Blog homeEven though I have the now monthly “website review” offer I still get a constant flow of emails asking for help on this or that. I never like not helping….. but sometimes people need to realise what it is like being on the receiving end of all this communication and they should focus their request appropriately (If you are buying something from me, that is a slightly different scenario)
So - now I am going to ask for your help so I can share the load around a bit.
This weeks challenge:
“Requires the student to prepare an individual critical evaluation of Expedia. This will typically be represented in the form of a business plan where the key technological, business and wider aspects are recognised. The report should identify to what extent it has made a success of eCommerce and provide a reasoned discussion about its future success. Word count 2000 words max”
This is for a BSc. in Ecommerce and the Internet at a UK university. Yes the irony that the request says “requires the student to prepare” isn’t lost on me.
So - rather than having to write 2000 words….. the real challenge for you will be to come up with a succinct answer using fewer than 250 words. Please either write below…… or perhaps on your own blog (and add a link to your blog in the post below).
Actually this could be fun.
What can you win? Er…. nothing! (Unless someone from Expedia wants to sponsor this!). However somehow (to be determined) we will choose a winner….. and I am sure the student will be grateful.
PS - Note to professor / lecturer….. obviously we are not actually writing the report….. just coming up with ideas and themes…. isn’t this just how the Internet is meant to be used for research?
UPDATE: I have now added my 230 word critical evaluation below!
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I see no one has taken me up on this offer yet…… no one wants to help a student?
Focussing on the future…. rather than the past…… one key theme is the rise of the product owner. No longer will it be good enough to be a “retailer” (like Expedia are) but the product owners (airlines, hoteliers, tour operators) are creating their own “Expedia like” distribution channels for direct sales.
Therefore big retailers have to keep devising new means to reach out to consumers in a multi-product way…. as that is where they can (and will continue to) add value to single product suppliers (like a single airline, a single hotel chain, a single tour operator)
So yes, Expedia has made a significant success upto this point using eCommerce. However, unfortunately for them, business is not a sport. With a sport you have a finish line and someone is declared the winner at a fixed point in time. In business - you may be winning now - but this just makes you the next target. Over the past few years, the “target” has been the highstreet travel agents (with agents shutting shop)…. but now that task is almost complete (irreversible anyway) - the big product providers are safe to go after the big Online Travel Agents (OTAs)…. because the OTAs can’t turn to high street travel agents in order to help them…. as they have been weakened too far by recent actions.
230 words….. can you do better?