A

Seminar Report On

E commerce

(Subject Code: 536123)

Submitted in the partial fulfillment for the award

Of degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

Of

Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University

Bhilai (C.G.)

Session 2010-12

Guided by Submitted by

Prof. Rajesh rathore shirin parveen Faculty of

management UID-1001007
MBA – 1ST Sem
Sec- “A”

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

DISHA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

(Disha Education Society)

Satya Vihar, Vidhansabha-Chandrakhuri Marg, Mandir Hasaud,

Raipur (C.G.)492007

CERTIFICATE

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This is to certify that seminar report entitled “E commerce” has been prepared under my
guidance by Shirin Parveen, a bonafied student of MBA degree prescribed by the
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand technical University, Bhilai as a mandatory part of their
curriculum.

This report is the record of authentic work carried by the student during

the academic year 2010-2011. This Study is the result of him sheer hard work, the standard
of which is conformant with that expected for successful completion of the fore mentioned
course.

I wish her the best in all her future endeavours for a bright & successful
future.

Signature

Prof. Rajesh Rathore

Faculty Of Management

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project entitled “E commerce” is submitted to the

Institute of Management, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand technical University, Bhilai (C.G.)
in the partial fulfilment of degree, Master of Business Administration during academic year
2010-2012 is a benefited work and it has not been submitted to any other university or
institute for any degree or diploma.

The data collected and the information published are genuine to the best of my
knowledge and belief. Any resemblance thereof will be purely incidental.

Date: Shirin Parveen

Place: Raipur MBA 1st SEM “A”

DIMAT, RAIPUR

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of any work depends upon the devoted & sincere work. A Project
is a result of the hard work of the compiler & those who have helped in collecting the
information required. Words are scarce to express my deep gratitude to those who helped me
with their efforts in this endeavour.

At the onset I would like to thank Prof. Rajesh Rathore, for trusting
me & giving me this chance to prove my efficiency. His guidance, zeal & passion towards
work guided me a lot & instilled energy in me during the seminar report. I am grateful to him
for taking out hours & hours from his daily hectic schedule in order to create perfect learning
environment by continuously giving useful insight & necessary direction.

I sincerely acknowledge the cooperation of Prof. Rajesh Rathore who guided me throughout
the study towards its successful completion. He was a continuous source of inspiration as he
commanded nothing else but sheer excellence in the work.

SHIRIN PARVEEN

MBA 1st sem “A”

DIMAT, RAIPUR

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

SERIAL NUMBER PARTICULARS PAGE NUMBER

1 UNDERSTANDING OF E 6
COMMERCE
2 HISTORY 7
3 ADVANTAGES OF E 8
COMMERCE
4 DISADVANTAGES OF E 11
COMMERCE
5 PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN 14
E COMMERCE
6 TYPES OF E COMMERCE 16
7 ELECTRONIC PAYMENT 18
SYSTEM
8 EASY AND HARD 19
ASPECT OF E
COMMERCE
9 BUILDING AN E 20
COMMERCE SITE
10 TOP 10 COMPANIES IN 21
INDIA
11 BUSINESS MODELS OF E 23
COMMERCE

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 UNDERSTANDING OF E-COMMERCE

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or ecommerce, or e-business consists

of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet
and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown
extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this
way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain
management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange
(EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern
electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the
transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail
as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual

items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves
the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-
tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic
commerce presence on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-

business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or
limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce
that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as
business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by
companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where
the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet. There is no
intermediary service. The sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and
interactively in real-time such as Amazon.com for new books. If an intermediary is present,
then the sale and purchase transaction is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also

consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business
transactions.

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 HISTORY

The meaning of electronic commerce has changed over the last 30 years. Originally,
electronic commerce meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using
technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send commercial
documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and acceptance of
credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s were also
forms of electronic commerce.

From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource
planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.

