DMM06
Internet Marketing
ASSIGNMENT - I
Assignment Code: 2016DMM06A1 Last Date of Submission: 26th May 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
Q1. Describe the process of Internet shopping . List the major steps involved .
Q2. List the major methods of Internet advertisement .
Section – B Case Study (50 Marks)
ITC’s eChoupal
The eChoupal is a multilingual, web –based e-procurement solution, providing comprehensive information targeted at the farmer . It is a pioneering techno-business initiative of ITC Ltd and is part of ITC’s rural development initiatives. A pet project of the ITC Chairman , Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar , the ITC’s eChoupal initiative was conceived by a team of ITC IBD (ITC international business division) headed by the ITC IBD CEO , S.Siva Kumar . IBD is the agricultural commodities export division of ITC. IBD was under pressure from ITC to boost its contribution to ITC’s net turnover in a market with intense competition and narrow margins. Taking up the challenge head-on, the IBD’s top managers carefully studied the existing procurement process for commodities from Indian farmers and concluded that something drastic was required for this supply chain to be streamlined.
The existing supply chain was typically “village>mandi>ITC Factory / warehouse”. Some of the irregularities in this scheme were :
• Farmers had only one option to sell their produce – The mandi. The mandi was disorganized and run by middlemen, who often cheated the farmers in terms of weight and in terms of price.
• Farmers were usually in the dark about the meteorological information that is so crucial during sowing time. The available information was usually too generic in nature.
• Farmers were unaware of the latest techniques in farming, soil analysis, fertilizers application, etc. As a result, crop yields were much lower than in other developed countries.
Most importantly, they were unaware of the actual prices at which middlemen sold their produce. As a result, they had to accept whatever prices were offered to them. In May 1999, the e-choupal plan took concrete shape. The choupal is a common place in a village where farmers and villagers gather after a day’s work to discuss their activities and share knowledge. ITC decided to launch a revolution at the grass roots level, based on this age-old knowledge sharing concept of the Choupal.
Soya bean and soya – related products formed the basis of the IBD’s business in 1999. Madhya Pradesh was the state producing the largest quantities of soya bean. The eChoupal was rolled out, as part of the initiative called www.soyachoupal.com
As per this concept, each village was provided with a computer kiosk containing the following:
• A PC
• Connection lines – telephone –based modems , or VSAT terminals.
• A UPS powered by solar energy
• A printer
Technology and logistics
Challenges. The Challenges posed are:
• Low availability of electric power and lots of fluctuations in supply
• Transportation issues – reaching equipment and technicians into remote areas
• Telecom infrastructure – very poor quality. Designed only for voice, not data
• An alien customer base – almost 100% computer illiterate consumer base
System Specification: A four -layered IT infrastructure model was conceived. It consisted of:
• Organisational – training , support , planning , people , and processes
• Information – data gathered and managed
• Application – servers , clients , network , system software
ITC set up a special infrastructure using tweaked C-DOT RNS Kits to get a data throughput of 40 kbps and used a modem. In places where the telephone connectivity was absent, VSATs were used for data communication. Spike suppressors and isolation transformers were used along with the UPS to provide smooth, uninterrupted power.
The software consisted of a multilingual word processor called ANKUR to provide a vernacular graphical interface for farmers. The PC also had video –clips on soil testing.
To overcome logistical issues, mobile vans were used to demonstrate and popularize the system through road shows. They also carried technicians to install and support the system.
System Software Development
The system was developed by ITC Infotech India ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary of ITC, using Microsoft technologies – primarily ASP and VB components on an IIS server. HTML is used for presentation and an RDBMS is used at the backend.
The system is linked to ITC IBD ‘s ERP so that transactions can be updated into the system on a real-time basis.
Of the Farmer, by the farmer , for the farmer
A literate member of the farming community is chosen as the Sanchalak, or coordinator , on behalf of the village . The Sanchalak accesses the site on behalf of the farmers and explains the features of the site and provides them with the relevant information that they want.
Each such Sanchalak is given a user name and password to access the system. Besides serving as an authentication, the user name-location mapping ensures that information is location –specific , making the process more relevant and specific.
ITC pays for the installation cost, the equipment, support and equipment maintenance, while the sanchalak pays for day-to-day charges such as electricity and internet. Sanchalaks make a commission of 0.5 % per ton of processed product that they get the farmers to sell to ITC.
