Design and Implementation of a Web Based E-post Management System

8/18/2019 Design and Implementation of a Web Based E-post Management System

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A courier service is an organization which offers special deliveries of packages,

money, documents or information. Courier services usually boast faster delivery

times than any alternative method of transporting documents, and many services

in the modern world rely on it. The idea of couriers and a courier service has

been around almost as long as civilization, with rulers in antiquity using

couriers as a means to make new laws and edicts known throughout their lands.

In the modern age of international business, the courier service has become a

keystone of enterprise, even as emerging technologies such as the fax machine

and Internet have rendered them less useful in some areas.

The largest courier service in the world is the United Parcel Service (UPS),

which delivers more than 12 million packages globally each day. UPS had its

roots as a courier service in the beginning of the 20th century, when it was

known as the American Messenger Company. UPS survived the depression and

the World Wars, and went on to thrive in the global age. Throughout the years it

acquired other courier services, including the Motorcycle Messengers and a

number of smaller European companies. Federal Express (FedEx) and Dalsey

Hillblom Lynn, now Deutsche post AG (DHL) are other well-known global

examples of the courier service, both with their roots in the early 1970s. Though

not nearly as large as UPS, each company controls sizable portions of the


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market. FedEx is particularly well-respected for its overnight courier service,

the first of its kind. DHL originally focused exclusively on the route between

Honolulu and San Francisco in the United States, but grew to encompass the

Pacific Rim and spread to Europe and the Middle East.

Smaller courier services abound, particularly in cities. This type of courier

service finds its niche in smaller packages and documents which need to be

transported from one location in a city to another as quickly as possible.

Couriers in these companies often ride bicycles or motorcycles in order to

achieve the shortest turnaround times from pickup to delivery. Indeed, the

bicycle messenger, whizzing through crowded traffic at unbelievable speeds

with a satchel over one shoulder, has become a symbol of the youthful

daredevilry of city life. In recent years, with the emergence of more

sophisticated communications technologies and harsh price competitiveness, the

number of bicycle couriers in most cities has decreased significantly, but the

market remains strong for those who continue to work.

There is also a type of courier service which utilizes the extra baggage allotment

of airline passengers to transport documents quickly and easily, with less hassle,

through the Customs office of a country. These courier services offer greatly

discounted fares on commercial tickets to foreign locations in exchange for the

use of the passenger's baggage space. The passenger is then given all the

requisite paperwork, which they simply deliver to the Customs agent at the

receiving end.


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Though technology has replaced many traditional uses of the courier service,

there still exists a constant need to transport physical goods and documents over

both short and long distances as quickly as possible.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Keeping record of parcels in a courier service company and their delivery

information is carried out manually. A lot of files are opened for daily record of

parcels received or delivered. This litters the office with much paper

documents. Most often records are misplaced and when a client comes to

collect his parcel, he\she spend some hours waiting for confirmation of the

parcel. Hence delay is bound to occur while delivering parcel to customers.

Also, customers must visit the post office before they can purchase stamps or

any other item.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The objectives of this project are as follows.

Analyzing global trends in e-commerce and why it is important for

economic developments.

Identifying benefits of the adoption of e-post management system by

courier Service Company.


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Developing an e-post platform that can be used by customers to order for

post office items and make payment online.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The scope of this project covers all details of a typical e-post application, with

emphasis on the front-end portal but excludes the gateway application

implementations and technologies. The gateway end which is a very secure e-

payment environment is often times built using SSL protocol, which can be

procured from the gateways companies and integrated to the e-commerce site to

support online, onsite payment management. However we have chosen to

incorporate a demo copy of the gateway end to showcase its activities for the

audience to appreciate such integration.

1.5 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION

The advantages of e-commerce for business entities can be summarized thus: e-

commerce can increase sales and decrease costs. A firm can use e-commerce to

reach narrow market segments that are widely scattered geographically. The

internet and the web are particularly useful in creating virtual communities that

become ideal target markets. A virtual community is a gathering of people who

share a common interest, but, instead of this gathering occurring in the physical


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world; it takes place on the internet. So the e-post management system

developed will assist courier Service Companies to:

1.

Increase sales opportunities for the seller, thereby increasing

purchasing opportunities for the buyer.

2. Provide buyers with a wider range of choices than traditional

commerce, because they can consider many different products and

services from a wider variety of sellers.

3.

The benefits of e-commerce also extend to the general welfare of

society. Electronic payments for goods cost less to issue and arrive

securely and quickly when transmitted via the Internet.

4. Furthermore, electronic payments can be easier to audit and monitor

than payments made by check, which can help protect against fraud

and theft.

5. E-Commerce platform can make products and services available in

remote areas.

1.6 PROJECT REPORT ORGANIZATION

The project is organized as follows;-

Chapter one comprises the background of the project with the statement of the

problems, objectives of the project, scope of the project, project justification and

definition of terms pointed out.

Chapter two reviews previous literatures on cargo transportation systems


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Chapter three discusses methodology and system analysis. It deals with the

approach used for the project, tools used, information gathering, data analysis

and limitations of the existing system.

Chapter four covers the system analysis and design. It highlights the project

modules, system and program flow charts, and the database design.

Chapter five discusses the system implementation and testing.

Chapter six covers the summary and conclusion of the project.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Courier: A courier is a person or company employed to deliver messages,

packages and mail.

Database: A systematically arranged collection of computer data, structured so

that it can be automatically retrieved or manipulated. It is also called databank.

File Transfer: Any kind of computer file can be sent via the Internet from one

Internet user to another. Table of accounts on spreadsheets, design by a graphic

artists, music sound files etc, can all be exchanged in this way.


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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 CARGO SHIP

According to Systematics (1998), cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or

vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another.

Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they

handle the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially

designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms

to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built of

welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25

to 30 years before being scrapped

Cargo ships/freighters can be divided into four groups, according to the type of

cargo they carry. These groups are:

1. General Cargo Vessels

2. Tankers

3.

Dry-bulk Carriers

4. Multipurpose Vessels

General Cargo Vessels carry packaged items like chemicals, foods, furniture,

machinery, motor vehicles, footwear, garments, etc.

Tankers carry petroleum products or other liquid cargo.


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Dry Bulk Carriers carry coal, grain, ore and other similar products in loose

form.

Multi-purpose Vessels, as the name suggests, carry different classes of cargo –

e.g. liquid and general cargo – at the same time.

Specialized types of cargo vessels include container ships and bulk carriers

(technically tankers of all sizes are cargo ships, although they are routinely

thought of as a separate category). Cargo ships fall into two further categories

that reflect the services they offer to industry: liner and tramp services. Those

on a fixed published schedule and fixed tariff rates are cargo liners. Tramp ships

do not have fixed schedules. Users charter them to haul loads. Generally, the

smaller shipping companies and private individuals operate tramp ships. Cargo

liners run on fixed schedules published by the shipping companies. Each trip a

liner takes is called a voyage. Liners mostly carry general cargo. However,

some cargo liners may carry passengers also. A cargo liner that carries 12 or

more passengers is called a combination or passenger-cum-cargo line.

The earliest records of waterborne activity mention the carriage of items for

trade; the evidence of history and archaeology shows the practice to be

widespread by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The desire to operate

trade routes over longer distances and at more seasons of the year motivated

improvements in ship design during the middle Ages.


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Before the middle of the 19th century, the incidence of piracy resulted in most

cargo ships being armed, sometimes quite heavily, as in the case of the Manila

galleons and East Indiamen. This sometimes resulted in the ships being

escorted.

The words cargo and freight have become interchangeable in casual usage.

Technically, "cargo" refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while

"freight" refers to the compensation the ship or charterer receives for carrying

the cargo.

Generally, the modern ocean shipping business is divided into two classes:

1. Liner business: typically (but not exclusively) container vessels (whereas

"general cargo" is carried in 20 or 40-foot "boxes"), operating as

"common carriers", calling a regularly published schedule of ports. A

common carrier refers to a regulated service where any member of the

public may book cargo for shipment, according to long-established and

internationally agreed rules.

2. Tramp-tanker business: generally this is private business arranged

between the shipper and receiver and facilitated by the vessel owners or

operators, who offer their vessels for hire to carry bulk (dry or liquid) or

break bulk (cargoes with individually handled pieces) to any suitable


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port(s) in the world, according to a specifically drawn contract, called a

charter party.

Larger cargo ships are generally operated by shipping lines: companies that

specialize in the handling of cargo in general. Smaller vessels, such as coasters,

are often owned by their operators.

2.2 COURIER SERVICE COMPANY

According to Nick Mathiason (2007), a courier is a person or company

employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. Couriers are distinguished

from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking,

signature, specialization and individualization of services, and committed

delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a

premium service, couriers are usually more expensive than usual mail services,

and their use is typically restricted to packages where one or more of these

features are considered important enough to warrant the cost. Different courier

services operate on all scales, from within specific towns or cities, to regional,

national and global services. The world's largest courier companies are Aramex,

DHL, FedEx, TNT N.V. and UPS. These offer services worldwide, typically via

a hub and spoke model.

In ancient times runners and homing pigeons were used to deliver timely

messages. When the horse became domesticated, its use was rapidly adopted by

couriers. Before there were mechanized courier services, foot messengers


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physically ran miles to their destinations. To this day there are marathons

directly related to actual historical messenger routes.

In cities, there are often bicycle couriers or motorcycle couriers but for

consignments requiring delivery over greater distance networks, this may often

include trucks, railways and aircraft.

Many companies who operate under a Just-In-Time or "JIT" inventory method

often utilize on-board couriers. On-board couriers are individuals who can

travel at a moment's notice anywhere in the world, usually via commercial

airlines. While this type of service is the second costliest - general aviation

charters are far more expensive - companies analyze the cost of service to

engage an on-board courier versus the "cost" the company will realize should

the product not arrive by a specified time (i.e. an assembly line stopping,

untimely court filing, lost sales from product or components missing a delivery

deadline, organ transplants).

Over time, demand for a new type of representative courier has emerged. With

the increase in fuel prices and productivity goals monitored closely by

companies, this new type of all-in-one courier has been developed to "take care

of business". Workers in companies have more work and less time to be out of

the office. Operating largely using independent contractors that have gone

through a screening process and background checks have found a niche in the

courier industry. Research, in transit pet care, complex paperwork filing, and a

host of other services are now offered in this new category of courier service.


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The genus of the UK same-day courier market stems from the London Taxi

companies but soon expanded into dedicated motorcycle dispatch riders with

the taxi companies setting up separate arms to their companies to cover the

courier work. During the late 1970s small provincial and regional companies

were popping up throughout the country. Today, there are many large

companies offering next-day courier services, including City Link Ltd. and UK

divisions of worldwide couriers such as APC Overnight, FedEx, DHL, UPS and

TNT.

There are many 'specialist' couriers usually for the transportation of items such

as freight/palettes, sensitive documents and liquids.

The 'Man & Van'/Freelance courier business model is highly popular in the

United Kingdom, with thousands upon thousands of independent couriers and

localized companies, offering next-day and same-day services. This is likely to

be so popular because of the low business requirements (a vehicle) and the

lucrative number of items sent within the UK every day. Since the turn of the

millennium there has been a noticeable increase in owner drivers, self employed

couriers, operating mainly from home with a sole vehicle. Advantages of this

rather than working for an established same-day courier firm are that they are

able to offer far better rates to their customers. Self employed couriers come

from varied employment backgrounds; from non-skilled through to highly

qualified trades people.


