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2. E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and
selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or
data, over an electronic network, primarily the Internet. These
business transactions occur either business-to-business,
business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-
business. E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce Or EC) Definition
3. The Internet, intranets, and extranets are the foundation of
e-commerce. Customers must be provided with a range of secure
information, marketing, transaction, processing, and payment
services. Trading and business partners rely on Internet and
extranets to exchange information(EDI) and accomplish secure
transactions. Company employees depend on a variety of Internet and
intranet resources to communicate and collaborate in support of
their EC work activities. Information system professionals and end
users can use a variety of software tools to develop and manage the
content and operations of the websites and other EC resources of a
company. E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGIES What technologies are necessary
for e-commerce?
4. 1. Selection and Value. Attractive product selections,
competitive prices, satisfaction guarantees, and customer support
after the sale. 2. Performance and Service. Fast, easy navigation,
shopping, and purchasing, and prompt shipping and delivery. 3. Look
and Feel. Attractive web storefront, website shopping areas,
multimedia product catalog pages, and shopping features. INCENTIVES
FOR ENGAGING IN E-COMMERCE The key to e-commerce success is to
optimize several key factors, The incentives for engaging in
e-commerce are listed as follows:
5. 4. Advertising and Incentives. Targeted web-page advertising
and e-mail promotions, discounts and special offers, including
advertising at affiliate sites. 5. Personal Attention. Personal web
pages, personalized product recommendations, web advertising, and
e-mail notices, and interactive support for all customers. 6.
Community Relationships. Virtual communities of customers,
suppliers, company representatives, and others via newsgroups, chat
rooms, and links to related sites. 7. Security and Reliability.
Security of customer information and website transactions,
trustworthy product information, and reliable order fulfilment.
INCENTIVES FOR ENGAGING IN E-Commerce cont..
6. NEEDS OF E COMMERCE 1. Free and faster shipping. Businesses
now have the option to partner with companies that work with
retailers to offer customers free or faster shipping. 2.
Consumer-driven demand and personalization. Consumers want unique,
original products and businesses need to be able to deliver that in
increasingly creative--and profitable ways. 3. Growth of guided
discovery To make shoppers' lives easier, more and more online
businesses will start engineering the right mix of "guided
discovery" to provide targeted and welcome suggestions that help
consumers make purchases. 4. Business without borders.
7. Advantages of E-commerce Faster buying/selling procedure,
easy to find products. Buying/selling 24/7. Low operational costs
and better quality of services. Easy to start and manage a
business. No need of physical company set-ups. Customers can easily
select products from different providers without moving around
physically.
8. Advantages of E-commerce Instant worldwide availability
Reduced paperwork Reduced errors Reduced time Easier entry into new
markets New business opportunities Wider access to assistance and
advice Improved product analysis
9. Disadvantages of E-commerce There is no guarantee of product
quality. There are many hackers who look for opportunities, and
thus an ecommerce site, service, payment gateways, all are always
prone to attack.
11. Application services. Brokerage services, data or
transaction management. Interface and support layers. Secure
messaging, security and electronic document interchange. Middleware
and structured document interchange, and Network infrastructure and
the basic communication services. FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE The
architectural framework for e-commerce consists of six layers of
functionality or services as follows:
12. Applications: In the application layer services of
e-commerce, it is decided that what type of e-commerce application
is going to be implemented. (B2B, B2C, C2C, B2G) Information
Brokerage and Management Layer: This layer is rapidly becoming
necessary in dealing with the voluminous amounts of information on
the networks. This layer works as an intermediary who provides
service integration between customers and information providers,
given some constraint such as low price, fast services or profit
maximization for a client. Interface and Support Services: The
third layer of the architectural framework is interface layer. This
layer provides interface for e- commerce applications. Interactive
catalogs and directory support services are the examples of this
layer. FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE CONT . . .FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE
CONT . . .
13. Secure Messaging Layer: electronic messaging services like
e-mail, enhanced fax and EDI. Middleware services: The enormous
growth of networks, client server technology and all other forms of
communicating between/among unlike platforms is the reason for the
invention of middleware services. The middleware services are used
to integrate the diversified software programs and make them talk
to one another. Network Infrastructure: We know that the effective
and efficient linkage between the customer and the supplier is a
precondition for e-commerce FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE CONT . .
.FRAMEWORK FOR E-COMMERCE CONT . . .
14. EC APPLICATIONS EC applications are supported by
infrastructure and by five support areas: People Public policy
Marketing and advertising Support services Business
partnerships
15. IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE ON BUSINESS The new technology will
transform business processes, the way products and services are
created and marketed. Local proximity may no longer be a
significant factor in retaining customer. Local markets will be
replaced by global markets. Transparency and openness continue and
will continue, to be effective business strategy. The change in the
business functions will lead to new business models and create new
set of facts and circumstances The Internet will emerge as a new
platform for marketing of products and services that will displace
and rebuild existing economy.
18. B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between
companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with
relationships between and among businesses. B2B is all about
transactions between one organization and their partners. Most B2B
applications are in the areas of supplier management, inventory
management, distribution management and payment management
Business-to-Business (B2B)
19. Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between
companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information;
purchasing physical goods or information goods ( software's ). It
is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its
origins can be traced to online retailing (or e-tailing). such as
Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and
ToysRus. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
20. An extended list of types of B2C electronic commerce:
Storefront (Retail Shop) - products offered for sale with revenue
on sale. Shopping mall - multiple retailers with revenue from
commission or space hire Auction - vendors or buyers pay fixed
price or percentage Business exchanges - site facilitates
transactions between companies for a fee Types of B2C
e-commerce
21. Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally
defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It
refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing
procedures, and other government-related operations. This kind of
e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a
pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce; and second, it is
assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its
procurement system more effective. Business-to-Government
(B2G)
22. Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce
between private individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce
is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and
online auctions Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
23. C2C e-commerce comes in at least three forms: auctions
facilitated at a portal, such as eBay, which allows online
real-time bidding on items being sold in theWeb; peer-to-peer
systems, such as the Napster model (a protocol for sharing files
between users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and other file
exchange and later money exchange models; and classified ads at
portal sites such as Excite Classifieds and eWanted (an
interactive, online marketplace where buyers and sellers can
negotiate and which features Buyer Leads & Want Ads).
