Page 257 - DMGT547_INTERNATIONAL_MARKETING

International Marketing

Notes
Example: Only 10% of internet users in most Latin American countries are women,
whereas women represent close to 50% in the United States and Europe. Companies looking to
sell Health care goods and services online will find it hard to grow sales in countries with few
women web surfers, since it is women who take most of the family healthcare decisions. Similarly,
in some countries, most internet users are located in the major metropolitan areas, which
considerably simplify distribution logistics.

Buyer behavior: there are countless differences in tastes and preferences. These are especially
pronounced in the case of “Cultural goods” such as food, wine and entertainment. Even
consumer durables are subject to tremendous cross-national variations in taste. Companies
need to consider customer tastes and preferences when it comes to merchandise selection
and stocking. Portals with online stores are now offering different selections and special
discounts in each country.
Payment systems: Payment methods and customs vary widely from country to country,
but an increasing number of transactions in e-marketing are paid by credit cards. Consumers
and companies have to accept the existence of multiple currencies on the Internet, and try
to leverage it as a price discrimination tool. They should also keep an eye on currency
fluctuations, since the time lag between order and payment exposes them to Exchange rate
risk.

14.5.3 Electronic Data Interchange Strategy Creation

Electronic data interchange (EDI) was the standard for exchanging business transactions, purchase
orders, invoices, shipping notices, and electronic funds transfers for over 25 years. In the last
10 years, EDI evolved with newer technology, especially with the ubiquity of the Internet.
Because of these technological advancements, EDI is nearly as easy to use as email and is no
longer an option for doing business. Instead, EDI is a business requirement.
One of the major concerns of IT and business decision makers responsible for managing supply
chains and the activities of their trading partners is how to enable more effective collaboration
with business partners that have individual regulatory requirements. The varying degrees of
technical expertise, communications protocols, data standards, and information systems of those
business partners also are of concern.
Adding to this complexity is the short supply of EDI or business-to-business (B2B) process
expertise and the technologies required to achieve successful B2B collaboration. This shortage is
even more difficult to overcome as most businesses search for administrative savings and vital
performance improvements. Businesses also are trying to keep pace with the growing demand
for accommodating new global partners, automating more interactions, and managing older
EDI systems. Adding to this difficulty is the growing number of data types, standards, and
protocols.

Organizations need a secure, agile, flexible, and global B2B integration platform to respond to
these challenges. When combined with real-time business process visibility to achieve the
highest level of B2B collaboration, the EDI platform can accommodate resource limitations with
a skilled, experienced staff to offload the responsibilities from your own IT personnel.
Electronic trading requires organisations to co-operate, agreeing the form of electronic messages
and collectively committing themselves to invest in the technical and organisational adjustments
necessary. EDI thus differs from many other information technologies in that organisations
cannot implement it in isolation. In practice this requires negotiation among enterprises which
may have little history of co-operation. Early implementors of electronic trading stressed its
potential as a strategic information technology, used as means of gaining advantage over
competitors. However the current rhetoric of EDI increasingly views it within the concept of

252 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY