E-Commerce

Chapter 17

E-Commerce

• E-Commerce is the electronic link from businesses to suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, and customers that facilitates, creates, or supports transactions and interactions.

E-Commerce

• To achieve its business goals online, an organization must translate its business processes into fast, easy-to-use processes that are web centric.

E-Commerce

• Infomediaries are aggregators of information for consumers and businesses.

– Most provide a means for the sale to be completed on line

– Examples are Ebay or IMXExchange, Lending Tree

E-Commerce

• Procurement

– 60% of office products purchased without long term contracts

– Saves on labor cost

– Saves on freight by using UPS and USPS

E-Commerce

• Web presence may trigger channel conflict among sales forces, distributors, and other channel partners, it is imperative to sell through the channels the customers use

• E-commerce has become an important distribution channel, although there is still more shopping than buying online

E-Commerce

• Redesigning Customer Business Processes:

– Pin point core strengths

– Fast and easy to use

– Perfect shopping cart

E-Commerce

• A business should examine every aspect of these processes from a customer’s point of view, and understand how interactions are triggered within the organization

• Identify the business steps your company follows (i.e., placing an order, checking credit, checking inventory, shipping products, invoicing customers, collecting payment, etc)

• Each of these steps interact among your customers and the software applications within your E-commerce site

E-Commerce

• You need to ensure that information and tasks flow smoothly from one system to another for each event

• Know exactly what “customer,” “account,” “order,” and “product” mean to your organization

• These business objects have an agreed-upon definition and create a common language within the organization

Key Points

• E-Commerce has become an important shopping and purchasing channel.

• Channel conflict may arise

• Web- Centric Processes

• Identify business rules and translate to channel process