E-Commerce Case - Ing Direct

E-Commerce Case Assignment - ING Direct

Topic 1

ING DIRECT is different from conventional banks that customers are used to in the sense that the institution has no physical bank branches. Rather, customers are dealing with the bank through automated e-business solutions. They offer the same financial banking services that most other banks do at industry leading rates. Cost savings are experienced due to not having money tied up on costly bank branches, utilities and human resources. Mortgages, saving accounts, loans, and business accounts (B2B) are some of the services that ING DIRECT offers.

As a fulfillment provider, ING DIRECT has provided powerful services for e-commerce based transactions over the telephone, website or with an ING DIRECT Card. Alternative to using telephones and the Internet, ING DIRECT Card users can access 34,000 ATM machines that carry the INTERAC logo. Further, ING Direct is a "B2C" e-commerce initiative (businesses to customers) and its model is based as a "Commerce Provider", since marketing, selling and supporting of its products are some of its main activities.

Topic 2

Primary activities of ING involve the processing and management of information through the use of reliable technology. Supporting activities include the organization's technological infrastructure, and limited human resources. Therefore, ING's value chain would appear as follows:

Support Activity Human Resources: Customer Services

Technological Infrastructure: Process Information

Primary Activity Management: Proper flow of information

Operations: computer controlled machining systems

ING's e-business success is highly dependent on the technological infrastructure that it possesses. In order for its core business to be functional, it needs to employ the best and most user-friendly technological interfaces. This should also ensure a safe and efficient management of customer transactions and information. Clearly its supporting activities help the core e-commerce purposes of ING Direct.

Topic 3

The buyer power of customers is fairly high, as customers have a wide variety of well- established and respectable banking institutions to choose from. Consequently, ING's supplier power is very low. Though, the threat of substitute services is low, as there are not many other banks that provide the same kind of banking services that ING currently offers with its unique e-commerce business plan. The threat of new entrants is fairly low, given that there does not exists many other companies in the financial industry that may follow a business model similar to that of ING. Its inherent structure is one that requires the best technological