7/19: Internet & eCommerce

• How companies use the Internet– Collaboration (internal & external)– Communication (internal & external): Email, etc.– Gather information: competitors, etc.– eCommerce: Buy & sell products

& services– Marketing & publishing

information

Interactive Marketing

• Interactive Marketing:– Identify potential customers– Create advertising (WWW page)– Expose potential customers to ads– Interact with and learn from customers

• Pull marketing – traditional websites: customers are pulled to the advertising materials

• Push marketing – web broadcasts: PointCast, Castanet, BackWeb push material to customers’ computers

Business Value of the Internet

• Cost savings• Customer service improvements• Marketing• Revenue generation (eCommerce)• Strategic business value:

– Global dissemination,– Interaction & Collaboration– Customization– eCommerce– Integration

Global Dissemination

• Email

• Electronic mailing lists

• World Wide Web sites

• New markets, customers, vendors

Interaction & Collaboration

• Email

• World Wide Web sites

• Discussion forums

• Chat rooms

• Interactive forms

• Groupware

eCommerce: a Definition

• Electronic commerce addresses the use of information technology to support how a business interacts with the marketplace, including developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing, and paying for products and services.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

• WWW storefronts

• Advertising, product information

• Online purchasing

• Secure payment systems

• www.buy.com

• www.sears.com

• www.amazon.com

B2C: Retailing

• Customer value: not just lowest price

• Quality of product

• Quality of service– Efficient layout of site– Efficient “checkout lines”– Personalization– Socialization– Attractive visuals– Incentives– Security & reliability

Business-to-Business (B2B)

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)– Standard: X.12– Invoices, purchase orders, etc.– Saves time, money, reduces errors– Transmitted on private networks– Third-party solutions: GE, IBM, Sterling

• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)– Electronic payment authorization– Debits & credits accounts, passes through a ACH

B2B: Supply Chain Management

• Integrating the steps in the supply chain for products

• Changing the idea from “suppliers” to “partners”

• Supplier management

• Inventory & distribution management

• Push vs. pull supply chains

B2C/B: Secure Electronic Payments

• Issue: prevent information from getting waylaid, spied upon

• Options for solutions:– Encryption

• SSL: Secure Socket Layer for transmission

• SET: Secure Electronic Transaction

• Encryption upon storage of information

– Remove transactions from Internet• Call to order, call to register credit card info

– Digital currency

Midterm Exam

• Essays: respond to two of three questions.– Expected length of response: ¾ - 1 page, double-

spaced, per essay.

• Due at classtime on Monday, July 24th.