Commerce, but it is commerce accelerated and enhanced by IT, in particular the Internet.  E-commerce enables customers, consumers, and companies to form powerful new relationships that would not be possible without the neabling technologies.  

E-commerce breaks down business  barriers such as time, geography, language, currency, and culture.

A formal business plan that outlines key business issues such as:

Customer targets (by demographic, industry, etc.)

Marketing strategies

Operations strategies (e.g., production, transportation, and logsitics)

Projected targets for income statement and balance sheet items

B2B e-commerce occurs when a business sells products and services to customers who are primarily other businesses.

This is where all of the e-commerce money is.

Supply chain management is a big part of B2B e-commerce.

C2B e-commerce occurs when an individual sells products and services to a business.

- In this model, the customer provides the supply while the business provides the demand. (ex. Fotolia.com)

C2C e-commerce occurs when an individual sells products and services to another individual. 

- Usually occurs through an intermediary like eBay.

B2G e-commerce occurs when a business sells products and services to a government entity.

- Fairly large e-commerce model in terms of revenue.

C2G e-commerce occurs when an individual sells products and services to a government entity.

- Very similar to C2B.

- Most government entities do not engage in buying products or services from individuals.

G2B e-commerce occurs when a government entity sells products and services to businesses.

- TSA holding auctions.

- U.S. Geological Survey selling data to businesses.

G2C e-commerce refers to the electronic commerce activities performed between a government and its citizens or consumers including paying taxes, registering vehicles, providing information and services, and so on.

 - Does not fit well with the typical notion of supply and demand.

G2G e-commerce refers to the electronic commerce activities performed within a nation's government (can also refer to commerce between 2 or more nation's governments).

- Mainly about information sharing, not commerce.

Define your products and services.

Define your target customers.

- B2B (other businesses)

- B2C (individuals)

Define your customers perception of the value of your products and services.

Convenience

- Lower priced

- Purchased frequently

Example: common food items

Specialty

- Higher priced

- Purchased less frequently

- Example: Stereos, computers

Commoditylike

- Same no matter where you purchase it

- Examples: books, music, movies

- Price and ease of ordering are important

Digital

- Purchased and delivered over the internet

- Best product type for B2C e-commerce

- Examples: Music, software

The ability of an organization to give its customers the opportunity to tailor its products or services.

- Dell: customized computer purchases.

- Apple iTunes: only the music you want (not neccesarily the whole album)

Materials necessary for running a company but do not relate to the company's primary business activities.

- Similar to convenience items in B2C.

- Office supplies, repair parts, lubricating oils

Combining purchase requests from multiple buyers which justifies a larger discount.

- Buyers in B2B make large purcheses, where they can demand discounts by volume.

- Buyers team up with eachother to create demand aggregation.

Materials that are used in production in a manufacturing company or are placed on the shelf for sale in retail environments.

- Relate directly to a company's primary business activities.

- Quality, quantity, and delivery timing are important.

The process in which a buyer posts its interest in buying items and sellers compete for the business by submitting successively lower  bids.

- Reverse auctions create "power" for the buyer

Interactive business providing a central market where multiple buyers and sellers can engage in e-commerce.

- Horizontal e- marketplaces

- Vertical e-marketplaces

An electronic marketplace that connects buyers and sellers across many industries, primarily for MRO materials commerce.

- All industries need office supplies, travel, and the like.

An electronic marketplace that connects buyers and sellers in a given industry.

- Primarily for direct materials

- Each industry has unique direct material needs

- Covisent.com is a good example (automotive)

Set of marketing tools your organization will use to pursue its marketing objectives in reaching and attracting potential customers.

- There are many such tools for B2C

Registering with search engines

Online ads

Viral marketing

Affiliate programs

Some sites will list your site for free.

Other charge a fee

For an additional fee, your site can appear at top of a search list (every time).

Small advertisements that appear on other sites.

Two Variations Are:

- Pop-up ad (small Web page that appears on your screen outside the current Web site)

- Pop-under ad (pop-up ad you do not see until you close your current browser window)

Encourages users of a product or service supplied by a B2C business to encourage friends to join in as well.

- Blue Mountain Arts (www.bluemountain.com)

- Send a card.

- Card has a link so the other person can send you a card back.

Arrangement between two e-commerce sites that directs viewers from one site to another.

- If viewers buy at the second site, the second site pays a small fee to the first site.

- Usually a percentage of the sale.

Amazon is the most well-known creator of an affiliate program.

Much more personal.

Not usually done with generic ads designed for mass distribution.

Often take place in e-marketplaces.

Once a contact is made, the relationship must be established.

This often requires face-to-face meetings.

Must also integrate the IT systems to the supplier business and customer business.

Credit cards

Financial cybermediaries

Electronic checks

Electronic checks

Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment

Smart cards

Internet-based company that makes it easy for one person to pay another person or organization over the internet.

- PayPal is the best-known.

Mechanism for sending money from your checking or savings account to another person or organization.

- Many implementations

- Most common implementation is online banking

System that sends bills over the Internet and provides an easy-to-use mechanism (perhaps a button) to pay for them if the amount looks correct.

- Available through Checkfree and Quicken

Plastic card (the size of a credit card) that contains an embedded chip on which digital information can be stored and updated.

- Debit cards are an implementation

Software and information that helps move money and other information such as shipping addresses.

- Software provides transaction security.

- Information includes delivery information and other forms of necessary information.

Client-Side: You create this digital wallet and keep it on your computer.

Server-Side (also called a thin wallet): An organization creates this for you and keeps it on its servers.

In B2B e-commerce...

- Business customers make large purchases.

- Will not pay with credit card or financial cybermediary.

- Use financial EDI.

- Pay for many purchases at once (perhaps the end of the month).

Direct computer-to-computer transfer of transaction information in standard business documents, such as invoices and purchase orders, in a standard format.

- How businesses communicate with eachother.

- Used in e-marketplaces and VANs.

An electronic process used primarily within B2B for the payment of purchases.

- This is electronic money in B2B.

- Often occurs through an automated clearing house.

Encryption

Secure Sockets Layers

Secure Electronic Transactions

Many, many others

Creates a secure connection between a Web client and server.

Encrypts the information.

Sends the information over the internet.

Denoted by lock icon on browser or https:// (notice the "s")

Transmission method that ensures transactions are legitimate as well as secure.

- Helps verify use of a credit card, for example, by sending the transaction to the credit issuer as well as the seller/supplier.

1. Youth

2. M-commerce

3. The Long Tail

Person who spends a lot of time in front of a screen - TV, iPod, computer, cell phone.

Part of the Youth E-Business Trend

Person ushered into this world alongside the digital revolution.

Most young people are screenagers and digital natives.

They readily embrace technology and therefore are most suited to running a business in the "e" world.

1. Knowing where we are

2. Our ability to do anything from anywhere

First offered by Chris Anderson; explains e-commerce profitability in terms of a sales curve.

Brick-and-mortar businesses carry limited inventory, inventory that is popular.

E-businesses can carry huge amounts of "niche" inventory that may only sell a couple of times a year.