Executive Summary
eBay Inc. is an international e-commerce organization based in the United States responsible for individual, business-to-individual, or individual transactions of goods and services. eBay Inc offers deliveries worldwide at a fee and depending on the quality and quantity of services they would render to their clients. The company offers services such as advertisements for various products, and through the platform, the company can make money. For instance, according to the second quarter, eBay recorded $341 million on first-party advertising products (eBay, 2023). Despite its success, the company is faced with numerous challenges, such as the inability to move with change which has led to derailing progress in development. As a result, the company has developed and, as a continuous process, will generate effective strategies that can put eBay on the top map.
Company Overview
eBay is a multinational company based in the United States offering e-commerce services. E-commerce has been the way o life for most people since the development of such companies. The company is based in San Jose, California, and plays a role that leads connection among various people with diverse backgrounds worldwide, sellers and buyers. eBay is one of the companies that has led to the development of a worldwide economy. Through the company, antiquities such as furniture, books, auto parts, clothes, shoes, and office equipment can be bought or offered for sale. The company includes physical stores and online platforms accessed through its official website, www.ebay.com (eBay, 2023). The company offers delivery of purchased products worldwide through the details left for the delivery. Even though there are challenges, such as hacking and acquiring clients’ personal information, the company has ensured that its servers are impenetrable and secure, offering efficient and secure services.
Company History
eBay Inc., which is a global online market serving diverse clients, was introduced to the market by an American entrepreneur in 1995 by the name Pierre Omidyar (eBay, 2023). In the previous years, before most individuals and businesses embraced technology and the impact of technology was in its primary stages, most businesses were held physically. For instance, one could bring a sample of the commodity they would sell for physical examination. If the product satisfied the stakeholders, a deal discussion would commence. Additionally, after purchasing a particular commodity, it would not be easy to transport the commodity to its destination. Most clients experienced challenges such as the delivery of inappropriate products. Introducing technology to market services relieved most customers and their sellers. eBay Inc. was one the earliest companies that developed an internet website creating an appropriate platform to exchange services and goods efficiently. As such, producers and consumers could easily use the eBay Inc. website platform to identify commodities, communicate with the producer, and agree on a price. As such, eBay Inc. offers transportation of the commodity to the destination as advised by the consumers (eBay, 2023). As more countries continued embracing technology and companies identified eBay Inc. as a more effective method of transacting services, the company gained more fame in e-commerce. The company continued experiencing rapid growth over the year due to meeting clients’ satisfaction while offering their services. The company has been working efficiently based on several objectives: promoting consumer product safety, accessibility, and transparent trading. eBay Inc. has been working with various companies to ensure its success. One prominent company that has enabled eBay Inc to experience tremendous success includes PayPal. PayPal is an online platform that eBay Inc has been using in clearing payments before the commencement of commodity transportation of a commodity. However, to enhance proper management between the two companies, eBay Inc made permanent changes. eBay Inc bought PayPal in 2002 (eBay, 2023). Additionally, the company has experienced tremendous success and continuous customer engagement due to the advantage of sharing costs, such as transportation costs. As a result, the company continues enhancing its services, continuously increasing the number of customers requiring eBay Inc services and continuously opening more branches in other countries.
Products and or services
eBay Inc. offers a variety of products and services that result in the enormous profit that the company realizes daily. As mentioned earlier, eBay Inc developed a platform that enables clients can retrieve information about various products, such as where the product is located and the price of the product, through product APIs (eBay, 2023). Since the company is transnational, it has commodities from various countries and organizations. As such, the company is flooded with diverse commodities of which others are similar and perform similar chores; however, they might differ in price. The numerous products realized on eBay Inc result from the continuous addition of products that producers need to sell. The API lets clients retrieve various information about a commodity in diverse ways, such as fitment information about a specific vehicle, compatible information associated with a specific product, and compatible vehicles for specified products. Furthermore, the APIs return information as per the request of a client. The APIs compatibility search names and values as criteria for the identification of specific commodities.
eBay Inc has numerous products and services offered on the platform, like electronics, vehicles, fashion, and other collectables. Some of the products may be refurbished and therefore not as new hence some of the prices vary depending on the product and type of company selling the product. The varying process in the market makes it competitive and develop quality goods on eBay Inc. eBay Inc provides a marketplace whose prices of the product is lesser compared to the ordinary markets which are more expensive (El-Ebiary, 2021); thus, eBay Inc explores more customers as compared to the ordinary market due to the various offers on products. Additionally, most products are shipped free to their destinations. The company offers a platform for individuals who no longer need some of their house products. As such, they can sell them on price rather than going to waste. Therefore, eBay Inc collects commissions for products sold on the platform for various companies to market and sell their products. The platform is effective since it displays images of products sold and the state of the product; therefore, a client can determine the efficiency of a product.
