E-Commerce Research Paper
1. Introduction to Electronic Commerce:
Electronic commerce is the most recent step in the evolution of business transactions. It replaces the swapping of money for goods or bartering (the swapping of goods for goods) with the exchange of information from computer to computer.
Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, is a very broad terminology. E-commerce enables organisations of all sizes and in all market sectors to improve their competitiveness. It cuts across geographical boundaries and time zones to save time and costs, to open up new market opportunities and enable even the smallest of companies to compete globally. E-commerce spans established processes such as bar code scanning and electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as newer arrivals, electronic mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile electronic commerce.
E-commerce is attractive because it reduces the cost of doing business. Sending a few bytes of data over a network is cheaper, faster and more convenient than sending a messenger or even making a phone call. E-commerce covers any form of business or administrative transactions or information exchange that is executed using any information and communications technology (ICT).
This embraces the main areas of activity:
· business to business
· business to consumer
· on-line learning
where e-commerce conducted between businesses differs from that carried out between a business and its consumer.
2. Business to Business:
The really big business on the Internet and the World Wide Web isn’t books and CDs but ball bearings, electronic components and other materials that businesses buy, sell and distribute to and from each other. Although this type of business to business trading may be new and attracting plenty of media and public attention, business to business has been trading by electronic means for nearly twenty-five years. The most famous method of business to business trading has to be the electronic data interchange (EDI) established for exchanging business information between companies that regularly did business with each other.
The Internet is fast becoming the method of choice for transacting business all over the globe. The Internet can be used to profile prospects, qualify leads and deliver proposals before a sales rep and a corporate prospect actually meet. Business to business sales productivity can be significantly improved over the Internet, enabling the sales reps to focus their efforts on personalised customer relationships. In addition feedback from web sites, on-line surveys and e-mail can be an important source of leads and market data. A smaller company can use the Internet much to its advantage, to reach and serve business customers nationally or internationally without having to relocate or expand geographically. They can also use the Internet to solidify their ties with customers and business partners through the efficient and rapid interchange of mutually important business data. Savings from World Wide Web transactions are passed on to the company’s customers, enabling the company to be more competitive in a price-conscious market.
The Internet needs no introduction, but its use as a business medium is still in its early stages. Analysts all agree that the next few years will see an explosion in e-commerce fuelled in large by the Internet. It provides a medium that is as easily useable by individuals as by organisations in both the public and private sectors. Thus providing instant access to products and services worldwide. Companies that do not yet have an effort for e-commerce business to business trading in the works will likely feel increasing pressure to get one underway, either from customers, suppliers or more Net-commerce-enabled competitors as they would not want to fall behind in their market.
Case Study
Smaller companies can use the internet to reach business customers nationally or all over the world. An example of this is Auto A/C, a Florida based warehouse distributor of automative air-conditioner parts, tools and services for the auto repair industry.
In early ’96 Auto A/C decided to seek new business both at home and abroad in highly competitive industry market. Their need for quality, accuracy and speed of service in the market was essential and prompted them to enlist the help of IBM Web Solutions. The company developed a web site that displays their products worldwide and provides interactive price quotes. As a result Auto A/C reaches on average 1,000 more business customers each month of which 25% request prices or more information. In one year Auto A/C saw a 20% increase in export sales and a 10% increase on the home front sales.
But we all know that these projects can have an adverse effect on business as Aviall Inc., an aviation parts distributor found out. Yet it was Aviall Inc.’s own 300 sales reps from around the globe that was the undoing of this e-commerce project. Fearing their jobs were at stake they badmouthed the site to potential customers and existing ones. The site didn’t attract the business Aviall was expecting and as a result a complete overhaul was made to their strategy, both e-commerce and overall sales. Their pitch to the sales reps was “Look at this wonderful tool for your customer”. The reps receive commission for orders placed over the web but channel conflicts still occur over who is responsible for servicing the customers drawn over the web. Aviall Inc., still with a few resistances, is slowly but surely getting a grip on their e-commerce market.
Conclusion
The Web plays an expanding role just as it does in a consumer e-commerce. Business to business activity is still, and we believe will remain, the main area of electronic commerce activity. This covers everything from established communications between retailers and their suppliers, the electronic banking payment systems through to the new Internet based catalogue systems. In the future, all of us will conduct an ever-increasing number of business transactions on-line. Companies who implement solutions to conduct business on-line will stay competitive and responsive in this evolving market place.