Before the eChoupal came up, there were commission agents who used to pick up grains from the farmer at the mandis on behalf of ITC. They were given the new role of samyojaks, or facilitators. The samyojaks help establish eChoupal Kiosks in villages falling within their geographical area. They help in selecting and training sanchalaks in the villages. They also organize activities at the ITC hubs and warehouses and sell ITC products directly to the farmers when they come to sell their produce. Samyojaks get a commission for this from ITC. In this way, ITC has appeased their older commission agents as well. Sanchalaks and Samyojaks in particular regions are called for meetings / workshops on a regular basis.
The eChoupal concept is a big hit with the farmers for the following reasons:
• ITC puts up its offer prices on the site. Farmers can obtain information about other offers and make an independent decision about where they want to sell their produce.
• In the traditional system, the farmer is obliged to go to the mandi whenever the sales / auctions take place. The eChoupal system gave the farmer an option to sell his produce to ITC anytime he wanted.
• The transparency in the system was there for framers to see. There was no word-of-mouth communication of prices. The prices were on the site in writing.
• The system is multilingual, so the farmers can actually read what is presented on the screen. Hence the system is used rather comfortable by farmers.
• The entire system is used by the villagers with the Sanchalak himself being another villager, so the degree of ownership is very high.
ITC has thus provided the farmer an option which he never had before. By directly interacting with the farmer, ITC now has the opportunity to obtain the quality produce that it desires. ITC set up a well-connected network of warehouses and hubs to receive and store the produce and paid the farmer on the spot for his produce. A very effective e-procurement model as depicted in Figure 1 was thus created.
Other products
Soya beans
Echoupal-----------------Farmers--------------------ITC Hubs
Other products
Fig. 1 An e-procurement model
A Wealth of information
The eChoupal gives farmers a lot of relevant information. This includes the following:
• Weather information
• Best farming practices
• Market information
• Crop information
• Questions and answers and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Soil testing
• Feedback
• Farmer information
• Information on state and central government schemes
• News
Extending the internet
After the success of www.soyachoupal.com ITC decided to venture inot pruning the supply chain of other commodity exports. As a result, www.aquachoupal.com for aquaculture and www.plantersnet.com for coffee were started. Similar initiatives have been considered for optimizing the procurement of wheat and horticultural products.
Marketing goes rural
In addition to acting as an e-procurement model, ITC has started leveraging this eChoupal infrastructure to broaden its distribution network into the rural heartland as well.
ITC is in a position to sell ITC’s subsidiary, Megatop, sells insurance to the farmers. Credit schemes for farmers are also on the anvil for those who feel exploited by the banks.
In addition, ITC has started using the eChoupal as a network for marketing their range of goods in the food and FMCG sector, such as edible oils (from soya) , salt , biscuits , confectionary , etc.
It is also in a position to auction its infrastructure to other companies that desire to penetrate the rural markets. For example, BPCL has started using the eChoupal to sell LPG cylinders in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Future plans
e-Choupal is already benefiting over 2.4 million farmers with over 4100 e-Choupal installations covering 21000 villages in 6 states – Madhya Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan , Karnataka , Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh . Over the next decade , the e–Choupal network will cover 100,000 villages , representing 1/6th of rural India and create more than 10 million e-farmers.
ITC intends to help create an active and dynamic community of farmers . Initially started with a click & mortar /Aggregator model , the e-Choupal is maturing into the role of an online service provider by opening its infrastructure for use by other companies . These are pans to lend the system a B2C perspective through which the farming community can actually use the system to trade online.
Case Discussion
The following need to be discussed:
1. Discuss the impact ITC can make for the rural sections of the country through eChoupal. (15 Marks)
2. What is innovative about eChoupal ? (15 Marks)
3. Identify the difficulties that eChoupal may face. (10 Marks)
4. What are the other areas where eChoupal concept may be applied in rural India?
(10 Marks)
DMM06
Internet Marketing
ASSIGNMENT - II
Assignment Code: 2016DMM06A2 Last Date of Submission: 26th May 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
Q1. Describe the purchase decision-making process on the Web ?
Q2. Explain the concept of customer loyalty and how to increase it using the Web ?
Section – B Case Study (50 Marks)
NAUKRI.COM
Naukri is an exclusive Indian website on the internet . It is a forum where employers , placement agencies and job seekers can exchange information , quickly , effectively and inexpensively . At Naukri , you can advertise for a job , search for a job , browse through resumes , place your resume , place your home page , visit employers ‘ home pages , and visit other Indian and International career sites . It is a one-stop information , clearing house about jobs and careers for Indians.
