MKT 391Marketing StrategiesTop 200 B-to-B Websites - 2000 |
Professor: Office: Office Hours: Phone: E-mail: Time: Location: |
Dr. Aspy P. Palia SCB Room C-402-e via Zoom Section 1: T,Th 10:00 - 10:30 am & via Zoom by appointment Section 2: T,Th 3:00 - 3:30 pm & via Zoom by appointment 956-8642 (Work); 947-5144 (Home) aspy@hawaii.edu Section 1: T,Th 10:30 - 11:45 Section 2: T,Th 12:00 - 1:15 Section 1: SCB Room E202 Section 2: SCB Room E202 |
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Monsanto Co. |
30 | Great site for farmers or agribusiness; online selling would put this in the elite. |
Agway Inc. |
29 | Doesn't have the glitz of the others, but easy to use and great e-commerce. |
MasterFoodServices |
25 | Bulk purchasing of well-known brands such as Uncle Ben's and M&M / Mars candies. |
IBP Inc. |
24 | Downloads and EDI, but otherwise basic. |
Philip Morris Cos. Inc. |
19 | As large purchaser of agricultural products, site could have more b-to-b. |
Archer Daniels Midland Co. |
17 | An image and information site with no e-commerce or customer resources. |
ConAgra Inc. |
17 | Not much b-to-b aside from product descriptions. |
Novartis |
17 | Mostly promotional, with product search; no e-commerce. |
Unilever plc |
17 | Interesting design, but little b-to-b aside from corporate message. |
FMC Corp. |
13 | All company and product info; no product support info. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Cole Hersee Co. |
27 | Quite good once you get past the garish design; has online CAD specs and drawings. |
Dana Corp. |
26 | Good customer resources, but no e-commerce or account management. |
Navistar International Corp. |
23 | No e-commerce, but links to dealers, with good accompanying info. |
Ryder System Inc. |
21 | Basic design, a work in progress; good online services. |
Eaton Corp. |
20 | Slick promotional site, but no e-commerce. |
General Motors |
20 | Features fleet sales and service info, as well as other divisions; could be better organized. |
Mack Trucks Inc. |
20 | Customer resources are limited to product information; good design, online manual. |
Paccar Inc. |
20 | Average site that can be a bit crowded and difficult to read. |
Renault |
19 | B-to-b on truck sales; basic info for prospective buyers; no e-commerce. |
Cummings Engine Co. Inc. |
18 | Average site with a few customer resources, but not real e-commerce. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Deere & Co. |
30 | A good site that reflects Deere's leadership in this sector. |
Case Corp. |
29 | No direct sales, but superb customer support features and links. |
Foster Wheeler Corp. |
27 | E-procurement program, but little for customers beyond product and service info. |
Caterpillar Inc. |
24 | Good site for company info, dealer location and info on being a supplier. |
Armstrong World Industries Inc. |
22 | Great use of photos, but no customer support and small b-to-b sections. |
Baker Hughes Inc. |
22 | Good presence with good links (such as geo surveys), but more useful for investors. |
Komatsu Ltd. |
19 | National sites reflect localities well with dealer links; support info could be better. |
Luck Stone Corp. |
19 | Online commerce app and design tweak would make this site a winner. |
Georgia-Pacific Corp. |
17 | Phone numbers instead of links; no sales from site. |
Wayerhaeuser Co. |
15 | Nice look, but little else besides basic corporate info. |
Enron Corp. |
32 | A great site; cross-denominational to many of Enron's utility businesses. |
Detroit Edison Co. |
31 | Lots of info, e-commerce capabilities and links to other sites; easy to use. |
American Electric Power Co. Inc. |
29 | Easy for customers to navigate and use; good use of audio/video. |
Consolidated Edison Inc. |
29 | Lots of information for businesses; extent of online account management not clear. |
Southern California Edison |
29 | Internet payment and account management; b-to-b aspects are there, but a bit subdued. |
Carolina Power & Light Co. |
28 | A clean site with good b-to-b e-commerce features. |
Chevron Corp. |
28 | Good e-commerce and support for dealers when you drill down; much of site is b-to-c. |
Florida Power Corp. |
27 | Online bill paying, but design and content are somewhat lackluster. |
Florida Power and Light Co. |
26 | Interactive e-commerce; not as information-rich as a few other sites. |
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. |