Electronic commerce is the most recent step in the evolution of business transactions. It replaces the swapping of money for goods or bartering (the swapping of goods for goods) with the exchange of information from computer to computer.
Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, is a very broad terminology. E-commerce enables organisations of all sizes and in all market sectors to improve their competitiveness. It cuts across geographical boundaries and time zones to save time and costs, to open up new market opportunities and enable even the smallest of companies to compete globally. E-commerce spans established processes such as bar code scanning and electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as newer arrivals, electronic mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile electronic commerce.
E-commerce is attractive because it reduces the cost of doing business. Sending a few bytes of data over a network is cheaper, faster and more convenient than sending a messenger or even making a phone call. E-commerce covers any form of business or administrative transactions or information exchange that is executed using any information and communications technology (ICT).
This embraces the main areas of activity:
· business to business
· business to consumer
· on-line learning
where e-commerce conducted between businesses differs from that carried out between a business and its consumer.
2. Business to Business:
The really big business on the Internet and the World Wide Web isn’t books and CDs but ball bearings, electronic components and other materials that businesses buy, sell and distribute to and from each other. Although this type of business to business trading may be new and attracting plenty of media and public attention, business to business has been trading by electronic means for nearly twenty-five years. The most famous method of business to business trading has to be the electronic data interchange (EDI) established for exchanging business information between companies that regularly did business with each other.
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The Internet is fast becoming the method of choice for transacting business all over the globe. The Internet can be used to profile prospects, qualify leads and deliver proposals before a sales rep and a corporate prospect actually meet. Business to business sales productivity can be significantly improved over the Internet, enabling the sales reps to focus their efforts on personalised customer relationships. In addition feedback from web sites, on-line surveys and e-mail can be an important source of leads and market data. A smaller company can use the Internet much to its advantage, to reach and serve business customers nationally or internationally without having to relocate or expand geographically. They can also use the Internet to solidify their ties with customers and business partners through the efficient and rapid interchange of mutually important business data. Savings from World Wide Web transactions are passed on to the company’s customers, enabling the company to be more competitive in a price-conscious market.
The Internet needs no introduction, but its use as a business medium is still in its early stages. Analysts all agree that the next few years will see an explosion in e-commerce fuelled in large by the Internet. It provides a medium that is as easily useable by individuals as by organisations in both the public and private sectors. Thus providing instant access to products and services worldwide. Companies that do not yet have an effort for e-commerce business to business trading in the works will likely feel increasing pressure to get one underway, either from customers, suppliers or more Net-commerce-enabled competitors as they would not want to fall behind in their market.
Case Study
Smaller companies can use the internet to reach business customers nationally or all over the world. An example of this is Auto A/C, a Florida based warehouse distributor of automative air-conditioner parts, tools and services for the auto repair industry.
In early ’96 Auto A/C decided to seek new business both at home and abroad in highly competitive industry market. Their need for quality, accuracy and speed of service in the market was essential and prompted them to enlist the help of IBM Web Solutions. The company developed a web site that displays their products worldwide and provides interactive price quotes. As a result Auto A/C reaches on average 1,000 more business customers each month of which 25% request prices or more information. In one year Auto A/C saw a 20% increase in export sales and a 10% increase on the home front sales.
But we all know that these projects can have an adverse effect on business as Aviall Inc., an aviation parts distributor found out. Yet it was Aviall Inc.’s own 300 sales reps from around the globe that was the undoing of this e-commerce project. Fearing their jobs were at stake they badmouthed the site to potential customers and existing ones. The site didn’t attract the business Aviall was expecting and as a result a complete overhaul was made to their strategy, both e-commerce and overall sales. Their pitch to the sales reps was “Look at this wonderful tool for your customer”. The reps receive commission for orders placed over the web but channel conflicts still occur over who is responsible for servicing the customers drawn over the web. Aviall Inc., still with a few resistances, is slowly but surely getting a grip on their e-commerce market.
Conclusion
The Web plays an expanding role just as it does in a consumer e-commerce. Business to business activity is still, and we believe will remain, the main area of electronic commerce activity. This covers everything from established communications between retailers and their suppliers, the electronic banking payment systems through to the new Internet based catalogue systems. In the future, all of us will conduct an ever-increasing number of business transactions on-line. Companies who implement solutions to conduct business on-line will stay competitive and responsive in this evolving market place.
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