In my opinion, personalisation is an effective tool that helps the customer and business in a mutually beneficial way.  It saves the user from wasting time filling in the same details over and over again when ever they decide to make a purchase by storing their personal details .  The recommending of items can also prove helpful as the user might not have to go far to from the recommended product to find the one they actually want.  In fact the product that has been recommended might just be the one that they want to purchase.  An e-commerce website uses your computers cookies, search history and purchase history as a way of  filtering out products that you might be interested in and recommends them  to you. 

An example of personalisation being used can be found in the form of the website YouTube.  When I log into YouTube it presents me with a selection of recommended videos I might be interested in watching.  These recommendations are made from looking at my previous search and purchase history. 

When I log into my personal account I can choose from a number of different options that detail my search and purchase history which allows me to browse through all of my search history and select videos i have viewed.  This saves me the time and effort of having to type in and remember the exact names of songs.  This makes it a more pleasant service to use.

How ever not every site that uses personalisation is always a success.  There are sites that just present the user with adds even though it may not  interest them here is a just a few sites that make bad use of personalisation.

www.bebo.com

www.facebook.com

www.hi5.com

All three of these sites  may be social networking sites but they all present the user with recommendations which her or she is raerly interested in.

To start of I used Google sktool which is a tool that allows me to search for most popular searches related to my site. I typed in to the search engine www.makro.co.uk and no searches were found.   I then typed in the phases love the pub, your business partner every day and no results were found.   However once I typed in cash and carry I got which the screen shot below displays.

Next i used Google Insight to search for different keywords.  This tool generates a graph that shows the keywords that i have searched  for over a certain period of time.  The words the I inserted into the search engine were aro,  warehouse,  wholesalers and metro.  Out  of all these words the most popular result was metro followed by warehouse then wholesalers and finally aro.  Below is a screen shot of the graph tha was generated for me by Google insight.

I then used another google tool known as adword which allows me to type in the address of my chosen web site and the tool then gives me a list of keywords that are associated with my website.   Once i typed the address of my website i was presented with 41 results and 7 of which were related to makro the results of my search can be seen below.

After using theses tools i found google adword to be the most useful as it was the only tool out of all three that produced resulted that were directly to do with makro my chosen web site. 

When it came to compiling 12 key words that are to do with my site and describe i found very difficult indeed and struggled to get more than 5 that really related to my site and descried it.  Over all i found it hard finding words and phases that uniquely identify makro throughout the internet.

• Metro
• cash and carry
• Warehouse
• Wholesalers
• Aro

First Search

For the first search I typed in one of the themes that Makro has adopted known as love the pub.  Once I preformed the search Makro was placed as top three as well as fifth on the list of returns for the search.  In fourth place was Baby Love OXFORD – Pub & Bars Information, 3 King Edward Street.  However this was not a competitor rather a bar looking for a DJ.  This is because of the fact that this theme is either paid for or entirely unique to makro.  I think that its just unique to makro because in searches of different areas competitors tend to appear.  

Second search

I decided to on the second search I used the phase business partner every day and once again Makro was placed at the top of the list.  This is a phase used buy Makro through out their stores to promote the fact that they are there for their customers on a day to day basis every day. The fact that love the pub is a theme used by Makro and so is your every day business partner means that it is obvious what I am searching for and makro appears at the top of the list.  However the results show websites that offer people advice on how to deal with their business.   This suggests that makro have paid to be the first ones returned once a user types business partner every day into Google it appears before all the other services available.

Third Search

In this search I decided to search using cash and carry to see what kind of result I would be presented. The search returned with makro in second place to their competitors Booker this is an interesting result and shows that Book must have paid Google so that when the words cash and carry are used Booker is the first presented to the user with their competitors placed below them.  Although makro are placed second above a number of other competitors such as Bestway which could suggest that makro have also paid to ensure they are show second once the search is performed.

This is a system architecture model for internet based computing that utilizes software as a service. Basically it is the use of servers used to store a firm’s information small or large because they want to free up space and save costs.

Benefits

 • Cloud computing allows the user to access data at all times from all places meaning they don’t have to be in the office. • A pay structure can be set up which means that the businesses will only pay when they use or access the information. • Firms can free up space as they have no need to physical store there data in cabinets or other forms of storage. This means that money doesn’t have to be spent on a physical storage method nor does it need to spend money maintaining it.

Negatives

 • Out sourcing the companies data and information means that the company has lost 100% control over it which can be come a big security issue as skilled hackers might be able to gain access to it a lot easier. • The company is not depending on some one else rather than themselves to enforce security and confidentiality of their data and information. If these measures are not enforced properly the company could experience some bother. • Another large risk of using a third party to store your businesses data and information is the fact that if the third party you are using closes or disappears. What measure or action do you need to take to retrieve you information and how much of it is retrievable? This could cause serious problems as important data both personal and financial could be lost forever.

