Chapter 1

Introduction IT and Business E-commerce : Concepts

Introduction

E-commerce

What it is What it is not Its benefits Its limitations Its impact on value chain and supply chain management concepts of doing business

Introduction

Changes in the past two decades

Computers, IT, and networking have joined together Have replaced labour intensive business across industries and in government Eg: Banks

Use of ATMs, credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, Internet Lending

Computer based, B2B, B2C, C2C transactional and informational exchange

Intro...

Internet is the backbone of e-commerce

Internet is an international network of independent computer systems Fastest superhighway of unmonitored information ever built Fastest maturing tool for free enterprise

Intro...

E-commerce today

Unique characteristics to early e-commerce, that began in early 1990s

Slow dial-up modems Email For the e-merchant, inventory, parts, components were scanned using bar codes It was a challenge to sell digital goods online It was very expensive to set up web sites

DSL and Broadband now common Email now the very connectivity of e-comm, the very backbone of marketing & cust-comm systems Bio-metric technology Legal downloading and distribution of certain digital products Big, medium-sized, small business can now easily afford putting up a web site

E-commerce activities were thus very limited

E-comm has now gone international

So...

What exactly is e-commerce

From communications perspective

Ability to deliver products, services, info, or payments via n/ws

From an interface view

Info and transaction exchanges B2B, B2C, C2C, B2G

Activities that support commerce electronically by networked connections Electronic environment that allows online selling and buying

As a business process

From online perspective

What is...

As a structure

E-commerce deals with various media

Data, text, web pages, internet telephony

As a market

E-commerce is a world-wide n/w

With proper advertising, a store can find the world at its doorstep

E-comm .and e-business

E -business and e-commerce are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, and sometimes they're used to differentiate one vendor's product from another. But the terms are different, and that difference matters to today's companies. In both cases, the e stands for "electronic networks" and describes the application of electronic network technology - including Internet and electronic data interchange (EDI) - to improve and change business processes.

E-Comm.

E-commerce covers outward-facing processes that touch customers, suppliers and external partners, including sales, marketing, order taking, delivery, customer service, purchasing of raw materials and supplies for production and procurement of indirect operating-expense items, such as office supplies. It involves new business models and the potential to gain new revenue or lose some existing revenue to new competitors. It's ambitious but relatively easy to implement

E-business

E-business includes e-commerce but also covers internal processes such as production, inventory management, product development, risk management, finance, knowledge management and human resources. E-business strategy is more complex, more focused on internal processes, and aimed at cost savings and improvements in efficiency, productivity and cost savings

E-comm .Vs. e-business

E-business

E-commerce

Conduct of business on internet in supply chain planning, tracking, fulfillment, invoicing, and payment Buying /Selling Servicing customers and collaborating with business partners Affects all aspects of business, rt from strategy and process to trading partners and the ultimate consumer Combines traditional info systems with the global reach of Web

Selling goods and services on the retail level with anyone, anywhere via Internet Includes new opportunities Result in greater efficiency More effective exchange of goods/services Blocks of info are exchanged between e-merchant and the customer over the Web

E-business

E-commerce

Goals

Reach new markets Create new products/services Build customer loyalty Enrich human capital Make the best use of existing and emerging technologies Achieve market leadership and competitive advantage

Has broken ground in several ways

Companies share info with competitors Suppliers share info with buyers Corporate procurement is no longer determined solely on price Financial transactions occur with the involvement of banks

Factors that drive e-comm

Digital convergence

Digital devices communicate with each other Media, voice, data 24x7 Ties together industrial sector, merchants, service sector, content providers using text, multimedia, video E-commerce makes communication easy Downsizing large organisations Outsourcing specialised tasks Shortening product life cycles Encouraging cross-functional business processes

Anytime, anywhere, anyone

Changes in organisations

Drivers...

Increasing pressure on operating costs and profit margins

Global competition, proliferation of products/services Unusual pressure on operating costs, profit margins E-comm addresses these issues quickly, efficiently, at low cost
Higher quality, better performance Customised way of producing, delivering, and paying for goods/services

Demand for customised products/services