An early example of many-to-many electronic commerce in physical goods was the Boston
Computer Exchange, a marketplace for used computers launched in 1982. An early online
information marketplace, including online consulting, was the American Information
Exchange, another pre Internet online system introduced in 1991.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee invented the Worldwide Web browser and transformed an
academic telecommunication network into a worldwide everyman everyday communication
system called internet/www. Commercial enterprise on the Internet was strictly prohibited
until 1991.Although the Internet became popular worldwide around 1994 when the first
internet online shopping started, it took about five years to introduce security protocols and
DSL allowing continual connection to the Internet. By the end of 2000, many European and
American business companies offered their services through the World Wide Web. Since then
people began to associate a word "ecommerce" with the ability of purchasing various goods
through the Internet using secure protocols and electronic payment services.

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 ADVANTAGES OF E COMMERCE

The processes involved with conducting business on the Internet and opening an ecommerce
shop to sell from have several benefits to both merchants and the customers who buy from
them. The biggest benefits of conducting business Online include a cheaper upfront cost to the
merchant, it's easier to set up and open the store and it's faster to get an online business up,
running and making sales.

1) Helps Create New Relationship Opportunities

Expanding or opening an eBusiness can create a world of opportunity and helps to establish
new relationships with potential customers, potential business associates and new product
manufacturers. Just by being in an easy to find location that is accessible to users all over the
world, you will be available for others to find and approach you about new opportunities.
Customers who don't know you exist will know about you, product suppliers will request you
add their items and other businesses will approach you about partnership opportunities. Many
of these opportunities would not present themselves without an Online presence or site for
them to discover you on their own.

2) Open for Business 24x7:

An eCommerce site basically gives you the ability to have unlimited store hours, giving your
customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to shop and buy items from you. Some
merchants choose to limit their hours to 5 days a week, but orders can still be made over the
weekend and customers can still make contact 24/7 via email, phone or fax. In addition, the
costs associated with having your store open 24/7 are much less than maintaining a physical
storefront or phone operator with 247 operation capability. You can literally take orders and
let customers shop while you sleep, take vacations or from remote locations.

3) Increases Brand or Product Awareness:

Having an Online business means that you can literally reach out to millions of consumers
looking for what you sell anywhere in the world. By reaching out to new markets and
displaying your site prominently in front of them, you will be able to help increase your
company/domain brand name and also increase awareness about your product line. By giving
users 24/7 access in an easy to find location, you will help to create more word of mouth buzz
for your eBusiness, in turn helping to promote your brand name and products. Users who
haven't heard of you will discover you exist and help spread the word about you.

4) Helps Establish Customer Loyalty:

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An eCommerce storefront will help create an easier means for your customers to purchase the
items you sell and offer a unique way to display and describe your products in an informative,
visual and interactive way. The customers you have will become more loyal shoppers each
time they visit, making ecommerce great for improved customer satisfaction and visitor
loyalty. Now that you offer your products for sale Online, consumers will be able to shop
from your catalog more easily, get updates on new items or product discounts and can shop or
buy anytime they wish.

5) Potential to Increase Overall Business Sales:

An eCommerce store that is an extension of a physical storefront is a great way to boost

overall business sales and potentially increase company profits across the board. Companies
who already do business from a physical location are typically unaware of how much more
they could be making if only they were to expand into their Online marketplaces. Selling
Online opens up many opportunities for businesses both new and old. It's a great way to
increase sales, especially if you already have a physical store.

6) Potential to Increase Company Profits:

As mentioned above, opening an Online extension of your store or moving your business
solely Online are great ways to boost sales and potentially profits. Remember, just because
SALES increase it does not necessarily mean that company PROFITS will increase also.
Online businesses do have a greater chance of increasing sales and profits by opening up an
eCommerce store to sell the items they offer. Sales and profits are the lifeblood of any
company, so it makes sense to increase them where ever possible and whenever possible
throughout the existence of your company. More sales, more profits, bigger budgets, etc.

7) Potential to Decrease Some Costs:

In addition to potentially increasing sales and profits, eBusiness owners can also typically
reduce the costs of running their business by moving it or expanding it into the Online world.
eCommerce stores can run with less employees including sales staff, customer service reps,
order fulfilment staff and others. eBusinesses also do not need a physical location in order to
stay operational, which can reduce costs related to building leases, phone bills, utility costs
and other costs associated with running a brick-and-mortar storefront.

