Online Liquor Sales Strategy for Australia

This assignment examines the current state of Australia's online liquor industry, highlighting its unique challenges and potential opportunities. It requires students to analyze factors such as regulatory frameworks, consumer behavior, and technological advancements. Based on this analysis, students must develop a comprehensive strategic plan for an Australian online liquor company, outlining strategies for overcoming identified challenges and capitalizing on opportunities. The plan should address legal and ethical considerations crucial for success in this market.

Running Head: GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT 1
E-commerce in Global Business
Environment

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Potential Issues................................................................................................................................3
Security Issues and Fraud Issues..................................................................................................3
Web Attacks.............................................................................................................................4
Data Hacking............................................................................................................................4
Theft of Consumer’s confidential information.........................................................................4
Expenses on copyrights and patents.........................................................................................4
Leakage of material information from internal resources........................................................5
Mitigation Plan................................................................................................................................5
1. Give employees separate log-in details................................................................................5
2. Educate the employees.........................................................................................................5
3. Online security......................................................................................................................6
4. Secured verification for customer’s payment transactions...................................................6
5. Implementation of internal control program.........................................................................6
Ethical Issues and Legal Issues....................................................................................................7
Media ethics.............................................................................................................................7
Legal issues..............................................................................................................................7
Ban on Direct advertising.........................................................................................................8
Corporation social responsibility..............................................................................................8
Issues related to youth..............................................................................................................8
Addressing the issues and concepts.................................................................................................9
1. Community engagement.......................................................................................................9
2. Employee engagement..........................................................................................................9
3. Restricted use of online website of company.......................................................................9
4. Avoiding breaking the laws and regulations........................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
From the last assessment, it can be found that online liquor industry in Australia can offer
significant growth opportunities to the organizations. The past research shows that growth rate in
the industry is very high. There are very few competitors in the online liquor industry in
Australia. After analyzing the industry strategically, here is the discussion about different issues,
which this industry may face in today’s business environment. This report includes various
issues, which the organization may face online liquor business in Australia. It includes security
and fraud issues, which this e-business might be exposed to. Further, it includes a mitigation plan
for countering these fraud and security issues, which may impact the online liquor business.
Moreover, it consists of potential legal and ethical issues, which can be encountered by e-
business. In order to address these issues, organizations may choose some strategies and
overcome these issues. The players in the industry should adopt and implement some effective
strategies to deal with these issues.
Potential Issues
In each industry, companies may face some issues related to ethical and legal contexts. Each
country deals with these issues differently. There are various challenges, which are faced by the
beer and wine distributors on regular basis. The Australian liquor industry is in the infancy phase
and it is in the developing phase. But there are very few competitors in the industry, so it will be
beneficial for the company to start this e-business. The company is using different modes for this
e-business, like; E-mail marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing and customer
profiling. However, this is an e-commerce business, so company may face security and fraud
issues (Callinan, Room and Livingston, 2014). This e-business is confronting some specific
security, fraud, ethical and legal problems, which are stated below;
Security Issues and Fraud Issues
Whether it is offline or online liquor business, there may be some security and fraud issues in the
business operations. These issues may be related to the web-site hacking, information and data
hacking and other issues related to the theft of significant information (Callinan & Ferris, 2012).
Each and every organization in the industry needs to consider these issues to operate the business
operations effectively. Security and fraud issues in online-liquor industry are stated below;

