Introduction to scope of business
SgCarMart.com was set up in 2004 to facilitate the buying and selling of cars as well as to enable potential car buyers to obtain reliable information to suit their needs. sgCarMart not only collates car reviews and car advice, it also provides information about new cars. It has an estimated worth of over US$145,000 according to a review in Website Outlook (see http://www.websiteoutlook.com/www.sgcarmart.com). It is an example of one of the many dot-com companies that have capitalized on the advent of internet communications technology in their business models.
SgCarMart.com
Purposes
Acting as an intermediary between consumer-to consumer transaction, sgCarMart is a good example of a transaction broker who helps consumers to perform transactions more efficiently.
Through sgCarMart, consumers who wish to sell or purchase cars can do so with much more convenience as it helps to reduce one’s search cost. Instead of hunting for different car dealers to compare prices and gather information, sgCarMart allows a consumer to search for relevant information by just a click at their search engine.
In a consumer’s point of view, this can significantly reduce one’s search cost. Moreover, sgCarMart will save all the hassle by taking charge of advertising for the consumers and handling all the documents required, such as insurance, hence consumers can benefit from all these cost savings.
Acting as an intermediary between consumer-to consumer transaction, sgCarMart is a good example of a transaction broker who helps consumers to perform transactions more efficiently.
Through sgCarMart, consumers who wish to sell or purchase cars can do so with much more convenience as it helps to reduce one’s search cost. Instead of hunting for different car dealers to compare prices and gather information, sgCarMart allows a consumer to search for relevant information by just a click at their search engine.
In a consumer’s point of view, this can significantly reduce one’s search cost. Moreover, sgCarMart will save all the hassle by taking charge of advertising for the consumers and handling all the documents required, such as insurance, hence consumers can benefit from all these cost savings.
SgCarMart.com
Design and features of the website
As seen in the screenshot above, there are tabs linked to pages which feature new cars, used cars, an option to buy cars, articles containing reviews of cars as well as a forum for car buyers to discuss on various topics regarding cars. SgCarMart’s reviews of cars are rather detailed. A typical review includes a writeup on an overview of the car, its interior and exterior, its engine as well as safety features. Car owners can also add a review of the car to share their experiences with other interested buyers.
SgCarMart takes their service a notch up by providing car buyers with a one-stop webpage that includes information on car park rates, locations of ERPs and locations of petrol kiosks across Singapore. It also enables potential car buyers to obtain information about getting their cars insured.
Car Park locations and Rates:
SgCarMart takes their service a notch up by providing car buyers with a one-stop webpage that includes information on car park rates, locations of ERPs and locations of petrol kiosks across Singapore. It also enables potential car buyers to obtain information about getting their cars insured.
Car Park locations and Rates:
ERP locations:
Locations of Petrol Stations:
Locations of Petrol Stations:
SgCarMart.com
Services - Buying and Selling of cars
Current car owners looking to sell their cars can do so here. sgCarMart offers such sellers the option of posting an advertisement on their webpage, selling used cars to a car dealer or engage the services of agents in sgCarMart to sell the cars for them. The facilitation of sale of used cars can be considered Consumer-to-Consumer e-commerce.
Quotz, a subsidiary of SgCarMart offers customers a one-stop service for used-car transaction at no charge to the customer. A customer only has to fill up his personal details and details of the car/vehicle he would like to sell in the online form and submit it online to Quotz. Quotz then acts as a middleman between the customer and other car dealers to get the most competitive deals for the customer. After that, the customer only has to meet the car dealer twice- once for the dealer to inspect the car and the second time to close the deal.
Quotz Quotation Hunter for used cars:
Quotz also offers to sell its customer’s used cars through an auction bidding. As seen in the screenshot below, interested car owners can make an appointment with Quotz to get a car survey done at a fee, then Quotz takes over all the work from there. Used car dealers will then submit bids online. The highest bidder will win the bid and Quotz then informs the car owner who will then decide if he would like to close the deal.
Quotz Auction Bidding for used cars:
Potential car buyers can search for a car of a particular model and obtain information on the price, special features of the car, a detailed description of the car as well as a guide on possible installment plans for a car loan. In addition, the potential buyer can see if there are used cars of that model available for sale. All the above information is obtained just through a simple search, making it both time efficient and cost efficient for the potential buyer. After viewing the information on the website, potential car buyers can contact the authorized car dealers.
Current car owners looking to sell their cars can do so here. sgCarMart offers such sellers the option of posting an advertisement on their webpage, selling used cars to a car dealer or engage the services of agents in sgCarMart to sell the cars for them. The facilitation of sale of used cars can be considered Consumer-to-Consumer e-commerce.
