensing costs that push the price tag beyond a lot of mid-tier and successful e-commerce businesses. - that starts to look beyond the traditional heavy duty licensed platforms and see that the Open Source Community also has some very good, solid and robust platforms - but with an easier price tag and great flexibility for these type of business.

Final thought on scalability, which is always a concern that I hear from clients, when you look at Open Source and PHP for example - always good to keep in mind that one of the biggest websites in the world, FaceBook, is built and developed on Open Source PHP and can sustain over 70million users! Now that is scalability on a grand scale!

Below are a pick of some of my favourite Open Source e-commerce Platforms that could be considered in a cost saving and inexpensive deployment for the retailer that may have neither the budget or inclination for the platforms mentioned earlier.

 

 

osCommerce is the leading Open Source online shop e-commerce solution that is powered by a dedicated, strong, and ever growing community, and is released under the GNU General Public License.

Everything you need to get started in selling physical and digital goods over the Internet, from the Catalogue front end that is presented to your customers, to the Administration Tool back-end that completely handles your products, customers, orders, and online store data.

As expected from a platform such as this it is rich in features:

· Supports unlimited products and categories

· Multicurrency support

· Support for physical (shippable) and virtual (downloadable) products

· Object oriented PHP back-end | Web Browser Install and Plugin support

· OsCommerce is a popular platform and with that has gained a larger support base, and forum for help guidance and ongoing support.

Freeway is the most advanced Open Source eCommerce platform and Freeway offers selling methods only previously available in enterprise class or niche bespoke systems. Without having to purchase a commercial system and then paying a developer to build a custom installation, Freeway does what you need out of the box. Of course Freeway is great for selling products but it also sells events AND services AND subscriptions. From appointments and time based bookings to event ticketing and subscriptions Freeway is the eCommerce platform for how we want to sell!

· Sell Service, Events, Subscriptions and Products

· Single page checkout

· Super easy installation

· Call Centre back-end

· Search Engine Friendly URLs

· AJAX driven Admin tool

· Simple Template system

· 2 Level CMS

· Affiliate programme

· Multiple shipping and payment options

· Promotion codes / Gift certificates

· SMS Marketing

The Magento eCommerce platform combines the flexibility of open-source technology with industry-leading features to provide merchants unprecedented control over store operations

Versatility and Freedom - Control every facet of your store, from merchandising to promotions and more.

Attract and Convert: Key SEO features and user experience will attract and convert more qualified customers, leading to business growth.

Expand your Market: Reach more customers by creating targeted micro-sites using the multi-store retailing functionality:

· Integrated with Google Analytics

· Multiple Images with Zoom

· Add to Wishlist

· Send to a Friend

· Batch Import and Export of Catalogue

· One Page Checkout

· Multi Lingual

The Apache Open For Business Project is an open source enterprise automation software project licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0. By open source enterprise automation we mean: Open Source ERP, Open Source CRM, Open Source E-Business / E-Commerce, Open Source SCM, Open Source MRP, Open Source CMMS/EAM, and so on.

Apache OFBiz is a foundation and starting point for enterprise solutions, be they for one organization or one million. OFBiz can certainly be used out of the box. OFBiz is great for creating specialized applications for use out of the box by other organizations. OFBiz is also great for organizations that need more than what an OOTB application can offer in order to grow their operations, but find the deployment and maintenance costs of traditional enterprise systems that can handle such things to be unreasonable or unjustifiable.

Apache OFBiz offers a great deal of functionality, including:

· advanced e-commerce

· catalogue management

· promotion & pricing management

· order management (sales & purchase)

· customer management (part of general party management)

· warehouse management

· fulfillment (auto stock moves, batched pick, pack & ship)

· accounting (invoice, payment & billing accounts, fixed assets)

· manufacturing management

· general work effort management (events, tasks, projects, requests, etc)

· content management (for product content, web sites, general content, blogging, forums, etc)

· a maturing Point Of Sales (POS) module using XUI as rich client interface

Summary

This is only a snapshot of the Open Source platforms, companies and technology out there in the marketplace just now. This is also just a personal view of what I am seeing out there and that I like what I am seeing and hearing.