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Motorbike couriers still exist, but mainly in and around London (and other large

cities), where there is often congestion, as they are much cheaper to run in

heavy traffic.

Large companies such as APC Overnight, Interlink Express, Citylink and FedEx

all now provide P.O.Ds online. Lots of the smaller companies and freelance

'Man & Vans' are unable to provide this, but this is changing with forever

lowering costs of technology.

Royal Mail was up until recently a reasonable competitor of most of the large

couriers; offering next day and special delivery services. This has however

changed, with higher costs, strike action and a lowering public perception of the

company. With companies like Royal Mail & the DX (who offer a private

courier 'box network'), it can be difficult to draw a clear-cut line between postal

services and couriers.

Some UK couriers offer next-day services to other European countries. FedEx

and Interlink Express both offer next-day air delivery to many EU countries.

Cheaper 'By-Road' options are also available, varying from 2 days delivery time

(e.g. France), up to a week (e.g. Former USSR countries).

Large couriers often require an account to be held (and this can include daily

schedule collections). Senders are therefore primarily in the

commercial/industrial sector (and not the general public); some couriers such as

DHL do however allow public sending (at higher cost than regular senders).


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The courier industry has long held an important place in United States

commerce and been involved in pivotal moments in the nation's history such as

westward migration and the gold rush. Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 and

rapidly became the preeminent package delivery company. The company

specialized in shipping gold, packages and newspapers throughout the West,

making a Wells Fargo office in every camp and settlement a necessity for

commerce and connections to home. Shortly afterward, the Pony Express was

established to move packages more quickly than the traditional method, which

followed the stagecoach routes. It also illustrated the demand for timely

deliveries across the nation, a concept that continued to evolve with the

railroads, automobiles and interstate highways and which has emerged into

today’s courier industry.

The Courier industry in the United States is a $59 billion industry, with 86% of

the business shared by only four companies, including DHL, FedEx and UPS.

The remaining 14% shared among almost 11,900 other small businesses ranging

in size from 1 employee to over 600. These businesses comprise of mostly same

day deliveries and are strong offline businesses like Diamond Express and

strong online businesses like Naparex.

According to Fincham, Ben (2004), Same-day couriers deliver in less than 24

hours and are an integral part of any modern economy. There are roughly seven

thousand courier companies in the United States that make up this multi-billion

dollar sector. The business model for the courier industry is particularly


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dependent on independent contractors. It is estimated that 50-65% of U.S.

courier companies use independent contractors to make deliveries in addition to

their own dedicated employee resources. The nature of the industry, with its on-

demand, often unscheduled delivery model, requires a varying number of

courier drivers on any given day and time of day to complete a set service.

Experts in this method of network delivery maintain hundreds of standby

couriers in a "ready to move" status as devised by Mark Kent, professor of

Logistics at the University of Ghent. However, this business model is under

threat from IRS Reclassification where IC's are being re-categorized as W-2

employees. This reclassification typically results in fines being imposed on the

offending courier company.

In December 2007, the Internal Revenue Service of the US 'tentatively decided'

that FedEx Ground Division might be facing a tax liability of $319 million for

2002, due to misclassification of its operatives as independent contractors.

Reversing a 1994 decision which allowed FedEx to classify its operatives that

own their own vehicles, the IRS is auditing the years 2003 to 2006, with a view

to assessing whether similar misclassification of operatives has taken place.

FedEx denies that any irregularities in classification have taken place, but is

facing legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued

had they been classified as employees.

Many expedited courier companies are regional; small businesses which can

also provide additional services such as logistics management, archive


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warehousing, messenger centres, outsourced mailroom services and coordinated

airfreight forwarding delivery services.

In the UK, most of the couriers or dispatch riders were motorcyclists when the

same-day delivery business started to show up in London. These tended to

evolved from taxi companies but soon regional courier companies were popping

up throughout the country. Starting in the mid 1980s, bicycle couriers, who

were more economical for shorter distance deliveries, began to supplant

motorcycle couriers in the larger cities. Rising costs, including insurance

premiums and petrol, made motorcycle couriers less competitive. Except for the

metropolitan areas most of the same-day couriers throughout the country now

use small vans to do deliveries. Under the current financial climate the trend has

seen corporate businesses evaluate courier costs and steer away from same-day

couriers and tend to sway towards the cheaper next day delivery solution.

These couriers specialize in delivering important or sensitive packages that need

to be received in the local area; and/or because of time and temperature

concerns, such as organs for transplant or key equipment or parts that are

necessary for day to day operations. While most companies use courier services,

certain industries depend on couriers on a daily basis. Biomedical labs need

samples for testing and evaluation, manufacturing industries require parts to

keep their plants operating smoothly, financial institutions transfer multiple

documents every day between branches and processing centres, law firms must

deliver confidential signatured documents on very strict deadlines for court


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filings and pharmaceutical distributors use couriers to transport medications to

hospitals and nursing homes.

Even two-day delivery services use courier firms. When a mistake has been

discovered, courier firms fill in the gaps and ensure packages are delivered on

time. One of the leading UK next day couriers, APC Overnight, ensure that any

timed delivery mis-sorted parcels are urgently collected and run to their

destination on same-day delivery vehicles to ensure that the customer still

receives the service that they paid for.

