Bricks and clicks

Clicks and bricks" Internet-based businesses are teaming with retail chains. The purpose is to provide the convenience of online shopping plus the accessibility of the local Radio Shack or Best Buy. 

A problem is categorizing a buyer-seller relationship as a B when it is really a C. The clicks-and-bricks movement allows the buyer to choose whether he or she wants to deal in a B environment or a C environment. For example, in the dot.com era and more recently, companies try to establish markets for goods and services through brokerage sites and reverse auctions. Sometimes these work, providing execution in a B environment. At other times, a Box C interaction is appropriate. Companies have the opportunity to define supply chains for customers wanting different levels of collaboration in their decision making. 

The horizontal partnership is one that does have overlapping capabilities between participants. The combination of two telecommunications providers, one focused on wireless and one on long distance, is an example. Clicks and bricks combines two retail channels — the Internet and the face-to-face retail outlet — to market the same products. Such partnerships might be motivated by a number of factors. Examples include the need for greater geographic coverage or to provide the critical mass to be competitive. 

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