The Beginning
In March 1997 , as the influence of the internet was beginning to grow in India , naukri.com was launched as an employment exchange platform for employers and jobseekers to meet and exchange information . The site was launched , with databases of jobs , resumes and placement consultants . In October 1997 , the service went commercial . By then , more than 50 companies had tried the services and were satisfied with the responses received. Since then , the client list for naukri.com has increased to over 7500 companies.
Info Edge started in 1989 and became Info Edge (India) Pvt . Ltd on May 1 , 1995. It was in the business of selling reports and providing project and marketing related consulting services to its clients. Info Edge also provided management consulting services to a number of clients in India and abroad. The site aims to provide Indians with Indian qualifications the maximum opportunity for their career growth . It has also been promoted in all parts of the globe , where Indian qualifications are acceptable , and clients have been enlisted . Over 10 percent of our current corporate client list consists of companies located in the USA, Africa , Middle East and Far East . Similarly, about 5 % of the individuals approaching Naukri are NRIs wanting to return to India.
If you are searching for a job or looking for the right employee to work in your organization , then naukri.com is the answer . One of India’s largest jobs , career and company recruiters . So, you can store your CV on the site or get it displayed there for a price , or send it to placement consultants , software companies and international recruiters listed on the site . And if you have a problem writing your resume , the online resume manager helps you sort it out. You can search the site’s huge database for jobs that are listed according to various catagories . There is a Hot jobs section that lists the jobs available in the leading companies in the country . For potential recruiters , looking for the employee becomes easy as the site provides a facility to search resumes or advertise a vacancy.
The companies also have the option of placing their profiles on the site . Besides providing the job-related information , the site also provides information about other career resources . There is career advice for students and professionals , tips on preparing for the group discussions and interviews , admission deadlines at the various institutes , and links to the educational institutions and training centres in India and US.
Job Seeker Services
Naukri.com has certain paid services to offer to job seekers. These services can give the job seeker an edge in the job market.
Case Questions:
Q1. What are the customer-service functions that naukri.com offers ? (25 marks)
Q2. Log on to the naukri.com site and find the fees they charge for their service. Do you think that naukri.com offers good customer service for the fees they charge? (25 marks)
Internet Marketing
ASSIGNMENT - I
Assignment Code: 2016DMM06A1 Last Date of Submission: 26th May 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
Q1. Describe the process of Internet shopping . List the major steps involved .
Q2. List the major methods of Internet advertisement .
Section – B Case Study (50 Marks)
ITC’s eChoupal
The eChoupal is a multilingual, web –based e-procurement solution, providing comprehensive information targeted at the farmer . It is a pioneering techno-business initiative of ITC Ltd and is part of ITC’s rural development initiatives. A pet project of the ITC Chairman , Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar , the ITC’s eChoupal initiative was conceived by a team of ITC IBD (ITC international business division) headed by the ITC IBD CEO , S.Siva Kumar . IBD is the agricultural commodities export division of ITC. IBD was under pressure from ITC to boost its contribution to ITC’s net turnover in a market with intense competition and narrow margins. Taking up the challenge head-on, the IBD’s top managers carefully studied the existing procurement process for commodities from Indian farmers and concluded that something drastic was required for this supply chain to be streamlined.
The existing supply chain was typically “village>mandi>ITC Factory / warehouse”. Some of the irregularities in this scheme were :
• Farmers had only one option to sell their produce – The mandi. The mandi was disorganized and run by middlemen, who often cheated the farmers in terms of weight and in terms of price.
• Farmers were usually in the dark about the meteorological information that is so crucial during sowing time. The available information was usually too generic in nature.
• Farmers were unaware of the latest techniques in farming, soil analysis, fertilizers application, etc. As a result, crop yields were much lower than in other developed countries.
Most importantly, they were unaware of the actual prices at which middlemen sold their produce. As a result, they had to accept whatever prices were offered to them. In May 1999, the e-choupal plan took concrete shape. The choupal is a common place in a village where farmers and villagers gather after a day’s work to discuss their activities and share knowledge. ITC decided to launch a revolution at the grass roots level, based on this age-old knowledge sharing concept of the Choupal.
Soya bean and soya – related products formed the basis of the IBD’s business in 1999. Madhya Pradesh was the state producing the largest quantities of soya bean. The eChoupal was rolled out, as part of the initiative called www.soyachoupal.com
As per this concept, each village was provided with a computer kiosk containing the following:
• A PC
• Connection lines – telephone –based modems , or VSAT terminals.