26 | Good contact and services info, easy navigation; few real online applications. |
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. |
23 | Redesigned this summer, but still room for improvement. |
Texas Utilities Corp. |
23 | EDI and account management handled through separate systems and require VPN. |
Cinergy Corp. |
22 | Online ordering, but no account management; links to other Cinergy sites are confusing. |
Sempra Energy |
21 | Multiple clicks to get to power company subsidiaries; e-commerce on those sites. |
Southern Co. |
21 | Somewhat difficult navigation, confusing setup. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. |
33 | E-commerce is not automatically clear, but a whole lot of online client support. |
First Union Corp. |
32 | Clean, sensible design; customer-focused with good information and resources. |
American Express Co. |
31 | Well-organized and functional for b-to-b; some parts slow to load. |
FleetBoston Financial Corp. |
31 | Convenient navigation; good site, currently being integrated with BankBoston. |
Sun Trust Banks Inc. |
31 | Good suite of b-to-b online account management services. |
Mellon Financial Corp. |
30 | Excellent Web banking for business; also good organization, but points off for design. |
Wells Fargo & Co. |
30 | Good online services for large and small b-to-b; needs better design. |
Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. |
29 | A rich site, but doesn't distinguish between b-to-c and b-to-b accounts. |
St. Paul Cos. Inc. |
29 | Internet claims reporting; a bit of work to find an agent. |
Bank One Corp. |
28 | Online banking a plus; full line of business services and support on site. |
BankBoston |
27 | Straightforward design and company info; good resources in "OfficeLink." |
Chubb & Son |
27 | Online claims reporting and other such capabilities add value; dull design. |
MetLife Securities Inc. |
27 | B-to-b section plus password-protected administrative area. |
Transamerica Corp. |
27 | Good site with lots of employer resources, but a little text-heavy. |
U.S. Bancorp |
27 | Online banking and investing; simple, clean design. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Baxter Healthcare Corp. |
29 | Good b-to-b capabilities, product and medical informaton and EDI capability. |
Bausch & Lomb Inc. |
28 | Good online resources for providers; free Web offer site unique. |
Allegiance Healthcare Corp. |
28 | Good use of e-commerce; would be a super site if more online resources were added. |
Merck & Co. Inc. |
28 | Split between b-to-c and b-to-b info; vaccine ordering online, but not for other drugs. |
Humana Inc. |
27 | Simple design, but good b-to-b elements for physicians, such as patient records. |
Caremark Rx Inc. |
25 | B-to-b and b-to-c; drug information for clinicians; continuing-education resources. |
Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. |
23 | Lots of product info, but not as geared toward b-to-b clients as it could be. |
Tenet Healthcare Corp. |
22 | E-commerce links, but little other info for b-to-b apps. |
Pharmacia Corp. |
21 | Mostly product and company info, half geared to customers. |
Colgate-Palmolive Co. |
20 | Mostly b-to-c; b-to-b area for dentists offers material, papers, etc.; no e-commerce. |
Glaxo Wellcome Inc. |
20 | More complicated than it needs to be; info on clinical trials available with password. |
Oxford Health Plans Inc. |
20 | Average managed-care site; not that much information. |
Aventis S.A. |
19 | Good-looking site with plenty of product details and tech support; no online seats. |
Eli Lilly & Co. |
19 | Crisp design, but limited information and functionality. |
WellPoint Helath Networks Inc. |
18 | Basic health insurance site with standard b-to-b info. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
IBM Corp. |
35 | Big Blue comes through; great organization, great look; clean, trim, efficient. |
Cisco Systems Inc. |
34 | The b-to-b site by which all others are measured; is it becoming too cumbersome? |
Compaq Computer Corp. |
33 | Excellent site, lots of good e-business apps, but sometimes complex to navigate. |
Dell Computer Corp. |
33 | An excellent site; customers can find what they want quickly; categorized well. |
Hewlett Packard Co. |
33 | Online classes, plus downloads, CRM and e-commerce. |
Sun Microsystems Inc. |
33 | Excellent site, but follows Cisco model almost slavishly. |
Micron Technology Inc. |
