E-Commerce Systems

Web Store Requirements

2009-11-07T02:27:00.001-08:00

Web Store Requirements
Most business to consumer E-commerce ventures takes the form of retail business sites on the World Wide Web.

Whether a huge retail Web portal like Amazon.com or a small specialty Web retailer, the primary focus of such E-tailers is to develop, operate and manage their websites so they become high priority destinations for consumers who will repeatedly choose to go there to buy products and services.

Thus, these websites must be able to demonstrate the key factors for E-commerce success.
Web Store Requirements

E-Commerce Success Factors Part II

2009-10-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

E-Commerce Success Factors Part II
Advertising and Incentives
Some Web stores may advertise in traditional media, but most advertise on the Web which targeted and personalized banner ads and other Web page and E-mail promotions. Most B2C sites also offer shoppers incentives to buy and return.

Typically, this means coupons, discounts, special offers and vouchers for other Web services, sometimes with other E-tailers at across linked websites.

Many Webs stores also increase their market reach by being part of Web banner adverting exchange with thousand of other Web retailers.

Personal attention
Personalizing your shopping experience encourages you to buy and make return visits. Thus E-commerce software can automatically record details of your visits and build user profile of you and other Web shoppers. Many sites also encourage you to register with them and fill out a personal interest profile.

Then when ever you return, you are welcomed by name or with a personal Web page greeted with special offers and guided to those parts of the sites that you are most interested in. This one to one marketing and relationship building power as one of the major advantages of personalized Web retailing.

Community Relationship
Giving online customers with special interest a a feeling of belonging to a unique group of like-minded individuals helps build customer loyalty and value.

Thus, website relationship and affinity marketing programs build and promote virtual communities of customers, suppliers, company representative, and others via a variety of Web base collaboration tools.

Examples include discussion forums or newsgroup, chat rooms, message board systems and cross-links or related website communities.

Security and Reliability
As a customer of a successful Web store you must feel confident that your credit card personal information and details of your transactions are are secure from unauthorized use.

You must also feel that you are dealing with a trustworthy business, whose products and other websites information you can trust to be as advertise.

Having your order filled and shipped as you requested, in the time frame promised and with good customer support are other measures of an E-tailer’s reliability.
E-Commerce Success Factors Part II

What is A Computer?

2009-09-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

What is A Computer?
The word “computer” comes from the word “compute” which means to calculate. So a computer is normally considered to be a calculating device that can perform arithmetic operations at enormous speed.

The electronic computer is the most versatile and efficient machine for processing data.

Generally, the word COMPUTER means Commonly Operated Machine Particularly Used for Training Education and Research.

More accurately, a computer may be defined as a device that operates upon information or data. Data can be anything like bio-data of various applicants when the computer is used for recruiting personnel, or the marks obtained by various students in various subjects when the computer is used to prepare results, or the details.

Thus, data comes in various shapes and size depending upon the type of computer application. A computer can store process and retrieve data as and when desires. The fact that computers process data is so fundamental that many people have started calling it a data processor.

A computer is an electronic device made up of electronic circuits and wires etc. In modern age, computer (which is nothing but just an electronic device) is the most advance tool for solving the wide range of practical problems.

More precisely computer is an electronic device which works under the instructions of stored programs, automatically accepting the supplied data to analyze and process the data to produce the information called the result or output of that processing.

It manipulates the number of symbols, which it accepts as input, process this input are reproduces this is as output in a formatted manner. The word computer has been derived form the word compute.

When computers were developed, it was thought that they would be fast calculating machines. But today most of the work done is of non-numerical in nature like processing the records of students or employees of details of passengers for reservation.
What is A Computer?

Website for E-commerce

2009-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Website for E-commerce
A successful e-commerce business requires a well coordinated plan that takes into account among many other elements, design competency, programming abilities (transactional and databases), server configuration public relations and sales and marketing abilities.

E –commerce is as much about selling as it is about technology. Even there are a lot of advices and information on technology, just as in a brick and mortar store, the selling environment i.e. your web pages are what will make or break your e-business.

