E-Business

EBZ 437 Electronic Business Tutorial 3
Activities: 1. Read the case study below (from Turban et al, 2008) before the tutorial. 2. Look at: a. Campus Food web site (campusfood.com) and Campusfood.com. campusfood.com (take care with time zone – some outlets will be closed after 8pm US time) b. eMediaWire. “Titan Poker Teams Up With Campusfood for Tournaments Aimed at College Students.” February 16, 2006. emediawire.com/releases/2006/2/emw346598.htm 3. Be prepared to discuss the questions at the end of the case study

THE SUCCESS STORY OF CAMPUSFOOD.COM
Campusfood.com’s recipe for success was a simple one: Provide interactive menus to college students, using the power of the Internet to replace and/or facilitate the traditional telephone ordering of meals. Launched at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), the company takes thousands of orders each month for local restaurants, ringing pizzas, and other take away foods to the Penn community and to dozens of other universities. Founder Michael Saunders began developing the site campusfood.com) in 1997 while he was a junior at Penn. With the help of some classmates, Saunders launched the site in 1998. After graduation, he began building the company’s customer base. This involved expanding to other universities, attracting students, and generating a list of restaurants from which students could order food for delivery. Currently, some of these activities are outsourced to a marketing firm, enabling the addition of dozens of universities nationwide. In 2004, the company served 200 universities linked to over 1,000 restaurants. Financed through private investors, friends, and family members, the site was built on an investment of less than $1 million. (For comparison, another company with services also reaching the college-student market invested $100 million.) Campusfood.com’s revenue is generated through transaction fees—the site takes a 5 percent commission on each order from the sellers (the restaurants). When you visit Campusfood.com, you can:

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Navigate through a list of local restaurants, their hours of operation, addresses, phone numbers, and other information. Browse an interactive menu. The company takes a restaurant’s standard print menu and converts it to an electronic menu that lists every topping, every special, and every drink offered, along with the latest prices. Bypass “busy” telephone signals to place an order online, and in so doing, avoid miscommunications. Get access to special foods, promotions, and restaurant giveaways. The company is working to set up meal deals that are available online exclusively for Campusfood.com customers. Arrange for electronic payment for an order. University students who signed up at Titan Poker with a special bonus code provided by Campusfood.com were eligible to play in a series of exclusive online poker tournaments (in April 2006). Winners received special Campusfood Cash coupons valued at $20,000, redeemable for food orders at participating restaurants.

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Questions 1. Classify this application by e-business transaction type. 2. Explain the benefits of Campusfood.com for its student customers and for the restaurants it represents. 3. Trace the flow of digitised information in this venture. 4. How does the outsourcing of the marketing activities contribute to the business? 5. What is the benefit of the Titan Poker contest to the company?