I am only thinking out loud (well on my Blog at least) that in times of an economic slowdown (whether that is implied or actual) , where e-tailers may have been “burned” in the past with expensive and expansive complex e-commerce platforms – that a lighter and more flexible offering maybe well be the choice for them in their next excursion on the web.

I also am strongly in favour of openness and collaboration – which the open source community delivers in terms of help, assistance, guidance, code and that single focus which is to help and assist in the overall quality of the end product.

So where will your business end up?

A Divorce or some Counselling?

 

Interested?

Drop me an email and get this in a readable PDF document.

I have talked enough about this topic in various blogs, presentations and events. Sometimes I try to be explicit in the reasoning and other times I add it as a point of reference...

So The Long Tail - as described throughout by Chris Anderson and others talks about  - and here I am talking about the digital media Long Tail where unlimited breadth and depth of a digital catalogue and should become unlimited to the point that it is really only metadata on a webpage, application and a rack of servers that can deliver this content. Content can be amassed from anywhere in the world, multiple suppliers, with multiple digital assets and that the niche products further down the line will be available to all. Therefore catering for, so the assumption goes, every need, whim, want and requirement by the end user and consumer without the added headache of physical storage of that item.

Compare that to the early days of The Long Tail way before Chris published his book where traditional retailers and resellers fought in the late 80's & 90's to be the biggest, deepest and widest range of products housed under one roof (or at least able to distribute that to a physical store) This however did not work as a good business practice as the stock turn and stock holding figures exceeded the business forecasts. As traditionally the Long Tail product (being niche) would, could and did sit in warehouses, shelves and boxes gathering dust and in a lot of cases devaluing quarter by quarter - as to find that hidden gem or specific item that the consumer had been searching for may well be mis-placed, filed, located - not on sale - stuck hundred of miles in a warehouse in the Midlands. Which meant that window of opportunity was in effect lost for another 'x' months.

The result was huge stock write offs from businesses that attempted to re-address this during the late 90s. Core ranges and top sellers would be the core of the business as well as new lines. These would be defined based on the stock turn of each SKU and therefore a new product that didn't hit the stock turn figure defined by the business would be relegated and in most cases defined as a niche product never to grace the sales floor again. This of course made these stores look and feel very... well empty! From the halcyon days of stuffed to the ceiling of stock that could effectively have anything the consumer wanted - to only the real movers and in effect 10% of the entire Long Tail. These business needed to rethink what their offer was going to be - diversification was the key and winner for some (look at Tesco in their dominance - they would never had the same success had they stuck to grocery only) others would downsize and become a core niche play in their own right. Others found the stock write off process too much to bear and in teh end had to liquidate their assets to clear their books.

Then along came the Internet....

If you want to know and understand how the Long Tail and in effect Amazon championed this then read Chris Anderson's book - not new but great to read how these ideas have been structured in his book.

Now we are into Digital Media and where does the Long Tail fit within here.

Back in the early 2000's and the emergence of digital media and in effect portable music files - the strategist among us though that this was the perfect playing ground for the full long tail. Forget a few hundred of thousands products, even forget a millions SKUs - if done correctly the option to have a 20million SKU Long Tail would be possible and the value of that would be truly immense. Suddenly the race was on to build the archetypal platform that could access, serve up and deliver this untapped beast and the ultimate Long Tail would be the rich pickings for the winner!!

As we all know Apple delivered an eco-system that included device, software and content to the extent that they achieved the goal that other scrambled for. Yes their were lots of 2nd, 3rd, 4th placed companies. The consumer adopted Apple as their digital media safety blanket - but there was a problem. A big problem!

