Part A

1. Internet is the best example of technological convergence because few years

back radio, television, print media, videos, audios, pictures and computer were used
as separate entities but internet has converged these entities at one place. The best
example of technological convergence is cell phones
2. Just-in-time delivery is a feature that can significantly optimize order fulfillment
logistics for e-commerce retailers, improving efficiencies and managing costs to
make operations more profitable. It's a way to up your game, getting orders to
customers more quickly and with greater accuracy.
3.
4.
Web Service WebSite
Web service are platform independent Websites are cross platform as they
as they use open protocols require tweaking to operate on different
browsers,operating systems etc.
The different applications which are available in E-commerce are mainly utilized in
different ways for entertainment, financial services educational training, information
capturing, business development aspects.
5. The basic operational aspect of Internet based EDI is simply to use already
existing communication protocols available on the Internet to exchange EDI data. For
this reason Internet based EDI uses the SMTP (email), HTTPS and Secure FTP
communication protocols to exchange data
6. a)Application Service
b)Translation Service
c)Communication Service
7. Supply Chain Execution (SCE) is the flow of tasks involved in the supply chain,
such as order fulfilment, procurement, warehousing, and transporting. Supply
Chain Management (SCM) is sometimes broken down into the stages of
planning, execution and shipping
8. It will have plenty of options to choose from, as traditional media such as print
and new media such as social networks both have their advantages.
i. Purchased Online Ads.
ii. Social Media Marketing.
iii. Traditional Newspaper Ads.
iv. Targeted Radio Advertising.
9. Digital signatures are used in e-commerce, software distribution, financial
transactions and other situations that rely on forgery or tampering detection
techniques. A digital signature is also known as an electronic signature
10.Telescript is an Agent-oriented programming language written by General Magic
as part of the overall Magic Cap system. Telescript programs used a modified C-like
syntax known as High Telescript and were compiled to a stack-
based language called Low Telescript for execution.

Part B
11 a)Robust B2B eCommerce Platform,Real-Time Integration With Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) Software,Omnichannel Personalization,Third-Party Logistics
Integration,eCommerce Syndication,Dealer Locator or Dealer Portal,Sales Reps
Dashboard and Punchout Catalogs.
Architectural model are Supplier Oriented Marketplace,Buyer Oriented Marketplace and
Intermediary Oriented Marketplace
b)Functional requirements are product features or functions that developers must
implement to enable users to accomplish their tasks. So, it’s important to make them
clear both for the development team and the stakeholders. Generally, functional
requirements describe system behavior under specific conditions.A search feature
allows a user to hunt among various invoices if they want to credit an issued invoice.
12 a) The web browser is an application program that displays a
www document. It usually uses other internet services to access the document. Web
server is a program or a computer that can provide services to other programs called
clients.The message that goes from the web browser to the web server is known as
HTTP request.Websites are cross platform as they require tweaking to operate on
different browsers,operating systems etc.
b)It defines the interaction between the consumer and the merchant for online
commerce. This is necessary because to buy and sell goods a buyer, a seller and other
parties must interact in ways that represent standard business process. A well
established standard process for processing credit card purchasers has contributed to
the wide spread dissemination of credit cards. The establishment of common mercantile
process model is expected to increase the convenience for consumers
13a)The server authenticates the customers and verifies with the bank that funds
are adequate before purchase. Ex: postpaid mechanisms are credit/debit cards and
electronic checks

13b)Advantages of Smart Cards

i. Larger memory.
ii. High levels of security
iii. Reduced fraud
iv. Organized information
v. Reliability
vi. Upper management information
vii. Information Security
viii. Ease of use without need for connections online or via telephone
ix. User comfort
x. Represent liquidity

Disadvantages of smart cards

xi. A more powerful virus.

xii. Discomfort to retrieve information from a stolen card.
xiii. For its size can be easily misled.
xiv. The card must be recharged.
xv. Increased cost of production.
xvi. Dependence of electrical energy for use.
xvii. Vulnerable to fluids.
xviii. Bank fees associated with credit card.
xix. We need a smart card reader.