• A UPS powered by solar energy
• A printer
Technology and logistics
Challenges. The Challenges posed are:
• Low availability of electric power and lots of fluctuations in supply
• Transportation issues – reaching equipment and technicians into remote areas
• Telecom infrastructure – very poor quality. Designed only for voice, not data
• An alien customer base – almost 100% computer illiterate consumer base
System Specification: A four -layered IT infrastructure model was conceived. It consisted of:
• Organisational – training , support , planning , people , and processes
• Information – data gathered and managed
• Application – servers , clients , network , system software
ITC set up a special infrastructure using tweaked C-DOT RNS Kits to get a data throughput of 40 kbps and used a modem. In places where the telephone connectivity was absent, VSATs were used for data communication. Spike suppressors and isolation transformers were used along with the UPS to provide smooth, uninterrupted power.
The software consisted of a multilingual word processor called ANKUR to provide a vernacular graphical interface for farmers. The PC also had video –clips on soil testing.
To overcome logistical issues, mobile vans were used to demonstrate and popularize the system through road shows. They also carried technicians to install and support the system.
System Software Development
The system was developed by ITC Infotech India ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary of ITC, using Microsoft technologies – primarily ASP and VB components on an IIS server. HTML is used for presentation and an RDBMS is used at the backend.
The system is linked to ITC IBD ‘s ERP so that transactions can be updated into the system on a real-time basis.
Of the Farmer, by the farmer , for the farmer
A literate member of the farming community is chosen as the Sanchalak, or coordinator , on behalf of the village . The Sanchalak accesses the site on behalf of the farmers and explains the features of the site and provides them with the relevant information that they want.
Each such Sanchalak is given a user name and password to access the system. Besides serving as an authentication, the user name-location mapping ensures that information is location –specific , making the process more relevant and specific.
ITC pays for the installation cost, the equipment, support and equipment maintenance, while the sanchalak pays for day-to-day charges such as electricity and internet. Sanchalaks make a commission of 0.5 % per ton of processed product that they get the farmers to sell to ITC.
Before the eChoupal came up, there were commission agents who used to pick up grains from the farmer at the mandis on behalf of ITC. They were given the new role of samyojaks, or facilitators. The samyojaks help establish eChoupal Kiosks in villages falling within their geographical area. They help in selecting and training sanchalaks in the villages. They also organize activities at the ITC hubs and warehouses and sell ITC products directly to the farmers when they come to sell their produce. Samyojaks get a commission for this from ITC. In this way, ITC has appeased their older commission agents as well. Sanchalaks and Samyojaks in particular regions are called for meetings / workshops on a regular basis.
The eChoupal concept is a big hit with the farmers for the following reasons:
• ITC puts up its offer prices on the site. Farmers can obtain information about other offers and make an independent decision about where they want to sell their produce.
• In the traditional system, the farmer is obliged to go to the mandi whenever the sales / auctions take place. The eChoupal system gave the farmer an option to sell his produce to ITC anytime he wanted.
• The transparency in the system was there for framers to see. There was no word-of-mouth communication of prices. The prices were on the site in writing.
• The system is multilingual, so the farmers can actually read what is presented on the screen. Hence the system is used rather comfortable by farmers.
• The entire system is used by the villagers with the Sanchalak himself being another villager, so the degree of ownership is very high.
ITC has thus provided the farmer an option which he never had before. By directly interacting with the farmer, ITC now has the opportunity to obtain the quality produce that it desires. ITC set up a well-connected network of warehouses and hubs to receive and store the produce and paid the farmer on the spot for his produce. A very effective e-procurement model as depicted in Figure 1 was thus created.
Other products
Soya beans
Echoupal-----------------Farmers--------------------ITC Hubs
Other products
Fig. 1 An e-procurement model
A Wealth of information
The eChoupal gives farmers a lot of relevant information. This includes the following:
• Weather information
• Best farming practices
• Market information
• Crop information
• Questions and answers and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Soil testing
• Feedback
• Farmer information
• Information on state and central government schemes
• News
Extending the internet
After the success of www.soyachoupal.com ITC decided to venture inot pruning the supply chain of other commodity exports. As a result, www.aquachoupal.com for aquaculture and www.plantersnet.com for coffee were started. Similar initiatives have been considered for optimizing the procurement of wheat and horticultural products.