32 | Easy-to-find products, clearly categorized; top-notch PC/server site. |
Nortel Networks Corp. |
32 | A very good site, but could use a little design tinkering. |
Sybase Inc. |
32 | E-shopping new this year; last year, visitors were sent to reseller sites. |
Xerox Corp. |
32 | Well-organized and great functionality; slow loads kill it. |
Gateway Inc. |
31 | Competitive with Dell and Compaq, although comes off lighter-weight than those. |
National Semiconductor |
31 | Lots of quality info and ordering, but design could be cleaner. |
Seagate Technology |
31 | Good interactive partnership for resellers, but could use better reseller links. |
Western Digital Corp. |
31 | Links to retailers and resellers, and its own online store nestled in there, too. |
Quantum Corp. |
30 | Good site, with priority resources for registered users. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
General Electric Co. |
31 | A bit complicated, could be streamlined; but once you're in, it gets quite good. |
Boeing Co. |
31 | Customers have access to extranet and a high level of resources. |
Interconnect Devices Inc. |
30 | Good site with lots of useful info about probes and testers. |
Aero-Marine Products |
29 | Not jazzy, but geared for customers up front. |
Andrew Corp. |
29 | Excellent b-to-b resources, but generic design. |
Bethlehem Steel Corp. |
29 | Strong, up-to-date b-to-b site, with more capabilities promised. |
Miller Multiplex |
29 | Easy e-commerce functions. |
Hartzell Propeller Inc. |
27 | Excellent customer support, catalog material. |
Hobart Corp. |
27 | Links to dealers, but no online selling; good info and documentation. |
Kiosk Information Systems Inc. |
27 | Good use of graphics and interactivity; more e-commerce would put it over the top. |
Lithonia Lighting |
27 | Elegant site with EDI and Web commerce capabilities for distributors. |
Reynolds Metals Co. |
27 | A separate unit for Web e-commerce; also has EDI. |
Eastman Kodak Co. |
26 | Unclear what or how many products are for sale; design is somewhat uneven. |
Emerson Electric Co. |
22 | A lot of links to subsidiaries, but not much more than that. |
Honeywell International Inc. |
22 | Some e-commerce; uniform design; but lots of click-through to get to customer support. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Automatic Data Processing Inc. |
24 | Good information but surprisingly sparse on customer interaction and personalization. |
Computer Sciences Corp. |
23 | A busy site that can be difficult to navigate; lots of service talk, but no resource areas. |
CyberSource Corp. |
23 | A lot of e-commerce promotion, but no section for customers. |
MicroAge Inc. |
23 | A fairly bland site; has retail e-commerce. |
Customer Potential Management Corp. |
22 | No e-commerce or CRM for a site that puts e-commerce and CRM solutions together. |
Image Process Design |
20 | Beyond the snazzy animation, nothing but a product description; CRM is unclear. |
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. |
20 | Will help you start e-commerce, but doesn't do any itself. |
Metiom Inc. |
19 | Basic site for Web process outsourcing. |
Galileo International |
18 | Travel industry solutions builder; mostly service description; no e-commerce. |
ServiceMaster Co. |
18 | Basic directory of services; navigation can be difficult at times. |
Unisys Corp. |
18 | Essentially a brochure with basic info; links to "sister" international sites. |
Ikon Office Solutions Inc. |
17 | Decent design, but site would benefit from e-commerce and more detailed information. |
Manpower |
17 | Basic site; sparse info; no real interactivity. |
Apropos Technology |
15 | Promotional site with some basic info, but no e-commerce or customer resources. |
Kelly Services |
14 | Some online services, such as "find a job" search function, though limited. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Eastman Chemical Co. |
30 | E-commerce capabilities go with good info. |
Pall Corp. |
28 | Complete catalog and customer support; ordering would make this a super site. |
Sonoco Corp. |
28 | Password-protected section has e-commerce, employee and partner resources. |
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. |
26 | Gearing up for major e-business push, but still a bit cumbersome. |
Alfa Aesar |
25 | Straight-up ordering and delivery; good catalog listing; design is rather mundane. |
DuPont Co. |
20 | Good history, values, product information, but no e-commerce or CRM. |
