The Future of the Electronic Marketplace

The marketplace is the place of exchange between buyer and seller. Once one rode a mule to get there; now one rides the Internet. An electronic marketplace can span two rooms in the same building, or two continents. How individuals, firms, and organizations approach and define the electronic marketplace of the future depends on people's ability to ask the right questions now and to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise over the next few years. The contributors to this volume are prime movers in major industries that are remaking themselves in order to shape the global marketplace. They examine the consumers' new powers to assess and exchange goods and services over unparalleled distances. They discuss the opportunities and risks posed by the new integration between manufacturer and consumer, by the erosion of centralized authority, by real-time choice in every financial contingency, and by the fact that travel and transportation have been delegated to the machine processes that can best handle them. They also reflect on how to set an intelligent value on the coming changes, on the tools and procedures required to create this new marketplace of marketplaces. Contributors: Les Alberthal, William D. Bandt, Robert J. Bonometti, David Braunschvig, Stephen D. Crocker, Walter Forbes, Denos Gazis, Daniel E. Geer, Jr., Irving Goldstein, Edward D. Horowitz, Daniel P. Keegan, Raymond W. Smith, Russel B. Stevenson, Jr., Patrick E. White. The Future of the Electronic Marketplace......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 6 PRESENT AT THE CREATION......Page 7 People in the Marketplace......Page 13 Buying, Selling, and Specializing......Page 16 Value, Money, and Security.......Page 24 Education and Entertainment......Page 27 Business Possibilities......Page 32 Conclusion......Page 37 I GETTING UP CLOSER: TALENTS AND CHOICES MULTIPLY......Page 40 1 The Once and Future Craftsman Culture......Page 41 A Virtual Global Village......Page 42 Dismantling the Fordian Complex.......Page 44 Virtual Product Development......Page 47 Front-End Customer Collaboration......Page 48 Intelligent Reasoning and Decision Making......Page 50 Integrated Concept Development......Page 52 Agile Manufacturing......Page 58 Integrating the Virtual Product......Page 61 Embedded Intelligent Systems.......Page 62 Virtual Product Communication......Page 63 Conclusion......Page 65 Notes......Page 66 2 A Store as Big as the World......Page 67 Back to the Future......Page 70 The Electronic Executive Assistant......Page 76 Retailers a Breed Apart.......Page 79 Ultimate Economies of Scale......Page 81 Ushering in Cyber Economics......Page 87 Linking the World......Page 91 The New World......Page 93 3 The Ascent of Content......Page 94 The Economics of Change......Page 95 Content.......Page 96 The Death of Distance......Page 98 Will the Death of Bandwidth Be Next?......Page 99 Safeguarding Content......Page 104 Managing Content......Page 107 The Content-Management Engine......Page 109 Home Computing......Page 112 Conclusion.......Page 114 II REACHING THROUGH THE SCREEN FOR BETTER SERVICES AND GOODS......Page 116 4 The Digital Utility: Premonitions of the Future of the Last Great Monopoly......Page 117 The Disintegrated Utility......Page 119 The New Rubric of the Digital Utility......Page 126 Micromarketing in the Digital Age......Page 138 Notes......Page 145 5 PASHAs: Advanced Intelligent Agents in the Service of Electronic Commerce.......Page 146 PASHAs to the Rescue......Page 148 Management of Credit Cards and Other Financial Transactions......Page 151 Trading in Equities......Page 152 Managing the Distribution of Electricity......Page 153 Improving Transportation Systems......Page 156 Epilogue.......Page 173 III IMPALPABLE WEALTH: THE ECONOMY SET FREE......Page 175 6 Work Remade: An Electronic Marketplace Inside the Corporation......Page 176 Electronic Commerce in Perspective......Page 177 Communication, Information, or Transactions?......Page 179 Beyond Collaboration......Page 180 Requirements for Developing a Workplace Environment......Page 185 Identifying Transaction Terms.......Page 