You can have the best product or service in the world; but if your website doesn’t provide intuitive navigation, offer an easy-to-use process for order and fulfillment and maintain high standard of quality control, you will never archive consistent customer satisfaction.

A website is an infinite number of web pages connected by a common theme and purpose. A good design is important to provide your customers with easy access to all of your website’s pages.

Careful considerations of the numerously design possibilities for your website is essential.
Website for E-commerce

Know Your Customers

2009-08-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

Know Your Customers
You should know your customers, you then will know what types of customers are available and willing to buy online and you can identify your best prospects.

Then you must learn how these best prospects are accessing your site, how they shop and what they want online.

Only then can you develop marketing and branding strategies and begin to build your sit appropriately.

In order to begin E-commerce successfully, these twelve steps should be followed:

Know who comprises the bulk of Web users.

Learn how children will figure into the Web’s future.

Track how teens spend disposable income online.

Watch the heavy hitter – baby boomers and senior users.

Know what income brackets dominate the Web.

Know what races and nationalities are Web users and in what proportions.

Note how gender contributes to online use and sale patterns.

Know how much customers in different income brackets are willing to spend online.

Know what nationalities and countries are doing business globally online.

Research the computer and Web access technology most of your customers will use to access your site.

Know what types of shoppers will access your site and how to attract them.

Know what these shoppers are looking for online, and give it to them.

Know Your Customers

E-commerce Success Factors Part 1

2009-08-06T00:42:00.000-07:00

Three E-commerce Success Factors
Selection and Value
Obviously, a business must offer Web shoppers a good selection of attractive products and services at competitive prices or they will quickly click away from web store.

But a company’s price don’t have to be the lowest on the Web if they build reputation for high quality, guaranteed satisfaction, and top customer support while shopping and after sale.

Performance and Services
People don’t want to be kept waiting when browsing, selecting or paying in a Web store. A site must be efficiently designed for ease of access shopping and buying with sufficient server power and network capacity to support website traffic.

In addition, products offered should be available in inventory for prompt shipment to the customer.

Look and Feel
Business to consumer sites can offer customers and attractive Web storefront, shopping areas and multimedia product catalogues.

This could range from an exciting hopping experience with audio, video, and moving graphics, to a more simple and comfortable look and feel.

This, most retail E-commerce sites let customers browse product sections, select products, drop them into virtual shopping cart and go to a virtual checkout station when they are ready to pay for their order.
Three E-commerce Success Factors

Auction Site

2009-07-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

Auction Site
Auctions have been around for thousands of years. Traditionally, a person offers an item for sale and potential buyers bid on the item.

The bidder willing to pay the highest price for the item wins the bid and takes the item home – the same with online auctions.

The main difference between traditional auctions and web-based auctions is that the actual bidding and selling takes place over the Internet with interested buyers submitting bids electronically.

The person with the highest bid at the timed close of the auction wins the bids and arranges to receive the item.

The auction site acts as the middleman in the buying and selling transaction process.

There are numbers of ways you can use the auction model. First, you could build an auction website and let that be you business model.

Or you could add an auction component to another e-commerce model.

Many auction sites are built or sponsored by major vendors who have an established website, and use their auction site either to attract customers, or to offer merchandise that is surplus, outdated and/or seconds.

Many readers, however, will find established online auctions such as those offered by eBay, Amazon auctions and Yahoo auctions a way to build a credible e-commerce business.

Using an established auction website to build a wed-based business is inexpensive and allows you begin making a profit immediately.

There are none of the expenses of the typical e-commerce model – no advertising costs, no host costs, etc. Auction sites receive billion of visits daily

If you used one of the online auction sites as a means to enter the world of of e-commerce, understand that you are responsible for listing your items on the auction site, and you assume responsibility for all aspect you auction listings, including product descriptions, identification of quantities, establishment of starting and maximum bid prices and shipping.

Once the auction closes, it is up to you and the buyer to make arrangements for payment and shipping.
Auction Site

Business Oriented of E-Business

2009-06-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Business Oriented of E-Business
E-business does involve implementing new systems and technology, which is a minor but important part of the puzzle.

E-business impacts the technology, processes, organization, and management of the organization. These statements have strong implications for carrying out a successful e-business effort.