14a)In order to run smoothly, organizations frequently standardize processes across

the organization and support users to adopt them. Unluckily, each business unit
consist of a unique set of business processes.There are no any actually good stand-
alone workflow systems as there are some good work flows systems are part of huge
 ERP System. There are several standards as WFMC' Reference Model and many
more.One can use Microsoft CRM to automate internal business processes through
creating workflow to perform routine tasks which involve daily business operations.
14b)Supply chain management in not only a process served to generate a cost
reduction in the budget or a mission to create greater operational efficiencies within
an organization. While these are a part of the whole ecosystem, modern supply
change management encompasses the strategic alignment of end-to-end business
processes to realize market and economic value, as well as giving a firm the
competitive advantage over their business rivals It is important for improve customer
services,reduce operating costs and improve financial position.
15a)
 Web Servers. Web Servers are networked computers that HTTP clients
connection
 Browsers. A web browser is a software application used to locate, receive and
display content received from web servers
 Server Software.
 Web Authoring Tools.
 Database System.
 Networking, TCP/IP and Other Protocols.
 Ports.
 Domain Names.

15b)

 Boost profitability and returns on investment

 Enhance website leads
 Increase conversion rate
 Higher customer acquisition ratio
 Improve and enhance website visibility as well as ranking

Part C
16a)Sharing business information, maintaining business relationships and conducting
business transactions using computers connected to a telecommunication network is
called E-Commerce A more general definition of e-commerce is given by Wigand
(1997) as: The seamless application of information and communication technology
from its point of origin to its endpoint along the entire value chain of business
processes conducted electronically and designed to unable the accomplishment of a
business goal. These procedures may be partial or complete or may encompass
business to business as well as business to consumer and consumer to business
transactions. E-commerce can be viewed as online business .It can mean selling
data directly from the website or offering applications for download after they are
purchased online. E-commerce is a technology or a system; it also can be viewed as
different kind of business. It is a business of computer and communication network
which is depending upon the business transactions. E-commerce includes both
business to business (B2B) and Business to customer (B2C) transactions

International E-commerce growth

E-commerce growth is very high; people have started doing online shopping more
than traditional shopping. The following table shows worldwide e-commerce growth
in different countries. .

Types of E-Commerce Models

Electronic commerce can be classified into four main categories. The basis for this
simple classification is the parties that are involved in the transactions. So the four basic
electronic commerce models are as follows,

1. Business to Business

This is Business to Business transactions. Here the companies are doing business with
each other. The final consumer is not involved. So the online transactions only involve
the manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers etc.

2. Business to Consumer

Business to Consumer. Here the company will sell their goods and/or services directly
to the consumer. The consumer can browse their websites and look at products,
pictures, read reviews. Then they place their order and the company ships the goods
directly to them. Popular examples are Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong etc.
3. Consumer to Consumer

Consumer to consumer, where the consumers are in direct contact with each other. No
company is involved. It helps people sell their personal goods and assets directly to an
interested party. Usually, goods traded are cars, bikes, electronics etc. OLX, Quikr etc
follow this model.

4. Consumer to Business

This is the reverse of B2C, it is a consumer to business. So the consumer provides a

good or some service to the company. Say for example an IT freelancer who demos
and sells his software to a company. This would be a C2B transaction.