Marketing goes rural
In addition to acting as an e-procurement model, ITC has started leveraging this eChoupal infrastructure to broaden its distribution network into the rural heartland as well.
ITC is in a position to sell ITC’s subsidiary, Megatop, sells insurance to the farmers. Credit schemes for farmers are also on the anvil for those who feel exploited by the banks.
In addition, ITC has started using the eChoupal as a network for marketing their range of goods in the food and FMCG sector, such as edible oils (from soya) , salt , biscuits , confectionary , etc.
It is also in a position to auction its infrastructure to other companies that desire to penetrate the rural markets. For example, BPCL has started using the eChoupal to sell LPG cylinders in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Future plans
e-Choupal is already benefiting over 2.4 million farmers with over 4100 e-Choupal installations covering 21000 villages in 6 states – Madhya Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan , Karnataka , Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh . Over the next decade , the e–Choupal network will cover 100,000 villages , representing 1/6th of rural India and create more than 10 million e-farmers.
ITC intends to help create an active and dynamic community of farmers . Initially started with a click & mortar /Aggregator model , the e-Choupal is maturing into the role of an online service provider by opening its infrastructure for use by other companies . These are pans to lend the system a B2C perspective through which the farming community can actually use the system to trade online.
Case Discussion
The following need to be discussed:
1. Discuss the impact ITC can make for the rural sections of the country through eChoupal. (15 Marks)
2. What is innovative about eChoupal ? (15 Marks)
3. Identify the difficulties that eChoupal may face. (10 Marks)
4. What are the other areas where eChoupal concept may be applied in rural India?
(10 Marks)
DMM06
Internet Marketing
ASSIGNMENT - II
Assignment Code: 2016DMM06A2 Last Date of Submission: 26th May 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section-A
Each question carries 25 Marks.
Q1. Describe the purchase decision-making process on the Web ?
Q2. Explain the concept of customer loyalty and how to increase it using the Web ?
Section – B Case Study (50 Marks)
NAUKRI.COM
Naukri is an exclusive Indian website on the internet . It is a forum where employers , placement agencies and job seekers can exchange information , quickly , effectively and inexpensively . At Naukri , you can advertise for a job , search for a job , browse through resumes , place your resume , place your home page , visit employers ‘ home pages , and visit other Indian and International career sites . It is a one-stop information , clearing house about jobs and careers for Indians.
The Beginning
In March 1997 , as the influence of the internet was beginning to grow in India , naukri.com was launched as an employment exchange platform for employers and jobseekers to meet and exchange information . The site was launched , with databases of jobs , resumes and placement consultants . In October 1997 , the service went commercial . By then , more than 50 companies had tried the services and were satisfied with the responses received. Since then , the client list for naukri.com has increased to over 7500 companies.
Info Edge started in 1989 and became Info Edge (India) Pvt . Ltd on May 1 , 1995. It was in the business of selling reports and providing project and marketing related consulting services to its clients. Info Edge also provided management consulting services to a number of clients in India and abroad. The site aims to provide Indians with Indian qualifications the maximum opportunity for their career growth . It has also been promoted in all parts of the globe , where Indian qualifications are acceptable , and clients have been enlisted . Over 10 percent of our current corporate client list consists of companies located in the USA, Africa , Middle East and Far East . Similarly, about 5 % of the individuals approaching Naukri are NRIs wanting to return to India.
If you are searching for a job or looking for the right employee to work in your organization , then naukri.com is the answer . One of India’s largest jobs , career and company recruiters . So, you can store your CV on the site or get it displayed there for a price , or send it to placement consultants , software companies and international recruiters listed on the site . And if you have a problem writing your resume , the online resume manager helps you sort it out. You can search the site’s huge database for jobs that are listed according to various catagories . There is a Hot jobs section that lists the jobs available in the leading companies in the country . For potential recruiters , looking for the employee becomes easy as the site provides a facility to search resumes or advertise a vacancy.
The companies also have the option of placing their profiles on the site . Besides providing the job-related information , the site also provides information about other career resources . There is career advice for students and professionals , tips on preparing for the group discussions and interviews , admission deadlines at the various institutes , and links to the educational institutions and training centres in India and US.
Job Seeker Services
Naukri.com has certain paid services to offer to job seekers. These services can give the job seeker an edge in the job market.
Case Questions:
Q1. What are the customer-service functions that naukri.com offers ? (25 marks)
Q2. Log on to the naukri.com site and find the fees they charge for their service. Do you think that naukri.com offers good customer service for the fees they charge? (25 marks)
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