 Conclusion

Cloud computing could see more and more businesses both big and small using third parties to out source their information to save costs free up space and put less pressure on their IT Professionals and frees up their time in the office. However before companies become too confident in using cloud computing to store data they must also take precautions to combat the negative aspects as vast amounts of very important data and information can be lost.

 adopts the push method as it has a limited use of EDI but the main reason being is to optimize the production process for cost and efficiency. Makro just pass on products they receive from their suppliers on to their customers on a large scale. They try to do this in the most profitable way.

Vertical integration vs. disintegration vs. virtual integration

 Makro are focused on rapid market penetration to insure they obtain as many customers as possible. Makro are also keen on maintaining a close relationship with suppliers as they sell vastest amounts of stock too businesses each and every day. This makes keeping a good relationship with their suppliers a priority. These characteristics mean that Makro pursue the virtual integration.

Evidence of value networks

 The Makro card shows evidence of a value network because of the fact that when a customer receives his or her trading card it allows them access to the Makro store. This then in turn not only allows them to buy products from Makro they are also granted access to all of the rest of the services that are provided by Makro.

Evidence of efficiencies in supply chain

The information passed between Makro and their suppliers to make sure the right amount of stock has been ordered and the suppliers get paid the exact amount they are entitled to. The fact that Makro operate on a Just In Time delivery system shows evidence of efficiencies in their supply chain.

Makro is a wholesaler which provides businesses and only businesses with the products that they rely on in order to make a profit.  Even though there are other wholesalers out there that customers are able to visit with ease due to the internet makro have exploited the fact that their customers like to form a good relationship with the people they buy from.  This is why makro have trading cards these cards are either gold or platinum depending on how much money the customer is willing to spend.  The cards entitle the owners to discount making it more attractive for customers to buy at makro rather than other wholesalers.  This is a way of defending them selves against substitute products and services.

The threat of the entry of new competitors

Although makro does sell its own brand of products known as ARO it concentrates on selling the more popular brands from which the majority of their profits stem.  As a wholesaler they are more interested in providing businesses with the products they want rather than making legal cheap imitations of a more successful product.  The fact that makro does not rely on the internet service to do business and would much rather customer came to the store makes it harder for fast followers to copy them. Makro has a big share of the wholesalers market and the fact that setting up wholesalers is not as easy as setting up a retail business means that it will be very difficult for new comers to challenge makro especially as the entry and exit costs are high.

WEEK 5 ECOM

The intensity of competitive rivalry

Makro are the uks third biggest wholesaler and as a competitive company they are always looking for opportunities to get more market share through strategy whether it is an attack or response to their competitors.  Makro have identified continued support form Pub and Club customers.  This has encouraged Makro to go on the attack and launch the love the pub program as they try to exploit their growing custom from their off-licences.  http://makrolovethepub.co.uk/ This might cause a response so it is important that makro impose this strategy and use their resources to the best of their abilities to maximise profits before the competitors try to follow the trend.  This gives macro an advantage as they could lower prices when a new competitor enters this region of the market making it hard form them to make an impact.  Although they must be care they are not seen to try and push a competitor out of the market using unfair tactics this could result in government intervention.

The bargaining power of customers/buyers

Makro Belfast is the only macro store in the whole of Ireland and the only wholesalers of its kind in the north of Ireland.  This gives Makro a huge advantage when it comes to setting prices.  This brings the bargaining power of the customer down depending on the area in which they live.  How ever depending on the relationship the customer has with Makro and the amount of money they spend they could obtain a trading card that allows more discount.  The big disadvantage to a businesses bargaining power when buying from Makro is the fact that if they switch supplier it’s a very big risk.  The fact that businesses need to have certain products at certain times could cause problems if they do not have a good relationship with their supplier.  If the supplier is not reliable the business will stand to lose money and maybe even customer loyalty.

The bargaining power of suppliers

Makro deals with supplies that supply extremely strong brands of a huge range of products.  This gives the supplier an advantage as they can threaten to take their business else where as the brand is so strong.  How ever Makro is a key customer for suppliers as it buys enormous quantities that would generate a sizeable income.  It could prove difficult for a supplier to find the same stature of customer somewhere else.  How ever if the supplier supplies good quality goods then they have an advantage as it might be difficult for Makro to obtain the same quality from another supplier.  This also means having to form a new relationship with a supplier which can be risky and cause problems.

