The elements that should be handled in-house are:

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Elements 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8: attracting customers, informing customers, allowing customers to customize products online, completing transactions with customers, supporting customers after the sale, and personalizing the look and feel of the website.

These are best done in-house using corporate data and corporate systems. Performing the work in-house allows management to quickly change the information used and presented to the customers, as well as providing control over the system.

The elements that should be outsourced are 1, 5, and 7: attracting customers, accepting payments, and arranging for delivery of goods and services. Notice that attracting customers falls into both categories. This depends on the nature of advertisement and other ways of attracting customers. If banner ads, those on the top of a Web page, are used, they may be provided by a specialist. The same is true for radio, billboard, magazine, and television ads. Accepting payments is better outsourced, using one or more of the many Web-based payment options or using a traditional credit card.

Arranging for delivery of goods and services is better done by an outside shipping company (unless the corporation has its own shipping line).

Some of the other functions of the ecommerce may be outsourced as well. Some corporations have the Web development done by a consulting firm and some have a third party host the website.