What was the value of the Digital Long Tail vs the "perceived" value of the Digital Long Tail? The figures never matched up. They failed to match up for a number of reasons... here are my key 10 reasons...

1. The top 20% of the Long Tail would deliver $ day in and day out without too much trouble or much marketing
2. The availability of the longer tailed items had not yet been digitised or made available
3. The metadata that was being delivered, matched or mixed together was either not there or in a lot of cases just rubbish
4. Apathy some of the mid tier long tail products in the past had been marketed, repackaged, republished, remanufactured and redelivered so many times that there was only so many times that the classic recording of "x" was going to be purchased. Especially when the digital price was now beginning to show a higher cost to the end user compared to the physical units that were now being pushed, heavily discounted or part of a multi-buy campaign to appease the physical retailer.
5. The excuse of  "it costs more because of convenience and instant gratification" failed to wash
6. D R M (enough said about that)
7. Illegal P2P - if the consumer can't find it, cant see it, cant hear it or want DRM - then they will hunt it down themselves. Look at The Beatles and AllofMP3.com - demand for Beatles digital music - which at £3 for The White Album - non-traditional illegal downloaders went there, put their credit card details in and started downloading - they had no idea that this was illegally ripped content being made available to them - but again the demand was there.
8. The labels greed and their own continued fight for survival meant that they had to keep as much of a constant on price from the top tier of their catalogue vs the lowest point of their own individual long tail - why? their digital assets would then be revised as an asset and accordingly lose money of their share value if the word in The City was that $X was just devalued off their catalogue (something that would come back to haunt Warners in 2008)
9. Discovery and unlocking the content based on the users listening habits, purchase habits, mood, discovery, something different or just based on a factor that is human nature - these were few and far between. Where does these relationships live, how are they accessed and how are they then delivered to the consumer that makes sense and encourages more sales based on their experience that has been given. Enter companies such as Muze, AMG, The Filter, Last FM, Pandora to name but a few that would start to bring together relationships and common sense of all this data. Where the data was available that is.. Previously this was based on "customers who purchased X also purchased Y" - no reason other than that. Relationships borne out of Band A were directly influenced by Band B therefore if you like Band A you should like Band B - this kind of hit and miss would stimulate a small proportion of the tail - but nothing that would sustain or deliver a consistent increase and deeper penetration into the long tail that would hold the "valuable" assets
10. Ability to have a complete picture and available access via home > car > mobile > device > work > limitations from the labels and studios meant that there would always be a limitation placed on the consumer that only "x" number of devices, "x" number of activations "x" number of transfers. Now was the time that we as passionate muisc lovers that had a passion and engineering / technical background that could start to bring all this data of listening, buying, trends, influences etc.. all to bear to create the ultimate experience that ultimately would help everyone. Help the labels and studios start to stimulate and sell more products, help the retailer / reseller also start o influence the user by delivering more richer and immersive experiences that went beyond just the original product asset and into the diverse range of products that complemented - such as merchandise, tickets, documentaries, books, articles the list is in fact endless.

Now we reach a state of "FREE" - what is free? how can it be classed? why should it be free? someone has to be paid?...etc

All this and more - this is not coming from people like me and most of my readers. Nor is coming from the "Baby Boomers" that are currently in CEO positions of these large companies. This is coming from the next Generation (Gen Y) that have been let down by technology, access, experience, greed, expectations that the people in charge of the music and entertainment "understand" what they want and how they want to enjoy their music and how? It's not bigger, better and more packaging as EMI and others would like to think will stimulate the "kids" to purchase a physical copy. Nor is it laden down with so much DRM that the can not switch on their mobile before using up a licence. They want to be able to use, listen, share and send to their friends as my generation did back in the day - only now the kids have more technology and gadgets to play with that gives them instant gratification as and when they want it (or so you would think..)

