E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services

on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice, this term and a newer term, ebusiness, are often used interchangeably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used. E-commerce can be divided into:
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E-tailing or "virtual storefronts" on Web sites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a "virtual mall" The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts Electronic Data Interchange ( EDI), the business-to-business exchange of data E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospects and established customers (for example, with newsletters) The security of business transactions

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E-tailing or The Virtual Storefront and the Virtual Mall As a place for direct retail shopping, with its 24 -hour availability, a global reach, the ability to interact and provide custom information and ordering, and multimedia prospects, the Web is rapidly becoming a multibillion dollar source of revenue for the world's businesses. A number of businesses already report considerable success. As early as themiddle of 1997, Dell Computers reported orders of a million dollars a day. By early 1999, projected e -commerce revenues for business were in the billions of dollars and the stocks of companies deemed most adept at e-commerce were skyrocketing. Although many so-called dotcom retailers disappeared in the economic shakeout of 2000, Web retailing at sites such as Amazon.com, CDNow.com, and CompudataOnline.com continues to grow. Market Research In early 1999, it was widely recognized that because of the interactive nature of the Internet, companies could gather data about prospects and customers in unprecedented amounts through site registration, questionnaires, and as part of taking orders. The issue of whether data was being collected with the knowledge and permission of market subjects had been raised. (Microsoft referred to its policy of data collection as "profiling" and a propos ed standard has been developed that allows Internet users to decide who can have what personal information.) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) EDI is the exchange of business data using an understood data format. It predates today's Internet. EDI involves data exchange among parties that know each other well and make arrangements for one -to-one (or point-to-point) connection, usually dial -up. EDI is expected to be replaced by one or more standard XML formats, such as ebXML. E-Mail, Fax, and Internet Telephony

E-commerce is also conducted through the more limited electronic forms of communication called e-mail, facsimile or fax, and the emerging use of telephone calls over the Internet. Most of this is business-to-business, with some companies attempting to use e -mail and fax for unsolicited ads (usually viewed as online junk mail or spam) to consumers and other business prospects. An increasing number of business Web sites offer e -mail newsletters for subscribers. A new trend is opt-in e-mail in which Web users voluntarily sign up to receive e mail, usually sponsored or containing ads, about product categories or other subjects they are interested in. The Security of Business Transactions Security includes authenticating business transactors, controlling access to resources such as Web pages for registered or selected users, encrypting communications, and, in general, ensuring the privacy and effectiveness of transactions. Among the most widely -used security technologies is the Secure Sockets L ayer (SSL), which is built into both of the leading Web browsers. Is e-commerce the same as e-business? While some use e-commerce and e-business interchangeab ly, they are distinct concepts. In e-commerce, information and communicati ons technology (ICT) is used in inter-business or inter-organizational transactions (transactions between and among firms/organizations) and in business-to-consumer transactions (transactions between firms/organizations and individuals). In e-business, on the other hand, ICT is u sed to enhance ones business. It includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit, governmental or non-profit entity) conducts over a computer -mediated network. A more comprehensive definition of e business is: The transformation of an organizations processes todeliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophiesand computing paradigm of the new economy . Three primary proces ses are enhanced in e -business: 1. Production processes , which include pro curement, ordering and replenishment of stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; andproduction control processes, among others; 2. Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing efforts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers purchase orders and payments, and customer support, among others; and 3. Internal management processes , which include employee services, training,internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Electroni c applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and electronic publishing of in ternal business information are likewise made more efficient. What are the different types of e-commerce? The major different types of e -commerce are:

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business-to-business (B2B); business-to-consumer (B2C); business-to-government (B2G); consumer-to-consumer (C2C);and mobile commerce (m-commerce).

What is B2B e-commerce? B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e -commerce between companies. This is thetype of e commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B ecommercewill continue to grow faster t han the B2C segment. The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructureand e-markets. E-frastructureis the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following:  logistics - transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gambl e);  application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of packagedsoftware from a central facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare);  outsourcing of functions in the process of e -commerce, such as Web-hosting,security and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing providers such aseShare, NetSales, iXL Enterprises and Universal Access);  auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real -time auctionsin the Internet (e.g., Moai Technologies and OpenSite Technologies);  content management software for the facilitation of Web site content managementand delivery (e.g., Interwoven and ProcureNet); and  Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser -based, XMLenabledpurchasing automation software). E-markets are simply defined as Web sites where buyers and sellers interact witheach other and conduct transactions. The more common B2B examples and best practice models are IBM, HewlettPackard (HP), Cisco and Dell. Cisco, for instance, receives over 90% of its productorders over the Internet.Most B2B applications are in the areas of supplier management (especially purchaseorder processing), inventory management (i.e., managing order-ship-billcycles), distribution management (especially in the transmission of shipping documents),channel management (i.e., information dissemination on changes in operationalconditions), and payment management (e.g., electronic payment systemsor EPS). Transaction costs. There are three cost areas that are significantly reduced through theconduct of B2B e-commerce. First is the reduction of search costs, as buyers need not gothrough multiple intermediaries to search for information about suppliers, products andprices as in a traditional supply chain. In terms of effort, time and money spent, the Internetis a more efficient information channel than its traditional counterpart. In B2B markets,buyers and sellers are gathered together into a single online trading community, reducingsearch costs even further. Second is the reduction in the costs of processing transactions(e.g. invoices, purchase orders and payment schemes), as B2B allows for the automationof transaction processes and therefore, the quick implementation of the same