Courier firms specializing in same-day delivery provide an invaluable service

because the "big five" (Aramex, DHL, FedEx, TNT N.V., and UPS) in the

delivery business simply do not provide same-day delivery services uniquely

designed to meet specific individual customer needs. Expedited delivery firms

also prevent the big five from having a complete monopoly on deliveries that

must be completed in a short period of time. This competition, both among

couriers and with the big five, has greatly increased the quality and

professionalism of the industry, while also ensuring reasonable rates for

customers. These 7,000 plus small businesses also help to keep the pricing

competitive and the big five honest. Additionally, the courier industry consists

almost entirely of small, locally owned and operated businesses, ensuring that

revenue is retained within the community served, rather than siphoned off by a

multi-national corporation. Ron Da Parma (2007).


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The conditions of employment of couriers vary from country to country, city to

city and even company to company. Contracts governing the relationship

between individual courier and company are subject to customary practice, as

local ordinance. In some places, couriers are independent contractors paid on

commission and do not receive benefits such as health insurance. In other

places, they are regular employees of the courier company enjoying all the

benefits thereof.

In the US, the Obama-Durbin Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act

of 2007 was introduced to deal with the problem of workers 'misclassified' as

independent contractors. It is not clear what effect this legislation, if enacted,

will have on the U.S. courier market. But if, as is the Act's intention, courier

companies are forced to treat those workers that they previously declared

independent contractors, as employees, with all the benefits thereof, then there

is no doubt that costs will rise.

2.3 E-COMMERCE

To many people, the term electronic commerce (sometimes shortened to e-

commerce) (Kalakota & Whinston 1999) means shopping in the part of the

internet called the World Wide Web. However, e-commerce has a much broader

scope and encompasses many more business activities other than just web

shopping. Some people and businesses use the term electronic business (or e-

business) when they are talking about e-commerce in this broader sense. In this


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paper, we will use the term e-commerce in its broadest definition. Although the

web has made online shopping possible for many businesses and individuals, in

a broader sense, e-commerce has existed for many years. For decades, banks

have been using electronic funds transfers (EFTs) (Schneider & Perry 2001),

which are electronic transmissions of account exchange information over

private communications networks. Businesses also have been engaging in a

form of e-commerce, known as electronic data interchange (EDI), for many

years. EDI occurs when one business transmits computer readable data in

standard format to another business. In the 1960s, businesses realized that many

of the documents they exchanged related to the shipping of goods – such as

invoices, purchase orders, and bills of lading – and included the same set of

information for almost every transaction. They also realized that they were

spending a good deal of time and money entering these data into their

computers, printing paper forms, and then re-entering the data on the other side

of the transaction. Although the purchase order, invoice, and bill of lading for

each transaction contained much of the same information, each paper form had

its own unique format for presenting that information. By creating a set of

standard formats for transmitting that information electronically, businesses

were able to reduce errors, avoid printing and mailing costs, and eliminate the

need to re-enter data. Businesses that engage in EDI with each other are called

trading partners. The standard formats used in EDI contain the same


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information that businesses have always included in their standard paper

invoices, purchase orders, and shipping documents.

A good definition of e-commerce would mention the use of electronic data

transmission to implement or enhance any business process. Some people use

the term “internet commerce” to mean e-commerce that specifically uses the

internet or the web as its data transmission medium. IBM has defined electronic

business to be “the transformation of key business processes through the use of

Internet technologies”.

Several technologies are needed for e-commerce to exist. The most obvious one

is the internet. Beyond that system of interconnected networks, many other

sophisticated software and hardware components are needed to provide the

required support structure: database software, network switches and hubs,

encryption hardware and software, multimedia support, and the World Wide

Web. Methods of connecting all the software and hardware elements in just the

right way to support electronic commerce are changing and evolving every day.

The rate of change is rapid for all elements that support electronic commerce.

Any business that engages in e-commerce and hopes to compete in the future

must adapt to new internet technologies as they become available. The

anticipated e-commerce overload requires companies to find faster and more

efficient ways to deal with the ever-increasing rush of online shoppers and the

increasing traffic between businesses.

The following are the characteristics of e-commerce technologies (Burns 2002):


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Ease of automated processing: A payer can now easily automate the

generation and processing of multiple payments with minimal effort and cost.

Previously, the dependency upon banks to handle most payments and the lack

of a cheap, ubiquitous communications technology made automation of

payment processes expensive and difficult to establish.

Immediacy of result: Payment immediacy occurs because of automation and

the ability of the intermediate systems and providers to process payments in

real-time. In manual, paper based systems there exists a time delay due to the

requirement of human intervention in the process.

Openness and accessibility: The availability of cheap computing and

communications technology, and appropriate software enables small enterprises

and individuals to access or provide a range of payment services that were

previously only available to large organizations via dedicated networks or the

transactional processing units of banks.

Loss of collateral information: The new technology dispenses with, or alters,

collateral information accompanying transactions. This information has

traditionally been part of the transaction, and has been relied upon by the

transacting parties to validate individual payments.

Globalization: Globalization, or the minimization of geographical factors in

making payments, is an obvious aspect of the new payments systems. Its effect

is upon areas such as size of the payments marketplace, uncertainty as to legal

jurisdiction in the event of disputes, location and availability of transaction


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trails, and the ability of a payment scheme to rapidly adapt to regulatory

regimes imposed by one country by moving to another.

New business models: New business models are being developed to exploit the

new payment technologies, in particular to address or take advantage of the

disintermediation of customers from traditional payment providers such as

banks. Disintermediation is where the technology enables a third party to

intervene between the customer and the banking system, effectively transferring

the customer’s trusted relationship with the bank to the new party.

2.4 POSTAL SERVICES

The Post Office provides information on services and accepts postal items and

payment on behalf of the two collection and delivery divisions of the Royal

Mail group, Royal Mail and Parcel force. These include a variety of ordinary

and guaranteed services both for delivery within the United Kingdom and to

international destinations. Postage stamps (including commemorative stamps

and other philatelic items), air letters and international reply coupons are sold,

while applications for redirection of mail are accepted on behalf of Royal Mail.

