MUM’S MAINE WHOOPIE PIES:

An E-Commerce Business Initiative

Connie AkersonELC 200December 14, 2015

WHAT IS YOUR E-COMMERCE INITIATIVE? Online e-commerce whoopie pie

business.

Utilizes the-bricks-clicks business model and sales revenue model to generate revenue.

WHY WHOOPIE PIES? They are a Maine favorite.

I love to cook and have a great recipe.

Will have a physical bakery and café in Caribou.

WHOOPIE PIES ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE For customers to easily purchase Mum’s Maine

Whoopie Pies, the Internet will be utilized to create a marketspace, including a desktop website and mobile website, to expand Mum’s Maine Whoopie Pies from a local bakery, into a global e-commerce business. The website and mobile website will be designed to allow customers to access and purchase whoopie pies by using their mobile devices or desktop computer, so customers will be able to buy whoopie pies anytime, anywhere.

SAFE, SECURE, AND TASTY In order to provide customers with the utmost in

confidence when ordering whoopie pies and providing their payment information during the checkout process, it must be easy to use, secure, and compliant with the PCI Data Security Standards to protect customer data.

Website and mobile site offer an online catalog, shopping cart, and the ability to enter payment information (either credit or debit card) directly on the website or by customer’s using their mobile device.

After a customer places an order on Mum’s Maine Whoopie Pies Website and/or mobile site, customers will receive a confirmation email statement that the payment was authorized (or declined) and will include a link to the shipper’s information and tracking number in order to anticipate delivery of the whoopie pies.

CONCLUSION My biggest fears are that, although I enjoy cooking very much, I lack any real commercial baking experience, and that I will have to contract out all of the website/mobile website development and hosting duties.

Another concern involving the development of Mum’s Maine Whoopie Pie e-commerce business is the possibility of a cyber attack on the websites, and the chaos and loss of revenue that could ensue following the security breach.

There is obviously some merit to this idea, otherwise there would not be four online whoopie pie businesses currently operating in Maine.