8) Expands Geographical or Customer Reach:

As mentioned, owning an eCommerce business typically means no limits as to who and where
you can sell your products. Some countries outside the United States have additional
regulations, licensing requirements or currency differences, but generally you will not be
limited on the customers you can reach out to. Physical storefronts are limited to the city in
which they are located, Online businesses aren't limited unless you put geographical limits in
place. At the very least, you should consider targeting U.S. buyers, but also consider, Canada,
UK, Australia and others. Sell to anyone, anywhere, anytime!

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9) Allows for Smaller Market or Niche Targeting:

Although your customer reach may expand beyond your local area, you may only wish to
target smaller consumer markets and buyer niches for your eCommerce products. Owning an
Online store gives the merchant much control over who they target and reach out to notify
about the items for sale in their store. Currently, you can target women, men, a generation of
users, a particular race and many more smaller niche markets. This is typically done by
placing keywords that those niche markets use on a regular basis when shopping for the items
you offer.

10) Allows for Easier Delivery of Information:

An Online store and Web brochure are great ways to deliver and display information about
your company and the products you sell. With an Online presence your customers will have
direct access to product information, company information, specials, promotions, real time
data and much more information that they can easily find just by visiting your site day or
night. Not only does it benefit your customers, but it's also generally easier for merchants to
update their site rather than break down an in store display and put up another for the next
event. It saves both your customers and you precious time and can help you to plan more
updates or better sales as it will be much easier for you to update and take down.

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 DISADVANTAGES OF E COMMERCE

1) Time for delivery of physical products

E-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not available locally from businesses all over
the world, meaning that physical goods need to be delivered, which takes time and costs
money. Physical product, supplier & delivery uncertainty. When you walk out of a shop with
an item, it’s yours. You have it; you know what it is, where it is and how it looks. In some
respects e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because, firstly, not having had
physical access to the product, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is
and its condition. Secondly, because supplying businesses can be conducted across the world,
it can be uncertain whether or not they are legitimate businesses and are not just going to take
your money. Thirdly, even if the item is sent, it is easy to start wondering whether or not it
will ever arrive.

2) Perishable goods

Forget about ordering a single gelato ice cream from a shop in Rome! Though specialised or
refrigerated transport can be used, goods bought and sold via the Internet tend to be durable
and non-perishable: they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business
or consumer. This shifts the bias for perishable and/or non-durable goods back towards
traditional supply chain arrangements, or towards relatively more local e-commerce-based
purchases, sales and distribution. In contrast, durable goods can be traded from almost anyone
to almost anyone else, sparking competition for lower prices. In some cases this leads to
disintermediation in which intermediary people and businesses are bypassed by consumers
and by other businesses that are seeking to purchase more directly from manufacturers.

3) Limited and selected sensory information.

The Internet is an effective conduit for visual and auditory information: seeing pictures,
hearing sounds and reading text. However it does not allow full scope for our senses: we can
see pictures of the flowers, but not smell their fragrance; we can see pictures of a hammer, but
not feel its weight or balance. Further, when we pick up and inspect something, we choose
what we look at and how we look at it. This is not the case on the Internet. If we were looking
at buying a car on the Internet, we would see the pictures the seller had chosen for us to see
but not the things we might look for if we were able to see it in person. And, taking into
account our other senses, we can’t test the car to hear the sound of the engine as it changes
gears or sense the smell and feel of the leather seats. There are many ways in which the
Internet does not convey the richness of experiences of the world. This lack of sensory
information means that people are often much more comfortable buying via the Internet

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generic goods – things that they have seen or experienced before and about which there is
little ambiguity, rather than unique or complex things.

4) Returning goods

Returning goods online can be an area of difficulty. The uncertainties surrounding the initial
payment and delivery of goods can be exacerbated in this process. Privacy, security, payment,
identity, contract. Many issues arise – privacy of information, security of that information and
payment details, whether or not payment details (eg credit card details) will be misused,
identity theft, contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction
apply.

