Getting the Most out of Your Data

CMPT 455/826 - Week 4, Day 2

(Various sources)

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 1

A tale of two Companies

• When bookstores went on-line– For years “Books in Print” <http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/>

• provided bookstores with information • on all the different books that are currently available

– including information on the publishers of the books

• Blackwells Books (UK) http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk

– was a long established company when in (1994/5?) – it was one of the first companies to embrace e-Commerce

– How many of you have ever heard of Blackwells?

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 2

How Blackwells used BIP

• BIP information can be used – as the basis for inventory records

• Blackwells e-Commerce site – offered to sell any books that they had in stock– just like a “bricks and mortar” bookstore

– after all you can’t sell what you don’t have, or can you?

• They probably also used the BIP information– to help with reordering books, when needed

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 3

Amazon.com (1)

• In 1995 Amazon.com was a startup company

• It also used BIP – to provide the basis of the books it would sell

• Only it decided to sell anything in BIP– whether it had it in stock or not

• thus providing consumers with the widest possible selection

– and to use it to order any books that it did not have in stock• to fill the orders it took (“Just In Time” processing)

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 4

Amazon.com (2)

• It further used data to keep its inventory to a minimum

– by analyzing changes in the rate of sales on individual items

– to determine whether or not it would be profitable• to keep books in stock (only big sellers)• or to sell books and then get them to fill the orders

– to avoid stocking books that won’t sell soon

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 5

The results

• How many of you have bought a book from a “bricks and mortar” (e.g. U of S) bookstore?

• How many of you have ever special ordered a book?

• How many of you have ever bought a book from Amazon.com/.ca?

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 6

Further uses and abuses of data

• After a while doing e-Commerce– Blackwells started requiring you to register

• e.g. give it data on you

– before being able to look at its information on its books– e.g. charging for its information

• Amazon always – let you browse its information on the books it knew about– e.g. giving information away for free

• Which bookstore have you heard about?

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 7

Is giving info away always good?

• At about the same time cd-now.com– provided track listings of the cd’s it wanted to sell customers

• Lots of customers used this information– to be more efficient in using Napster.com– to get music for free– and to avoid buying it from cd-now

• The track listings were eventually removed

• Sometimes info works for you, sometimes against you!

Sept-Dec 2009 – w4d2 8