Technical Components of an E-commerce System

The development of E-Commerce in the context of business developments.

Communication

1. Options:

· Telephone: dial-up or leased line

· ISDN: basic rate or primary rate

· Value Added Networks

· X.400: ISO standard secure messaging

· Networks: local area networks, wide area networks or intranets

· Internet: messaging, file transfer, Telnet, World Wide Web, XML

2. Standards:

· Standards are the means by which data is sent in an agreed format by eCommerce trading partners.

· In Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), standards pertain specifically to the syntax used to prepare messages for exchange. They enable, for example, one accounts system to understand an electronic version of an invoice sent out by another accounts system because the relevant pieces of data (e.g. invoice number) are always located in the same part of the message.

· In the case of EDI, these standards are generally nationally and

· The means which data is sent in an agreed format by E-commerce trading partners.

E.g.:

· EDI: syntax used to prepare message for exchange

· Gif and JPG: graphic standards

· World Wide Web:HTML, PERL, Javascript, Java, Software

3. The e-commerce software function includes:

· Data extraction from relevant application or data entry

· Data encoding to agreed standard format

· Data transmission to recipients.

· Data receipt by recipients.

· Data decoding for internal applications.

· Data insertion into relevant applications

Business-to-Business E-commerce

Key areas in B2B e-commerce:

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
• Enhanced messaging: e-mail, voice-mail, fax
• Teleconferencing
• Integrated Systems: intranets/extranets, database publishing, workflow

Supply Chain E-commerce

• Key areas in B2B e-commerce:
1. Stock control
2. Just-in-time delivery
3. Transportation
4. Warehouse management
5. Automatic Identification: Barcodes, Transponders

Business-to-Consumer E-commerce

• B2C e-commerce application includes:
1. Database application
2. Kiosks
3. Internet store fronts
4. Downloadable software and software support
5. Internet auctions
6. Advertising on the Internet
7. Interactive TV

Impact of E-commerce on the Business

• The impact of E-commerce to business includes:
1. Instantaneous means of data exchange
2. Exchange information efficiently and accurately
3. Convenience in time and geographic.
4. Reducing manual and paper-based operations
5. Re-thinking and simplifying the information flow
6. Using the information flow in new and dynamic ways.

Business Process Re-design

1. BPR focuses on radically changing the way internal processes are conducted in order to increase profitability and competitiveness.
2. E-commerce provides an opportunity to radically re-engineer business processes, even those that may have already been subject to such an activity.
3. Workflow is used to within the BPR project to help rationalise internal business procedures.
4. Flexible Working is an approach to organising the way people work together, from employees to top management and the way they interact with trading partners. It consist of:
• Teleworking : Working a day or more from home and the rest at the office
• Mobile working : Profession that requires the person to move from place to place and yet maintain contact with an office.
• Virtual Teams : Teleworking extended to a group of people working on one task or project.