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Web Attacks
Web-application attacks are the most common issues, which are accounted for 40% of the data
breaches in liquor industry. These attacks are the major results of the employees on internet, who
are surfing the site with the malware or virus. In the online liquor business, when the employees
click on any program, it infects the whole system. It can cause breach to the system. The
alcoholic need to be very careful, not only to ignore the email tricks, but they want to handle the
card payments (Crowell, 2017).
Apart from this, POS intrusion is another reason of data breaches. There may be online
transactions and sales, which can be refused by the hacks, which disturb the operations and direct
to the business loss. These web-based attacks can contaminate the computer system of liquor
company with encrypt data and ransom ware.
Data Hacking
Data hacking is another security issue, which may impact the business of organization in online
liquor industry in Australia. There may be some hackers, which can hack the material
information and data of the company. The hackers will infect the system of brewery and encrypt
the information. After hacking the data, the hackers can claim a payment for getting encryption
keys. Without having this data, the liquor company will not have access to information. The
company needs to pay a ransom and large amount of money to overcome the issue (Donovan,
Donovan, Howat & Weller, 2017).
Theft of Consumer’s confidential information
In the online business, the company may face the issues related to the theft of confidential
information. In the online liquor business, if the customers make online payment, then there may
be chances that their confidential information can be stolen. Intermediate people can steal the
details of their debit and credit cards of customers. In the process of online payment, the
companies need to ensure that all the information of customers should be kept confidential.
Expenses on copyrights and patents
As the organization is going to start e-business in liquor industry, so company will face many
expenditures on purchasing copyrights and patents. It is essential so that other competitors
cannot copy the products and sell the similar products through their website. In the liquor

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industry, competitors try to steal the taste and concept of similar brand of beer and other
alcoholic beverages (Howard, 2014).
Leakage of material information from internal resources
In the online business, all the information will be stored and accessed by the internal persons of
the company, i.e. employees of the company. They have authorized access to the material
information of the company and customers. There may be the situations that these employees can
steal the data and leak that data publicly. Thus, the organization may face the issues related to
leakage of data and information by internal resources (Independent Brewers Association, 2017
2017).
Mitigation Plan
Fraud techniques are continuously increasing and there are so many cases of information or data
breaches, which are reported every day. For resolving these security and fraud issues, the
companies in online liquor industry need to create a mitigation plan. It will assist the
organization to overcome the above-mentioned issues. This mitigation plan should include
effective strategies, which can be adopted and implemented by the company in online liquor
industry. The mitigation plan for this organization is stated below;
1. Give employees separate log-in details
In online liquor industry, the company should provide separate log-in details to the employees.
When they share a common point-of-sale system (POS), which can be difficult to identify the
reason behind fraud issue. To resolve this issue, the company should assign separate details and
restrict them to share their details to one another (Chitrangda, 2014). By using this way, each and
every transaction will be connected to an individual and overcome the confusion.
Along with this, one more precaution is to set up the POS to automatically sign out when, they
do not use the system for a longer time. It will force the workers and employees to authenticate
themselves regularly and make the POS less exposed to unauthorized access.
2. Educate the employees
It is the responsibility of business owner or top management to educate the employees about the
computer security. They should be updated about the computer security issues. Company should
educate the employees and involve them in day-to-day operations. By this, they will be able to

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rapidly react and report any doubtful activity. The company should train the employees as they
are engaged in a controlled and controversial business, i.e. sale of liquor and alcoholic beverages.
There should be a training and development program, in which employees can learn about that
how they can spot any fake debit or credit card (Morgan, 2012).
3. Online security
Covering the order IDs and account numbers in all mail and utilizing the encrypted email for
private and confidential information safeguards the accounts from hackers. In addition, the
company can use some fraud prevention measures, like; creating awareness about latest trends of
fraud in the organization, authentications for the payment transactions etc. There will be a need
of protecting the computer system from viruses and malware (Perron, 2012). It can impact the
data and information, which is stored in the system.
4. Secured verification for customer’s payment transactions
The online liquor business may face the issues related to insecure transactions, like; unauthorized
use of credit and debit cards. The cards can be used by other people, like; youth and minors can
use the cards of their parents and make the payment for ordering the alcoholic beverages from
the website (Peltier, 2013). So, the company should secure the transaction by verifying the
transaction. The transaction should be linked with the mobile number and a One Time Password
(OTP) should be sent at the time of payment with credit and debit cards.
5. Implementation of internal control program
Furthermore, the company can adopt and execute the internal control program to protect the
assets and ensure the reliability of its accounting and financial records and detect the fraud
related to the theft of secret information. In the process of internal control, segregation of duties
and responsibilities is a significant element, which can decrease the issues and risk of fraud in
the e-business. For example, in an online transaction, there should be different person for
different works. Like; one employee should take the order for beer and another should tail the
cash registers. Moreover, another one should prepare the deposit slip. It can assist in disclosing
the inconsistencies in order process.
By implementing this mitigation plan, company can resolve the issues related to security and
fraud in online liquor industry. It is very important to handle the issues effectively.