186 Managing the Transaction Marketplace......Page 188 Profiling......Page 189 Trust......Page 190 Ensuring Interoperability between Intra-Corporate and Inter-Corporate Transactions......Page 193 Dissemination.......Page 195 Valuation Implications......Page 198 Transactions-Based Communities: A Contribution to the Comparative Advantage of Mature Economies?......Page 200 Notes......Page 201 7 The Virtual Countinghouse: Finance Transformed by Electronics......Page 203 Accounting will always be with us......Page 204 Finance is the Language of Business; Double-Entry Accounting gives it Integrity.......Page 205 The Integrity of Financial Transactions......Page 206 Vapor Companies......Page 207 The Changed Nature of Business Information......Page 208 The Changed Nature of Finance......Page 209 Key Performance Indicators.......Page 210 The Organizational Dilemma......Page 211 More Data, but Focused Information......Page 212 Public Reporting......Page 213 Financial Reporting......Page 214 Investor Accounting......Page 215 Book Value and Market Value.......Page 216 Financial Modeling and Scenario Assessment......Page 217 Residual Income......Page 218 Investment was the Key to the Future......Page 219 Auditing......Page 220 Global Responsibilities......Page 222 A Repository of Financial Data......Page 223 Integrated, Enterprise-Wide Software......Page 224 Pricing.......Page 225 Accounts Payable......Page 227 Purchasing......Page 228 Payroll.......Page 229 Fixed Asset Accounting, Budgeting, and Internal Auditing......Page 230 Taxation......Page 231 Treasury......Page 232 Communication......Page 233 Software.......Page 235 The Downside of Integration......Page 237 8 Unseen Guardians, Invisible Treasures......Page 239 What it is......Page 240 What will be......Page 247 Commercial Concerns......Page 252 A Vignette.......Page 256 Conclusion......Page 258 IV GETTING THERE: THE TASKS AND THE VISIONS......Page 260 9 The Walls Coming Down: Interoperability Opens the Electronic City......Page 261 How Do We Invoke Interoperability Today, and How Good Are We?......Page 264 The Foundational “Infostructure” of the Electronic Marketplace......Page 267 A New Age Approach to Interoperability......Page 269 From Bridges, Routers, and Gateways to “Transinformers”......Page 270 Economic Imperatives for Robust Interoperability......Page 272 Complementary Perspectives on Interoperability......Page 274 The Nature of Standards: Do Competitive Market Forces Promote or Inhibit Interoperability?......Page 276 Desperately Seeking Interoperability: From Digital Esperanto to the N2 Conundrum......Page 280 Quality of Service......Page 282 Components of a Research Agenda for Technology-Enabled Interoperability......Page 286 The Infostructure as a Complex Adaptive System.......Page 288 Reinventing the “Common Carrier” Business Model......Page 289 A High-Value-Generating Role for “Common Carriers”......Page 293 Notes......Page 295 10 Paying Up: Payment Systems for Digital Commerce......Page 298 Limited Payment Mechanisms......Page 302 Unfamiliarity with Internet Commerce......Page 303 Payment Systems and Payment Instrument......Page 304 Varieties of Payment Instruments......Page 305 Timing......Page 306 Finality and Revocability......Page 307 Privacy......Page 308 Authentication......Page 309 Vulnerability to Fraud or Loss......Page 310 Convenience and Choice of Instrument......Page 311 Operation of Payment Systems......Page 312 The Role of Trusted Parties.......Page 313 What Rules Govern Payment Systems?......Page 314 The Role of Encryption......Page 315 Basic Architecture: Wallets, Cash Registers, and Gateways......Page 316 Credit Transactions......Page 317 Internet “Check” Transactions......Page 319 “Digital Cash”......Page 320 Account-Based Systems.......Page 321 Token-Based Systems......Page 322 Authentication......Page 324 Money Laundering......Page 325 Conclusion......Page 327 Notes.......Page 328 11 Stars of Good Omen: Satellites in the Global Electronic Marketplace......Page 329 1998–2008: A Satellite Boom......Page 330 Global Demand......Page 331 Changing Markets......Page 334 A Global Internet......Page 336 New Generations, New Frequencies, Lower