Operations
eBay Inc., like any other company, is associated with various operations and actions that render its products and services effective. The various operations are guided with the help of eBay Inc’s operation manager. The design of goods and services is one of the primary operations. The design of goods and services matters since they attract the customer depending on how the design is effective. eBay Inc develops strategies that ensure products meet certain specifications to be added to various catalogues on the site (Choi et al., 2023). As a result, the company experiences consistency and compatibility of products, resulting in customer satisfaction and enhancing loyalty.
Location strategy is another element within operations that is essential. As mentioned earlier, eBay Inc is a transnational company; hence, it requires various distribution locations in a country that are accessible for efficiency in case a delivery is made. The company ensures that most of its distribution centres are near labour markets to acquire efficiency. The proximity to labour markets is essential since it acts as a marketing strategy exposing some of the products and services to a populated area which is a precise target. According to the 4 Ps of marketing, which includes place, eBay Inc uses the venue to market some of its products to gain more customers. As a result of a high customer satisfaction rate, the company experiences high customer retention, which is essential in revenue generation.
Another vital element operationally is scheduling and maintenance. After placing an order as a client, it is essential that the company prioritizes the product and ensures it is prioritized and scheduled for shipment to ensure arrival on the day, as discussed. Most companies that deliver products fail as a result of poor scheduling. eBay Inc has experienced tremendous success due to prioritization based on who made the order first. As a result, clients experience satisfaction. Unlike other companies, prioritization is based on the amount of a product (Choi et al., 2023). Besides scheduling, maintenance is also a vital component. Maintenance involves a continuous satisfactory process due to the precise scheduling of resources and output. As such, the company requires to have sufficient human labour that is competent to satisfy customer needs. Other than the mentioned operations, more operations include inventory management, supply chain, and processing operations.
Vision
Being an ordinary company, eBay Inc has a vision statement that aids the company in various issues concerning its future and clients. The vision statement states, “We will build on our powerful strengths to become the best global marketplace for buyers and sellers through a technology-led reimagination.” The vision statement shows that the company’s vision statement is based on three significant components integrated to develop the company toward future perfection and customer satisfaction (Quinn, 2023). The first component of the vision statement is building on powerful strengths. eBay Inc already depicts itself as one of the flourishing gigantic companies. However, the company has a notion of customer satisfaction changing daily; hence, the better services and products that the company offers must build strategies that will make services and products better than before and alterations depending on the customer’s requirements. Secondly, the vision mentions becoming the best global market. Since more companies and individuals have embraced technology, several e-commerce markets have been developed, such as Walmart and Amazon; hence eBay Inc faces strong competition. Therefore, eBay Inc as a company is daily developing further insights that can enable it to gain a competitive advantage in the market more than its competitors. Hence with effective practical strategies, eBay Inc can be identified as the best web-based market for diverse clients. Finally, the vision statement identifies the essence of technology on its market product and services and the influence it will have if continuously implemented and upgraded (Quinn, 2023). Most companies have discovered the essence of technological involvement in developing a company, such as eBay Inc. Technological innovation will result in further efficiency and convenience required during online engagements. Therefore, implementing the three components of the vision statement will lead to better services, resulting in better customer satisfaction.
Mission Statement
Similar to a vision statement, the company also has a mission statement that states, “We connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all.” The mission statement seems different but similar to the vision statement since it involves several elements. One of the elements is connecting people and building communities, enhancing diversity. In previous years some communities were discriminated against and hardly allowed to trade. As such, the communities developed selfishness resulting in cases of discrimination derailing the development of specific communities (Quinn, 2023). Due to a lack of connection, most communities hardly built themselves. However, through platforms such as eBay Inc, companies and individuals share innovative ideas that have led to the development of communities. A worldwide challenge that has derailed economic development and trade for a while is a lack of diversity. However, eBay Inc creates a platform equal to everyone without discrimination. Hence diverse people from various regions of the world can make successful transactions resulting in customer satisfaction (Quinn, 2023). The creation of platforms that enhance economic growth has led to the development of nations since revenue is generated and used in developing other sectors of an economy. Additionally, eBay Inc creates a platform for global operations. Production and demand vary in different regions. In regions where the production of certain commodities is high, they tend to benefit from high-demanding regions fostering vital relationships. Hence the company develops inclusive policies to ensure that an individual or company can join eBay for their success. Therefore, eBay Inc plays an essential role in developing the global economy.