24. E-commerce infrastructure E-commerce infrastructure
requires a variety of hardware, software, and networks. The key
infrastructures that are needed to support EC applications are
networks, Web servers, Web server support and software, electronic
catalogs, Web page design, and Internet access components.
25. THE HARDWARE INFRASTRUCTURE Computers connected by a data
connection (45 megabits/second) ISP hosts and other powerful
computers connect using (Broadband) lines Leased lines (some
businesses) Modem dial-up connections Cable modems ADSL -
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
26. WEB STORE REQUIREMENTS An organization's first venture into
EC is the development of a Web site and the creation of a presence
on the Internet. E-commerce transactions must be executable
worldwide, without any delay or mistake. On a very basic website,
an organization provides information about itself, its products and
its services. A more developed Web site will allow some
interactions, such as sending an e-mail to request for the
information or schedule an appointment, or ordering.
27. Good designs can be very rewarding. Outsourcing Web page
designs should be carefully evaluated because of the high cost. The
company can register its Web site within a domain name as well as
registering it with the major Web search engines. A good web site
must have a fast catalog search engine, special discounts, credit
card and other payments, and shipping alternatives so that it can
attract new customers. It must offer customer support via help
menus, tutorials, and list of FAQs. WEB STORE REQUIREMENTS
28. ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS Payments are an integral part of doing
business, whether in the traditional way or online. Traditional
payment systems are not effective for EC (using cash, writing a
check, sending a money order have several limitations in EC) .
Usually in e-commerce, payments between buyers and sellers can take
place electronically. These include EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer),
electronic checks, electronic credit cards, electronic
wallets.
29. ELECTRONIC FUNDTRANSFER (EFT) Electronic transfer of money
using telecommunications networks. EFT is fast. Handle daily large
volume of financial transactions. EFT-based ATMs are available in
shopping centers and business areas.
30. ELECTRONICWALLETS Eliminating entry and storage of
information on a merchants server. One-click shopping. Credit card
companies like Visa and Master card offer e-wallet services, as do
Yahoo!, America Online (called Quick Checkout) and Microsoft
(Passport).
31. Issues of E-Commerce Lack of planning Unrealistic goals No
business focus or site not integrated with your overall business.
No promotion or misplaced promotion Spending a lot of money just to
develop a site without also investing in promotion is wasteful
Doing promotion and not following up. Bad site design & poor
usability Simplicity works. Sometimes, it is more important to have
targeted content with an overall customer focus than to have the
latest whiz-bang gizmos and a flashy site. Is content easily found
and is the site easy to navigate? Are fonts too small or set
against the wrong background colour? Is it intuitive to visitors to
know the next steps? Do you have a strong call to action?
32. Slow performance Potentially good sites fail because of
performance when visitors wait for the site to load. A site that
takes more than a couple of seconds to load will not be successful
Slow sites are usually the result of bad design, a poorly selected
host, non-optimised images, or sites overloaded with widgets and
gizmos. Coding errors The site may look and perform well on newer
browsers but it can also crash on older browsers Page Not Found and
other coding errors.
33. Security & hacking issues Non-secure online payments
Spam attacks on a blog or user comments Hacked or defaced site
Viruses on your site. Going cheap - you get what you pay for When
outsourcing, if the price sounds too good to be true then it just
might be Free hosting in foreign countries are generally slower
with more downtime than local hosting DIY and not relying on expert
advice/help.
34. M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of
goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as
cellular telephone and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
M-Commerce is also Known as next-generation e-commerce. M-commerce
enables users to access the Internet without needing to find a
place to plug in. M-commerce
35. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a technical standard
for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A WAP
browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones
that uses the protocol. WAP supports HTML and XML, the WML language
(an XML application) is specifically devised for small screens and
one-hand navigation without a keyboard. Wireless Application
Protocol (WAP)
36. Switching Architecture ATM is a Broadband cell relay method
Therefore also known as cell relay. It is an advanced form of
packet switching. The WAN technology of the moment for businesses.
Very High Speed (155 Mbps to 622 Mbps) e.g. can transmit the entire
Encyclopedia Britannica in one second. There are variable rates of
transmission but much faster than frame relays. Multimedia
technology that allows WAN to have simultaneous transmission of
voice, video and data. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)
37. ISDN is a switched digital network service that
accommodates voice, data and imaging to other ISDN end users. It
converts analog telephone lines to digital. Its goal is to link
homes and businesses over telephone wires. Sometimes known as
narrowband ISDN. Local Loop Transmission Technology. Around for 10
years but is only widely used in last 3 to 4 years. Not designed to
be 24hr like T-1 or bandwidth on demand like frame relay service
Main problems are cost current availability of infrastructure. ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network)
38. Frame relay is a fast packet switching technology. It is a
point-to-point system that transmits variable length frames at the
Data Link layer through the most cost effective path. Requires
frame relay routers or bridges. Network Service It is a Switching
Architecture Primarily for the purpose of LAN interconnection Frame
Relay