Contents
Part I: Business Perspective—Opportunities and Challenges of Multisite Commerce
Chapter 1 Multisite Commerce Scenarios
Business Opportunities of Country Sites
Sites Targeted to Industry Segments
Targeted Sites in Consumer Retail
Common Characteristics of Multiple Site Scenarios
Chapter 2 The Need for a Shared Platform
Cost Escalation of Independently Managed Sites
Involvement of IT in Business Decisions
Difficulty of Administration of Independently Managed Multiple Sites
Challenges of Copying Product Information
Difficulties of Customer Management
Difficulty in Finding Necessary Skills
Difficulty of Capitalizing on Synergy of Independently Managed Multiple Sites
Chapter 3 Administration of Country Sites on a Shared Platform
Central and Site-Specific Information Used by Country Sites
Product Management for Country Sites
Organizing the Company for Global and Country-Specific Product Administration
Best Practices for Product Administration of Country Sites
Marketing Management for Country Sites
Centrally Prepared Marketing Collateral
Best Practices for Marketing Management of Country Sites
Site Planning for Country Sites
Order Management for Country Sites
Customer Management for Country Sites
Organizing for Shared Data Administration
Application of Sharing Approaches to Country Sites
The Concept of Sharing and Caring
Administration of Company Division Sites
Product Management for Company Division Sites
Marketing Management for Company Division Sites
Site Planning for Company Division Sites
Order Management for Company Division Sites
Customer Management for Company Division Sites
Administration of Market Segment Sites
Product Management for Market Segment Sites
Sharing Approaches for Market Segment Sites
Administration of Large Customer Sites
Administration of Sites in Combined Scenarios
Example of a Combined Scenario
Do You Need a Shared Platform?
The Need to Create Additional Sites in the Future
Efficiency of Current Platform
Can You Build a Shared Platform?
Measuring Success of the Shared Multisite Platform
Calibrating the Success Criteria
Chapter 6 The Path to a Shared Platform
What Kind of Prototype to Create
Long-Term and Short-Term Planning
Methods of Approaching Plan Changes
Chapter 7 Cost Structure of Multiple Sites
IT Versus Line of Business Costs
Initial Investment Versus Ongoing Operating Costs
Cost Impact of Using a Shared Commerce Platform
Chapter 8 Fundamental Requirements for a Multisite Platform
Completeness of Implementation
Site Presentation Requirements
Catalog Management Requirements
Marketing Campaigns Administration Requirements
Customer Management Requirements
Quality Assurance Requirements
Performance and Scalability Requirements
Security and Privacy Requirements
Part II: Implementer’s Considerations for Efficient Multisite Commerce
Change Pushed by a Few Divisions
Using Third-Party Consultants to Push for a Shared Platform
Fear of Unsuitability of the Platform
Fear of Inflexibility of a Shared Platform
Chapter 10 Managing Requirements
Initial Requirements Gathering
Understanding the Overall Requirements of the Company
Understanding the Detailed Requirements of the First Sites
Prioritization of Requirements
The Skills Required for Leading the Project
Business Implications of Technical Decisions
Technical Implications of Business Decisions
Strong Architectural Leadership
Interpretation of Requirements
Summary of Strong Architecture Skills
Bottlenecks and Decision Sprawl
Chapter 12 Planning for Success
Deliverables and Success Criteria
Subsequent Versions of Platform
Chapter 13 Dealing with the Unexpected
Conduct of Competence Evaluation
Part III: Technical Considerations for Efficient Multisite Commerce
Chapter 14 Sharing Hardware and Software
Nonshared Hardware and Software Configuration for Multiple Sites
Opportunities for Sharing Hardware and Software
Sharing Infrastructure in Zone 1
Sharing Infrastructure in Zone 2
Sharing Infrastructure in Zone 3
Methods of Sharing Hardware and Software
Multiple Sites Within a Single Application
Interdependencies Among Sites on a Shared Platform
Avoiding Single Point of Failure
Hardware and Software Maintenance
Administration of Data Assets with Multiple Sites
Hierarchical Authorization Domains
Associating Data Assets with Sites
Disadvantages of Direct Mapping of Data Assets to Sites
Administration of Data in Model Sites
Aggregation of Data Assets Through Multiple Model Sites
Specification of a Long Site Path
Query Building with a Site Path
Database Table Design for Site Path Data
Chapter 17 Sharing Business Logic
Sharing Associations Between the Price Rule and Products
Integration with Back-End Applications
Chapter 18 Data Sharing Architecture Patterns
Data Sharing Architecture Patterns for Country Sites
Data Sharing Architecture Pattern for Market Segment Sites
Data Sharing Architecture Pattern for Brand Sites
Data Sharing Architecture Pattern for Company Division Sites
Data Sharing Architecture for Combined Scenario
Considerations for Putting Together Data Sharing Architecture