The eCommerce Supply Chain Paradox

We have explored this idea before in How important is the Internet to the US economy?, Let’s call it the Google and Some quick thoughts on what the fashion retailer of future may look like but I thought it was worth taking another look at it from a slightly different perspective.

One of the most interesting things to have emerged out of the first 15 years of commerce on the web is what I call the eCommerce Supply Chain Paradox.

Again rather than expending a lot of words trying to describe the paradox I have created a simple illustration that compares the reality of the eCommerce supply chain with the traditional management school theory of the value chain.

As you can eCommerce - at least so far – appears to be breaking all the management school rules in the sense that eCommerce is clearly adding significantly more value at the initial stages of the value chain rather than at the “point end” of the equation.

The big question moving forward is will B2C eRetailing significantly grow its capability and reach over the next decade to close the gap? or, Will eCommerce remain predominantly a B2B play? after all B2B hubs have proven far easier to build than B2C hubs. or, Will the manufacturing sector expand its reach by leveraging its eCommerce expertise and capabilities to service the customer directly via group or aggregated buying initiatives? or, will Social Commerce (e.g. f-Commerce) prove to be the tipping point that caputures the consumer market? or, perhaps it will be mCommerce that proves to be more compatible with the demands of B2C retailing?

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Tagged: eCommerce, F-Commerce, mCommerce

Posted in: eCommerce