Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
SUMMARY
Principle
Electronic commerce and mobile commerce are
evolving, providing new ways of conducting business
that present both opportunities for improvement and
potential problems.
Principle
E-commerce and m-commerce can be used in many
innovative ways to improve the operations of an
organization.
Electronic retailing (e-tailing) is the direct sale from a busi-
ness to consumers through electronic storefronts designed
around an electronic catalog and shopping cart model.
A cybermall is a single Web site that offers many products
and services at one Internet location.
Manufacturers are joining electronic exchanges, where
they can work with competitors and suppliers to use comput-
ers and Web sites to buy and sell goods, trade market infor-
mation, and run back-office operations such as inventory
control. They are also using e-commerce to improve the effi-
ciency of the selling process by moving customer queries
about product availability and prices online.
The Web allows firms to gather much more information
about customer behavior and preferences than they could
using other marketing approaches. This new technology has
greatly enhanced the practice of market segmentation and
enabled companies to establish closer relationships with
their customers. Technology relationship management
enables an organization to gain detailed information about a
customer's behavior, preferences, needs, and buying pat-
terns to allow companies to set prices, negotiate terms, tailor
promotions, add product features, and otherwise customize
a relationship with a customer.
The Internet has revolutionized the world of investment
and finance, especially online stock trading and online bank-
ing. The Internet has also created many options for electronic
auctions, where geographically dispersed buyers and sellers
can come together.
Online real estate services and e-boutiques are readily
available.
The numerous m-commerce applications include mobile
banking, mobile price comparison, mobile advertising and
mobile coupons.
E-commerce is the conducting of business activities elec-
tronically over networks. Business-to-business (B2B)
e-commerce allows manufacturers to buy at a low cost
worldwide, and it offers enterprises the chance to sell to a
global market. B2B e-commerce is currently the largest type
of e-commerce. Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce
enables organizations to sell directly to consumers,
eliminating intermediaries. In many cases, this squeezes
costs and inefficiencies out of the supply chain and can lead
to higher profits and lower prices for consumers. Consumer-
to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce involves consumers selling
directly to other consumers. Online auctions are the chief
method by which C2C e-commerce is currently conducted.
e-Government involves the use of information and communi-
cations technology to simplify the sharing of information,
speed formerly paper-based processes, and improve the
relationship between citizens and government.
A successful e-commerce system must address the many
stages consumers experience in the sales life cycle. At the
heart of any e-commerce system is the ability of the user to
search for and identify items for sale; select those items;
negotiate prices, terms of payment, and delivery date; send
an order to the vendor to purchase the items; pay for the
product or service; obtain product delivery; and receive after-
sales support.
Looking at things from the perspective of the provider of
goods and/or services, an effective e-commerce system must
be able to support the activities associated with supply chain
management and customer relationship management.
A firm must overcome three key challenges to convert its
business processes from the traditional form to e-commerce
processes: 1) it must define an effective e-commerce model
and strategy, 2) it must deal effectively with consumer privacy
concerns, and 3) it must successfully overcome consumers'
lack of trust.
Mobile commerce is the use of wireless devices such as
PDAs, cell phones, and smartphones to facilitate the sale of
goods or services—anytime, anywhere. The market for
m-commerce in North America is expected to mature much
later than in Western Europe and Japan. Numerous retailers
have established special Web sites for users of mobile
devices.
Principle
Although e-commerce and m-commerce offer many
advantages, users must be aware of and protect
themselves from many threats associated with use of
this technology.
Businesses and people use e-commerce and m-commerce
to reduce transaction costs, speed the flow of goods and
information, improve the level of customer service,
and enable the close coordination of actions among manu-
facturers, suppliers, and customers.
 
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