2. Disintermediation – What is it ?
The removal of
organizations or
business process layers
responsible for
intermediary steps in the
value chain is called
disintermediation
Usually applicable for
business processes that
use the internet for B2B
and B2C transaction
processing thereby
reducing their
concomitant costs.
4. Drivers of Disintermediation
Cost containment - For example, Dell Computer has been
successfully competed in an industry with
frequent margin squeezes by eliminating the traditional retail
model and instead selling directly to consumers
Competitive response – For example, the rapid growth of
Amazon.com as an on-line bookseller appears to be the major
motivation for the Barns & Noble bookstore chain starting to sell
books on-line
Greater Value Offering - Another way to consider the success of
the Dell on-line model is to see that perhaps their prices are not
much better than many brick and mortar retailers, but that Dell
offers custom configurations of more state-of-the-art models
5. Drivers of Disintermediation cont’d
Relationship capturing - For example, Oakley fashion
sunglasses can be purchased at retail locations, but can
also be purchased on-line directly from Oakley. The on-line
sales directly from the company allow Oakley to gather
customer data that may potentially be the best target
market they could have
The importance of product choice - The consumer is now
in charge: researching specifications, configuring and
customizing solutions, getting peer reviews and advice,
comparing prices, and “buying now.
Benefits of a direct customer/supplier relationship –
Faster feedback, problem resolutions.
6. Extent of Disintermediation
For example, Compaq Computer Corp. offers to sell consumers
direct to end consumers, which previously were available through
wholesale-retail channels. Hypothetically, the wholesalers may
have added 10%to the overall product price, and the retailers
may have added another 20%.
By selling direct, we might say that the extent of disintermediation
is 30% – the portion of sales price that was eliminated. However,
part of the disinter mediated process was distribution, which is
now accomplished by previously external entities such as United
Parcel Service and Federal Express. Those third-party logistics
companies add value–in the form of “place” utility–but at a cost
which inflicts a 15% increase in the overall price to consumers.
So, the 30% disintermediation might be considered to include a
15% reinter mediation.
7. Impact of Internet-related disintermediation upon
various industries
Strong impact
Computer hardware and software
Travel agencies
Bookstores and music stores
Stock Purchasing
Still in progress (due to legal or structural obstacles)
Alcoholic beverages
Real estate
Health Care
Video rental and distribution
Failed and became niche ancillary services
Furniture
Groceries
Pet supplies (especially dog food)
8. Effects of Disintermediation
Death of the Salesman ?? - A decade ago, it was in
the hands of the sales person. Today, the buyer has it
too. Buyers now engage sales people far later in the
sales cycle or not at all.
Reduced profit margins/loss for organizations who fail
to adapt to the internet explosion.
Cause of conflicts between many companies and their
business partners, including salespeople, rep firms,
distributors, dealers, and retailers.
Information Overload - Buyers are distracted by too
much information
9. Effects of Disintermediation cont’d
Some companies failed to identify the kind of
infrastructure required for handling fulfillment
online. For E.g.
The problem with dealing direct with the customer
is mainly the customer.
Problems with handling small orders, (which are
more often than not in large volumes), handling
returns, shipping and all the other customer service
issues.
Keeping thousands of people who have placed
orders for a single pair of jeans happy was harder
than keeping a few large retail chains supplied and
under control.