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Ethical Issues and Legal Issues
As the company is engaging in the online business, so it may confront the issues related to the
ethics and code of conduct. Generally, the firms in online business avoid the ethical factors and
code of conduct. It may impact the business of the company. In addition, organizations need to
look at legal issues (Richardson, 2012). These issues are related to compliance of laws and
regulations, which are imposed on respective industry. It may affect the growth and operations of
the business.
Media ethics
Companies in the online liquor industry obviously wish to sell maximum products as much as
possible, and for this advertising is the best to increase the consumption of any product. As a
producer of restricted and controlled goods, the organization in this sector has the responsibility
to the community and society to restrict disclosure of products to some specific groups. In this
context, the business may face the issues related to media ethics (Bulgurcu, Cavusoglu and
Benbasat, 2010). The company needs to consider whether the advertisement is ethical. The
company will have to consider some ethical questions, which are stated below;
 Are the advertisements claims truthful?
 Is the ad ethically and socially responsible?
 Is the claim of products authentic one?
If the company does not follow these questions, then it may lead to the ethical dilemmas.
Answering to these questions offers a foundation that an advertisement of products is ethical,
especially targeted at controlled and controversial products and services, like; alcoholic
beverages and liquor.
Legal issues
The alcohol and beverage industry in Australia is under too much pressure because of ever-
changing regulatory and competitive business environment. The organizations in this industry
generally face legal challenges, which affect all the areas of business, from products and
processes to brand and market coverage. Australia has tight laws and regulations on the sale and
consumption of alcoholic beverages (Schwalbe, 2015). Non-compliance of these laws and
regulations can generate issues for companies in liquor industry. This industry is highly regulated

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and taxed in Australia. It is struggling with different taxes and lack of regularity in regulations,
which are diversifying for different states.
Ban on Direct advertising
The online liquor industry may face the issues in the form of direct advertising. There are so
many states in Australia, where direct advertising of alcoholic beverages is totally banned. In the
online business, there may be publicity of the products. It affects the youth and minors adversely.
In the country, the laws and regulations are different in different parts of the country, so
companies need to play smartly in promoting and advertising the beer and other alcoholic
beverages in Australia. It can affect the company’s business in this industry (Richardson, 2012).
Corporation social responsibility
When it comes to any online business, they often avoid practicing corporate social responsibility.
It may impact all the social contexts, like; environmental sustainability, employee engagement
and community engagement. Environment sustainability includes the impact of beer plant and
factory outlets on environment. The company needs to consider the substances, which are used to
make the products, like; water, grains, gasoline, glass etc. Community may also have some
adverse impact on the community (Szolnoki, Thach and Kolb, 2016). It consists of negative
effects with alcoholic beverages, like; underage drinking, alcohol positioning and drunk drivers.
It affects the image of company in context of corporate social responsibility.
Issues related to youth
In today’s modern era, people are actively engaged in using internet and it includes most of the
population from youth and minor segment. In online liquor business, there may be possibility
that minors can place the order for purchasing the alcoholic beverages. In the liquor industry, it is
illegal to serve alcohol to minor people (Turban et al, 2015). This is one of the major issues in e-
business of alcoholic beverages. According the Liquor Act, it is a criminal offence to supply
alcoholic beverages to the minor or age under 18 years. So, the company should use some
restrictive measures, so that minors cannot order the beer or other alcoholic products using their
mobile phone internet.