Post Office Local Collect is a scheme whereby undelivered mail can be

redirected at customer request to a post office for convenient collection.

Personal banking services are offered on behalf of a number of "partner banks"

that the Post Office has agreements with. Although different services are


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available on behalf of different institutions, these may include cash withdrawals,

paying in cash and cheques, balance enquiries and cheque encashment. Some

post offices also have cash machines, mainly provided by Bank of Ireland. The

Post Office Card Account is a basic bank account allowing customers to collect

benefit payments. Most other basic accounts can also be accessed through post

offices. The Card Account cannot be accessed anywhere other than a Post

Office Counter or ATM at a Post Office. These accounts are limited to

Department of Work & Pensions deposits of benefit payments and HMRC Tax

Credits/Child Benefit. Housing Benefit from the local Council for example,

must be paid elsewhere. If the account remains dormant for one year, it is

closed. These bank accounts are run by J.P. Morgan Europe Ltd on behalf of the

Post Office. To open an account, you must be in receipt of benefits and a

referral is made via the Jobcentre Plus.

Business banking services are also offered, mainly through Alliance & Leicester

Commercial Bank (the successor to the Post Office Girobank).

2.5 SAVINGS PRODUCTS

The Post Office has long been an agent for National Savings and Investments,

which was originally the Post Office Savings Bank but is now a wholly separate

institution. Information is available for most NS&I products, including

Premium Bonds, and numerous transactions can be carried out in post offices.


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In recent years the Post Office has launched its own range of branded savings

products, which are sometimes in competition with those offered by NS&I. The

most recently introduced, in September 2008, is a Post Office ISA. Also on

offer is an instant access account (Instant Saver), while issues of two fixed term

investments (Five Year Saver and Growth Bond) are periodically available. The

Post Office is also a provider for the Child Trust Fund.

The Post Office operates as a provider of a home landline telephone service

(branded as Post Office Home Phone) and has recently added broadband

internet to its portfolio. Mobile phone E Top-up is available on behalf of most

networks. Post Office branded prepay phone cards are available, offering

potential savings particularly on international call rates.

The Post Office is now seeking to establish itself as a financial service provider

and provides a number of branded insurance products including for cars, vans

and motorbikes; home insurance (buildings and/or contents); pet insurance and

travel insurance. Life insurance, over 50s life cover and lifestyle protection

insurance are also available.

The Post Office is now offering itself as a mortgage lender and also offers

personal loans, although the latter are now marketed purely through the

company's website and not through the branch network.


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A number of bill payments can be accepted on behalf of a variety of

organizations including utilities, local authorities and others. These can be in the

form of automated payments (bar coded bills, swipe cards, key charging) or

manual transactions through the Alliance & Leicester Transcash system. The

name Transcash was formerly used by Girobank. The Transcash service is not

advertised and a search for "Transcash" on the Post Office website returns no

results. However, Transcash forms (still marked "Girobank") were still available

at Post Office counters in October 2010.

Check and send services are available for applications made to several

government institutions, including Her Majesty's Passport Office (for British

passport applications), DVLA (for driving licenses and the Department of

Health (for the European Health Insurance Card). Fishing licenses are issued on

behalf of the Environment Agency from branches in England and Wales.

Selected branches issue international driving permits.

Post Office savings stamps were first introduced by Henry Fawcett in the 1880s

but were phased out in the 1960s. They were re-introduced in August 2004

because of consumer demand. In 2010 saving stamps were withdrawn and

replaced by the Budget Card. In 2011 it was announced that Post Office saving

stamps would have to be redeemed by 28th February 2011, although any

customers who miss the deadline can post their saving stamps to a central Post

Office location where the stamps will be validated.


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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY AND SYSTEM ANALYSIS

According to oxford advanced learners dictionary, methodology is a set of

methods and principles used to perform a particular activity. This chapter deals

with the methods used in carrying out the project and the analysis of the

methods used.

3.1

APPROACH

The software development approach used in the design of this project is the top-

down approach. A top-down approach (also known as stepwise design or

deductive reasoning) is essentially the breaking down of a system to gain insight

into its compositional subsystems. In a top-down approach, an overview of the

system is formulated, specifying but not detailing any first level subsystem.

Each subsystem is then refined in yet greater detail, sometimes in many

additional subsystem levels, until the entire specification is reduced to base

elements.


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Fig3.1: Main menu block diagram

Fig 3.1 is the main menu block diagram which comprises of the various users

that can use the website and the various pages that each user is allowed access

to.

Main Menu

Customers Control Panel Admin Database Administrator Exit

ViewProducts

Check CreditCard Balance

View Cart

Place Order

MakePayment

Create AdminPassword

CreateCredit Card

Fund CreditCard

AddProducts

Delete

Products

UpdateProducts

View OrderList

ViewPayment

ViewCustomers

Home

Browse


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3.2 TOOLS

The tools used for the project are PHP, mysql, and web server (wamp).

3.3 INFORMATION GATHERING

During the project work, data collection was carried out in various ways. In

gathering and collecting necessary data and information needed for the project,

Magazines, Journals, Articles, e-books and the Internet in general were sourced.

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS

I. General Analysis of the Existing System

The existing system in a courier service company is manual. Documents for

delivery are documented in a file and a payment receipt is issued. These

packages are categorised according to their destination, state or country.

Arrangement is made for their transportation down to their destination. On

arrival, these documents are distributed to the owners and a manual record is

prepared for each delivery. Sometimes customers come to the office to claim

their parcel and a manual search operation is carried out to locate the parcel for

the customer.

II. Input Analysis

Data analysis and restructuring was based on the identification of the basic

needs and the structure required for the project. The information gathered were


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analyzed and restructured in such a way that the subsystems and the modules

were achieved efficiently. The analysis and restructuring of these data were

such that the system is capable of entering the data to the input form.

