Launching an e-commerce platform

: competition or collaboration with retailing?

Abstract

This case is inspired by a real situation felt by the Portuguese non-alcoholic beverage company Sumol+Compal. If refers to a moment when Sumol+Compal managers realized that retailers were retaining a great amount of margin, when all the risk and investment is made by them. With the launching of Compal Essencial in Portugal, Sumol+Compal only retained 20% of its profit. In order to prevent future similar situations and to reinforce their position in the market, Sumol+Compal managers found a need to develop a new business model that would (1) reinforce brand loyalty, (2) improve consumer experience with the brand; (3) create a direct relationship with the consumer and (4) increase long term profitability. This case is, therefore, about the introduction of a new service – an online platform, analysing its positioning in the market and regarding their biggest partner – retailing. During the case I present a brief introduction about the company, the context of its industry as well as highlights over the new trends of e-commerce, and pros and cons of the platform positioning as a competitor or a collaborator of retailers.

Date of Award	17 Apr 2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Alexandre Gonçalves Marcos (Supervisor)