16 b)1. Provide guest checkout

It have probably seen that providing a guest checkout is better for your conversion
rate, but how can you track customer’s account if they don’t have one? The answer is
to give them the option to create an account after their first purchase. To convince
them, connect the request e.g. with a discount code.
The checkout process also matters. The simpler it is for customers, the more
chances they’ll quickly come back to buy something on your website. When
customers buy items for the first time, they need to fill in the required form fields such
as email address or credit card details. But you can offer them a one-click payment
for every future purchase (e.g. Amazon allows that) – simply use the payment
gateway with “remember me” option.
You can also optimize the “thank you” page that customers see after purchasing an
item on your website. On the page, you can place an incentive to sign up for a
newsletter or to connect with your brand on social media.
2. Offer loyalty programs
The magic formula is to make your customers feel special and it works in every kind
of business. Consider implementing a loyalty program, which is used by many brands
for re-engaging the best customers. The scenario is always the same: customers get
a reward in return for activity, so it motivates them to buy more on your website.
The 2016 Bond Loyalty Report shows that 66% of consumers change the amount
they spend to maximize points. The more they spend, the more points they earn, it’s
as easy as that.
There is a wide range of online automated apps that make it easy for you to set up a
loyalty program. But you can do more. Surprise and delight your best customers by
sending them a small gift, offer an outstanding package, or prepare a special and
personalized offer. Everyone loves surprises and receiving something for free. You
can use this tactic to show your customers how much you care about them.
Impressed customers will share it on their social media profiles so your small gesture
can make a huge impact.
3. Try cross sales
Keep in mind that an existing customer will often wait for sales before making their
next purchase at your online store. Instead of always offering discounted products,
you can use cross-sells. Cross-selling involves inviting customers to buy related
items. For example, when someone buys pants, you can show them an offer with
associated items such as a belt, shirt, or jacket.
One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by giving your customers a
bonus (e.g. a discount code) that their friends can use. After the friend uses the
discount, the existing customer will also get the bonus.
4. Send emails
This is a smart method to encourage customers to buy from you again. Reaching out
by email grows the chances of turning one-time sales into repeated sales. Email is
still one of the most converting channels, especially for ecommerce. Customers
should be made aware of new arrivals, sale items, and you can also send them
coupon codes which are only available to newsletter subscribers. When you offer a
promotion to current customers, it shows them that they are special to you. It’s a
simple way to increase loyalty and your credibility. If they see your content regularly,
customers might be reminded of items they need that can be found at your online
store.
Keep customers informed about the status of their order. User experience is also
very important. Send customers an email or text message every time an order’s
status changes (e.g. when the payment is processed, a product is sent etc.).
Moreover, track customer’s behavior and make suggestions (e.g. a discount for the
next purchase). For example, if your customer bought an oven, they might return for
a cookie sheet, cookbooks or other related products.
Remember to send a targeted follow-up email after a customer’s first purchase. The
best time to re-engage them is when they are just getting to know your brand. Keep
customers interested in your company and show that you care about them.
Don’t forget about visitors that abandon their shopping carts. Send them an email to
recover potential lost sales. Don’t wait too long either. The right time to send that
follow-up is within an hour of visitors abandoning the cart.
5. Use content marketing and social media
Customer retention should also be connected with content marketing. When you
create good quality content that educates your audience, you increase customer
loyalty. Create buyer personas to provide personalized content and make your
customers feel like you speak directly to each of them. Don’t try to treat all customers
the same, they need to feel special.
Social media is another channel you should use to build relationships with your
customers. People are more likely to follow your brand on social channels for a
reason, so it’s up to you to decide how you’ll use it to grow your loyal customer base.
Present your products or services, notify followers about promotions, special offers or
discounts. Don’t be a pushy salesperson. You want to focus on building the
relationship, not just about selling.
Monitor customer’s activity on social media and when you see negative comments try
to resolve customer’s problems.
6. Track customer’s behavior
You can analyze customer’s buying habits to see how often they buy goods at your
online store. If they make a purchase once a month, send them a promotional email
every two weeks to make them willing to buy more.
You can also check customer’s activity, such as favorites, most frequented pages,
etc. to better personalize products. On their next visit, they could see what they
probably wanted to buy. Offering a personal experience for each shopper
encourages them to stay on your website longer and come back in the future.
17 a)E-commerce Architecture:
Every day more and more business transactions are conducted in the Internet under
the umbrella of ECommerce. The main feature that distinguishes E-Commerce from
traditional commerce is the ability to conduct business with spatially distributed
partners and products, and achieves considerable reduction in human effort and
latency time. The size and complexity of E-Commerce systems make the architecture
level of design and specification of the overall system a significant issue. From a
good design it is possible to assess the quality and performance of the system
before the system is implemented and deployed. Some of the important properties
that can be assessed from a design specification include correctness, service
availability, and security of transactions. This paper discusses the model of E-
Commerce architecture towards this goal.
There are four types of E-commerce Architecture
1. Client Server Architecture
2. Two-Tier Architectures
3. Three-Tier Architectures
4. Distributed Enterprise Architecture

3.2. Client–server architecture:

The client–server architecture is a computing model that acts as a distributed

application which partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource
or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients.