III. Process Analysis

The information gathered was processed into a more meaningful format for

entry into the system. The processing was basically on the parcel records.

IV. Output Analysis

The output from the system designed is generated from the system inputs. More

of the output generated is on parcel received and delivery information.

3.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

Due to the manual means being used by courier Service Company in keeping

parcel records information, lots of problems was encountered which includes:

a.

Delay in processing parcel files

b. Loss of vital documents as the filing system is manual

c. Damage of documents due to fire incident.

d. Illegal removal of files by fraudulent staff leading to insecurity.


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3.6 OVERVIEW OF THE ENVISAGED SYSTEM

The new system is designed to solve problems affecting the manual system in

use. It is designed to be computerised thereby relieving both the customers and

staff from much stress as experienced in the manual system. This system will do

the analyzing and storing of information either automatically or interactively.

The proposed system will also have some other feature like:

Accuracy in the handling of data.

Fast rate of operation and excellent responses time

Easy way of back up or duplicating data in diskettes in case of data loss.

Better storage and faster retrieval system.


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CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM DESIGN

4.1

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

The project applies a modular architecture with the various project features

represented using modules.

4.2 PROJECT MODULES

Sign in module

This module enables a user or administrator to log in to an already created

account. Text boxes are provided for the user name and password, and an

option box for selecting which type of user you want to sign in as.

Fig 4.1: sign in module

Register module

This module enables a visitor to the site to register as a new user. The

following information must be entered before the visitor is registered as a


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new user: user name, password, re-password, first name, last name, phone

number, e-mail address and home address.

Fig 4.2: register module

Check balance module

This module enables the user to check his account balance on his credit card

by inputting his card number and pin and clicking on the check balance

control button. His credit card balance will immediately be displayed in the

balance textbox.


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Fig 4.3: check balance module

View cart module

This module provides the user with an interface where the user can view the

items already ordered and placed on cart. The user can remove item(s) from

the cart here. Once he is satisfied with the items, he then proceeds to pay for

them in the payment module.

Product ID Product

name

Price Date Delete

Fig 4.4: view cart module


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Payment module

Here, the user can pay for the goods selected by filling out his information

such as first name, last name, card number, expiry date, secret pin and

signature. The total sum of goods and number of items are displayed

automatically.

Fig 4.5: payment module

Create administrator module

This enables the control panel administrator to add/create a new

administrator account. This is done by inputting the user name, password

and re-entering it to confirm.


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Fig 4.6: create admin module

Create credit card module

This is an ideal, demonstrative module showing how a credit card is created

on the bank end. The card number and signature is automatically generated

by the bank.

Fig 4.7: create credit card module


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Fund credit card module

This module is not a real module, rather an ideal, demonstrative module.

Since this project is executed on a virtual server, it is not possible to pay in

money online. Therefore, this module demonstrates how money is paid into

a user’s credit card on the bank end.

Fig 4.8: fund credit card module

Add product module

In this module, an administrator can add a new product by keying in the

product name, price and selecting the image from a memory location.

Once this is done, the new product will be visible to any user that checks

his account.

Fig 4.9: add product module


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Delete product module

This module deletes a product from the products displayed in the user’s

account home page.

Fig 4.10: Delete product module

Update product module

This module updates the information of a product, such as its price, image,

and name.

Fig 4.11: Update product module


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View order list module

This module demonstrates the list of users and products they ordered. A user

or product can occur multiple times, depending on how many times a user

orders a product or how many times a product is ordered.

User Product

ID

Product

name

price Status Date

Fig 4.12: view order list module

View payment module

This displays the user, product and amount paid for each product purchased.

User Price Date

Fig 4.13: view payment module


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View customer module

This displays a list of customers that have purchased a product.

User name First name Last name Phone

number

E-mail Address

Fig 4.14: View customers module


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4.3 FLOWCHART

Fig 4.15: system flowchart

From the flow chart, an input data form is displayed which allows a user to key

in values (numbers or characters) from the keyboard. The control unit is

accessed and information is stored on or retrieved from the disk storage, stored

internally and an output (report) is generated.

Input Data -

Form

Input Fromthe

Keyboard

Disk

Storage Output (Report)

Result toScreen

Storeinternally

Control


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Program Flowchart

Start

Display home pageand the option

buttons

Select menu option

User login

Admin Login

Control Panel

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

C

Stop

A

C

D


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Select Menu

Option

Sign Up?EnterCustomersRegistrationInformation

Yes

No

Enter User Name &Password

Valid? No

Place YourPurchase Order

Yes

Valid CreditAccount?

Submit the purchase order

Exit

No Display InvalidCredit AccountInformation

Yes

A


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Enter AdminPassword

ValidPassword?

No

YesSelect Menu Options

NewProduct ?

Enter ProductInformationand Picture

Yes

No

UpdateProduct?

Edit ProductInformation

Yes

No

ViewOrder?

DisplaycustomersProduct Order

Yes

No

ViewIncome?

Displaycustomers

paymentYes

No

Stop

C


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Fig 4.16: program flow chart

Enter controlPassword

ValidPassword?

No

Yes

Select Menu Options

New ID?

Enter AdminID

Yes

No

New Card?

Edit creditCardInformationYes

No

Funding?

Update Creditcard accountYes

No

Stop

D


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In figure 4.16, the user opens the website and views the various login options.

Clicking on the user login option will take him to the user login page (A), else

clicking on the admin login option will take him to the administrator login page

(C), if not clicking on the control panel option will take him to the control panel

login page (D). If none of the options are clicked, the user may exit the site.

