HBR 2000 sidebar explaining the state-of-the-art in online auctioning.

1. has eroded in recent years, largely
as a result of focusing too much TRACKING CACHET: How much of the overall category was selling
on the superpremium end and at a premium over the price of value brands in 1997 versus 1988?
letting the main brands drift ten
ward the private label. Unilever, 100%
for example, failed to capitalize on
the cachet of its superpremium
Five Brothers brand by under- 80%
investing in Ragu, which for 70% Soup
some time had been a premium
60% 60% Yogurt
product. If you lose the focus on
building cachet for the entire cat- 50% Italian Sauce
egory, you can expect your earn- 40% 40% Coffee
ings to take a fall as weU.
25% Facial Tissues
20%
Vijay Vishwanath and David
Harding are directors of
Bain & Company in Boston. 0% -
1988 1997
Reprint F00202
best practice
The Cutting Edge in Auctions
No, it's not eBay or FreeMarkets.
It's not even on the Net.
by Eric van Heck
Until recently, auctions were a relatively
exotic way to buy and sell goods. The Web
has changed that. Electronic auctions
have popped up like crocuses in early
spring - several hundred now operate on-
line. And yet the place to see state-of-the-
art auctions is not on the Web but rather
at one of a dozen or so auction halts in
Holland, where nearly 60% of the world's
cut flowers are sold each year.
Because flowers are highly perishable,
Sellers of time-sensitive goods on the Web should look
the Dutch flower auctions are built for at the Dutch flower auctions as a model.
speed. Every day, millions of flowers 60,000 transactions. Most of the flowers The key to the process is a method of
arrive at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. will then be rushed back to the airport selling goods, known as a "Dutch aurtion,"
They are then quickly transported to for immediate export. Thus, over a 24- that dates back to the 1870s. Unlike the
nearby auction centers, the largest of hour period, a dozen roses can be shipped more common English auction, in which
which covers the equivalent of about 100 to an auction center by a grower, pur- bidders push the price up from below, the
soccer fields and can host up to 2,500 buy- chased by a wholesaler, delivered to a re- Dutch method starts with a high price set
ers. By day's end, more than 34 million tailer, and end up in the hands of a New by the auctioneer. The price then drops
flowers (and 3 million potted plants) will Yorker in desperate need of an anniver- until a buyer signals that he will take the
have been purchased in the course of sary gift. goods. No actual bidding is involved.
18 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW ?Vlarch-April 2000

2. FORETHOUGHT
At the Dutch flower auctions, the focal auction houses implemented their own price than they would have offered in
point in each hall is one of three clocks buying-at-a-distance facilities in 1996. competitive hidding.
that tell not the time but the price of a lot The on-line huyers, currently about 150 Recognizing those advantages, a few
of flowers or other plants on display. The of the largest wholesalers, enjoy the ad- e-husinesses have adopted the Dutch
clock hands tick downward until a buyer vantage of being able to get a better sense method. At Intermodalex.com, for exam-
stops them by pushing a button in front of overall pricing and supply by partic- ple, a manufacturer that needs to ship a
of his seat, indicating that he will pur- ipating in several auctions product from, say, Rotterdam
chase part or all of the lot. Each transac- at once. But they are limited
Dutch auctions to Chicago can use a Dutch auc-
tion takes only ahout four seconds, while to huying common flowers tion to lease container space on
the flowers go rapidly through the hall on that can he confidently judged
tend to generate
an oceangoing vessel. Like flow-
large carts propelled by an underground from afar. The on-line auctions higher prices ers, container space is perish-
chain. Once purchased, the flower lots are aren't suited to the purchase than traditional able - it disappears as soon as
slapped with bar codes, identifying the of new, expensive hybrids - methods. the ship casts off. And because
huyers and the prices, and delivered to orchids, for example - where the space is a commodity, buy-
the various buyers' shipping areas. getting precisely the right color demands ers can lease it without requiring in-depth
Not all the action takes place in the a physical inspection. information. As other companies launch
halls. In 1995, one of the major importers Most auctions on the Web today use time-sensitive auctions on the Web, they
established an electronic auction system the English method. But the Dutch too would he well advised to look to the
that allows wholesalers to buy flowers on- method offers advantages, as the flower Dutch flower auctions as a possible model.
line from remote sites. Participating huy- auctions reveal. For one thing, the Dutch
ers connect their office PCs to the auction method is much faster. When a large Eric van Heck is an associate professor of
clock via high-speed phone lines. To judge quantity of easily evaluated goods must business telecommunications at Erasmus
the goods on offer, they rely on high- he sold quickly, it is ideal. Second, the University's School of Management in
quality digital images and strict quality Dutch method tends to generate higher Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
control by the auctioneers. As a reaction prices. To avoid losing a particular lot, buy-
to this electronic system, the traditional ers will often stop the clock at a higher Reprint FooaO3
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