E-commerce Today TIPS & TRICKS

E-Commerce-The Business Market Space of the Future

Introduction to E-Commerce

E-Commerce is a generic term used for a range of technologies available which transfer data electronically:
fax, e-mail, voice mail, electronic catalogs, electronic funds transfer (EFT),electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic forms
two main types: business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B)
B2B EDI, used by 95% of the Fortune 1,000 companies, is the most common form of e-commerce today

Advantages of E-Commerce

Shorten Procurement cycles through the use of on-line catalogues, ordering and payment
Cut costs on materials through competitive bidding
Gain access to world wide markets at a fraction of traditional costs
Ensure product, marketing information and prices are always up to date
Allow small and medium size businesses to compete with large businesses over a common platform

Risks in E-Commerce

Can cause disintermediation which is the process of cutting out the middleman by bypassing traditional retail channels (retail stores and mail-order houses) and selling directly to the customer
Lack of insurance available to cover losses due to hackers destroying files, stealing inventory, trade secrets or injecting viruses into the systems
Requires firms to rethink their business models and ways of interacting with customers

Traditional audit trails change or disappear, making error correction, disaster recovery, and application testing more difficult