definition, features of e-commerce technology, interdisciplinary nature of e-commerce., introduction to e-commerce, need for e-commerce, unique features of e-commerce,

E-COMMERCE

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INTRODUCTION:-

In the past few years, enterprises across the globe have experienced significant changes in their business information system. Huge investments were made in enterprise resource planning system implementations but still they struggle to get timely information that is needed to make effective business decision and to ensure continuous growth of enterprises. Placing "e" in front of any process or function seemed to be the magic prescription for never ending story of success and rapid returns for enterprises. E-business, e-procurement, e-sales, e-payment, e-banking, e-CRM, e-CAD, e-delivery are just a few. Internet, for example is becoming one of the most popular medium in transmitting various data. Users can find any kind of information within a shorter time compared with conventional method that consumes more time. The emergence of the Internet through out the world has been contributing such a variety medium in doing business as well as people lifestyle. In fact, Internet is the essential prerequisite for the existence of E- commerce. Electronic commerce or e-commerce has been defined as the ability to perform transactions involving the exchange of goods or services between two or more parties using electronic tools and technique. The explosion of E-commerce has created new phenomena in our lifestyle especially in shopping activities. Consumers can easily buy products or services like magazines and airlines tickets via Internet.

DEFINITION:-

The word commerce is the basic concept for electronic commerce, pertaining to buying and selling of goods while ‘commercial’ denotes business practice and activities intended to make profits. Electronic commerce, like any other business, deals with the exchange of money for soft or hard goods and services.

Kalakota and Whintons in 1997 defined the term E-commerce from different perspectives. These perspectives are:
• Communication
• Business Process
• Service
• Online

Communication Perspective: According to this perspective, E-commerce is the delivery of information, product/services or payments over tele-communication channels, computer networks or any other electronic mode of communication.

Business Process Perspective: This says that E-commerce is the application of technology towards the automation of business transactions and work flow.

Service Perspective: E-commerce is defines as a tool that addresses the desire of firms, consumers and management to cut service cost while improving the quality of goods/services and increasing the speed of service delivery.

Online Perspective: E-commerce provides the capability of buying and selling products and information on the internet and other online services.

FEATURES OF E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY:-

Electronic Commerce means better business communication and data interchange information is essential for every and any business. The quality and quantity of information which a business delivers to customers or use this information to make decisions can determine just how competitive the business is.
A company already may be using a number of electronic based tools to help acquire and extend information and communication needs. These may include personal computers, word processors, courier, facsimile machines, telex services, cellular phones, pagers and more. Unfortunately, many of today's communication tools are not really upto the speed of today's business needs, and can actually create barriers to achieving the goals set on the basis of strategies formulated by a company.

For instance, postal facilities can keep business waiting for information for days or even weeks. Overnight couriers may save time but can be an expensive proportion. Traditional telex and fax is quick but costly and communicating by telephone can become an endless game of tag.

Improve Responsiveness
How does e-commerce help business? It helps by improving responsiveness to market conditions and customer preferences. Every business must know how important timing is to marketing and selling products. Timing is important to cater to the demands of customers.

Expedites and Streamlines Reporting
It has been an experience in conventional commercial practices with factors like delays and ineffectiveness in reporting systems crippling effectiveness. Responsive, timely information flows from sound management systems. Electronic commerce improves delivery and distribution both within and outside organisations. The benefits are:
• Stored lists of key recipients facilitate distribution.
• Electronic delivery time.

Effectiveness and Efficiency
Electronic commerce can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public relation programmes, broadcast press releases, financial updates and other corporate communications. Copy reviews and approvals are expedited by circulating instant messages to key internal and external contacts.

Close Contact with Clients

In any business where maintaining close contact with customers is a priority consideration, electronic business can increase responsiveness of the company' and ensure customer satisfaction. Appointment confirmations, requests for information, follow-up reports and electronic data interchange can be effected with greater efficiency using instant messages.

Planning and Execution of Meetings

The mechanism of electronic operations in business facilitates planning and execution of meetings. Executive management meetings, seminars, workshops, symposia and conventions take a great deal of time and effort to manage. Arrangements must be coordinated among a variety of diverse groups in different locations e.g., hotels, speakers, exhibitors, attendees, the media etc. Reports and surveys need to be distributed before and or after, the event. And there are always the headaches of late breaking events and last minute announcement. In an electronic business environment, video-conferences, document conference, computer-based conference, which offer companies the flexibility of both electronic and paper distribution, can make these jobs easier and more effective.

SIX UNIQUE FEATURES OF E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY
Dimension of E-commerce Technology	Significance in Business
Ubiquity Internet/Web technology is available everywhere: at work, at home, and elsewhere via mobile devices, anytime.	The marketplace is extended beyond traditional boundaries and is removed from a temporal and geographic location. “Marketspace” is created; shopping can take place anywhere. Customer convenience is enhanced, and shopping costs are reduced.
Global Reach The technology reaches across national boundaries, around the earth.	Commerce is enabled across cultural and national boundaries seamlessly and without modification. “Marketspace” includes potentially billions of consumers and millions of businesses worldwide.
Universal Standards There is one set of technology standards, namely internet standards.	There is one set of technical media standards across the globe.
Richness Video, audio, and text messages are possible.	Video, audio, and text marketing messages are integrated into a single marketing message and consuming experience.
Interactivity The technology works through interaction with the users.	Consumers are engaged in a dialog that dynamically adjusts the experience to the individual, and makes the consumer a participant in the process of delivering goods to the market.
Information Density The technology reduces information costs and raises quality.	Information processing, storage, and communication costs drop dramatically, while currency, accuracy, and timeliness improve greatly. Information becomes plentiful, cheap, and accurate.