*Politics is an important part of e-business implementation. You cannot ignore it or sweep it under the rug. It is there because e-business has such far-ranging impacts. E-business alters the power structure of departments and the entire organization.

*The culture of the society, organization and environment is an important factor in e-business because you are dealing with customers, suppliers and employees.

*Information technology (IT) has a major role that goes beyond systems work. Information technology is the only group that spans the organization and addresses the technology. Information technology must have a central role in e-business implementation.

Golden rules of E-business:
*Buyers, not market makers, will drive the growth of e-business.

*Measuring e-business is mush more than just measurable a web site’s traffic and usability.

*Relationships are everything.

*Cybermediaries are a risky venture

*Real collaboration among enterprises is very rare.
Business Oriented of E-Business

Weblog

2009-06-02T05:21:00.000-07:00

Weblog
It’s difficult t define of website, mainly due to diversity of models adopted for individual weblogs (also known as “blogs”).

This interesting weblog can be defined: “A web page containing brief, chronologically arranged items of information. A weblog can take the form of a diary, journal, what’s new page, or links to other websites.”

The key to the popularity of weblog is the person or people producing it. Since weblog readers often develop relationships with the weblog author(s), interaction between reader and author is inevitable.

But you don’t necessarily need to establish a new website to attract a niche audience of readers.

Since weblogs are ideally suited to interaction between people sharing special interest, some e-commerce businesses may want to consider adding a weblog to their website.

A weblog’s capacity for information dissemination and feedback can tap into buying power of a blogging community.
Weblog

Business to Consumer E-Commerce

2009-05-05T02:28:00.000-07:00

Business to Consumer E-Commerce
E-commerce applications that focus on the consumer share an important goal: to attract potential buyer, transact goods, and services, and build consumer loyalty through individual courteous treatment and engaging community features.

What does it take to create a successful B2C E-consumer business venture?

That’s the question that many are asking in the wake of the failure of many pure B2C dotcom companies.

One obvious answer would be to create a Web business initiative that offers attractive products or services of great customer value, and whose business plan is based on realistic forecasts of profitability within the first year or two of operation – a condition that was lacking in may failed dotcoms.

But such failure haven not stemmed the tide of millions of business, both large and small, that are moving at least part of their business to the Web.

On the Internet the barriers of time, distance and form are broken down, and businesses are able to transact the sale of goods and services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week., 365 days a year with consumers all over the world.

In certain cases, it is even possible to convert a physical goods (CDs, packaged software, a newspaper) to a virtual good (MP3 audio, downloadable software, information in HTML format).
Business to Consumer E-Commerce

E-Commerce Trends

2009-04-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

E-Commerce Trends
B2C E-commerce moves from simple Web store fronts to interactive marketing capabilities that provide a personalized shopping experience for customers and then toward a totally integrated Web store that support a variety of customer shopping experience.

B2C E-commerce also moving toward a self-service model where customers configure and customize the products and services they wish to buy aided by configuration software and online customer support as needed.

B2B E-commerce participants moved quickly from self-service on the Web to configuration and customization capabilities and extranets connecting trading partners.

As B2C, E-commerce moves toward full-service and wide-selection retail Web portal, B2B is also trending toward the use of E-commerce portals that provide catalog, exchange and auction markets for business customers within or cross industries.

Both of these trends are enabled by E-business capabilities like customer relationship management and supply chain management, which are the hall marks of the customer-focused and internet-worked supply chains of the successful E-business enterprise.
E-Commerce Trends

Subscription Site

2009-02-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Subscription Site
A subscription site targets a specific niche market that places a value on expert information, service or a digital product delivered in a timely manner.

Technical newsletters, access to research information, and graphics, music and computer game downloads are all examples of products and services that can be sold for a monthly fee, an annual subscription, or small per transaction fee.

While the revenue from such service and products should be able to fund the operating costs of a subscription site, in most instances, the income may not be substantial – the exception are sites that offer video, music and/or computer game downloads.

A subscription site can be process payments offline and provide via email a user’s name and password for access or it can provide a secure, reliable, cost effective online system for authorizing payment and managing transactions.