5) Defined services & the unexpected

E-commerce is an effective means for managing the transaction of known and established
services, that is, things that are everyday. It is not suitable for dealing with the new or
unexpected. For example, a transport company used to dealing with simple packages being
asked if it can transport a hippopotamus, or a customer asking for a book order to be wrapped
in blue and white polka dot paper with a bow. Such requests need human intervention to
investigate and resolve.

6) Personal service

Although some human interaction can be facilitated via the web, e-commerce can not provide
the richness of interaction provided by personal service. For most businesses, e-commerce
methods provide the equivalent of an information-rich counter attendant rather than a
salesperson. This also means that feedback about how people react to product and service
offerings also tends to be more granular or perhaps lost using e-commerce approaches. If your
only feedback is that people are (or are not) buying your products or services online, this is
inadequate for evaluating how to change or improve your e-commerce strategies and/or
product and service offerings. Successful business use of e-commerce typically involves
strategies for gaining and applying customer feedback. This helps businesses to understand,
anticipate and meet changing online customer needs and preferences, which is critical because
of the comparatively rapid rate of ongoing Internet-based change.

7) Size and number of transactions

E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result
very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. The size of
transactions is also impacted by the economics of transporting physical goods. For example,
any benefits or conveniences of buying a box of pens online from a US-based business tend to
be eclipsed by the cost of having to pay for them to be delivered to you in Australia. The
delivery costs also mean that buying individual items from a range of different overseas
businesses is significantly more expensive than buying all of the goods from one overseas
business because the goods can be packaged and shipped together.

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STEPS INVOLVED IN E COMMERCE

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 PROBLEMS RELATED TO E COMMERCE

1) Failure to understand customers

Even a product with a sound value proposition can fail if producers and retailers do not
understand customer habits, expectations, and motivations. E-commerce could potentially
mitigate this potential problem with proactive and focused marketing research, just as
traditional retailers may do.

2) Failure to consider the competitive situation

One may have the capability to construct a viable book e-tailing business model, but lack the
will to compete with Amazon.com.

3) Inability to predict environmental reaction.

What will competitors do? Will they introduce competitive brands or competitive web sites.
Will they supplement their service offerings? Will they try to sabotage a competitor's site?
Will price wars break out? What will the government do? Research into competitors,
industries and markets may mitigate some consequences here, just as in non-electronic
commerce.

4) Over-estimation of resource competence

Can staff, hardware, software, and processes handle the proposed strategy? Have e-tailers
failed to develop employee and management skills? These issues may call for thorough
resource planning and employee training.

5) Failure to coordinate.

If existing reporting and control relationships do not suffice, one can move towards a flat,
accountable, and flexible organizational structure, which may or may not aid coordination.

6) Failure to obtain senior management commitment.

This often results in a failure to gain sufficient corporate resources to accomplish a task. It
may help to get top management involved right from the start.

7) Failure to obtain employee commitment.

If planners do not explain their strategy well to employees, or fail to give employees the
whole picture, then training and setting up incentives for workers to embrace the strategy may
assist.

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8) Under-estimation of time requirements.

Setting up an e-commerce venture can take considerable time and money, and failure to
understand the timing and sequencing of tasks can lead to significant cost overruns. Basic
project planning, critical path, critical chain, or PERT analysis may mitigate such failings.
Profitability may have to wait for the achievement of market share.

9) Failure to follow a plan.

Poor follow-through after the initial planning, and insufficient tracking of progress against a
plan can result in problems. One may mitigate such problems with standard tools:
benchmarking, milestones, variance tracking, penalties for negative variances, rewards for
positive variances, and remedial realignments.

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 TYPES OF E COMMERCE

E-commerce is the use of Internet and the web to transact business but when we focus on
digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals
involving information systems under the control of the firm it takes the form of e-business.
Nowadays, 'e' is gaining momentum and most of the things if not everything is getting
digitally enabled. Thus, it becomes very important to clearly draw the line between different
types of commerce or business integrated with the 'e' factor.

