Ensayo Caso Penny

Two faces of JCPenney

In 2000, Dallas retailer JCPenney (JCPenney.com) enhanced its e-retail position in time for the holiday rush by adding homegrown site features that let customers more quickly locate and pay for merchandise. With JCPenney.com, the company unveiled express checkout services that let customer zip through a purchase in as few as two clicks. It also inaugurated electronicgift certificates that can be redeemed online, plus improved order tracking to give customers more accurate delivery estimates. These, features followed the early November 2000 launch of Mercado Search, a search engine that lets shoppers prowl JCPenney´s site by product category and receive results ranked according to relevance. In 2001, the company rolled out specialized sites dedicated toname-brand merchandise, making it easier for customers to find certain products. All these steps were designed to boost the company´s online strategy.

The success of JCPenney.com, in large measure, is a result of a customer service and logistics infrastructure built to support a multibillion-dollar catalog business that has been extended online. JCPenney.com broadened its appeal by launching specialtysites to promote high-margin brands, including Sony, Levi Strauss, Nike, and Kitchen Aid (appliances). The idea is to drive purchases of name-brand merchandise by providing more detailed information on those products, as well as direct links to the manufacturers. JCPenney is also conducting auctions on its Web site.

The company boasts strong integration between its Web site and its offlineinfrastructure that helps the site reach its aggressive sales targets. Anything purchased online can be picked up or returned ay any JCPenny or Eckerd store. JCPenney has 14 customer-service centers nationwide that handle catalog and phone inquiries, and employees have been cross-trained in e-mail. United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers most merchandise ordered online within 24 to 72 hours.

JCPenneyserves customers via three sales channels-stores, catalogs, and the Web site. Integrating these three channels will eventually py off, according to Forrester Research analyst Seema Williams. “As the number of online shoppers grows, the impact from multiple channels will be felt much more on JCPenney´s bottom line,” Williams said.
Despite the strong Web performance, e-commerce alone most likelycannot turn around a company of JCPenney´s size. “The Web is such a small part of their business; there´s no way it´s going to turn around the company,” said a expert. “The Web is icing on the cake, but the biggest part of the company, by far, is struggling.”

Questions

1. How does a search engine help JCPenney to do a better job in customer service?
2. Does its existing legacy system helpJCPenney.com accomplish its goal in promoting its online business? Can any of the emerging technologies be used to further improve the situation?
3. What kind of information technologies can be used to help JCPenney to promote its business? To accomplish its business strategies?
4. Visit JCPenney.com to see how the company uses its storefront to provide customer services.
5. Visit carters.com andmarksandspencer.com, and find out these companies e-commerce strategies. Compare the functionalities offered there with those of JCPenney.

Dos caras de JCPenney
 
En 2000, el minorista Dallas JCPenney (JCPenney.com) mejoró su puesto de minorista a tiempo para las vacaciones, añadiendo funciones al sitio web que permiten a los clientes localizar y pagar por una mercancía másrápidamente. Con JCPenney.com, la compañía dio a conocer los servicios de pago y envío express que permiten zip del cliente a través de una compra en tan sólo dos clics. También inauguró vales electrónicos que pueden ser redimidos en línea, además de mejorar el seguimiento a fin de dar a los clientes las estimaciones de entrega más precisos. Estas características, empezaron a comienzos de noviembre de 2000 con...