The best systems are based on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and/or Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) technology to encrypt the data, and generate and display a “result page” to the customer following the transaction.

E-commerce technology continuous to become more sophisticated, and with every advance the financial prognosis for a subscription site should improve.
Subscription Site

E-Commerce Application Trends

2009-01-31T04:57:00.001-08:00

E-Commerce Application Trends
E-commerce is here to stay. In the new millennium, the Web and E-commerce are key industry drivers. It’s changed how many companies do business.

It’s created new channels for our customers, making leaders in many different industries sit up and take notice. Managers everywhere are feeling the heat: their companies are at the E-commerce crossroads and there are many ways to go.

Thus, E-commerce is changing how many companies do business both internally and externally with their customers, suppliers and other business partners.

How companies apply E-commerce to their business is also subject to change as their managers confront a variety of E-commerce alternatives.

The applications of E0-commerce by many companies have gone through several major stages as E-commerce matures in the world of business.

For example E-commerce between business an consumers (B2C) move from merely offering multimedia company information at corporate websites (brochureware) to offering products and services at Web storefront sites via electronic catalogs and online sales transactions.

B2B E-commerce, on the other hand, started with website support to help business customers serve themselves, and then moves toward automating internet and extranet procurement systems.
E-Commerce Application Trends

Online Store

2009-01-14T20:13:00.001-08:00

Online Store
An online store is a website where consumers buy products or services. This types of site is most commonly referred to as an e-commerce site or a “B2C” (business to consumer) site.

In addition to most, if not all, of the content found in a brochureware site an online displays products/services along with detailed information ((e.g. specifications and pricing) usually from a database with search features, a method for online purchase.

An online store, must also provide extensive information about the products/services offered that not only aids in attracting consumers, but gives them enough confidence in the seller and the products/services to take the next step – making an online purchase.

If choose to take online payments, you must provide a secure, reliable, cost effective system for authorizing payments and managing transactions.

The best systems are based on the secure Socket Layer and/or Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) encryption technology, which provide the encryption of data and generate and display a “result page” to the customer following the transaction.

Further, a successful online store must be designed with the ability to store orders in a database or as tab-delimited text files so the data can be imported into an invoicing system. Then the website must be able to intelligently route encrypted email to the order fulfillment division.
Online Store

Secure Electronic Payments

2008-12-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

Secure Electronic Payments
The explosion of Internet and World Wide Web is rapidly changing the way the business transactions are carried out. It is emerging as a medium through which the goods and services are being provided to the customer. This medium is being used to serve the customers at faster rated and at lower cost.

It is also being used to provide the better quality of service. Most business transactions involve the payment and settlement process. Electronic payment systems have become necessary to enable the Internet commerce. The requirements of payment transactions include confidentiality, security, integrity, non-repudiation and authentication. One of the main bottlenecks in the growth of E-commerce is lack of suitable payment instrument and corresponding electronic payment system.

When you make an online purchase on the internet, your credit card information is vulnerable to interception by network sniffers. Software that easily recognizes credit card number formats. Several basic security measures are being used to solve the security problems:

Encrypt (code and scramble) the data passing between the customer and merchant
Encrypt the data passing between customer and the company authorizing the credit card transaction
or Take sensitive information offline

For example many companies use the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security method developed by Netscape Communications that automatically encrypts data passing between your Web browser and a merchant’s server.

However, sensitive information is still venerable to misuse once it’s decrypted (decoded and unscramble) and stored in a merchant’s server. So a digital wallet approach such as the CyberCash payment was developed. In this method, you add security software add-on modules to your Web browse: That enables your browser to encrypt your credit card data in such a way that only the bank that authorizes credit card transactions for the merchant gets to see it. All the merchants is told is whether your credit card transaction is approved or not.

The Secure Electronic Transaction or SET, standard for electronic payment security extends the CyberCash digital wallet approach. In this method, EC software encrypts a digits envelop of digital certificates specifying the payments details for each transaction. SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) has been agreed to by VISA, MasterCard, IBM, Microsoft Network, Netscape and most other industry player.

