zuji - background

Background of Zuji

Zuji.com is a locally set up e-commerce website that provides one stop service, an online travel guru with access to booking of airlines, hotels, car hiring, cruise activities and attractions. It is voted as the best online travel agent in Asia Pacific for the past 2 Years (2005, 2006). It also provides links to other countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, India and other countries.

It allows consumers to choose what accommodation they prefer and given choices in the website where they are allowed to choose what amenities they want.

It also has holiday packages where prices are given lower. If a consumer wants to book both a hotel and an airline accommodation through zuji.com, a lower price is given.

zuji - objective of website

Objective of the website

Provides FREE membership for consumers to sign up so that they can enjoy privileges by receiving newsletter to know about the special rates given earlier than the public.

Provide safe and security transaction as a pledge to customers and able to search up to 5 destinations with the lowest fare charged. It also provides search options for flights (free stopovers, pre-select seats) as well as travel tools link.

Provide convenience to customers who have booked the tickets such that they receive free delivery of tickets at no extra cost unless it is overseas courier services whereby a small fee is chargeable.

Helps customer to reduce transaction costs, time and money spent to locate the relevant services needed at one time.

Helps to increase disintermediation by removing intermediate business with process layers in a value chain.

zuji - features

Features

Zuji.com is an example of a Business to consumer model. It caters to consumers who are interested to travel. Its competitors will be other online travel agents like www.priceline.com.sg , http://www.dynastytravel.com/, http://www.statravel.com.sg.

Its other competitors will also be online airline sites which also allow consumers to buy air tickets. The company is set up in Singapore during the year of 2001 with executive members managing it.

Zuji provides three mode of payment schemes. First, it allows customer to pay their ticketing cost via credit card and their preferred payment method would be the Visa Card. Secondly, consumers can also call their Customer Service Centre which is operated 7 days a week (phone, fax email) and provide their credit card details. Lastly, they can also pay directly in all Zuji ticketing offices. Consumers can rest assured that online payment at Zuji.com is secured by VeriSign which is the global leader in online security for e-commerce payments. On top of that, Zuji is one of the licensee of Trustee Privacy and Program where it is an independent non-profit online secured payment.

zuji - characteristics

Characteristics

The Zuji website caters to consumers who prefers individual or private information as they offer My ZUJI which is consumers own books and whereby they can manage their own travel profile online. Not only that, They have Price Guru which consumers are able to track the lowest fare to various destination with just a few clicks. It does have travel tools link that allows consumers to check destination information, currency converter, global weather forecasts, visa requirements, flight schedules and insurance(medical, accidental injuries/illness)

The graphics on Zuji are nice and simple which allows loading faster and gives consumers a fresh and comfortable viewing.

zuji - strengths

Strengths

Zuji website has provided safe and good security for consumers sending information online by introducing Secure Socket Layer(SSC) for encryption. Encryption is the process of information been entered and converts into bits of code while transmitted over the internet. The scrambled data cannot be read as information is traveled over the net. The Encrypted information received by the server is thus translated to original form and stored in off line data.

The credit card information that consumer provided is high secured. Zuji has a risk management team been employed to check regularly and randomly counter check on the credit card information to ensure authenticity. Sometimes they would verify with the consumers by phone in case of unauthorized purchase.

Zuji has also promised that they do not sell individual consumer names or private profile information to 3^rd parties and have no intention in the future. As such, consumers are more relieved and confident as well as feeling secured their information will not be sold to marketing companies or whosoever.

Zuji has 1 Million online member base and has plans to expand aggressively through South east Asia Markets and China.

It has a Market place link which allows consumers to shop online such as way to distress, courses to study, purchase of IDD card etc.

It also provides branding programme, helping other small enterprises to build their business by having affiliate programme or as travel agents with referral fee provided to those other smaller travel agents.

zuji - weaknesses

Weaknesses

The website does not provide any feedback by the consumers about their services and how is the rate of the accommodation or flight accommodation. As such it is purely one way communication.