Corporate Values & Culture
like any other company, eBay Inc has its corporate values and culture that have been the basis of its success, from individual levels like employees to the overall company. The company has developed various guidelines that aid and shape the behaviour and operation of the company. Its corporate values are based on family, teamwork, and opportunity (Reid et al., 2023). eBay Inc strives to develop an efficient platform where every individual or company is served equally without discrimination. The company has policies meant to ensure the safety of eBay Inc and individuals engaging with the company. Hence eBay Inc is responsible for empowering companies and individuals due to the market platform, which creates an economic opportunity for interested parties. Teamwork as one of the corporate values depicts that eBay Inc recognizes efforts that every individual play on the platform making eBay Inc successful, leading to enormous revenue generated each financial year (Reid et al., 2023). Some of the individuals include stakeholders, investors, innovators, and customers; therefore, the company employs various methods that emphasize teamwork and achieving the company’s objectives. Besides teamwork, eBay Inc.’s development is based on opportunity. The company develops strategies implemented in case of opportunities that influence the company, consumers, or any other key role player. However, most strategies are customer-focused. As a result, the company continuously experiences an increase in the number of sales despite the numerous competitors on the market. The company also emphasizes transparency among key players, which will result in better relationships, thus enhancing trade growth within various parties and trusting the platform leading to loyalty (Altaweel & Hadjitofi, 2019). The company also embraces a culture of innovation that enhances production and service delivery, essential in customer satisfaction due to continuous learning on various changes impacting the market and how to explore them effectively to the best of eBay Inc.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats) analysis is one of the most trusted and efficient approaches that develop insights vital to any company’s development. As a company, eBay Inc explores various strengths, making it an outstanding web-based market. A strong brand is one of its strengths. Having been established in the early 90s and led effective services over the years, the company has experienced tremendous referrals that have led to the development of its brand (El-Ebiary, 2021). As such, most individuals prefer utilizing its services since the company has had a long experience compared to competitors. Therefore clients prefer eBay Inc, which has had evident experience with clients especially involving products shipping for foreign countries and guaranteed destinations. Besides a strong brand, the company has established numerous distribution sites in various countries globally to ensure that the company’s services are readily available to the clients, enhancing satisfaction to the clients. For instance, since it is an online platform, clients might have challenges navigating or issues with ordering a particular product. With the help of experts at the distribution centres, client experience an easy time resolving their issues. Furthermore, the sites act as marketing sites for the various products and services offered by eBay Inc.
eBay Inc faces several weaknesses; one of the weaknesses is limited emphasis on innovation. Despite the company emphasizing innovation, the effort is hardly enough compared to its competitors, such as Amazon. Innovation and technology work simultaneously. For such reason, the company records a flat rate of profit margin instead of an increasing graph (El-Ebiary, 2021). As a result of improper innovation with technological advancement, the company experiences ineffective competitive advantage in the market. Therefore, the growth rate of the company is unsteady. eBay Inc lacks effective business models. Business models are prominent in developing actionable strategies that can be implemented, leading to a more significant impact on services rendered to clients or productions. Due to the incompetent business model, the company can hardly recruit some of the best talents, such as content creators and influencers, that can be used in marketing, proper methods of management motivation, and further investment. Another weakness of eBay Inc is the inability of the company to flex with the changes occurring in the market. A lack of change strategies might prevent a company from attaining its objectives. For instance, eBay Inc maintains its centralized organizational structure, which is disadvantageous.
eBay Inc has always had the urge to engage in various opportunities. The company has opened various stations in various countries to maximize on population targets of most of its commodities. As such, the company records more sales. Additionally, the company has developed a fully operational application in most countries, leading to efficiency. The company promotes diversification. As a result, recording growing profit margins, enhancing economic growth globally, and involving various individuals from various regions (El-Ebiary, 2021). Diversification enhances the company’s target population to a broader reach. The company has lately discovered the importance of innovation and has begun to develop plans and schemes impacting the rate of innovation. Such innovations will result in proper marketing strategies with the help of influencers and content creators, increasing revenue.
Finally, under SWOT, there are some threats that eBay Inc is facing. Competition is one of the threats that eBay Inc is facing. Numerous companies, such as Walmart and Amazon, are on the market, challenging customer decision-making. Hence. eBay Inc the company needs to work on opportunities to gain a competitive advantage (El-Ebiary, 2021). As a result of the developing technology, eBay Inc is experiencing disruptions. However, the company can mitigate the challenge by developing strategies that adhere to any technological changes making the company flexible.