In option A, the user can select a variety of options. If he chooses to sign up, he

must enter customer’s registration information and exit the page, else he can

sign in by entering his user name and password. If not confirmed, he must enter

them again, if confirmed, he can place an order. If his credit card is not valid,”

invalid credit card” information is displayed and he must enter it again. If valid,

he can submit the purchase order and exit

In option C, inserting the admin password will display the admin menu, if not, it

must be typed again. Amongst the menu options are new product, update

product, view order and view income.

In option D, inserting the control panel password will display the admin menu,

if not, it must be typed again. Amongst the menu options are new ID, new card

and funding.


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4.4 DATABASE DESIGN

MySql database was used in the design of the new system database. The

structure of the data tables in the database includes:

ecard

tbl_admin

tbl_cpanel

tbl_order

tbl_payment

tbl_product

tbl_user

Field Type Null Key Default

First name varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Last name varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Card number varchar(40) NO PRI

Signature varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Exp date Date YES (NULL)

Pin int(6) YES (NULL)

Amount Double YES (NULL)

Table 4.1: E-card


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The field column here contains the user’s credit card information such as first

name, last name, card number, signature, expiry date, pin and amount. The type

column specifies the data type used and maximum length. The null column

contains null values and is set to yes, except for the primary key which is set to

no. The key column specifies the key used in the database design. Only the

primary key is specified here. The primary key constraint specifies that the

column(s) of a table can contain only unique non null values. Only one primary

key can be specified for a table, whether as a column or table constraint. The

default clause assigns a default value for the column whose column definition it

appears within. All the cells in the default column are set to null.


username varchar(10) NO PRI (NULL)

password varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Table 4.2: Admin

The field column here contains the username and password. The type column

specifies the username and the password rows as variable character (varchar)

types of lengths of 10 and 20 characters respectively. The null column is set to

YES except for the primary key which is set to NO. The key column is set to

primary for the first row and the default column is set to NULL for both rows.


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Sn int(4) NO PRI (NULL)

Id int(4) YES (NULL)

User varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Dates Date YES (NULL)

Status varchar(10) YES (NULL)

Price Double YES (NULL)

Product varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Table 4.3: Order

The field column here contains the serial number, identification (ID), user,

dates, status, price and product. The type column specifies the serial number

and the ID rows as integers (int) of lengths of 4 numbers, the user, status and

product rows as variable character (varchar) types of lengths of20, 10 and 20

characters respectively, the dates row as a date type and the price row as a

double type. The null column is set to YES except for the primary key which is

set to NO. The key column is set to primary for the first row and the default

column is set to NULL for all rows.


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Table 4.4: C panel

The field column here contains the username and password. The type column

specifies the username and the password rows as variable characters (varchar)

type of lengths 10 and 20 characters respectively. The null column is set to YES

except for the primary key which is set to NO. The key column is set to primary

for the first row and the default column is set to NULL for both rows.


Sn int(5) NO PRI (NULL)

Id int(5) YES (NULL)

User varchar(15) YES (NULL)

Items int(5) YES (NULL)

Amount Double YES (NULL)

Dates Date YES (NULL)

Table 4.5: Payment


Username varchar(10) O PRI (NULL)

password varchar(20) YES (NULL)


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The field column here contains the serial number, identification (ID), user,

items, amounts and dates. The type column specifies the serial number, ID and

the items rows as integers (int) of lengths 5 numbers, the user row as a variable

character (varchar) type of length 15 characters respectively, the dates row as a

date type and the amount row as a double type. The null column is set to YES

except for the primary key which is set to NO. The key column is set to primary

for the first row and the default column is set to NULL for all rows.


Id int(5) NO PRI (NULL)

Productname varchar(50) YES (NULL)

Img varchar(50) YES (NULL)

Price Double YES (NULL)

Table4.6:Product

The field column here contains the identification (ID), product name, image and price. The type column specifies the ID as an integer (int) of length 5 numbers,

the product name and image rows as variable character (varchar) types of

lengths 15 characters respectively and the price row as a double type. The null

column is set to YES except for the primary key which is set to NO. The key


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column is set to primary for the first row and the default column is set to NULL

for all rows.


Username varchar(10) NO PRI

Password varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Firstname varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Lastname varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Phone varchar(13) YES (NULL)

Email varchar(20) YES (NULL)

Address varchar(50) YES (NULL)

Table 4.7: User

The field column here contains the username, password, first name, last name,

phone number, e-mail and address. The type column specifies the username,

password, first name, last name, phone number, e-mail and address rows as

variable character (varchar) types of lengths 10, 20, 20, 20, 13, 20 and 50

characters respectively. The null column is set to YES except for the primary

key which is set to NO. The key column is set to primary for the first row and

the default column is set to NULL for all rows.


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CHAPTER FIVE

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

5.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Computer system is made up of units that are put together to work as one in

order to achieve a common goal. The requirements for the implementation of

the new system are:

The Hardware

The Software

Software Requirement

For the effective implementation of the new system, the following software has

to be installed on the computer system.

Windows Xp, Windows 2000 , Windows Vista ,Windows 7or above

PHP

Mysql

Web Server

Hardware Requirement

Pentium VI and Above

1GB Ram and above


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40GB HD

Internet Access

5.2 SYSTEM MODULE IMPLEMENTATION

Fig 5.1: Home page

This is the home page of the e-post management system. Here, one can log in or

register as a new user to the site


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Fig 5.2: Login Form

This is the user login form, a pictorial view of the login module already

explained in fig 4.1


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Fig 5.3: User Registration Form

This is the user registration form, a pictorial view of the registration module

already explained in fig 4.2.


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Fig 5.4: Product Price list and ordering Page

This is the product price list form where customers can view products

available for purchase and order them.


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Fig 5.6: Credit card balance checking Form

This is the check balance form, a pictorial view of the check balance module

already explained in fig 4.3


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Fig 5.7: Product order payment Form using credit card

This is the payment form, a pictorial view of the payment module already

explained in fig 4.5.


