EC Strategy, Globalization, and SMEs

Abstract

Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is the world’s largest multinational company of consumer goods. With over 121,000 employees and over $84 billion in sales (in 2014), the company is considered one of the world’s best. Its products include some of the most well-known brands such as Tide, Crest, Pampers, Old Spice, Gillette, and Charmin. The company is known as a global innovator, introducing revolutionary products and excelling in marketing communication.

Glossary

Business process management (BPM) 

Activities performed by businesses to improve their processes.

Business process reengineering (BPR) 

A methodology for conducting a one-time comprehensive redesign of an enterprise’s processes.

Cost-plus 

A pricing strategy that determines the expenses associated with producing a product (production cost) by adding up all the costs involved – materials, labor, rent, overhead, and so forth – and adding an additional amount to generate a profit margin (a percentage mark-up).

Disintermediation 

The removal of intermediaries in the EC supply chain. This occurs, for example, when consumers buy directly from manufacturers.

E-commerce (EC) risk 

The likelihood that a negative outcome will occur in the course of developing and operating an e-commerce initiative.

Information dashboard 

A visual presentation of data organized in ways easy to read and interpret. It is popular user interface. The information is presented through gauges, charts, maps, tables, etc., to reveal the direction and velocity of the measured metrics.

Key performance indicator (KPI) 

A quantifiable measurement that is considered a critical success factor of a company, department or project.

Metric 

A specific, measurable standard against which actual performance is compared.

Outsourcing 

The process of contracting (farming out) the company’s products, services, or work to another organization that is willing and able to do the job.

Project champion 

The person who ensures that the team is ready to move forward and understands its responsibilities. The project champion is responsible for activities such as identifying the project’s objectives, prioritizing phases, and allocating resources to ensure completion of the project, and so forth.

Sentiment analysis (opinion mining) 

Analysis that aims to determine the attitude of a person with respect to a particular issue as expressed in online conversations.

Strategy 

A comprehensive framework for expressing the manner in which a business plans to achieve its mission, what goals are needed to support it, and what plans and policies will be needed to accomplish these goals.

Strategy assessment 

The continuous performance monitoring, comparison of actual to desired performance, and evaluation of the progress toward the organization’s goals, resulting in corrective actions and, if necessary, in strategy reformulation.

Strategy formulation 

The development of specific strategies and tactics to exploit opportunities and manage threats in the business environment in light of corporate strengths and weaknesses.

Strategy implementation 

The “How do we do it?” phase that includes tactics, plans, schedules, deployment strategies, resource allocation, and project management.

Strategy initiation 

The initial phase of strategic planning in which the organization is setting its vision, goals and objectives. Looking at its environment, strategy initiation includes an assessment of a company’s strengths and weaknesses, examining the external factors that may affect the business.

Web analytics 

“The measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage.” (per Web Analytics Association)