Exxon Mobil Corp. |
18 | Clean design but strictly a promo site. |
Olin Corp. |
18 | Basic product and service information; average design. |
Chemtronics |
17 | Amateur design, links to distributors, no direct sales, no customer resources. |
Dow Chemical Co. |
17 | No real e-commerce or customer support; mostly corporate and product info. |
Halliburton Co. |
16 | Good design, but mostly company PR. |
BASF Corp. |
14 | Few online resources; even the annual report has to be ordered, though it is free. |
Phelps Dodge Corp. Inc. |
14 | Nice design and that's about it. |
Rohm and Haas Co. |
14 | Site presentable, not perfected; parts still seem under construction. |
Texaco Inc. |
14 | Some e-commerce of "Texaco Collectibles," but some problems with oversize graphs. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
KPMG International |
25 | Clean, straightforward but compelling design; well-organized company info. |
Andersen Consulting |
23 | Strong content, such as services info and e-business theory, but not much else. |
Dun & Bradstreet Inc. |
22 | Basic info, but good customer support with "call me toll-free" button. |
Aon Corp. |
19 | An average site, with services descriptions, financial info and published research. |
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
19 | Info site; some online resources, including surveys, library and tax news network. |
eTesting Labs |
19 | Decent design, basic info; quote app. |
Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. |
17 | Navigation and links tend to be more overwhelming than helpful. |
Ernst & Young L.L.P. |
17 | Lots of links to worldwide units and divisions but lacks cohesion. |
Abacus Direct |
15 | Flash presentation is good, but no e-commerce capabilities or Web-based contacting. |
Arthur Andersen |
15 | Easily accessible company info, consistent design; limited resources. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
RealNetworks Inc. |
34 | A fun site that sells by showing, with great use of streaming apps. |
Corel Corp. |
32 | Handsome site with nice features, easy navigation. |
Oracle Corp. |
32 | Solid site with online education & online store, which has live help & order tracker. |
Lotus Development Corp. |
30 | A fine site with good capabilities, though a bit difficult to navigate. |
McAfee.com Corp. |
30 | Easily accessible, browser-based apps; good support for first-time visitors. |
Microsoft Corp. |
30 | Solid site, but points lost because there are no "shop," "buy" or "order" buttons. |
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. |
29 | A great site marred by a poor design; good customer resources and e-commerce. |
Finjan Software Ltd. |
29 | Lots of updates, free trials & CRM, no direct sales; distributor referrals instead. |
Knowlagent Inc. |
29 | Fine site for call-center software specialist. |
BroadVision Inc. |
28 | Password-protected customer resource area. |
Dragon Systems Inc. |
28 | Simple; gets the job done no matter where you're clicking in from. |
WRQ Inc. |
28 | Good product-benefit descriptions; good purchasing options. |
Informix Corp. |
27 | Detailed partner information and ongoing training resources. |
Autodesk Inc. |
26 | Good customer resources, lots of product information. |
Marimba Inc. |
25 | Strong on product info and links; clean design. |
Novell Inc. |
25 | Presents wealth of info cleanly; navigation difficult at times. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
AT&T Corp. |
32 | Clean, well-organized site; good navigation and lots of information. |
WorldCom Inc. |
31 | Online account management, tools; still fixing some links after the MCI merger. |
Nextel Communications |
30 | Well-geared for corporate accounts. |
Sprint |
30 | Nice presentation, account management. |
Cincinnati Bell |
28 | Online call analysis tool a plus; also online account management. |
Global Crossing Ltd. |
27 | Online account management is available, plus good parent program. |
Verizon Communications |
26 | Work in progress; seems to be taking best from both Bell Atlantic and GTE. |
Qwest Communications |
25 | Online account management; good design; slow to load. |
Prodigy Communications L.P. |
23 | Design and features may discourage serious business customers. |
Alltel Corp. |
22 | Clean, simple; online billing and ordering. |
Bellsouth |
21 | Lots of product and service info, but short on customer support. |