I was of course compelled to kick off this blog (which I have touched on this subject before after I read a Blog by Eloit Van Buskirk "Does the Long Tail apply to Mobile" where in essence it is the same as above - its Digital Media and its the Long Tail - but as I have described above there are limitations to this. Nokia's service does not really go anywhere to address this as there is still elements of confusion around what it does. Yes "unlimited access to music" yes but not to own, transfer, send etc.. which is one of the reasons why kids just don't get it or want it. Own 10 tracks per month = 120 tracks per year which in essence is nothing really. With all the offers that phone operators have (free Wii, Free PSP etc..) they all work out about the same price. So there's nothing really new in that apart from its now music rather than a bit of games hardware. .  full review coming of Comes with Music vs Music Station..

However there has been talk about eMusic  and the Long Tail and how they do see a future in it. Well funny that seeing as eMusic's service until they started doing the major label deals was based on the long Tail titles. Titles that are in effect down the end of teh Long Tail. Artists, tracks and albums that are from niche artists or content from known artists that were out of major label contracts and produced albums that were never really promoted or marketed apart from the core fanbase. That is not the mass market or the mass audience. That is of course the Long Tail.

? So is their a long tail in Digital Media - YES

? Is being tapped into just now - NO

? Is it as valuable as it has been perceived or reported - NO / YES (both really if you start to thin the cost wedge out then you will start to see higher volumes. Higher volumes at a lower cost is ultimately better for the business than little or no volume at maximum cost.

? Can mobile enjoy a Long Tail experience - ALL areas of business can enjoy the Long Tail within Digital Media. You just have to understand how to deliver it effectively and remember the audience that you are aiming your service at, and how and why they would use it.

Get these elements right (as well as creating a better business model with the labels and studios) and the Holy Grail of the Digital Long Tail will be there for the taking....

However you better be quick, with 7million+ tracks, iPods, iPhones, iTunes and now Genius - Apple once again could end up showing the world that not only does digital music belong to them - but the Digital Long Tail just got that much closer....

I often get asked from people what is coming up next with regard to the mobile space... Well everything from m-commerce that we know will be a strong win for business in 2009 - and we will see a dramatic rise in applications and mobile stores next year, through to games applications and social gadgets...

Below I have compiled a small list of companies that are breaking through from their final round of start-up funding into full on applications with a solid enough business case to take them through to their next level of a Beta launched product.

You will find everything from LIVE You Tube style applications direct from your phone through to social mash ups

Take a look... have a play and see what you may have been missing out on!!

Qik.com - is an easy to use streaming portal that lets users broadcast directly from their cell phones. The service has seen its expansion quite rapidly and is being utilized from the common users to people sending images and recordings of sessions from the World Economic Form.

skydata.com - Access to all your business and contact data right on fingertips. The app does not simply provides fingertip access to all your contact data, it automatically syncs it with your phones contact list.What this means is that as soon as you find a business contact from LinkedIn you could just hit the call button to get on phone. Connect your LinkedIn, Facebook, Outlook, Google and Yahoo! Contacts / Access CRM data from Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Microsoft, Siebel or NetSuite / Retrieve important news, business profiles, status and location of any contact / View data one "Quick Click" from calls, emails, text and calendar events / Deploy your information in minutes, safely and securely

JumpTap is a web-based mobile search portal that allows Advertisers, Publishers and Operators to intermingle with each other at the right time with a right strategy. It allows subscribers to find desired material while content publishers and operators can retain control of their mobile traffic. Advertisers finds great scope in the service as it allows them to target the right ad to the right user at the right time.

mpowerplayer.com - App allows consumers to play games for their mobile phones through an emulator. Big game makers like EA Mobile and Sega Mobile use the firm's technology to demo their games, which customers can then buy and download to their phones. Mpowerplayer says they'll use the funds to expand the service to other social networks. Right now they're only on Facebook.

belysio.com - Social mapping service that is going to revolutionize the mobile usage in terms of staying in touch with your buddies. The startup is using location based technologies, the one which notifies you when your contact is near. The service lets you send text to those friends and automatically updates the address book.

