Technology Impact

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer discusses that the growth of online configurators and their role in streamlining the process by which consumers shop, configure, and order products online is one of the revolutionary aspects of e-commerce. The writer points out that the integration of the technologies behind online configurators and their success with customers is to a large extent defined by how these online applications are introduced to customers, how the added value due to the new technology is proven to customers, and the role of support plans for customers outlined and used by online customers. The role of partnerships in enhancing customer experiences is also integral to the total technology impact of online configurators, and is examined as part of this paper.

From the Paper:

"What's significant about this area in terms of developments in the last three years is that the guided selling applications are now becoming increasingly connected to product configurators, or complex software applications that work with factory systems and actually get the process started of building the product a consumer wants. This is a significant accomplishment for many companies, as beforehand the products of interest consumers would specify through the guided selling applications would have to be hand-typed into the production systems to make them producible. Columbus (2003) highlights the progression of this capability in his research on the maturing of guided selling applications' use in consumer and high tech companies in his landmark report, Configuration is the Heart of Customer Fulfillment for Complex Manufacturers. In this report Columbus defines the specific attributes of what separates guided selling from product configuration technologies. Dell's pervasive use of online product configurators is now seen as revolutionary, yet the introduction of these web-based applications was first seen as complex and difficult to use. Dell's extensive efforts to make these applications trustworthy began with the more thorough integration of their supply chain planning systems."

Sample of Sources Used:

• AMR Research (2005) - The Handbook of Becoming Demand Driven. AMR Research Report October 6, 2006 . Accessed with permission from the publisher. Lora Cecere, Roddy Martin, Debra Hofman.
• Columbus (2002) - The Sell-Side E-Commerce Market: It's All About Integration. AMR Research Report. Monday April 1, 2002. Retrieved from the Internet on January 11, 2007: http://lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/SellSideECommerceMarketIsAllAboutIntegration.pdf
• Columbus (2003) - Configuration is the Heart of Customer Fulfillment for Complex Product Manufacturers. AMR Research Report. Monday March 31, 2003. Retrieved from the Internet on January 11, 2007 from: http://lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/ConfigurationIstheHeartofCustomerFulfillmentforComplexProductManufacturers.pdf

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