Quite frequently, representatives of major cutlery companies represented here on BFC have made inquiries of forumites regarding e-commerce and related topics. Sal Glesser of Spyderco has undoubtedly been the most proactive in this regard, but Buck, Camillus, Edge-Works, HI, and others have also engaged us.
A new magazine, free to qualifying applicants (see http://www.kmmag.com , called Knowledge Management: Business Intelligence for Strategic Decision Makers has, what I consider, an outstanding major article in the January, 2000 issue, called "The 21st Century Enterprise". I highly recommend it to all the businessman among us. Here is a small passage:
--------------------------------------------
..."It goes without saying that the biggest force behind this trend is the Internet, which offers companies a new level of interaction with the customer, a give-and-take that can be carried on in real time. From that interaction, analysts predict, forward-looking companies will be
able to automate the made-to-order process, bringing customized products to consumers without the high costs traditionally associated with them. Experience has already shown that consumers are willing to pay a premium for something that is custom-built, and the list of products that can be
custom-built is almost limitless."
" 'Anything you can digitize, you can customize', says Joseph Pine, business consultant at Strategic Horizons of Cleveland and author of Mass Communications: The New Frontier of Business Competition. Mass
customization, he says, will help companies differentiate themselves in a market that has already become increasingly commodity-oriented."
"The made-to-order phenomenon is forcing old companies to adopt new thinking. Dell became a best-selling PC brand because shoppers can log onto Dell's Web site and specify the exact features and components they want. A custom-fit program from Levi-Strauss lets customers "design"
their own jeans by choosing from a pre-selected list of features. An
online vitamin company has begun to allow its customers to buy pills with a specified list of ingredients. Daimler Chrysler now lets car shoppers configure the vehicle of their dreams online. Mattel lets customers design their own barbie dolls on the Internet and have them mailed to them."
" ..... Ford Motor Co., for example, has promised to offer to build-to-order cars via its Web site. ...."
"Alsop, the venture capitalist, foresees that mass customization will become the defining way of doing business, not the exception. 'This is the ultimate, most efficient economic model you can get. It will go from being a novelty to being the norm,' he says."
"But the future doesn't stop there. It's not just customization that will count, but the extent to which companies remember what their customers like and then use that information in the future, according to
Martha Rogers, a consultant in the field of one-to-one marketing, based in Stamford, Conn. The idea, she says, is to create a 'learning relationship', in which each sale informs a future one.' "
-------------------------------------------
The article identifies seven essential aspects of 21st Century Enterprise:
- the extended enterprise
- value creation
- net sales models
- the dynamic organization
- strategic IT architecture
- empowered employees
- and workplace design
The extract above was taken from Value Creation, where new business
models blur the distinction between custom products and services. Digital delivery, made to order, and dynamic pricing (where the customers set pricing such as we've seen with hotel rooms and airline tickets), are the key attributes of value creation. With BFC and innovations such as Buck's PCKS, we see some experimentation taking place. Those who fully embrace the new models will be tomorrows industry leaders. I wrote about much of this same thinking in several posts here on BFC during the last 16 months, but not with the clarity or totally integrated vision the staff at Knowledge Management has done. I highly commend this magazine and this issue to all who want to consider new paradigms or to better understand what is happening on the cutting edge of entrepreneurship.
------------------
-=[Bob Allman]=-
I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!
BFC member since the very beginning
Member: American Knife & Tool Institute; Varmint Hunters Association;
National Rifle Association; Praire Thunder Inc.; Rapid City Rifle Club;
Spearfish Rifle & Pistol Club; Buck Collectors Club (prime interest: 532s)
Certified Talonite(r) enthusiast!
[This message has been edited by bald1 (edited 01-03-2000).]
A new magazine, free to qualifying applicants (see http://www.kmmag.com , called Knowledge Management: Business Intelligence for Strategic Decision Makers has, what I consider, an outstanding major article in the January, 2000 issue, called "The 21st Century Enterprise". I highly recommend it to all the businessman among us. Here is a small passage:
--------------------------------------------
..."It goes without saying that the biggest force behind this trend is the Internet, which offers companies a new level of interaction with the customer, a give-and-take that can be carried on in real time. From that interaction, analysts predict, forward-looking companies will be
able to automate the made-to-order process, bringing customized products to consumers without the high costs traditionally associated with them. Experience has already shown that consumers are willing to pay a premium for something that is custom-built, and the list of products that can be
custom-built is almost limitless."
" 'Anything you can digitize, you can customize', says Joseph Pine, business consultant at Strategic Horizons of Cleveland and author of Mass Communications: The New Frontier of Business Competition. Mass
customization, he says, will help companies differentiate themselves in a market that has already become increasingly commodity-oriented."
"The made-to-order phenomenon is forcing old companies to adopt new thinking. Dell became a best-selling PC brand because shoppers can log onto Dell's Web site and specify the exact features and components they want. A custom-fit program from Levi-Strauss lets customers "design"
their own jeans by choosing from a pre-selected list of features. An
online vitamin company has begun to allow its customers to buy pills with a specified list of ingredients. Daimler Chrysler now lets car shoppers configure the vehicle of their dreams online. Mattel lets customers design their own barbie dolls on the Internet and have them mailed to them."
" ..... Ford Motor Co., for example, has promised to offer to build-to-order cars via its Web site. ...."
"Alsop, the venture capitalist, foresees that mass customization will become the defining way of doing business, not the exception. 'This is the ultimate, most efficient economic model you can get. It will go from being a novelty to being the norm,' he says."
"But the future doesn't stop there. It's not just customization that will count, but the extent to which companies remember what their customers like and then use that information in the future, according to
Martha Rogers, a consultant in the field of one-to-one marketing, based in Stamford, Conn. The idea, she says, is to create a 'learning relationship', in which each sale informs a future one.' "
-------------------------------------------
The article identifies seven essential aspects of 21st Century Enterprise:
- the extended enterprise
- value creation
- net sales models
- the dynamic organization
- strategic IT architecture
- empowered employees
- and workplace design
The extract above was taken from Value Creation, where new business
models blur the distinction between custom products and services. Digital delivery, made to order, and dynamic pricing (where the customers set pricing such as we've seen with hotel rooms and airline tickets), are the key attributes of value creation. With BFC and innovations such as Buck's PCKS, we see some experimentation taking place. Those who fully embrace the new models will be tomorrows industry leaders. I wrote about much of this same thinking in several posts here on BFC during the last 16 months, but not with the clarity or totally integrated vision the staff at Knowledge Management has done. I highly commend this magazine and this issue to all who want to consider new paradigms or to better understand what is happening on the cutting edge of entrepreneurship.
------------------
-=[Bob Allman]=-
I did NOT escape from the institution! They gave me a day pass!
BFC member since the very beginning
Member: American Knife & Tool Institute; Varmint Hunters Association;
National Rifle Association; Praire Thunder Inc.; Rapid City Rifle Club;
Spearfish Rifle & Pistol Club; Buck Collectors Club (prime interest: 532s)
Certified Talonite(r) enthusiast!
[This message has been edited by bald1 (edited 01-03-2000).]
