Abstract
Electronic commerce can be conducted on the web by e-mail and on other networks. It is divided into three major areas business-to-consumer, business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer.
Electronic commerce offers many benefits to the organization, consumer and society but it also has limitations.
The current technical limitations are expected to lessen with time.
Foundation of electronic commerce
Electronic commerce describes the buying and selling of products, services and information via computer networks, primarily the internet. business conducted electronically fits into three categories. The opening case shows an example of business-to-consumer in which companies sell directly to consumers over the internet. Business-to-consumer sales may have been done by a company that has been specifically created to do business on the internet or by an exciting company that opens its own online business. the major benefits of business-to-consumer are increased revenues, the creation of new sources of revenues and the elimination of costly intermediaries.
The second category is business-to-business in which two businesses make transactions electronically. In business-to-business, the major benefits include reduced cost ,reduced cycle time, increased customer base and sales and improved customer service.
The third category of electronic commerce into business(consumer-to-consumer) in which transactions take place within an organization, in an attempt to increase productivity , speed and quality and so cut cost.
The term commerce is viewed by some people as describing transactions conducted between business partners.
The term electronic commerce seems to be fairly narrow, and many use the term e-business instead.
It refers to a broad definition of electronic commerce not just buying and selling but also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners and conducting electronic transactions within an organization.
According to Lou Gerstner “e-business is all about time cycle, speed, globalization, enhanced productivity, reaching new customers and sharing knowledge across institutions for competitive advantage.
Electronic commerce is very diverse and interdisciplinary topic, with issues ranging from technology , addressed by computer experts.
Business-to-consumer application
Involve s retailing products and services to individual shoppers. For example Barnes &Noble.com , which sells books, software and music to individual consumers.
There are many potential applications of EC that will foster trading between businesses and individual customers. the projected 750 million internet users within 10 years could generate a huge volume of business-to-consumer transactions.
Business-to-business application
It covers a broad spectrum of applications that enable an enterprise to form electronic relationships with its distributor’s resellers, suppliers, customers and other partners.
It covers a broad spectrum of applications that enable an enterprise to form electronic relationships with its distributors, resellers, suppliers, customers, and other partners. This covers all activities along the supply chain, including all internal operations. Business-to-business applications offer enterprises access to the following types of information
Business-to-business applications offer enterprises access to these types of information :
- Product( specification,prices,sales history).
- Customer(sales history and forecast).
- Product process( capacities , commitments, product plans).
- Transportation(carries, led times, cost).
- Inventory(inventory levels, carrying cost).
Consumer-to-consumer application
C2C applications are any transactions between and amongst consumers They are often described as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) When eCommerce was first introduced, it redefined the traditional structure of business by giving small firms and individuals the same opportunity as multi-national corporations. As a result, many individuals established online organizations that encouraged and assisted commerce between consumers.
It’s Involves consumers selling directly to other consumers. for example eBay , the giant web auction site, allows people to sell their goods to other consumers by auctioning them off to the highest bidder.
References
Chaudhury, Abijit; Jean-Pierre Kuilboer (2002). e-usiness and e-Commerce Infrastructure. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-247875-6.
Frieden, Jonathan D. & Roche, Sean Patrick (2006–12-19), “E-Commerce: Legal Issues of the Online Retailer in Virginia“, Richmond Journal of Law & Technology .