RE: E-commerce Architecture

[Joel Fritz <JFritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't think outsourcing has to work that way.  If it's clear who is
providing a service to whom and who is _paying_ for the service, you should
be able to make it work reasonably well--no worse than interfacing to
packaged software.  In our case the packaged software happens to be the
order entry system we developed in house.  With on line ordering you're
always at the mercy of people being able to key in amazingly odd stuff, but
"trained" order entry people can usually find ways to beat your validation
scheme too.  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Reger, Bill [mailto:breger@levitz.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 7:46 AM
> To: 'MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com'
> Subject: RE: E-commerce Architecture
> 
> 
> Brad,
> 
> I find your E-commerce experiences frightening!  We were 
> thinking that we
> would be giving our requirements to the outsource group and 
> they would work
> with us to design mutually beneficial interface layouts ... 
> layouts that
> they could happily provide, and interfaces that would give us 
> the discrete
> data we need.
> 
> By the way, we are definitely planning to incorporate the 
> sending back of
> order status information to our customers.  Customer service 
> to me is THE
> number one benefit that the web will provide (besides the possible
> revenue!).
> 
> If I'm understanding you're experiences correctly, we won't 
> have the chance
> to influence the outsource group to work with us?  Am I 
> getting this right?
> Frightening!
> 
> Bill
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