Our retail shops and mail-order division are quite healthy," says Bill Berry, one of the owners of Marathon Vitamin Shops, "but to be competitive, we must establish an ecommerce website." His father, a co-owner, exclaims, "I agree, but where do we start?" The elder Berry knew, of course, that it wasn't a case of setting up a website and asking customers to order off the website. He identi- fied eight different parts to ecommerce and realized that they were all part of a larger system. In other words, all the parts had to work together to create a strong package. His list of elements essential to ecommerce included the following: 1. Attracting customers to an ecommerce website 2. Informing customers about products and services offered 3. Allowing customers to customize products online