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Fig 5.8: New Product Entry Form

This is the add product form, a pictorial view of the add product module



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Fig 5.9: Delete product form

This is the delete product form, a pictorial view of the delete product module



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Fig 5.10: Update product form.

This is the update product form, a pictorial view of the update product

module already explained in fig 4.11.


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Fig 5.11: view order list form

This is the view order list form, a pictorial view of the view order list module



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Fig 5.12: View payments form

This is the view payment form, a pictorial view of the view payment module



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Fig 5.13: View customers form.

This is the view customer form, a pictorial view of the view customer



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Fig 5.14: Create admin

This is the create administrator form, a pictorial view of the create administrator



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Fig 5.15: Credit Card Account Opening Form

This is the create credit card form, a pictorial view of the create credit card



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Fig 5.16: Fund credit card form

This is the fund credit card form, a pictorial view of the fund credit card module



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5.3 SYSTEM TEST

There are two types of system test: unit/module test and system test

Unit/Module test: Here, the individual modules are executed to test for

efficiency. This ensures that all units of a system are working correctly.

System test: Here, the whole system is run ad errors are debugged.

Both types of test were carried out on this system and errors were debugged.

5.4 SYSTEM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The system performs at a short response time and is fast and very effective. The

speed of execution varies from system to system.

5.5 BILL OF ENGINEERING MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

(BEME).

S/N ITEM PRICE (₦)

1 Dream weaver software 5000

2 Transport for research 5000

3 Internet subscription for research 6500

4 Laptop 120000

5 Total 136500

Table 5.1: Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation


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CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

6.1 SUMMARY

E-post is a major improvement on the post office as it delivers better services in

a very convenient manner and eliminates the time wasted in standing in long

queues waiting to buy stamps and other postal products. This system enables a

registered user to buy postal products online and have them sent to his mail box

without having to visit the post office. It also enables him to buy goods online

and have them delivered to his residence address via courier service. This

makes the prospect of using this service more appealing as it saves time and

money, plus it is a very fast way of purchasing goods online.

6.2 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

Some problems were encountered in linking the various pages and creating a

control panel level embedded in the normal home page login level. Also,

creating and arranging the database tables effectively was tedious and bulky.


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6.3 RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that:

The management of DHL Enugu should adopt the automated method rather

than continuing with their manual system.

The staff of DHL Enugu should be given training on how to use this system and

other related computer application.

CONCLUSION

The project work has exposed a lot of information relating to courier service

information management. Also it has been observed that with the trend in

technology, most businesses are computerized and with the computerization ofthe process for parcel delivery record, the courier service company can easily

track purchases and online product ordering records.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burns, S., (2002), Unique characteristics of e-commerce technologies and their

effects upon payment systems, GSEC (GIAC Security Essentials

Certification).

Kalakota, R., (1999), Frontiers of e-commerce (Reading, MA: Addison-

Wesley/Longman).

Mazumdar, C., (2003), Final technical report for project development of

validated security processes and methodologies for web-based enterprises.

Varshney, U., (2000), Mobile commerce: a new frontier, pp 32 – 38

David, J. (2001) “Information Secur ity Issues in E-Commerce”, SANS GIAC

Security Essentials.

Paul, A., (2001), “In E-Commerce We Trust … Not”, Ecommerce Time,

February 2, 2001.

Michall, E., (2003), “Information Security”, Thomson, Inc.

Mark, M., (2006), “Information Security Principles and Practices”, Pearson

Prentice Hall.

Brian, M., (2000), “Another Ecommerce Site Suffers Hack Attack”,

intermetnews.com.


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Abrazhevich, D., (2002), Diary on Internet Payment Systems’, Proceedings of

the British Conference on Human Computer Interaction, London,

England.

Anderson, M., (1998), “Electronic Cheque Architecture, Version 1.0.2”,

Financial Services Technology Consortium, September.

Baddeley, M., (2004), “Using E-Cash in the New Economy: An Electronic

Analysis of Micropayment Systems”, Journal of Electronic Commerce

Research, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp 239-253.

Bhatia, V., (2000), E-Commerce (Includes E-Business), New Delhi: Khanna

Book Publishing Co.

Boly, J. P. et al., (1994), “ The ESPRIT Project CAFÉ-High Security Digital

Payment System”, ESORICS 94, Third European Symposium on Research

in Computer Security, Brighton, LNCS 875, Spring- Verlage, Berlin, pp

217-230.

Cavarretta, F. and de Silva, J., (1995), “Market Overview of the Payments

Mechanisms for the Internet Commerce.


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APPENDIX A

SOURCE CODE

E-Post platform


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}

a:hover {

text-decoration: none;

}

a:active {

text-decoration: none;

}

.style2 {font-size: 9px}

.style3 {background-repeat: repeat; height: 18px; font-family:"Bodoni MT";

font-weight: bold; color: #FFFFFF; border-top-style: none; border-right-style:none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; width: 70px;

cursor:pointer; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; background-image:

url(images/btn_bg.jpg);}

-->


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Welcome! Sign in or Register

Admin |

CPanel

E-Post Management System


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Home

Contact us

Welcome

Shop safely


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Sign in

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veteran user, we have just the right tools to get you on the right track.

New to sMes,

Register here

Want to order, login here


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Thanks for stopping by.

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manage your account.

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yet?

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family

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APPENDIX B

User manual

1. Turn on the system

2.

Click on the windows button to bring out the start menu

3. Click on the web browser icon

4. Type in the following URL (uniform resource locator): http://localhost/E-

post/signin.php. This will bring out the home page of the website.

Design and Implementation of a Web Based E-post Management System

Documents

Transcript of Design and Implementation of a Web Based E-post Management System