A Study on Ecommerce : Gmarket
table of contents
Executive Summary
1. Introduction 1
2. Competitive environment Analysis 1
2.1 Threat of new entrants 1
2.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 2
2.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 2
2.4 Threat of Substitutes 3
2.5 rivalry among existing competitors 3
3. Value-Chain Analysis 4
3.1 Business Model 4
3.2 Primary Activities – Creation of actual product/service 5
I. Operation/Processes 5
II. Services 5
III. Outbound Logistics 6
IV. Customers/Marketing & Sales 6
3.3 Support ACTIVITIES - The Technology behind GMarket 7
I. Gmarket’s Primary Technology (Web-Based Transactions) 7
II. Gmarket’s Security Technology (Web-Based Transactions) 8
III. A Complementary Platform: M-Commerce 8
IV. Gaccount: Digital Payment System 9
V. Gmarket Sales Manager - GSM 9
4. Competitive Advantage 9
5. Ethical & Social Issues 10
5.1 Retention of Personal Information & Illegal goods 10
5.2 Market Leader’s Price Fixing 11
6. Recommendations 11
6.1 Recommendation 1: Social Commerce 11
6.2 Recommendation 2: Referral Program 12
7. Conclusion 12
Appendix 13
I REFERENCES 13
II Endnotes 13
Executive Summary
Gmarket is a prime example of E-commerce at its finest in Asia. An online marketplace from Korea, Gmarket entered the industry in 1999 with a unique business model focusing on the broadest market segment of SMEs. With Korea’s extensive Internet penetration profiled as one of the highest in the world, Gmarket eventually became a dominant player by anticipating consumer trends and responding to aggressive discount pricing strategies by competitors.
This report was thus commissioned to study the success of Gmarket. The report first introduces the current competitive environment using Michael Porter’s Five-Forces model. Given the high threat of entrants, medium to high buyer and supplier power, and high intensity of rivalry, the E-commerce industry is seemingly unattractive to enter into even though the threat of substitutes is low.
Executive Summary
1. Introduction 1
2. Competitive environment Analysis 1
2.1 Threat of new entrants 1
2.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 2
2.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 2
2.4 Threat of Substitutes 3
2.5 rivalry among existing competitors 3
3. Value-Chain Analysis 4
3.1 Business Model 4
3.2 Primary Activities – Creation of actual product/service 5
I. Operation/Processes 5
II. Services 5
III. Outbound Logistics 6
IV. Customers/Marketing & Sales 6
3.3 Support ACTIVITIES - The Technology behind GMarket 7
I. Gmarket’s Primary Technology (Web-Based Transactions) 7
II. Gmarket’s Security Technology (Web-Based Transactions) 8
III. A Complementary Platform: M-Commerce 8
IV. Gaccount: Digital Payment System 9
V. Gmarket Sales Manager - GSM 9
4. Competitive Advantage 9
5. Ethical & Social Issues 10
5.1 Retention of Personal Information & Illegal goods 10
5.2 Market Leader’s Price Fixing 11
6. Recommendations 11
6.1 Recommendation 1: Social Commerce 11
6.2 Recommendation 2: Referral Program 12
7. Conclusion 12
Appendix 13
I REFERENCES 13
II Endnotes 13
Executive Summary
Gmarket is a prime example of E-commerce at its finest in Asia. An online marketplace from Korea, Gmarket entered the industry in 1999 with a unique business model focusing on the broadest market segment of SMEs. With Korea’s extensive Internet penetration profiled as one of the highest in the world, Gmarket eventually became a dominant player by anticipating consumer trends and responding to aggressive discount pricing strategies by competitors.
This report was thus commissioned to study the success of Gmarket. The report first introduces the current competitive environment using Michael Porter’s Five-Forces model. Given the high threat of entrants, medium to high buyer and supplier power, and high intensity of rivalry, the E-commerce industry is seemingly unattractive to enter into even though the threat of substitutes is low.
References: 1. Hitachi “Gmarket Boosts Online Commerce Traffic with Hitachi Data Systems’ Multi-site Disaster Recovery Solution” The Computerworld Honors Program, 2007 < http://www.cwhonors.org/viewCaseStudy.asp?NominationID=85>