compared toother channels (such as the telephone and fax). Efficiency in trad ing processes and transactionsis also enhanced through the B2B e -markets ability to process sales through onlineauctions. Third , online processing improves inventory management and logistics. What is B2C e-commerce? Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles such as books or consumer products) or informatio n goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e -commerce. Its origins can betraced to online retailing (or e -tailing). Thus, the more common B2C businessmodels are th e online retailing companies suc h as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, Beyond.com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity. The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing products and information, and per sonal finance management, which pertains to the management of personal investmen ts and finances with the use of online banking tools (e.g., Quicken). B2C e-commerce also reduces market entry barriers since the cost of putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than installing a brick-and-mortar structure for a firm. In the case of information goods, B2C e -commerce is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution network. Moreover, for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible. What is B2G e-commerce? Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other governmen t-related operations. This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing ecommerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective. Web-based purchasing policies increase the transpar ency of the procurement pro cess (and reduce the risk of irregularities). To date, however , the size of the B2G ecommerce market as a component of total e -commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. What is C2C e-commerce? Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers.

This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical indust ries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers.16 It per haps has the greatest potential for developing new markets. This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:  auctions facilitated at a portal, such as eBay, which allows online real -time biddingon items being sold in the Web;  peer-to-peer systems, such as the Napster mod el (a protocol for sharing file between users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and ot her file exchange an later money exchange models; and  classified ads at portal sites such as Exci te Classifieds and eWanted (an interactive,online marketplace where buyers and sellers can negotiate and whichfeatures Buyer Leads & Want Ads). Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions involve reverse auctions, which empower the consumer to drive transact ions. A concrete example of this when competing airlines gives a traveller best travel and ticket offer s in response to the travellers post that she wants to fly from New York to San Francisco. There is little information on the relative size of global C2 C e-commerce. However,C2C figures of popular C2C sites such as eBay and Na pster indicate that this market is quite large. These sites produce millions of dollars in sales every day. What is m-commerce? M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying an d selling of goods and services through wireless technology-i.e., handheld devices such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Japan is seen as a global leader in m -commerce. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes fas ter, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may wel l be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Industries affected by m -commerce include:  Financial services, including mobile banking (when customers use theirhandheld devices to access their accounts and pay their bills), as well as brokerageservices (in which stock quotes can be displayed and tradin g conductedfrom the same handheld device);  Telecommunications, in which service changes, bill payment and accountreviews can all be conducted from the same handheld device;  Service/retail, as consumers are given the ability to place and pay for orderson -thefly; and  Information services, which include the delivery of entertainment, financialnews, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device.

What forces are fueling e -commerce? There are at least three major forces fuelling e -commerce: economic forces, marketingand customer interaction forces, and technology, particularly multimedia convergence. Enterprise Resource Management 1) ERM (enterprise resource management) describes software that lets an enterprisemanage user access to its network resources efficiently. ERM software generally lets a user sign on to different enterprise systems and applications using the sam e password. ERM software makes it easy for the enterprise to control and keep track of which systems and resources each user has access to, and provides consistent standards for creating and changing passwords. One system administrator can usually manage u ser access to all platforms - UNIX, mainframe, Windows NT, and so forth - and to the applications on these platforms that require controlled access. 2) ERM (enterprise resource management) also describes software that manages all of a company's assets and resources, including such basic applications as general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, as well as manufacturing, inventory, and human resources. Enterprise Resource Management/ Enterprise Resource Planning Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an information technology softwareand data base management system. ERP applications generally handle several core business functions such as project management, work effort tracking, accounting, manufacturing, human resource management and more. The primary difference between ERP systems and legacy systems is that ERP systems share the same database structure. This means that all data is in the same location and the need to move data between systems is greatly reduced . http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definitio n/e-commerce http://searchsap.techtarget.com/definition/ERM http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers/eprimer -ecom.pdf http://www.information -management-architect.com/enterprise -resource-management.html