Costs......Page 337 Cheaper Bits.......Page 338 Inter-Satellite Links......Page 341 Bandwidth on Demand......Page 343 Shrinking Antennas......Page 344 System Architectures—GEOs, MEOs, LEOs......Page 346 Operating in the Electronic Marketplace......Page 349 Multicasting......Page 350 Direct Business Networks......Page 352 Remote and Developing Areas.......Page 354 Health and Education......Page 355 Direct-to-Home Services......Page 356 Conclusion......Page 357 Notes......Page 358 ABOUT THE AUTHORS......Page 361 B.......Page 367 C......Page 368 D......Page 369 F......Page 370 I......Page 371 M......Page 372 P......Page 373 S......Page 374 U......Page 376 Y......Page 377 The electronic marketplace is a global one, and it's changing every aspect of the consumer-vendor relathionship.The marketplace is the place of exchange between buyer and seller. Once one rode a mule to get there; now one rides the Internet. An electronic marketplace can span two rooms in the same building, or two continents. How individuals, firms, and organizations approach and define the electronic marketplace of the future depends on people's ability to ask the right questions now and to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise over the next few years.The contributors to this volume are prime movers in major industries that are remaking themselves in order to shape the global marketplace. They examine the consumers'new powers to assess and exchange goods and services over unparalleled distances. They discuss the opportunities and risks posed by the new integration between manufacturer and consumer, by the erosion of centralized authority, by real-time choice in every financial contingency, and by the fact that travel and transportation have been delegated to the machine processes that can best handle them. They also reflect on how to set an intelligent value on the coming changes, on the tools and procedures required to create this new marketplace of marketplaces.ContributorsLes Alberthal, William D. Bandt, Robert J. Bonometti, David Braunschvig, Stephen D. Crocker, Walter Forbes, Denos Gazis, Daniel E. Geer, Jr., Irving Goldstein, Edward D. Horowitz, Daniel P. Keegan, Raymond W. Smith, Russel B. Stevenson, Jr., Patrick E. White The Once And Future Craftsman Culture / Les Alberthal -- A Store As Big As The World / Walter Forbes -- The Ascent Of Content / Edward D. Horowitz -- The Digital Utility: Premonitions Of The Future Of The Last Great Monopoly / William D. Bandt -- Pashas: Advanced Intelligent Agents In The Service Of Electronic Commerce / Denos Gazis -- Work Remade: An Electronic Marketplace Inside The Corporation / David Braunschvig -- The Virtual Countinghouse: Finance Transformed By Electronics / Daniel P. Keegan -- Unseen Guardians, Invisible Treasures / Daniel E. Geer, Jr. -- The Walls Coming Down: Interoperability Opens The Electronic City / Robert J. Bonometti, Raymond W. Smith, And Patrick E. White -- Paying Up: Payment Systems For Digital Commerce / Stephen D. Crocker And Russell B. Stevenson, Jr. -- Stars Of Good Omen: Satellites In The Global Electronic Marketplace / Irving Goldstein. Edited By Derek Leebaert. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The contributors to this volume are prime movers in major industries that are remaking themselves in order to shape the global marketplace. They examine consumers' new powers to assess and exchange goods and services over great distances. They discuss the opportunities and risks posed by the new integration between manufacturer and consumer, by the erosion of centralized authority, by real-time choice in every financial contingency, and by the relegation of travel and transportation to the machine processes that can best handle them. They also reflect on how to set an intelligent value on the coming changes and on the tools and procedures required to create this new marketplace of marketplaces. An illustrated, timely, authoritative collection of essays shows how the world's major companies are responding to the birth, with the Internet, of the electronic marketplace and the changes it has wrought on the relationship of vendors and consumers. UP.