There are mainly five types of e-commerce models:

1)Business to Consumer (B2C)

As the name suggests, it is the model involving businesses and consumers. This is the most
common e-commerce segment. In this model, online businesses sell to individual consumers.
When B2C started, it had a small share in the market but after 1995 its growth was
exponential. The basic concept behind this type is that the online retailers and marketers can
sell their products to the online consumer by using crystal clear data which is made available
via various online marketing tools. E.g. An online pharmacy giving free medical consultation
and selling medicines to patients is following B2C model.

2. Business to Business (B2B)

It is the largest form of e-commerce involving business of trillions of dollars. In this form,
the buyers and sellers are both business entities and do not involve an individual consumer. It
is like the manufacturer supplying goods to the retailer or wholesaler. E.g. Dell sells
computers and other related accessories online but it is does not manufacture all those
products. So, in order to sell those products, it first purchases them from different businesses
i.e. the manufacturers of those products.

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

It facilitates the online transaction of goods or services between two people. Though there is
no visible intermediary involved but the parties cannot carry out the transactions without the
platform which is provided by the online market maker such as eBay.

4. Peer to Peer (P2P)

Though it is an e-commerce model but it is more than that. It is a technology in itself which
helps people to directly share computer files and computer resources without having to go
through a central web server. To use this, both sides need to install the required software so
that they can communicate on the common platform. This type of e-commerce has quite low

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revenue generation as from the beginning it has been inclined to the free usage due to which it
sometimes got entangled in cyber laws.

5. m-Commerce

It refers to the use of mobile devices for conducting the transactions. The mobile device
holders can contact each other and can conduct the business. Even the web design and
development companies optimize the websites to be viewed correctly on mobile devices.

There are other types of e-commerce business models too like Business to Employee (B2E),
Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Citizen (G2C) but in essence they are
similar to the above mentioned types. Moreover, it is not necessary that these models are
dedicatedly followed in all the online business types. It may be the case that a business is
using all the models or only one of them or some of them as per its needs.

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 ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM

An electronic payment system (EPS) is a system of financial exchange between buyers and
sellers in the online environment that is facilitated by a digital financial instrument backed by
a bank, an intermediary, or by legal tender.

EPS plays an important role in e-commerce because it closes the e-commerce loop. In
developing countries, the underdeveloped electronic payments system is a serious impediment
to the growth of e-commerce. In these countries, entrepreneurs are not able to accept credit
card payments over the Internet due to legal and business concerns. The primary issue is
transaction security.

The absence or inadequacy of legal infrastructures governing the operation of e-payments is

also a concern. Hence, banks with e-banking operations employ service agreements between
themselves and their clients.

The relatively undeveloped credit card industry in many developing countries is also a barrier
to e-commerce. Only a small segment of the population can buy goods and services over the
Internet due to the small credit card market base. There is also the problem of the requirement
of “explicit consent” (i.e., a signature) by a card owner before a transaction is considered
valid-a requirement that does not exist in the U.S. and in other developed countries.

Many developing countries are still cash-based economies. Cash is the preferred mode of
payment not only on account of security but also because of anonymity, which is useful for
tax evasion purposes or keeping secret what one’s money is being spent on. For other
countries, security concerns have a lot to do with a lack of a legal framework for adjudicating
fraud and the uncertainty of the legal limit on the liability associated with a lost or stolen
credit card.

In sum, among the relevant issues that need to be resolved with respect to EPS are: consumer
protection from fraud through efficiency in record-keeping; transaction privacy and safety,
competitive payment services to ensure equal access to all consumers, and the right to choice
of institutions and payment methods. Legal frameworks in developing countries should also
begin to recognize electronic transactions and payment schemes.

Electronic payment lowers costs for businesses. The more payments they can process
electronically, the less they spend on paper and postage. Offering electronic payment can also
help businesses improve customer retention. A customer is more likely to return to the same
e-commerce site where his or her information has already been entered and stored.

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 EASY AND HARD ASPECTS OF E COMMERCE

The things that are hard about e-commerce include:

1. Getting traffic to come to your Web site.

2. Getting traffic to return to your Web site a second time.

3. Differentiating yourself from the competition.

4. Getting people to buy something from your Web site. Having people look at your site
is one thing. Getting them to actually type in their credit card numbers is another.

