e-business Planning cycle

Oracle is the world’s largest provider of Internet-enabled business applications and technologies. Through Oracle standard solutions, customers of are transforming their businesses into e-businesses.

The goal of the e-business planning cycle is to quickly translate e-business concepts to action. E-business must be managed in three stages.

1. Concept :Identifying and prioritizing e-business initiatives,
2. Deploy :Implementing initiatives in 120-day phases,
3. Execute :Measuring performance and channeling market feedback into the planning process.

Any organization can adopt an e-business planning cycle that produces differentiated business concepts that translate to action.

Consider the following guidelines for making e-business planning work for your organization:

1. Demonstrate strong executive sponsorship : E-business challenges the status quo and often creates fear among employees and traditional distributors who feel threatened by change. Strong executive sponsorship helps them understand the opportunities presented by e-business and should motivate them toward an exciting future.
2. Build a cross-functional planning team :A successful e-business initiative will require close coordination between all functions within your organization. The planning team should be composed of stakeholders who are close to customers and operations and should be individuals who are best able to challenge the status quo.
3. Learn from others :Look beyond your traditional industry for e-business experiences. In many cases, ideas from other industries may present the opportunity you are looking for.
4. Find experienced partners :Few organizations have all the core competencies needed for successful e-business. Find partners who have experience in a variety of industries to augment your internal team.
5. Develop high-performance teams: Identify your best performers and work with your partners to organize teams that can focus on quickly turning your business concepts into action.
6. Think global now: E-business is global business. While global markets may not be your initial focus, a presence on the internet provides the global opportunity.
7. Think outside in: Develop your strategies through the eyes of your customers, distributors, suppliers, partners and employees.
8. Build in flexibility: Flexibility is the key attribute of an e-business architecture. Manage toward internet standards, componentized architecture and model-driven development to build in flexibility.
9. Measure feedback: Devise key performance metrics that will help you measure the growth and performance of your e-business initiatives. Similarly, define a plan for obtaining customer feedback. Performance measures and market feedback are critical to the ongoing planning process.
10. Be prepared to adjust: Market feedback and performance measures will help you understand what is working and what is not. Adjust your strategy continuously to build on your strengths and to try new ideas.