NEED FOR E-COMMERCE

The global business environment is moving faster than ever before. Increased competition at home and abroad means quality as well as profitability must be preserved by corporate houses. This pressure has led to a reappraisal of the accepted existing business practice in the search for greater efficiently.
Traditionally, the response in the face of competitive threat has been to reduce costs by L rationalizing production, shedding labour and restructuring business, coupled with investments in .technology to improve productivity and generate profit.
Whether business to business (B2B) or business to customer (B2C) there are benefits to all parties, customers or suppliers. A reduction in acquisition times and costs, lower prices for goods and services, an expanded number and quality of suppliers, an increase in buyer productivity. Better management information and better inventory control is possible. A Reduction time to market is also achievable giving improved operating efficiencies and improved product quality at reduced cost. The payment process can also be improved and finally and most importantly a greatly expanded customers base. B2B e-commerce was born out of an attempt to solve an administrative problem. It developed a new computer standard to handle these needs, which became known as EDI, Electronic Data Interchange. Today its descendant, XML, a lighter, simpler data interchange standard is used by B2B sites. Simple e-commerce sites first appeared in 1992. The early e-commerce sites were virtual catalogues, simply listing products for sale. Ordering was off-line, through e-mail, phone or fax. By 1996 the technology had advanced greatly to produce virtual stores with shopping carts, client accounts and, with the development of protocols such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), enabled customers to order and pay for their purchase on-line directly by credit card. E-commerce quickly became popular with consumers and suppliers. For customers, it was fast, easy and efficient, allowing them to compare products, price and service before purchase. For suppliers, it allowed them to reach an unlimited international audience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at reduced costs. Today e-commerce is widely used and growing fast. B2B is the largest, fastest growing and most profitable market. According to IDC, this year, it is expected to account for two thirds of world wide e-commerce. B2C is also expected to grow, boosted by Broadband (high-speed) Internet access to more on-line households. Future advances include digital money and e-wallets, and 'personal agents' that help users find what they are looking for. Sites can work with fulfilment centres providing customers with excellent service and suppliers with information, and can support the newest trend for human interaction in E-commerce customer service. The Internet is creating unprecedented and seeming infinite opportunities for both customers and businesses. Yet it one of its major problems is that it is changing so fast that both parties are overwhelmed by the speed of change and the sheer number of choices available to them. In addition web businesses win by following rules quite different than those which traditional businesses may follow.

INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF E-COMMERCE

Electronic commerce, being a new field, is just developing its theoretical or scientific foundations. Ii is based on several disciplines. The major disciplines of E-Commerce with some samples of issues with which they are concerned follow:

Marketing

Many issues of marketing offline are relevant to online E-Commerce - for example, cost benefits of advel1isements and advertisement strategies. Other issues are unique to E-Commerce, ranging from online marketing strategy to interactive kiosks.

Computer sciences

Many of the issues in the infrastructure of E-commerce, such as languages, multimedia, and networks, fall into the discipline of computer sciences. Intelligent agents play a major role in E-Commerce as well.

Consumer behavior and Psychology

Consumer behavior is the key to the success of B2C trade, but so is the behavior of the sellers. The relationship between cultures and consumer attitude in electronic market is an example of a research issue in the field.

Finance

The financial markets and banks are one of the major participants in E-Commerce. Also, financing arrangements are part of many online transactions. Issues such as using the Internet as a substitute for a stock exchange and fraud in online stock transactions are a sample of the many topics of the filed.

Economics

Electronic commerce is influenced by economic forces and has a major impact on world and country economies. Also, theories of micro and macro-economics need to be considered in E-Commerce planning, as well as the economic impacts of E-Commerce on firms.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

The information systems department is usually responsible for the deployment of E-Commerce. This discipline covers issues ranging from systems analysis to system integration, not to mention planning, implementation, security, and payment systems, among others.

Accounting and Auditing

The back-office operations of electronic transactions are similar to other transactions in some respects, but different in others. For example, auditing electronic transactions presents a challenge for the accounting profession; so does the development of methodologies for .cost-benefit justification.

Management

Electronic commerce efforts need to be managed properly, and because of the interdisciplinary nature of E-Commerce, its management may require new approaches and theories.

Business Law and Ethics

Legal and ethical issues are extremely important in E-Commerce, especially in a global market. A large number of legislative bills are pending, and many ethical issues are interrelated with legal ones, such as privacy and intellectual property.

Others

Several other disciplines are involved in various aspects of E-Commerce to a lesser extent- for example, linguistics (translation in international trades), robotics and sensory systems, operations research / management science, statistics, and public policy and administration. Also, E-Commerce is of Interest to engineering, health care, communication, and entertainment publishing.