The things that are easy about e-commerce, especially for small businesses and individuals,
include:

1. Creating the web site.

2. Taking the orders.

3. Accepting payment

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 BUILDING AN E-COMMERCE SITE

The things you need to keep in mind when thinking about building an e-commerce site
include:

Suppliers

This is no different from the concern that any normal store or mail Order Company has.
Without good suppliers you cannot offer products.

Price point

A big part of e-commerce is the fact that price comparisons are extremely easy for the
consumer. Your price point is important in a transparent market.

Customer relations

E-commerce offers a variety of different ways to relate to your customer. E-mail, FAQs,
knowledge bases, forums, chat rooms... Integrating these features into your e-commerce
offering helps you differentiate yourself from the competition.

The back end: fulfilment, returns, customer service

These processes make or break any retail establishment. They define, in a big way, your
relationship with your customer.

These desirable capabilities should also be considered:-

Gift-sending

Affiliate programs

Special discounts

Repeat buyer programs

Seasonal or periodic sales

The reason why one wants to keep these things in mind is because they are all difficult unless
ones e-commerce software supports them. If the software does support them, they are trivial.

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 TOP 10 E COMMERCE COMPANIES IN INDIA

E-commerce companies in India offer the most tangible and finest e-commerce solutions. E-
commerce development firms in India provide high-end e-commerce solution taking utmost
care of the privacy and security of the e-commerce website. E-Commerce service includes
shopping carts, database programmers, graphic design services, graphics, e-business, designs
etc. The following is the list of the best E-Commerce companies in India.

1)ASA Systel Communications Pvt Ltd:

It is a leading E-commerce company in India which provides innovative and superb quality
web services which encompasses the building of e-commerce related websites and portals.
The company also uses the latest payment modes and security. The company has its offices in
Chennai, Lucknow and will shortly set up offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kathmandu, and Bhopal.

2) Candid Info:

This E-commerce company in India comprises of web enabled business and web bases
services, airline and security systems by using the internet technologies and tools of the state
of the art. The company has three Software Development centres in Mumbai and the overseas
branch office in New York. It is the first software company across the globe to get the
certification of ISO 9001:2000.

3) Eurolink Systems Limited:

This leading E-commerce company provides consulting and e-business solutions, FlexTCA
Systems, Trillium Protocol services to the global community. In order to be compliant with
specific customer requirements, the company combines customized and COTS HW/SW. The
company has its office in England, U.S, Switzerland, and India with about 200 employee
strength.

4) HashPro Technologies :

It offers e-business and traditional analysis, development, implementation, design and

strategic planning. It is a leader in the provider of integrated talent management software
organization in India. It is key technology consulting provider. It renders services like the E-
commerce Hosting, Internet Marketing, and Human Resources. The e-Workforce initiative of
the company will enable the company to become a 100 percent e-Corporation.

5) Compare Info Base:

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The company is leading provider of e-commerce portals and IT solutions. The company
manages about 1500 websites and portals with 4000 domain names. It has web presence in
Maps, Software Development, IS Travel, Education, Media, Greetings etc. The company is a
significant name in developing and selling E business. It specializes in Content development
services, Website development services; PHP Programming & Development etc. It has its
office in Mumbai, Kolkata, San Jose, and Delhi.

6) Sanver E-solutions:

This company is based in Mumbai. They believe that Information Technology is a way to the
business objectives. It is a IT consulting and Solutions Provider which offers personalized and
personal business solutions using Information and Communication Technology. It renders
other services like the CRM & SFA, Sugar CRM Hosting, and Implementation etc.

7) Planet Asia:

This E-commerce company in India uses track record and deep experience in externalized
applications to produce high quality B2SPEC (Business to Partner, Supplier, Customer)
solutions to global enterprises.

8) Candid Web Technology:

This fast growing E Commerce Company in India is a provider of Complete Web Solutions
for the design and development of dynamic web sites .The clients of the e-commerce
company spans from the small scale companies to corporate organizations.

