What is electronic commerce?

"Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It is based on the electronic processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses many diverse activities including electronic trading of goods and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfers, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, collaborative design and engineering, on-line sourcing, public procurement, direct consumer marketing, and after-sales service. It involves both products (e.g. consumer goods, specialized medical equipment) and services (e.g. information services, financial and legal services); traditional activities (e.g. healthcare, education) and new activities (e.g. virtual malls)." (European Commission, 1997).

Web commerce transactions are often unprofitable because companies fail to change their back-end fulfillment process. Below are some fallacies, in order of importance:

Our logistics operation can handle web commerce fulfillment

We can now sell effectively around the globe

Our existing supplier relationship will support e-commerce applications

We are selling over the web so we must be making money over the web

We can always integrate e-commerce solutions with our existing activities

Critical success factors:

-Target the right customers

-Own the customer's total experience

-Streamline business processes that impact the customer

-Provide a 360-degree view of customer relationship

-Let customers help themselves

-Help customers do their job

-Deliver personalized service

-Foster community

Conclusions

Identifying the barriers in implementing e-commerce:

1. Resistance to new technology

2. Difficulty of implementation

3. Security is an over hyped problem

4. Lack of skills

5. Lack of potential customer connected

6. Cost

Electronic commerce is shaping the way in which business of the future will be transacted. Although e-commerce is relatively recent phenomenon, those companies that are seizing the opportunities it offers will reinforce their market position.

Aurel Voiculescu MBA. http://www.aurelvoiculescu.comE-commerce research - http://www.aurelvoiculescu.com/mba