Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
SAP e-Business Applications
E-Business is the relocation of internal and external business processes to the Internet. Customer-
led E-Business has been highly publicized due to the astronomical market valuations attained
by hundreds of dot-com companies as well as the unprecedented amounts of venture capital
attracted by them during the period of Internet boom. Research studies suggest that the busi-
ness-to-business (B2B) segment will prove to be much more significant in terms of the overall
E-business impact by an order of magnitude. However, there is no denying of the fact that the
Internet revolution was launched in the business-to-consumer (B2C) arena. SAP's E-Business
suit of products, called SAP eBusiness Applications, fully addresses the requirements of the
entire market spanning the entire spectrum of B2C, B2B, and B2E scenarios. In this chapter,
we discuss the functionality and features of the SAP eBusiness Applications.
9.1 What is e-Business?
E-Business refers to an enterprise that has reengineered itself to conduct its business via the
Internet and Web. Successful enterprises need to reconceptualize the very nature of their business.
As customers begin to buy via the Internet and enterprises rush to use the Internet to create
new operational efficiencies, most enterprises seek to update their business strategies. Enterprises
survey the changing environment and then modify their company strategies to accommodate
these changes. This involves major changes in the way companies do business, including changes
in marketing, sales, service, product delivery, and even manufacturing and inventory. Changed
strategies will entail changed business processes that, in turn, imply changed software systems or,
better still, software systems that are changeable!
Table 9.1 lists the various business models that an enterprise can employ to retain, leverage,
and enhance its customer capital. Table 9.2 lists the various pricing mechanisms that an enterprise
can employ to retain, leverage, and enhance its customer capital.
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