9) Chenab Information Technologies Private Limited:

This E-commerce company in India comprises of web enabled business and web bases
services, airline and security systems by using the internet technologies and tools of the state
of the art. The company has three Software Development centres in Mumbai and the overseas
branch office in New York. It is the first software company across the globe to get the
certification of ISO 9001:2000.

10) Trisoft Design:

Trisoft Systems is a software services company that offers solutions exclusively on the
Microsoft Platform to customers worldwide. Our 10 years of experience on the Microsoft
Platform puts us at the forefront of .Net Technology.

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 BUSINESS MODELS OF E COMMERCE

In actuality, five distinct eCommerce business models form the basic structure for the wide
variety of websites today. The five categories are called vanity, billboard, advertising,
subscriptions, and storefront sites. While not all drive revenue directly, they all incur costs. In
addition, many sites combine several of the five identified business models. Each of the five
models have unique characteristics which make it different from the other types. Therefore, it
is important to understand their differences.

1) Vanity:

Many web sites are started as vanity sites. These sites are often created by individuals as an
outlet of self expression, to share a hobby, promote a cause, or find others with similar
interests. These sites are created with no intentions of deriving revenue and no illusions of
grandeur. It could be as simple as a one page family site or a complex forum on a specific
topic. The costs are borne either by the individual or by some altruistic enterprise such as
universities, libraries, communities, associations, and even businesses. Nevertheless, the costs
are real of these "free" sites.

2)Billboard:

Billboard sites (also called brochure or information sites) are designed to derive economic
benefit through indirect means from either referred sales, reduced cost, or both. Revenue
comes from creating awareness of its products or services via the web, with the actual
purchase transaction occurring off-line. Just like a billboard on a highway, success is
measured on viewership as net citizens "surf" by and are influenced to purchase product. Most
corporate sites today put up these electronic brochures to provide information about their
products, employment information, or public information. Economic benefit is created
through the indirect purchase of goods or services from existing physical outlets and cost
savings through the elimination of infrastructure or inefficiency. Finally, some businesses feel
this is the best way to avoid channel conflict'a potential pricing disparity between different
supply chains.

3)Advertising:

Network television, radio, and many periodicals follow the advertising model. All
programming and content is funded by advertising dollars, with consumer viewership
measuring value. Agencies conduct sophisticated surveys to measure the value and establish
the pricing. For eCommerce, advertising can be in the form of banners, sponsorships, ezine
ads, and other promotion methods.

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This is a much-ballyhooed but still largely unproven model on the web. While there are a few
sites that are entirely supported by advertising dollars, the lack of web-savvy viewership
statistics hinder the mass adoption by advertisers. As the knowledge of consumer behavior is
further understood, experts will prepare purchase pattern analyses providing advertisers with
empirical data to support their promotion campaigns.

4)Subscriptions:

In other media, the subscription models are well established’ accepted by subscribers and
nurtured by publishers. On the web, subscriptions are not yet widely accepted by consumers.
Of those that are accepted, the subscription model caters to sites targeted to particular niches
of individuals who have specific needs. These sites are often specialized with expert content
and timely information. The subscriptions fund the development and maintenance of the site.

Subscriptions can be paid on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis. Payment through a credit
card account is a common payment scheme for subscription sites because of the ability to
periodically process the purchase transaction electronically.

5)Storefront:

To some people, a products-offered site is narrowly defined as a "true" eCommerce site. A

website that offers products for sale is the electronic version of a catalog. These virtual
storefronts are built to describe the offering with pictures and words, offer promotions,
provide a "shopping cart," and complete the purchase transaction. Once the product is
purchased, the cyber enterprise arranges for product fulfillment including shipping and
handling. The fulfillment is sometimes completed by the website enterprise or directly from
the manufacturer in a drop shipping arrangement. Some manufacturers are now passing up the
intermediary wholesalers and retailers by offering their products directly to consumers. This
collapsing of the supply chain is called disintermediation.

Although the vast majority of these sites offer tangible products, they can work for service
products too. The primary characteristic of these types of sites is the ability to make a one
time purchase with no future obligations.

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