Electronic Business and Commerce

Class 8


Topic:
Inter-Enterprise Electronic Commerce
Class Plan:

Electronic commerce existed well before the Internet became mainstream. We look at QRS Corporation, a leading Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and services provider for the retail industry headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, that started very early in the game. The QRS Corporation case addresses the business model of QRS and the threats and opportunities presented to the model by Internet-based Electronic Commerce. 
Required Reading:
QRS Corporation.
Study Questions:
    1. What was QRS’s strategy before the Internet presented new opportunities? What were its key strategic assets? Why has it been successful?
    2. Compare the growth rate of QRS customers to the growth rate of sales. How could QRS grow at the rate it had? Hint: Stare hard at the data in Exhibit 2 in the case.
    3. What is the logic behind QRS’s “Hub and Spoke” strategy?
    4. Can you generalize the approach taken by QRS to other companies? What are the characteristics of these companies?