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To: allen v.w. who wrote (27901)	11/8/1999 2:08:00 AM
From: allen v.w.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 40688

Internet Changing Business Equation Said Deloitte 11/04/99 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 1999 NOV 4 (Newsbytes) -- By Sylvia Dennis, Newsbytes. The customer/supplier relationship is undergoing a period of major change, thanks to the Internet, according to a new study. The Deloitte Consulting report, entitled "New Economics of Transactions," predicts that the Internet is set to hugely affect business profitability and customer expectations. With the increased focus on business-to-consumer and business-to- business Internet commerce, value added service providers will start to emerge, the study said. Deloitte said that the Internet service providers (ISPs) the industry knows today will be replaced by more efficient commercial service providers (CSPs). These CSPs will provide all the services of traditional ISPs, as well as the services needed to support online trade. CSPs will also enable the user to both access the Internet and conduct the transactions, the report also said. Gilbert Toppin, a partner with the research company, said that CSPs will be the new architects of the "online business transaction" and will displace ISPs right down the transaction chain - from front end Web site graphics and shopping trolleys to back office inventory. This potentially lucrative business, Deloitte said, will have software vendors, banks and telecommunications carriers all competing for a slice of the market. The report also identifies the arrival into the mainstream of software agents, which are currently used to search the Web. These agents, the report predicts, will change into "shop bots" or cyber negotiators that will have the ability to haggle with other online agents to get the best deal. In addition to price, the report said that these shop bots will have the intelligence to review several factors, such as warranties, delivery times and return policies, as well as the power to complete a transactions automatically. Toppin said that the battle over who owns the customer will be critical in the Internet of the future. "With the bots handling the whole purchase process, the role of the product and retail brand will be at a crossroads - software agents will have little emotional attachment to sentimental advertising, but customers will need ways to clearly identify the products needed," he said. Against this backdrop, Toppin said, branding will have to adapt to the electronic marketplace in the future. "To complete effectively and take advantage of these developments, businesses will require a radical transformation from the existing `bricks and mortar' mentality," he said. "Combating price wars, developing a universal transactions system and solving the information superhighway challenges are just a few of the many issues that must be tackled in building an e-business transactions infrastructure," he added. Deloitte's Web site is at deloitte.be .