Selling Textbooks online

As mentioned in the case study, selling textbooks online is good option for starting a pilot project. But it is extremely necessary to provide all the requirements beforehand. In order to sell textbooks online successfully Wal-Mart Canada will not only need a professional manager having comprehensive knowhow regarding college textbooks, but the company will also need textbook marketing professionals as well. Moreover the HR requirement include professional database administrators and developers, as well as website designers, who will develop and administer the database, develop personalized webpage for the customers.

Other IT experts will also be needed for system installation etc. Extensive training of the current staff that administers the online department is also needed, so that they can easily run the newly designed, but more complex and dynamic system without any shortcomings and errors. Long Term and Short Term Actions: Some of the short-term actions include starting the advertizing of the proposed online shopping website, hiring required human resources for the development of the project. These two actions should be taken within weeks after the approval of the proposed development plan.

The development of the necessary IT infrastructure, including the database, hiring professional textbook sales manager and marketers, training the existing IT staff to run the newly developed e-business unit effectively. These actions should be taken within a month or two after the approval of the project. All these objectives should be completed before the proposed inauguration of the e-business unit. The long term plan include changing the marketing strategy and providing the customers, the college students in this case the incentives which would compel them to buy their books online and through walmart.ca.

These long-term strategies include providing special offers and deals on textbook shopping as well as providing used books and also the option of reselling the books, when the students are done with their books after the end of the semester. These strategies will run in the long term and may be revised according to the changing business scenario on yearly basis at least. Later if the market situation changes the company can devise a new strategy or revise the current strategy as per requirement of that situation. Read about online enrollment system proposal

But more or less these actions are going to remain as the core competencies of the online retailer and the basis of its success.

References:

Chao, Arnold (2007). Case Studies on Successful E-Commerce, e-finity group inc. www. apecovop. org/objstore/ecvdo/86/5. ppt DeVito, David & Rempe Nate (2006). Textbook Insights: What is in store for college book stores? Nebraska Book Company. http://www. nebook. com/images/KIP_whitepaper1. pdf Weill, P. & Vitale, M. (2001) Place to Space: Migrating to e-business models, Harvard Business School Press.