For many companies, defining an online strategy is still very challenging. In order to be successful they need to fully understand how their businesses can benefit from eCommerce (or eBusiness for that matter) and to be able to assess what it takes to implement their strategy.

Companies are usually hesitant to move ahead because they don’t have all the information they require to measure the financial and organizational implications of eCommerce. It is critical for them to be able to evaluate the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their eCommerce architecture as well as the return on investment (ROI) for their business.

Going eCommerce is not like buying a new piece of equipment or investing in an advertising campaign. It is more like opening a new store. I will use this analogy to explain why an eCommerce website is just the visible part of the “eCommerce Iceberg”.

In real life, you can walk into a store, browse through the merchandise, ask the staff questions and then eventually buy something. The store however couldn’t operate if it didn’t have any merchandise to display. There must be a supply chain that makes sure the merchandise gets to the store in the first place and there usually are marketing and merchandising efforts to get your attention.

It is the same for an eCommerce website. In order to make products and services available online, to enable your customers to pay for them, and then for you to deliver them, there has to be more than just designing an eCommerce website.

What you see of an eCommerce website is often the end result of a complex process to deliver products or services to you over the Internet.

Here is a diagram of the “eCommerce Iceberg” and what lies beneath the surface:

Online Marketing, Web Design, Fulfillment, Customer Relationship, Inventory Management, Warehouse Management, Supply Chain, Shipping, Manufacturing, Outsourcing, are the main components that you need to take into consideration when planning an eCommerce strategy.

Depending on your business model, you might not need to address all of them but many of them will have an impact on the way you’re running your business right now.

The impact is not only financial (due to investments in infrastructure, technology, staffing and training), it also affects your supply chain as well as the people behind the business who will have to adapt to new processes. Any oversight will ultimately impact your customers and your bottom line.

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