Makro is a business to business company that and only allows the owners of business to become members.  This means that in order to become a member you must become a trade card owner.  To do this a potential customer must first register either at the store or online.  They will have to provide evidence that they own their own business and comply with the strict rules of the trading card.  There are a number of strict rules that are employed

• The trade card can not be used by any other person other then the card owner.
• The trade card and the rights that accompany it can be withdrawn by Makro any time with out any reason being given.
• Authorised users are allowed to be accompanied by a non card holder however the non card holder may not make a purchase.

http://www.makro.co.uk/servlet/PB/menu/1023099_l2/index.html This is a link to a full description of all the terms and conditions that must be a followed at all times in order to posses a trade card.

The rules listed above are indeed strict but the must unusual one in my opinion is that fact that Makro reserve the right to take a card of any customer without giving a reason.  This seems some what unfair for a customer that has been buying from the company for a number of years.  Companies usually try to gain customer loyalty in this case it seems that the customers are expected to be loyal to the company.

When it comes to returning items customers are giving a maximum of 28 days, they are also required to bring the product back in the condition they obtained it along with they recite.  Some products such as food underwear and cosmetics can not be returned in the interest of hygiene.   Electronic goods are given a 12 month warranty and can only be returned if a fault occurs with the workman ship of the product.  On the website there are a list of customer help lines that will instruct the customer how to go about returning a product the customer can also visit the store and report end control which deals with all of the customers request and inquires including returns.

In terms of purchasing Booker a rival site is a lot more easy to use and unlike makro the customer can purchase items and have them sent to their door.  The customer needs to register their details but there seems to be a lot less restrictions on the terms and conditions of the purchase.  Customers have to collect they items from Makro itself where as Booker will send the item to your front door. With booker goods can only be returned with a recite.   Over all I think that in this particular area that Booker the competition is better as it has less restrictions and makes it more convenient for the customer to receive their goods. 

Security

Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, called a ciphertext, that cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people.  This is a security measure that tries to insure that the data you hand over will only be accessed by the authorised personnel.  In the case of Makro when applying for a trade card and giving personal information it refers the user to the terms and conditions in which it states “MAKRO is part of the METRO-Group, a large group of companies operating internationally, Personal Data may be transferred to and back from one of the International Data Centres of the METRO-Group. Data Centres operate in compliance with European data protection rules to provide for a coherent level of adequate data protection even in those cases where data are transferred to countries with a different level of data protection.” This means Access to Personal Data will be limited to authorised employees as required, IT security and maintenance are employed to ensure data is used correctly and kept safe.  The data that a user supplies on the Makro site is not encrypted although there are methods in place to keep it safe.

Cookies

Cookies are a small piece of text stored on a user’s computer by a web browser. A cookie consists of one or more name-value pairs containing bits of information such as user preferences, shopping cart contents, and the identifier for a server-based session, or other data used by websites.  On the Makro site cookies are used to track the movement of any who visits the website.  It also makes the connection speed to the website faster and it even remembers questions that you might have previously asked.

My chosen company Makro has two main competitors that I am going to focus on and try to place the Makro web site in context.  The competitors are Best way group and Booker.  I was able to compare the amount of times people have visited the Makro website compared to the Booker site.  I was able to make this comparison by using a website called compete.com.  This link http://siteanalytics.compete.com/makro.co.uk+booker.co.uk+www.bestwaygroup.co.uk/ shows the comparison between the Makro and Booker websites the graph that has been created shows the comparison the amount of unique site visits over a period of time.  Unfortunately while using the compete website software I was unable to find any statistics concerning the amount of visits the Best way group had received.  A way in which I was able to compare all three companies was through revenue which had been obtained during 2008. The Best way group managed a turnover of 1,811 million pounds, Booker managed a turnover of 139.9 million pounds and Makro managed a turn of 1,935.7 million dollars.  If we compare these revenues with the amount of visits that the site has gotten in the last 30 days using http://www.trafficestimate.com/resultsiframe.asp  .  We can see just how e commerce has affected the businesses however I was unable to obtain any visiting information on Best way using the websites facilities.  In the last 30 days Makro obtained up to 96,900 visitors and Booker received 68,900.  Accompanied with the revenue figures it shows that Makro not only generates customer interest and spending  site its  receives a substantial amount of attention through the course of a month nearly 30,000 times more than its competitor Booker.