Quotz, a subsidiary of SgCarMart offers customers a one-stop service for used-car transaction at no charge to the customer. A customer only has to fill up his personal details and details of the car/vehicle he would like to sell in the online form and submit it online to Quotz. Quotz then acts as a middleman between the customer and other car dealers to get the most competitive deals for the customer. After that, the customer only has to meet the car dealer twice- once for the dealer to inspect the car and the second time to close the deal.
Quotz Quotation Hunter for used cars:
Quotz also offers to sell its customer’s used cars through an auction bidding. As seen in the screenshot below, interested car owners can make an appointment with Quotz to get a car survey done at a fee, then Quotz takes over all the work from there. Used car dealers will then submit bids online. The highest bidder will win the bid and Quotz then informs the car owner who will then decide if he would like to close the deal.Quotz Auction Bidding for used cars:
Potential car buyers can search for a car of a particular model and obtain information on the price, special features of the car, a detailed description of the car as well as a guide on possible installment plans for a car loan. In addition, the potential buyer can see if there are used cars of that model available for sale. All the above information is obtained just through a simple search, making it both time efficient and cost efficient for the potential buyer. After viewing the information on the website, potential car buyers can contact the authorized car dealers.
source of image: SgCarMart.com
Strengths of sgCarMart
The lay out of the webpage is simple. Tabs are clearly labeled, enabling users to quickly identify where they should go to for more information they require.
It is a one-stop ‘shop’ where interested buyers or sellers can get almost all the information they need regarding the purchase or sale of a car. For example, on top of providing detailed descriptions of car models, prices, possible loan arrangements as well as possible insurance plans, sgCarMart also enables its users to share their experiences or pose questions regarding cars on their forum.
sgCarMart collates information about all types of cars. It also allows for comparison of prices of cars of similar models. With this feature, potential buyers can reduce search costs, making it both time efficient and cost efficient.
sgCarMart’s collated information also helps car dealers to clinch more deals more cost efficiently. The detailed reviews and comprehensive list of contacts of authorized car dealers in one convenient location on the internet reach out to a wider spread of potential buyers than conventional newspaper advertisements can.
It also provides information regarding the price and selling of cars' accessories for maintenance or upgrade, and other services like Chauffeur and Limousine services, car grooming, etc.
SgCarMart also shows the latest articles about upcoming/new cars and also information about motor sports to car lovers.
SgCarMart’s subsidiary, Quotz, offers car owners with a variety of choices in selling their used cars. They can do so via an auction bidding or engage Quotz to source for competitive quotes for their cars. This illustrates innovation on SgCarMart’s part in its provision of quality service to its customers.
Source: http://blog.accessko.nl/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/audi-r8-b.jpg
SgCarMart.com
Weaknesses/Pitfalls of SgCarMart
· Reduce target customers. Only limited to techno-savvy customers. Computer –illiterate consumers, such as the elderly, will find it difficult to manoeuvre within the website or even having difficulty in accessing it
· A need for financial resource as sgCarMart participates mostly in the transactions between the consumers, from advertising to handling all the required documents.
· Making assumptions about what consumers want. It is more advisable to survey the needs and opinions of the market so as to better understand the consumers’ expectation and then display the relevant useful information to them
· Ignoring external competition. Should be aware of other new e-business competitors emerging in the market, which may threaten its position.
· Losing of competitive advantage as more and more businesses enter into the e-commerce world, thus might not be earning as much profits in the long run
· Trying to expand business too quickly. There is a need to strategise carefully and make appropriate planning beforehand, as it may eventually lead to more problems arising, which may become too costly for troubleshooting. Easier and faster access to global market may also caused over-expansion, resulting in the lack of resources and system infrastructure to support high transactions.
· Becoming complacent about what you offer. For example, not knowing your staff’s competence well enough. Hence, resource planning and employee training should be done.
· Failure to innovate. Innovation should always be in place so as to keep up with the ever-changing technology and information system.
SgCarMart.com
Security & Privacy
Being an e-commerce system, which is based on internet use, it is “open” and people can easily communicate globally. As the internet is unregulated and unmanaged, it is bound to have certain risks or threats to the systems operating it.
For example, common threats of hackers intruding into the system to disrupt the site, which may affect the operations of the business. Therefore, it is important that sgcarmart considers the possibilities of threats and implements measures against any risks which may have adverse impact on its business.
One example of a preventive measure is to use Firewall, which controls access to the internet by their internal management and thereby preventing external parties from gaining access to the information on the internal network. In addition, it is crucial that the website does not divulge any of the consumers’ private confidentiality which may invade their privacy as any leak of privacy issues could lead to reducing of consumers’ confidence on it.