Business To Business E Commerce example essay topic

Table of Contents: 1. Introduction to Electronic Commerce 2. Business to Business 3. Business to Consumer 4. On-Line Learning 5. Bibliography 1.

Introduction to Electronic Commerce: (Ross Neville) Electronic commerce is the most recent step in the evolution of business transactions. It replaces the swapping of money for goods or bartering (the swapping of goods for goods) with the exchange of information from computer to computer. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, is a very broad terminology. E-commerce enables organisations of all sizes and in all market sectors to improve their competitiveness.

It cuts across geographical boundaries and time zones to save time and costs, to open up new market opportunities and enable even the smallest of companies to compete globally. E-commerce spans established processes such as bar code scanning and electronic data interchange (EDI), as well as newer arrivals, electronic mail, the Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile electronic commerce. E-commerce is attractive because it reduces the cost of doing business. Sending a few bytes of data over a network is cheaper, faster and more convenient than sending a messenger or even making a phone call.

E-commerce covers any form of business or administrative transactions or information exchange that is executed using any information and communications technology (ICT). This embraces the main areas of activity. business to business. business to consumer. on-line learning where e-commerce conducted between businesses differs from that carried out between a business and its consumer. 2. Business to Business: (Ross Neville) The really big business on the Internet and the World Wide Web isn't books and CDs but ball bearings, electronic components and other materials that businesses buy, sell and distribute to and from each other. Although this type of business to business trading may be new and attracting plenty of media and public attention, business to business has been trading by electronic means for nearly twenty-five years.

The most famous method of business to business trading has to be the electronic data interchange (EDI) established for exchanging business information between companies that regularly did business with each other. The Internet is fast becoming the method of choice for transacting business all over the globe. The Internet can be used to profile prospects, qualify leads and deliver proposals before a sales rep and a corporate prospect actually meet. Business to business sales productivity can be significantly improved over the Internet, enabling the sales reps to focus their efforts on personalised customer relationships. In addition feedback from web sites, on-line surveys and e-mail can be an important source of leads and market data.

A smaller company can use the Internet much to its advantage, to reach and serve business customers nationally or internationally without having to relocate or expand geographically. They can also use the Internet to solidify their ties with customers and business partners through the efficient and rapid interchange of mutually important business data. Savings from World Wide Web transactions are passed on to the company's customers, enabling the company to be more competitive in a price-conscious market. The Internet needs no introduction, but its use as a business medium is still in its early stages. Analysts all agree that the next few years will see an explosion in e-commerce fuelled in large by the Internet.

It provides a medium that is as easily useable by individuals as by organisations in both the public and private sectors. Thus providing instant access to products and services worldwide. Companies that do not yet have an effort for e-commerce business to business trading in the works will likely feel increasing pressure to get one underway, either from customers, suppliers or more Net-commerce-enabled competitors as they would not want to fall behind in their market. Case Study Smaller companies can use the internet to reach business customers nationally or all over the world. An example of this is Auto A / C, a Florida based warehouse distributor of automotive air-conditioner parts, tools and services for the auto repair industry. In early '96 Auto A / C decided to seek new business both at home and abroad in highly competitive industry market.

Their need for quality, accuracy and speed of service in the market was essential and prompted them to enlist the help of IBM Web Solutions. The company developed a web site that displays their products worldwide and provides interactive price quotes. As a result Auto A / C reaches on average 1,000 more business customers each month of which 25% request prices or more information. In one year Auto A / C saw a 20% increase in export sales and a 10% increase on the home front sales. But we all know that these projects can have an adverse effect on business as Aviall Inc., an aviation parts distributor found out. Yet it was Aviall Inc.'s own 300 sales reps from around the globe that was the undoing of this e-commerce project.

Fearing their jobs were at stake they badmouthed the site to potential customers and existing ones. The site didn't attract the business Aviall was expecting and as a result a complete overhaul was made to their strategy, both e-commerce and overall sales. Their pitch to the sales reps was "Look at this wonderful tool for your customer". The reps receive commission for orders placed over the web but channel conflicts still occur over who is responsible for servicing the customers drawn over the web. Aviall Inc., still with a few resistances, is slowly but surely getting a grip on their e-commerce market.

Conclusion The Web plays an expanding role just as it does in a consumer e-commerce. Business to business activity is still, and we believe will remain, the main area of electronic commerce activity. This covers everything from established communications between retailers and their suppliers, the electronic banking payment systems through to the new Internet based catalogue systems. In the future, all of us will conduct an ever-increasing number of business transactions on-line. Companies who implement solutions to conduct business on-line will stay competitive and responsive in this evolving market place. 4.

On-Line Learning: (Barry Reynolds) On-line learning is a system developed for computer-based training. It allows users to learn or be trained in a particular field. The big advantage of on-line learning is that the user need not attend a classroom, lecture hall, seminar etc. In fact in some cases they do not even have to leave their home. All they need is a computer and to be on the Internet or Intranet. The on-line learning system allows the user to educate themselves from the comfort of their own home.

It also greatly cuts back on resource costs for the people responsible for the training. There is no longer the need for classrooms and as many teachers. One teacher could be responsible for a much larger amount of students, as they don't have classroom size restrictions. When a user logs on to the system they are given options about their course. They can choose to read the course notes, contact the lecturer, check for future examinations etc. This sort of system would obviously be of use to school pupils, college students and for employee training.

Case Study: WBT Systems UCD lecturer Henry McLoughlin and research students Duncan Lennox and Eamonn Webster founded WBT Systems in 1995. Since then WBT System has progressed into one of Ireland's leading software companies. It has $10 million venture capital behind it, which is one of the highest for a privately owned company. The company has markets across Europe and the US and employs over 40,000 staff. WBT Systems is primarily concerned with developing the infrastructure for organisations to deliver training methods over the Internet. For the actual training content of the system the company have forged agreements with content developers e.g. McMillan Education and Training.

The company's main product is the "Topclass Server" software. This system is widely used around the world. One of its main advantages is that a lecturer or teacher can convert standard documents such as a "Word" or "PowerPoint" document into a web format for on-line delivery via Topclass. The success of this system can clearly be seen by the fact that WBT Systems is very successful in the US.

The US market accounts for 50%-60% of the company's revenue. One of their largest customers there is "The Money Store", a US retail financial services company. They use Topclass to deliver audio and visual content to its 4,800 loan officers at 200 different locations. Regarding its worldwide market WBT Systems claims it has over 500 customers using their system.

Its main competitors are "Lotus Development" and "Asy metrix Learning Systems". An example of a Topclass system would be the one currently in operation in the Institute of Technology Tallaght. It is made available for all science students in the college. This would obviously be of huge benefit to these students.

It means they can catch up on missed lectures or even study at home if they are unable to make it to college for some reason e.g. snow storm, bus strikes, illness etc. If a user wishes to contact a lecturer they can do so with any question, query or comment they wish to make. This system brings obvious advantages to the college also. Lecturers have a focal point where they can meet their students. This eliminates the process of arranging meeting times, venues etc. with students. It also cuts back on the need for more lecture halls as students can study their course over the system.

5. Bibliography: web. Business to Business E-commerce. It's not easy being B 2 B. On-Line Learning.