Technology

The user firstly needs a modem and an Internet browser to allow them to gain access to the internet.  After acquiring these to essentials the first step is for the user to open up the internet where they will be presented with their internet homepage.  The user then needs to enter www.makro.co.uk in the address bar.  This causes a request from the user’s computer to be sent to the server running the server software for the Makro site.  The server then returns the page that has been requested.  The display of the web page is produced by the HTML and graphic files.  The user then needs to access the customer information option which will lead them to a different page with a search bar in which they need to type customer order.  The search bar will then present them with a customer order option.  This process is undertaken by the Database and applications server.  The HTML and graphics file accompanied by the Database and applications server allows the customer to browse through different products before choosing the ones they want.  Once a customer has chosen the products they wish to purchase they are asked to enter their makro card details and the company then sends them an email details instructions on how they would like to make the transaction.

Mobile devices

With the huge Increase in the use of mobile devices such as mobile phones and laptops and other hand held gadgets that allow people to access the internet while they are on the move.  This might result in Makro having to introduce new web page formats that are more suitable to mobile devices with smaller screens making navigation an issue.  This will affect the system software level as the servers and connection lines might have to be up graded to deal with heavier usage as more people have the opportunity to access the website as it’s more accessible.   Access standards might also be different for mobile devices meaning the original standards that were put in place might have to be modified or totally changed.  The big question here that Makro would have to ask them selves is that is it really worth all the time and effort to make changes to facilitate people with mobile devices.  Primary research would have to be conducted to try and estimate just how many people with mobile devices actually visit the site and out of those who visit how many actually make a purchase.  If the study showed a substantial amount then I then it would be in Makros best interests.  Another thing to consider is how fast are mobile devices going to catch on to the public if they become the next must have gadget then it might make sense to make the current system compatible with these  devices now because they will have to do it a couple of years down the line anyway in order to stay competitive.

The website that I have chosen is makro.co.uk.  From the first glance at this web site you can immediately see that it is very informative with a range of self explanatory navigation options making the site user friendly.  There are pictures of staff members helping customers while wearing a smile which promotes a staff friendly image.  The website also consists of a help program that prompts the user to ask questions should they have any to which the program gives them an instant answer.  This means that the customers are less likely to waste time trying to find answers to their questions by navigating through the site.  This web site also tries to promote its huge range of products at low prices with the use of pictures and advertisements scattered through out the page.  The webpage is a mix of colorful pictures and text making it easy on the eyes and more appealing.  The webpage does not consist of big long lists of text so as not to over whelm the user with information.   Instead it uses smart pictures accompanied with no more than four or five lines of text making the webpage an easy one to understand.

Financial Information

Makro has over six hundred cash and carry stores in over 30 countries and employs over 280,000 people world wide.  Last year Makro UK alone managed a turnover in excess of £1 billion.  This gives an indication of the sheer size of the Makro business.  This was the most specific quantitative information about the company that  I was able to come across using such sources as the Financial Times, www.google.com , and the Makro website it self just to name a few.

Market Channels

Makro is a Dutch – German chain of warehouses also known as cash and caries which first opened in 1968 in Amsterdam before spreading on a global scale.  Today it has over 600 hundred stores through out the world.  The stores are not open to the general public but only to businesses which must be registered members in order to gain access to the store.  The store serves the following sectors,

• Newsagents and convenience stores
• Caterers (restaurants and hotels)
• Complementary businesses users (doctors surgeries and universities)

Although Marko make use the internet as a channel market in order to gain new customers and orders this is not their only channel market. Their main channel market is the Makro mail which is evident by the fact that they print 1 million copies of the mail every fortnight as well as posting it on their web site.  The number one reason that the mail is the main source of their marketing channel is because it’s specialized to meet the needs of their customer which are businesses rather than the general public.   This way the Makro mail only reaches the correct customer rather than the wrong ones allowing the business to keep it focus.

Channel Chain Map

In the period of 2006 to 2008 there has been a constant increase in the number of people using the internet for either personal or business use.  According to a report undertaken by eMarketer (http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000401.aspx  )it has been estimated that in 2007 the number of internet users within the UK will reach 36.8 million, and will continue to grow until it exceeds 38 million in the year 2008. This is said to be the equivalent to 62.6% of the entire UK population.

There are a number of reasons that can help explain the increase for this growth  

• Better living conditions have increased the amount of people who are now easily able to afford a computer.  This has resulted in cheaper broadband being supplied by phone companies.
• The increasing number of places that facilitate internet access in the last few years has helped encouraged more people to go on line.  The fact that wireless broadband connections are now available in places such as cafés makes the process of connecting to the internet using a laptop extremely easy.  Phone companies also provide devices that allow laptops to connect to the internet whilst on the move known as dongles http://www.internetdongle.com/.  The internet is also available on mobile phones making it extremely easy to access with no geographical restrictions.
• The amount of services and information that people require on a daily basis that is now available on the internet at the click of a button makes it a very attractive service.