[Fig: Client Server architecture]

Often clients and servers communicate over a computer network on separate

hardware, but both client and server may reside in the same system. A server
machine is a host that is running one or more server programs which share their
resources with clients. A client does not share any of its resources, but requests a
server's content or service function. Clients therefore initiate communication sessions
with servers which await incoming requests. A network architecture in which each
computer or process on the network is either a client or a server.

Client Server architecture use 3 components-

1. Clients (Clients are Applications): Applications that run on computers and

Rely on servers for Files, Devices, Processing power. Make requests, Format
data on the desktop. Example: E-mail client an application that enables you to
send and receive e-mail.
2. Servers (Servers Manage Resources): Computers or processes that manage
network resources, Disk drives (file servers), Printers (print servers), Network
traffic (network servers).Store and protect data, Process requests from
clients. Example: Database Server -A computer system that processes
database queries.

3. Communication Networks: Networks Connect Clients and Servers.

3.3. Two-Tier Architectures:

A two-tier application generally includes a Java client that connects directly to the
database through TopLink. The two-tier architecture is most common in complex
user interfaces with limited deployment. The database session provides TopLink
support for two-tier applications.

Although the two-tier architecture is the simplest TopLink application pattern, it is also
the most restrictive, because each client application requires its own session. As a
result, two-tier applications do not scale as easily as other architectures. Two-tier
applications are often implemented as user interfaces that directly access the
database They can also be non-interface processing engines. In either case, the two-
tier model is not as common as the three-tier model.

Client Server
User Interface (Business Rules)
(Business Rules) Data Access

[Fig: Two Tier Client Server]

Two- tier architectures have 2 essential components

 A Client PC and
 A Database Server

3.4. Three-Tier Architecture( Multitier architecture ):

Multi-tier architecture (often referred to as n-tier architecture) is a
client–server architecture in which the presentation, the application
processing, and the data management are logically separate
processes. For example, an application that uses middleware to service
data requests between a user and a database employs multi-tier
architecture.

3.5. Distributed Enterprise Architecture :

The Distributed Enterprise Architecture has been designed to
support distribution of key components. For instance, the Data
Adapters can be and in fact were distributed to other machines to
support the Distributed Enterprise Architecture effort on IL’03. The
notion here is that it is easy to use different devices on the network to
do data collection so that a) we can avoid overloading any given
device and b) we can place bandwidth intensive Data Adapters on the
same LAN (and even the same virtual LAN) as other important devices
to minimize ill effects of highly distributed systems. Because the
system is web- based, anyone anywhere on the network (connected via
WAN or LAN and possessing the appropriate privileges) can log onto
the Distributed Enterprise Architecture Portal (described below), run
interactive queries against Distributed Enterprise Architecture
databases and view, refresh, or publish analysis products.