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Addressing the issues and concepts
Above paragraph of the report indicates that company in online liquor industry may confront
various ethical and legal issues. These issues may affect the business of the company. There is a
need to develop some strategies to address these issues in Australia. The processes and concepts
to resolve the issues are given below;
1. Community engagement
To resolve the ethical and legal issues, it is significant to engage the community in the practices.
The community engagement practices can be used to restrict the adverse impacts by offering the
education, services, volunteering, corporate giving and charity. The company should implement
a promotion campaign for to restrict the consumption of alcohol for minor and drunk drivers.
2. Employee engagement
It is one of the major concepts that can be used by an organization to solve the issues. The major
objective of employee engagement is to inspire the employees by engaging them to the positive
effects, which brewery makes on the society in Australia (Vrellas and Tsiotras, 2015). In
addition, the business should educate the employees about the ethics, code of conduct and other
policies, so each and every employee can be aware about the influences of fraudulent activities.
If the employees will understand the consequences of their fraudulent actions, then they will be
less likely to engage in fraudulent activities.
3. Restricted use of online website of company
The consumption of liquor is banned for minor people, so company should develop the website
that cannot be accessed by the under 18 people. There should be verification according to the age
factor. The alcoholic beverages are most controversial and controlled products, so the
organization should create the website in a manner, so youth and minors cannot order the liquor
online (Howard, 2014). In the offline business of liquor, shopkeeper can deny minors, but it
cannot be possible in online business. So, there should be a verification process on the website.
4. Avoiding breaking the laws and regulations
When it comes to resolve the legal and ethical issues in e-commerce business, the businesses
speck about some specific things, like; the company should avoid breaking the laws and
regulations, which are imposed on that business. In addition, it should avoid the actions, which
may result in civil law cases against organization and its business operations. There are so many

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actions, which are bad for the company’s brand image in liquor industry, the organizations needs
to avoid those actions. Implementation of moral and ethical standards to the e-business has direct
impact on the online business (Turban et al, 2015). It affects the brand image and sales of
company in Australian liquor industry. Moreover, the liquor company should emphasize on the
advertising principles related to liquor industry. It should not use direct advertising for liquor
products. Implementation of ethical and legal practices is very essential for employees,
customers, company, business and community.
Thus, these are major practices and concepts, which can be adopted by an organization to
address the ethical and legal issues in the online liquor industry in Australia.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that Australian liquor industry is in the developing
stage. The company can introduce the web-based sales of alcoholic beverages in the industry. It
will definitely experience growth and development in the Australian liquor industry by
addressing the associated issues. Before introducing the business, the company should analyze
all the related issues, like; security and fraud issues. The above report includes a mitigation plan
for dealing with these issues. By following this plan, the company can resolve the security and
fraud issues, which are very common in an e-commerce business. Furthermore, it discusses about
the ethical and legal issues, which a liquor company may face in web-based sales of alcoholic
beverages. The company should implement some specific strategies to overcome these issues. It
will assist the respective organization to grow in online liquor industry in Australia.

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References
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policy: 1995–2010. Drug and alcohol review, 33(3), pp.227-234.
Callinan, S., & Ferris, J., 2012, What do Australians drink?, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research.
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Crowell, C., 2017, Cyber Security for Breweries: We Assess the Risks and How to Stay
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breweries-assess-risks-stay-protected/.
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Howard, P.H., 2014. Too big to ale? Globalization and consolidation in the beer industry. In The
Geography of Beer (pp. 155-165). Springer Netherlands.
Independent Brewers Association, 2017, Craft Beer History In Australia, retrieved from
http://www.australiancraftbeer.org.au/about-us/craft-beer-history-in-australia/.
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http://www.jpmorgan.com.br/jpmpdf/1320603368699.pdf.
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Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

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Szolnoki, G., Thach, L. and Kolb, D., 2016. Current Status of Global Wine Ecommerce and
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