“E-commerce and E-business”

Academic Year 2015

What is E-commerce?• Commerce is the whole system of an economy

that constitutes an environment for business / the activity of buying and selling

• E-commerce: concept that describes the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and information via computer network.

E-commerce in a nutshell• Any sort of transaction made on the internet• Engagement:• E.g. you bought anything online physical or

electronic– Buying directly or buying through affiliates or agents

• E.g. you sold anything– Selling on your website– Selling through social networking sites– Selling through an auction site

E-commerce from various perspective• Communications: Delivery of goods, services,

information or payment over electronic means• Business: Application of the technology toward the

automation of business transaction• Commercial: Provider of the capability of buying and

selling products, services and information on the net• Learning: Enabler of online training and education in

schools, universities and other organization• Community: Gathering place for community members

to learn transact and collaborate

Framework of E-commerce• EC application are

supported by infrastructure

• Dependent on 4 major areas

• EC management coordinates the applications, infrastructure and pillars

Working of E-commerceSTEPS

• Online customer through net moves to

Merchant website• Once purchase is fixed,

he is moved to OTS where all of the given

info is encrypted• Once order is placed,

the info moves through a private network to

Private Network

Merchant Web Site

Online Consumer

Internet

Online Transaction Server

Processing Network

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Is E-commerce and E-business the same?

• Yes and No• Yes – they both involve business processes conducted

electronically• No – Ecommerce is a narrower discipline: Ecommerce

is restricted to buying and selling while the e-business includes e-commerce but also covers internal processes such as production, inventory management, product development, risk management, finance, knowledge management and human resources..

What is E-business?• E.g. Email marketing to existing customers about new

prospects is an e-business activity (it electronically conducts a business process – marketing)

• E.g. An online system that tracks inventory and triggers alert. Inventory management is a business process and when facilitated electronically, it becomes a part of e-business.

• An online induction program for new employees automates part of its offline counterpart.

What is E-business? (Contd.)• So is e-business a business that is conducted

online? – Answer: Rather a business that exists online– E.g. If you are a interior design firm that helps

people buy furniture, you are a business but if you run a website where people can compare furniture options, then you are an e-business.

Examples of E-commerce & E-business

• Ebay (bidding site)• Amazon (purchaser site)• CNET (media website: reviews, blogs on tech) • Mashable (News site: social media, technology)