Reference no: EM133031436

Electronic Commerce Problem:

Erin and Brian have a small custom jewelry business that they have owned and operated for approximately 20 years. The name of the business is Miku Custom Jewelry located in Santa Clarita, California. They specialize in designing and creating custom and a regular line of jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, among other items. They have been selling their products to both retail customers through mail-order catalogs and businesses such as Macy's and other retail stores. The revenue during the past decade has been about half retail customers and half businesses. Their business was quite successful during the late 1990's and 2000's; however due to U.S. economic conditions and increased online competition, their sales have dropped approximately 60%.

Recently, Brian's cousin, Koji, who lives in Juarez, Mexico suggested that Miku utilize the power of the Internet to sell their jewelry to both retail customers and other businesses. Although, Koji is in the travel and tour business that heavily relies on the Internet, he conveys to them this might be the only way to save their company.

Brian and Erin are desperately searching for new or alternative strategies to make up for lost sales. They come to you as a consultant to companies that want to migrate, at least part, their business to the Internet. They are particularly concerned about whether or not their products will sell to the retail customer and/or other major retail brick and mortar companies. One of their main concerns is whether they should concentrate on the retail customer or the major retail outlets. More specifically, what method of entry should they utilize? Should they focus their move on business-to-business or business-to-customer, and/or both? Also, they want to know if they have "missed boat" in terms of web-based businesses, since there are so many competing enterprises already on the Internet. They have also expressed concerns about e-marketing, payment systems, maintaining web site security, and dealing with potential international issues in e-commerce.

1. Please consult with them regarding what they need to do to get started and be sure to address the specific e-commerce issues listed above and propose specific e-commerce solutions.