Ameritech Corp. |
20 | Difficult navigation past home page; minimal e-commerce. |
SBC Communications Inc. |
20 | No consistency; users may click off before they find a place to order. |
Pacific Bell Communications Inc. |
18 | Online ordering but apparently no bill paying. |
Level 3 Communications Inc. |
17 | Product and public relations information, but few online features. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
Federal Express Corp. |
34 | One of best and easiest; customer support and e-commerce are first rate. |
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. |
33 | Extensive online tools for tracking freight. |
APL Ltd. |
30 | Well-organized and customizable shipping site. |
Danzas AEI |
30 | Plenty of tracking tools, but they're hidden in their own area. |
UPS Inc. |
30 | Same functionality, but not as easy to use as FedEx. |
CSX Corp. |
29 | Good e-commerce capabilities; could use a makeover. |
Yellow Freight System Inc. |
29 | Design could better separate content and online tool links. |
Norfolk Southern Corp. |
22 | EDI and tracking capabilities, but not as efficient as others. |
Union Pacific Corp. |
22 | Corporate site does little to lead you to the top-notch commerce site. |
Emery Worldwide |
21 | Average freight/shipping site, with good tracking capabilities. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Company | Score (max =35) | Comments |
OfficeMax Inc. |
34 | Plethora of product categories conveniently accessible from the home page. |
W.W. Grainger Inc. |
33 | Very colorful, if a bit busy; easy to use for ordering. |
CompUSA Inc. |
31 | Professional-looking, easy for b-to-b customers to navigate. |
CDW Computer Centers Inc. |
30 | A sound b-to-b computer and technology purchasing site. |
Office Depot Inc. |
30 | Crowded home page, but substantial number of links to partners with business tools. |
Staples Inc. |
30 | Good presentation of products; great shopping cart; a little slow at times. |
A. Daigger & Co. |
28 | Well-organized and easy to use; Java applets are useful. |
Avnet Inc. |
28 | Easy to order and track accounts from. |
Arrow Electronics Inc. |
27 | No-frills design; product catalog requires part numbers for nonmembers. |
Boise Cascade Office Products Corp. |
26 | Only Web-based commerce Boise Cascade seems to do. |
Kurt S. Adler Inc. |
26 | Simply designed; complete e-commerce. |
Tech Data Corp. |
26 | Looks like a portal, but it's actually a solid b-to-b site. |
MidWest Micro |
25 | Entry-level catalog site, fast-loading if simple; no online services beyond purchasing. |
Pitney Bowes Inc. |
25 | Half Pitney Bowes b-to-b, half an office supplies site. |
Merisel Inc. |
22 | Extent of e-commerce and EDI unclear. |
Please:
Go to: Top of Page
Each site was judged in 7 categories.
Each category had a maximum value of 5, making 35 the maximum possible score.
A strong emphasis was placed on Web-based sales and customer resource management.
The 7 categories were:
Ease of navigation
How quickly does the site load, and how easy is it to find what you're looking for?
Is there a b-to-b "button" readily visible?
Is the site organized well, especially if the company addresses several different types of customers?
Presentation of information
Is text easy to read?
How well are graphics used?
Does the site creatively exploit the medium in its use of video, audio and image?
Does multimedia add value to the information?
Does the design match the company's message?
Quality of information
Is there detailed information about specific products?
Are there white papers, applications notes and user comments?
How much information is there about the company?
Does it provide detailed contact information?
Interactive resources
How easily can you contact someone via e-mail, phone or other means?
How fast is the response?
Is there a search engine?
How well does it work?
E-commerce capabilities
Can you place an order?
Can you review your account?
Is there e-mail confirmation?
What types of CRM capabilities does the site build in?
Extras
Are there any site extras such as online communities, bulletin boards or newsletters that have relevant supplemental information?
Judges' discretionary points
Is there anything unique that distinguishes the site and merits additional points?
Source: Net Marketing 200 Best B-to-B Websites
Go to: Top of Page
Go to: MKT 391 Marketing Strategies
Go to: Courses Taught
Return to: Aspy P. Palia Home page