Pros And Cons Of E-Commerce
These Web applications and services enable organizations to share information faster and more accurately within the organization’s walls and with external business partners. But e-commerce hype makes these benefits seem inevitable once an organization implements e-commerce initiatives. As this chapter explains, e-commerce doesn’t always pay off in ways that live up to the hype. E-commerce infrastructures and applications are not as easy and cheap to construct as many people might think. However, as this chapter also makes clear, some organizations are doing e-commerce right and they are learning to do it better as they go. By studying businesses that have succeeded at e-commerce, and some that have failed, you can become better prepared to avoid the pitfalls and to help guarantee a successful e-commerce venture.
Some form of electronic commerce is at work in almost all business functions today. Purchasing departments are using e-commerce to increase the speed and efficiency of acquiring products and services. Customer service departments are using the power of the Web to provide customers with ‘round-the-clock service. Technology companies such as Dell Computer are using the Web to provide online help desk services. Marketing and sales departments are using the Web to push information out to customers aster and more efficiently than ever before. So, how are the best companies using the Internet to improve their business functions?
Corporate purchasing solutions reduce paperwork and streamline purchasing processes by empowering employees to conveniently purchase and route appropriate approvals for their own office business supplies and other goods over the Internet. Supply chain management solutions link inventory, billing, and shipping between customers and suppliers to ensure more efficient supply/demand coordination.
Numerous surveys of corporate purchasing managers indicate that deployment of Web-based corporate purchasing systems will grow dramatically over the next two years. Organizations are moving quickly to deploy Web-based corporate purchasing systems. To automate its procurement process, MasterCard International is rolling out an enterprise corporate-purchasing solution based on Clarus E-Procurement and Microsoft BackOffice technologies that cut the average time required to fill purchase orders by some 70 percent and cut the cost of processing purchase orders by approximately 68 percent. MasterCard is a great example of using Web technology to automate the purchasing function, which saves time and money by eliminating paper and unnecessary approval steps. The shorter cycle times and ease of purchasing mean getting the right materials to the right people at the right time and at a lower cost than doing it manually.
Corporate identity and awareness programs, product and service marketing campaigns, and electronic product and service literature publishing are just a few examples of how e-commerce supports electronic marketing and promotions. Organizations do need to consider, however, who they’re likely to reach via the Web, particularly with respect to consumers. Many consumers, particularly those new to the Web, don’t know the specific names of the Web sites for which they’re searching. Traditional advertising, such as print, television, and radio, can help build awareness of an organization’s Web site. The same techniques can help build awareness for business-to-business Web sites as well.
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Kate Gardens is a custom essay writing expert writer and UK customers support consultant at Customessays.co.uk. Get more details for
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