Shozu lets you connect and publish media to your favourite social networks – in one convenient place. The one stop mobile social network is a mobile download with official support for: Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, LiveJournal, Wordpress, Twitter and lots more. This is allows you to manage your social networks easily from your mobile.

Tatango aims to revolutionize group text messaging, thereby allowing any group the ability to send and receive group text messages from the web or their own mobile phones for free. In a nutshell they want to create yahoo groups for SMS messaging.

vuclip.com - New features added to what was blueapple are additional feature of searching for searching for any video using the website and sending it to your phone using sms. There’s no wait needed for any encoding of the videos as vuclip’s unique technology analyses your mobile phone and the connection speed as well the screen size and adjusts the video for optimal playback, and it does all this on the fly

Well a rather depressing debut post here for the Madman!!
After blogging in different parts decided that I need a more flexible platform to rant, vent, inspire and create. I will continue to post and publish on my other 2 blog areas diaryofamadman.co.uk as well as blogs.conchango.com/derekdunlop/ - but I have plans for the madman site that I will unveil later on here - and the other is my work blog so must ensure that there is relevant work content flowing!!

So welcome old and new readers - I will of course move back onto topic quickly but - fuck what is happening in the world just now. Chaos and mayhem!!! It's all kicking off and personally I'm looking at the greedy mutha fuckers that think that $250million is not enough and going to go for more - that ethos is for shallow low life scum and will trample, destroy and generally fuck anyone over in order to get their pound of flesh!

I mean what the fuck is that all about - yes Im all for a good competitive advantage, but would I really sell my soul, cut out another persons heart and piss on their parade just for my own personal gain?? Hell No!!
Ultimatley this greed will catch up with everyone and with over valuation and over priced worth will at some point create a cataclysmic meltdown or put another way create what is known as the Minski Moment!

Now I'm no financial whizz kid and I don't pretend to be one - I don't invest in the stock market as I don't feel the need to gamble my hard earned cash based on what analyists base a value or worth on - I strongly feel that we are at a tipping point where we can no longer progress as we are doing.

When there is such a divide and total inequality in the world today- why should some banker in Wall Street demand $1.5m a yearvas well as another $1.5m bonus - does he deserve that kind of money - what exactly has he done to get that kind of payday - takes a risk, plays the market, fucks anyone over that gets in his or her way on order to get that bonus and more!
What about the other side - for every winner their must be a loser - that person may just have lost everything and now realised that their life was in effect driven my the almighty $ and now sees that actually there is more to life than cash - I know a few of these leeches and wow what a difference in their outlook on life since giving up chasing the $!
Now in 2008 - we see £250billion wiped off the value of shares in one week - some peope have just lost everything - the innocents as well as the greedy. The difference being the innocent were investing for their future and retirement - the gamblers were out on their self belief that they are money gods and genuises that knew how to play the market. Well looks like they have failed - will they me dipping into their savings to bail out the market they so quickly and vivaciuosly took from - fuck no - that's "their cash and they bloody well earned it" they will cry and start to off load as much failing stock and shit to save their own ass followed by their company then finally you and not me I'm afraid- the more this happens then the bigger the impact and the swell gets to such a degree that the entire financial sector collapses in on itself - how can a financial institute such as a bank fail - it can if it has mis-managed it's investments and debt to the point that it no longer can sustain itself . A crash is always defined as anything that has a drop greater than 10% in one single day trade - in the UK that happened to some of the biggest banks Barclays, HBoS, lloydsTSB all dipped below 10% some even close to 20%

All this signals the beginning of the end on how we should live, work, trade and as human beings start to look around us rather that within

The Minsky Moment may just what the world needs to embrace the 21st Century and start again with a different base to value worth and purpose?

Or is that just some hippy bullshit!

Well see - until then hold on for one hell of a ride!

Until next time

See Ya!
The Madman



-- Post From the ether somewhere in the world!!