Ch.1-Part 1-An Introduction to E-Commerce.pdf

this material for e-commerce course ,representing first chapter: introduction into E-commerce

1. Dr. Ahmed Mounir
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AN INTRODUCTION TO E-ECOMMERCE

2. Content
1.WhatisE-Commerce?
2.E-CommerceFeatures.
3.E-CommerceAdvantages.
4.E-CommerceDisadvantages.
5.E-CommercevsTraditionalCommerce.
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3. 1. What is E-Commerce?
Ecommerce,alsoknownaselectroniccommerceorinternet
commerce,referstothebuyingandsellingofgoodsor
servicesusingtheinternet.
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4. 2. E-Commerce Features
E-Commerceprovidesthefollowingfeatures:
Non-CashPayment−E-Commerce enablestheuseofcreditcards,debit
cards,smartcards,electronicfundtransferviabank'swebsite,andother
modesofelectronicspayment.
24x7Serviceavailability−E-Commerceautomatesthebusinessofenterprises
andthewaytheyprovideservicestotheircustomers.Itisavailableanytime,
anywhere.
Advertising/Marketing−E-Commerce increasesthereachofadvertisingof
productsandservicesofbusinesses.Ithelpsinbettermarketingmanagement
ofproducts/services.
ImprovedSales−UsingE-Commerce, ordersfortheproductscanbe
generatedanytime,anywherewithoutanyhumanintervention.Itgivesabig
boosttoexistingsalesvolumes.
Support−E-Commerce providesvariouswaystoprovidepre-salesandpost-
salesassistancetoprovidebetterservicestocustomers.
InventoryManagement −E-Commerce automatesinventorymanagement.
Reportsgetgeneratedinstantlywhenrequired.Productinventory
management becomesveryefficientandeasytomaintain.
Communication improvement−E-Commerce provideswaysforfaster,
efficient,reliablecommunicationwithcustomersandpartners.
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5. 3. E-Commerce Advantages
E-Commerce advantagescanbebroadlyclassifiedinthree
majorcategories:
AdvantagestoOrganizations
AdvantagestoConsumers
AdvantagestoSociety
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6. 3. E-Commerce Advantages
AdvantagestoOrganizations:
UsingE-Commerce, organizationscanexpandtheirmarketto
nationalandinternationalmarketswithminimumcapitalinvestment.
Anorganizationcaneasilylocatemorecustomers,bestsuppliers,and
suitablebusinesspartnersacrosstheglobe.
E-Commerce helpsorganizationstoreducethecosttocreate
process,distribute,retrieveandmanage thepaperbased
informationbydigitizingtheinformation.
E-Commerceimprovesthebrandimageofthecompany.
E-Commercehelpsorganizationtoprovidebettercustomerservices.
E-Commercehelpstosimplifythebusinessprocessesandmakesthem
fasterandefficient.
E-Commercereducesthepaperwork.
E-Commerce increasestheproductivityoforganizations.Itsupports
"pull"typesupplymanagement.In"pull"typesupplymanagement,a
businessprocessstartswhenarequestcomesfromacustomerandit
usesjust-in-timemanufacturingway.
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7. 3. E-Commerce Advantages
AdvantagestoCustomers:
Itprovides24x7support.Customerscanenquireaboutaproductor
serviceandplaceordersanytime,anywherefromanylocation.
E-Commerce applicationprovidesuserswithmoreoptionsand
quickerdeliveryofproducts.
E-Commerce applicationprovidesuserswithmoreoptionsto
compareandselectthecheaperandbetteroptions.
Acustomercanputreviewcommentsaboutaproductandcansee
whatothersarebuying,orseethereviewcommentsofother
customersbeforemakingafinalpurchase.
E-Commerceprovidesoptionsofvirtualauctions.
Itprovidesreadilyavailableinformation.Acustomercanseethe
relevantdetailedinformationwithinseconds,ratherthanwaitingfor
daysorweeks.
E-Commerceincreasesthecompetitionamongorganizationsandas
aresult,organizationsprovidessubstantialdiscountstocustomers.
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8. 3. E-Commerce Advantages
AdvantagestoSociety:
Customersneednottraveltoshopaproduct,thuslesstrafficon
roadandlowairpollution.
E-Commerce helpsinreducingthecostofproducts,soless
affluentpeoplecanalsoaffordtheproducts.
E-Commerce hasenabledruralareastoaccessservicesand
products,whichareotherwisenotavailabletothem.
E-Commerce helpsthegovernmenttodeliverpublicservices
suchashealthcare,education,socialservicesatareducedcost
andinanimprovedmanner.
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9. 4. E-Commerce Disadvantages
ThedisadvantagesofE-Commercecanbebroadlyclassified
intotwomajorcategories:
Technicaldisadvantages
Non-Technicaldisadvantages
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10. 4. E-Commerce Disadvantages
TechnicalDisadvantages
Therecanbelackofsystemsecurity,reliabilityorstandardsowing
topoorimplementationofE-Commerce.
Thesoftwaredevelopmentindustryisstillevolvingandkeeps
changingrapidly.
Inmanycountries,networkbandwidthmightcauseanissue.
Specialtypesofwebserversorothersoftwaremightberequired
bythevendor,settingtheE-Commerceenvironmentapartfrom
networkservers.
Sometimes,itbecomesdifficulttointegrateanE-Commerce
softwareorwebsitewithexistingapplicationsordatabases.
Therecouldbesoftware/hardwarecompatibilityissues,assome
E-Commercesoftwaremaybeincompatiblewithsomeoperating
systemoranyothercomponent.
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11. 4. E-Commerce -Disadvantages
Non-TechnicalDisadvantages
Initialcost−Thecostofcreating/buildinganE-Commerce
applicationin-housemaybeveryhigh.Therecouldbedelaysin
launchinganE-Commerceapplicationduetomistakes,andlack
ofexperience.
Userresistance−Usersmaynottrustthesitebeinganunknown
facelessseller.Suchmistrustmakesitdifficulttoconvince
traditionaluserstoswitchfromphysicalstorestoonline/virtual
stores.
Security/Privacy−Itisdifficulttoensurethesecurityorprivacyon
onlinetransactions.
Lackoftouchorfeelofproductsduringonlineshoppingisa
drawback.
E-Commerceapplicationsarestillevolvingandchangingrapidly.
Internetaccessisstillnotcheaperandisinconvenienttousefor
manypotentialcustomers,forexample,thoselivinginremote
villages.
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12. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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13. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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14. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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15. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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16. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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17. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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18. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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19. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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20. 5. E-Commerce vs Traditional Commerce
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