Therefore, SET is expected to eventually become dominant standard for secure electronic payments in the internet. However, SET has been stalled by the reluctant of companies to incur its increased hardware, software and cost requirement.
Secure Electronic Payments

Intranet Business Value: Publication Cost Savings

2008-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Intranet Business Value: Publication Cost Savings
Many companies have derived business value from their intranet applications. Intranet using companies report cost reductions, revenue increases or other benefits after they replaced traditional methods of accomplishing information publishing and other business processes with intranet based methods.

Many companies are replacing the publications of paper documents, company newsletter and employee manuals with electronic multimedia versions published on intranet Web servers. Eliminations of printing, mailing and distribution costs are a major source of cost savings. Companies are also electronically publishing telephone directories, human resource materials, company policies, job openings, and many other former paper–based communications on intranet websites.

Companies that use web technology to distribute documents may experience momentous gains in productivity and incredible cost savings. Like the reengineering craze that has marked the other half of the client/server revolution, converting many paper-based systems to web systems can save both labor and over head costs within an organization.
Intranet Business Value: Publication Cost Savings

Cyber Crime

2008-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cyber Crime
Online terrorism, computer crimes and cyber attacks are no longer abstract possibilities. They are real major threats requiring real, major safeguards. The awareness of security has since September 11 events increased in many ways - increased concerned over physical sites, increased concerns of securing networked infrastructure and changes in corporate attitude from being confident about their organization’s security and delaying spending on security, to seeing IT security as an essential capital investment.

Surveys indicate an increase in external, as well as internal, attacks on information systems. The question is not if an organization’s system and business critical assets will be compromised, but when. We have already seemed numerous examples of viruses and worms.

Systems, data and personal information will come under attack. Every day, companies like EDS are discovering seven to ten vulnerabilities in systems around the world. Tomorrow it will be web defacements, semantic attacks, domain name server (DNS) attacks, distributed denial service (DDoS) attacks, routing systems and infrastructure attacks. These are hidden weak spots attackers and cyber criminals use to get our information assents. What was secure yesterday simply does not hold up today. In addition to direct financial loss, the loss of reputation and trust cause real long term damage.

Companies have been facing real network related challenges in the regular course of business. Now, we add terrorist attacks to that list and government and private business have begin to think about vulnerability of the computer systems and networks that support critical infrastructures.

Society’ vital services and critical infrastructure: communications, finance, transportation, and utilities such as electricity, oil, gas and water rely on computer and computer networked. If these networked are damaged the nation will be disrupt. Governments as well as business that own and operate banks, utility infrastructure, transportation systems, telecommunications networks and other critical systems, must be prepared for the possibility of a destructive attack in cyberspace. The cyber threat is out there, either directly or as collateral damage in other kinds of attacks.

Cyber Crime

E-Government

2008-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

E-Government
In the commercial sphere, business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C) and business to employee (BTE) electronic business has come widely accepted.

Government are also embracing the internet to provide services to business (G2B) and citizens (C2C), as well as government to government (G2G), citizen to citizen (C2C), government to supplier (G2S) and government to employee (G2E).

In year 2000 European Union Summit in Lisbon set ambitious goal of making Europe the world most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy. It resulted in the eEurope Action plan to exploit the full potential of the Internet to promote a competitive economy. The objective is to make it easier to deal with local, regional and national governments by making services available electronically.

The benefits of e Government are reduced costs through more efficient processes, the integration of disparate agencies systems, and improved service to citizens via the internet and other electronic channels. Investment by government will also decrease the cost of doing business through simplification of procedures self-service systems and one stop shop for enterprises. The biggest beneficiaries here will be the small to medium enterprises, which are the backbone of the European economy.
E-Government

Wireless Internet

2008-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Wireless Internet
Vast arrays of technologies and applications have been developing for nearly twenty five years. Not only have people and businesses become accustomed to using devices and data in new different ways, the manufacturer of devices, the middleware/software developers, and the communications companies have been increasing the offerings and capabilities of the available goods and services.

The listed below give some of the areas that are taking advantages of wireless application. It is to give an idea of what is currently happening.

1. Portable work devices. Being seen as UPS drivers’ tracking systems.

2. Transportation management. Trucking companies utilities laptop computer systems to monitor, track and manage every aspect of their drives’ and vehicles’ daily activities.