Competition
eBay Inc is surrounded by various companies that are stiffly competitive. In addition to technological advancements, the competition has developed rapidly, making the market a tag of war in securing significant sales that would impact a company’s financial net worth. eBay Inc’s most significant competitors include Amazon, Walmart, and Etsy. Amazon, Walmart, and Etsy are competitors of eBay since most of their operations are worldwide, the same as eBay, and offer almost similar as such, leading to difficult decisions for clients to determine which services to use, especially if the previous record was pleasing and satisfactory (Pandey, 2023). For instance, Amazon experiences 2 billion visits on their site compared to eBay, with 587 million visits, thus depicting that Amazon has more clients than eBay. Therefore, eBay needs to involve its employers and develop effective strategies that will enable the company to surpass its competitors.
Management team/Leadership
The management team is involved in several competent individuals. It is important to note that the success of a company depends on the type of leadership that a company has. Despite the pressure from various competitors, eBay’s leadership style has kept the company functioning for this long. The company has several executive leaders, such chief growth officer, chief product officer, chief of people officer, and the CEO, Jamie Lannone. Besides the executive leaders, the company also has a board of directors which includes the chair of the board, chair of compensation, chair of the risk committee, and additional six board members. It is vital to mention that the leadership is under corporate governance and implements diverse individuals considering gender, making it a successful team.
Financial Outlook (financial predictors)
The financial outlook can be depicted via a thorough financial analysis of the company. Based on the second quarter, the company had achieved more than it had expected during the period. According to the report, revenue had increased by $2.5 billion by 5%, and gross merchandise volume was $18.2 billion, which had reduced by 2%. The company recorded $605 million in operating cash flow and $492 million in free cash flow (eBay, 2023). The company paid $133 million as dividends to the included parties. An additional breakdown depicted that eBay generated $341 million from first-party advertising products, which reflected a total of $367 million in revenue in the second (eBay, 2023). From the above data, eBay can improve its performance if it develops strategies to mitigate most of the challenges.
Strategies
There are several strategic initiatives that eBay has launched whose main objective is to ensure the company maintains its strong brand, enhance sales, experience high customer retention, and gain a competitive advantage in the market. The company has partnered with more companies to increase access to various products that clients might require. For instance, the company launched the Certified by Brand program, which will enhance clients’ experience with luxury goods from partners. The eBay branch in the UK has launched a recycling program for various accessories that are environmentally sensitive. eBay plans to venture into the resale of sports and authentic guarantee of streetwear, including kids. As such, clients will be satisfied with the products sold since they are authentic and not counterfeit. The company has also further invested in innovation and technology. For instance has launched a mobile application that is still in testing and live streaming experiences for clients, which will enhance efficiency.
Conclusion
eBay should invest in intense market research that will enable the company to learn of the latest technology and daily changes impacting the market. The information can be delivered to the stakeholders and discuss various strategies they might implement to explore or eradicate future challenges. Additionally, the company should mainly advance with changes that will enhance revenue generation to better levels, such as innovation and technology. The company needs to invest in technologically fit individuals since the market today is based on efficiency, which can be achieved through innovation and technology.
References
eBay (2023). Financial Reports. https://investors.ebayinc.com/financial-information/financial-summary/default.aspx
El-Ebiary, Y. A. B. (2021). eBay e-Commerce Platform Opportunities and Obstacles. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT), 12(10), 6531-6536. https://doi.org/10.17762/turcomat.v12i10.5505
Pandey, P. (2023). A Comparative Study Of The E-Commerce Platforms Of Amazon And eBay. https://doi.org/10.47750/pnr.2023.14.S02.152
Altaweel, M., & Hadjitofi, T. G. (2020). The sale of heritage on eBay: Market trends and cultural value. Big Data & Society, 7(2), 2053951720968865. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720968865
Reid, A., Ringel, E., & Pendleton, S. M. (2023). Transparency reports as CSR reports: motives, stakeholders, and strategies. Social Responsibility Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-03-2023-0134
Choi, T. M., Chen, J., Li, G., & Yue, X. (2023). Platform supply chain innovations in the blockchain era: the ABCDE framework. International Journal of Production Research, 61(11), 3505–3511. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2185397
Quinn, N. (2023). eBay’s Mission Statement & Vision Statement (An Analysis). https://panmore.com/ebay-inc-vision-statement-mission-statement-analysis-recommendations
write