Opportunities for Doing Business on the Web

Opportunity 3: Direct Sales

A third opportunity is direct sales, jumping the existing distribution chain that ratchets up prices to the end user.

Many business online are essentially order-taking front offices where product fulfillment is through manufacturers and distributors who agree to drop-ship directly to the customer. In this example, the retailer doesn't incur any expenses for inventory and warehousing.

A really scary development to many manufacturers is the growing temptation to sell directly on the Web and by-pass the complex distribution chain they have built over years. The manufacturer doesn't want to anger distributors and dealers. But increasingly, competing manufacturers sell direct from the factory and undercut the price to the end user. For many manufacturers, it's a decision to either sell directly or lose marketshare. Agony! What do you do when the Dell Computer equivalent in your industry sells directly over the Web, pulls in $14 million per day in revenue, and grows faster than any other competitor? You *$@% your pants.

Direct retail sales via the Internet is growing exponentially. What an opportunity for your business!

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