3. GPS and mapping services. Global positioning devices let us to know, through satellite tracking, where a devise is located.

4. Personal vehicle system

5. Inventory and ordering system

6. Banking and finance. Banks and other financial institutions are leading the way in offering services available through wireless devices as well as sending fund transfers through wireless network.

7. Utilities. For many years the power companies, phone companies and cable providers have used wireless devices both to analyze on site problem and also to communicate with centralized information sources.

8. Toll roads. Driving through toll booths using the ‘e-lanes’ to save times by paying tolls through a wireless communications.

9. Science. Field work and laboratory work can now combine notes, GPS data, and computational power a well as instrumental data. All through wireless network.

10. PDA applications

11. Military

Wireless Internet

The Customer is Always Right

2008-11-09T06:47:00.001-08:00

The Customer is Always Right
Merchants who implemented this saying may take a few losses with untruthful customers, but their reward from good customer is immeasurable loyalty and confidence that customers will enjoy – or at least approve of – every shopping experience they have with merchant.

Ensuring that customer feels “always right” begins with the before mentioned prompt reply to e-mails, even if they are substantial complaints that must be evaluated within the company. Answer all the complaints - within twenty four hours is, again, a good rule of thumb. Have someone designated to answer complaints or to route them to the appropriate person for maximum efficiency in replying. If the complaint is serious and a offer of resolution will take time to develop, then send e-mail notifying the complainant that their complaint has been heard, a proposed solution is forthcoming and give them some time line for receiving the expected reply.

Along these lines, sometimes twenty four hours will seem too long to wait for an answer to a complaint. List your company’s customer service phone number on your web site for those customers’ that feels more like crises. If no one will be available after hours to listen to a complaint, provide voice-mail access, and ensure a reply within one business day. Sometimes allowing customers or clients to vent their frustration when they need to, is enough to win their trust and respect and to keep them coming back.
The Customer is Always Right

Secure Electronic Payments

2008-10-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

Secure Electronic Payments
When you make an online purchase on the Internet our credit card information is vulnerable to interception by network sniffers, software that easily recognized credit card number formats. Several basic security measures are being used to solve this security problem:

Encrypt (code and scramble) the data passing between the customer and merchants
Encrypt the data passing between the customer and the company authorizing the credit card transaction
Take sensitive information offline.

For example many companies use the Secure Socket Layer (SSL), security method developed by Netscape Communications that automatically encrypts data passing between Web browser and a merchant’s server. However, sensitive information is still vulnerable to misuse once it’s decrypted (decode and unscrambled) and stored on a merchant’s server. So a digital wallet approach such as the CyberCash payment system was developed. In this method, you add security software add-on modules to your web browser: That enables browser to encrypt credit card data in such a way that only the bank that authorize credit card transactions for the merchant gets to see it. All the merchant is told is whether credit card transaction is approved or not.

The Secure Electronic Transaction, or SET, standard for electronic payment security extends the CyberCash digital wallet approach. In this method, EC software encrypts a digital envelop of digital certificates specifying the payment details for each transaction. Secure Electronic Transaction or SET has been agreed by the most industry players. Therefore, SET is expected to eventually become dominant standard for secure electronic payments on the Internet.
Secure Electronic Payments

Single Database in Organization

2008-10-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Single Database in Organization
One of the reasons that organization were so slow to respond in the past was that they simply did not have a clear view of what was happening within their company. Yes, a large amount of data was available, but it was fragmented around the organization in many different places, different isolated systems and incompatible formats. Additional, the data was inconsistent due to different definitions, cut-off dates and measurement criteria.

Large businesses (and countries) have been traditionally less efficient than smaller organizations due to the cost of coordination and the increase in bureaucracy to deal with large amounts of information. Delegation of authority to compensate for this factor has led to lack of control, lower efficiency and fragmentation of business.

The solution is a single, logical, central database that gives everybody in the organization access to the same data at the same time. Many organizations are now bringing together all their separate systems to achieve this singular view.

A single source of data gives the organization the ability to combine information across all business operations. Whereas managers used to receive a separate printed monthly report from each system, they can now obtain daily, or even hourly, electronic reports that give a single view of what matters, as it happens, across their entire organization.

Chief executive can access a single dynamic report on screen to monitor their critical success factors and key performance indicators, such as sales, leads, liquidity, staffing or inventory levels. These interactive reports allow the user, not just to monitor everything that is important to the company, but also to investigate variances and get immediate answers within a few mouse clicks.

The availability of global information systems enables companies to maintain a functional structure on a large scale, which is more efficient, rather than creating multiple business units with complicated communication cycles.
Single Database in Organization

Targeting the Best Shoppers

2008-10-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Targeting the Best Shoppers
E-commerce ventures, just like retail stores, will sell their merchandise to three types of customers: the customers who know what they want and go get it, the customers who want to buy something but are undecided, and the potential customers who merely browse the Web. The more directed the shopper, the easier the sale – as long as that shopper can quickly and easily find the product online, get all the information on the product and then complete the purchase. Therefore, websites should concentrate on the shopper who came for a product and wants to quickly and easily purchase that product.

The well known Amazon.com has a small search box that allows its customers to search for any product by title, author, artist, or other applicable data, the quickly lists all available versions, prices and the average shipping time of that product on the screen. One click shopping allows past customers to purchase the book or books without reentering credit card information. The directed shopper can access, buy, and leave the site with minimum effort.

However, sites that ignore the less directed, undecided buyers will miss a good deal of clientele. If site and products attract these types of buyers, it must be prepared to develop a storefront that help them easily and quickly browse products by brand, age, manufacturer, category, price and any other appropriate criteria. These shoppers will buy when they find a product they like, so they should be exposed to as many products as possible.

The least directed, browsing shoppers are the most difficult to convert into buyers. Personalized searches, specialty shops, hot products lists, and online promotions help attract these shoppers, who often will be drawn to a website’s “glitter’” or its look and feel, rather than its content, service, or products. Sophisticated marketing campaigns and online tools such as generalized, all product queries; chat room and discussion groups; and other promotions can help turn these browsers into buyers, but a website should not count on these shoppers to succeed. Targeting a strong and directed base of customers is essential.
Targeting the Best Shoppers

Micropayment System

2008-09-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

Micropayment System
Other electronic payments systems include micropayment systems like Cybergold and Qpass. Some of these technologies create electronic scrip or digital cash, sometimes called e-cash, for making payments that are too small for credit card transactions.

Encryption and authentication techniques are used to generate strings of data that can handled like currency for making cash payments. For example, websites like ESPNET SportZone, Discovery Online and The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition let you chat with superstars, download video segments or pay for business reports by using digital cash micropayment systems.
Micropayment System

Business to Business Model

2008-09-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Business to Business Model
75% of future Net revenue is in business to business channels, then herein lies the greatest opportunity for e-commerce hopefuls. The B2Bs now publicly traded swim daily amid accusations of inflated value and short revenue. Investors jump onboard and offboard faster than passengers on tour cruise ship.

Regardless B2B e-commerce ventures will form the backbone of the new economy, which, like the industrial revolution, isn’t going away. If the publicly traded B2Bs are failing now, it’s only because the real gems have yet to be mined and brought to their initial public offering, the biggest opportunities are still in the napkin stages.

Because it offers such tremendous opportunity for specialization and capitalization, business- to-business models can be broken into several distinct forms. First, B2Bs often called “market makers” by investors – serve either vertical or horizontal markets.

Vertical markets
Vertical markets are industry specific. E-commerce solutions in this category most frequently address the inefficiencies within a given industry, and hundreds of vertical market makers have already emerged in highly scattered, highly populated industries such as steel, chemicals, and paper.

Horizontal markets
Horizontal markets span across multiple industries by offering common information, goods and services. They provided a venue for the transfer of goods, and services, including the outsourcing of basic services; data collection and analysis, human resources and general office operating supplies, to name a few.

Each of four additional types of B2Bs –
Online catalogs
Auctions
Community markets
Exchanges
-can fall within either the vertical or horizontal marketplaces.
Business to Business Model