17 b) It defines the interaction between the consumer and the merchant for online
commerce. This is necessary because to buy and sell goods a buyer, a seller and
other parties must interact in ways that represent standard business process. A well
established standard process for processing credit card purchasers has contributed
to the wide spread dissemination of credit cards. The establishment of common
mercantile process model is expected to increase the convenience for consumers.
Mercantile models from the Consume rs Perspective: The online consumer expects
quality and convenience, value, low price etc. to meet their expectations and
understand the behaviour of online shopper there is a need for the business process
models that provides the standard product / service purchasing process. The process
model for a consumer point of view consists of seven activities that can be grouped
into three phases. They are 1. Pre phase 2. purchase consumption 3. post purchase
interaction phase. Steps taken by customer in purchasing:
1. Pre purchase Determination: this phase includes search and discovery for a set of
products in the larger information space applicable of meeting customers
requirements and product selection from the smaller set of products based on
attribute comparision.
2. Purchase Consumption: this phase includes mercantile protocols that specify the
flow of information and documents associated with purchasing and negotation with
merchants for suitable terms such as price availability and delivery dates. 3. Post
Purchase interaction: this phase includes customer service and support to addresses
customers complaints, product returns & product defects
3. Pre Purchase Preparation: From the consumer point of view any major purchase
can be assumed to involve some amount of pre purchase deliberation. Pre purchase
deliberation is defined as elapsed time between the consumer’s first thinking about
buying and actual purchase itself. Information search should constitute the major part
of duration but comparison of alternatives and price negotiations would be included in
continuously evolving information search and deliver process. To deliberate,
consumers have to be watchful for the new or existing information which are
essential for purchase decision process. Information on consumer characteristics
with reduced purchase deliberation time can be quite valuable when attempting to
target, selective communications to desired audience properly. Thus not much
attention have been paid to this important research area which may dictate success
or failure of online shopping. Consumers can be categorized into three types
1. Impulsive buyers
2. Patient buyers
3. Analytical buyers
1. Impulsive buyers: these buyers purchase the product quickly.
2. Patient buyers: who purchase products after making some analysis or
comparision.
3. Analytical buyers: who do substantial research before making the decision to
purchase product or services.
Marketing researchers have isolated several types of purchasing.
1. Specifically planned purchase: the need was recognized on entering the store and
the shopper brought the exact item planned.
2. Generally planned purchases: the need was recognized, but the shopper decided
instore on the actual manufacture of the item to satisfy the need. 3. reminder
purchases: the shopper was reminded of the need by some store influence. This
shopper is influenced by in-store advertisements and can substitute products readily.
3. Entirely unplanned purchases: the need was not recognized entering the store.
Purchase Consumption: After identifying the product to be purchased by the buyer
and the seller must interact in some way ( e-mail, on-line) to carry out the mercantile
transactions. The mercantile transaction is defined as the exchange of information
between the buyer and seller followed by necessary payment depending upon the
payment model mutually agreed on, they may interact by exchanging currently i.e.
backed by the third party such as the central bank, master card, visa card etc. A
single mercantile model will not be sufficient to meet the needs of everyone. In very
general terms a simple mercantile protocol would require the following transaction
where the basic flow remains the same .
The following are the two types of mercantile protocols where the payment is in the
form of electronic cash and credit cards.
1. Mercantile process using digital cash: a bank mints ( prints ) electronic currency or
e cash. Such a currency is simply a series of bits that the issuing bank can be
verified to be valid. This currency is kept secured by the use of cryptographic
techniques. After being issued some e-cash a buyer can transfer to a seller in
exchange for goods upon receiving a e-cash the sellers can verify authenticity by
sending it to the issuing bank for verification. E-cash issuing banks make money by
charging either buyer or seller or both. A transaction fee for the use of their E-cash.
E-cash is similar to paper currency and has the benefits of being anonymous
( hidden ) and easily transmitted electronically. It still entails the risk of theft or loss.
However, and so requires significant security by the buyer when storing e-cash.
2. Mercantile Transaction Using Credit Cards: two major components of credit card
transaction in the mercantile process are
· Electronic Authorization
· Settlement In the authorization process in the retail transaction, the 3 rd party
processor (tpp) captures the information at the point of sale and transmit the
information to the credit card issue for authorization, communicated a response to
the merchant and electronically stores the information for the settlement and
reporting. Once the information leaves the merchants premises the entire process
takes few seconds. The benefits of electronic processing include a reduction of credit
card losses, lower merchant transaction costs, faster consumer checkout.
Credit card authorization is processed at the point of sale terminal using dial-up
phone access into the TPP networks. The credit card no is checked against the
database and the transaction is either approved typically in a few seconds. A similar
procedure is used for debit cards and check verification once the electronic
authorization function is completed. The information is processed within the system
for client reporting. The data are then transmitted for settlement to the appropriate
institution processor.
Post Purchase Interaction: As long as there is payment for services there will be
references, disputes, other customer service issues that need to be considered.
Returns and claims are an important part of purchasing process that impact the
administrative costs, scrap and transportation expenses and customers relations. To
overcome these problems many companies design their mercantile process for one
way i.e., returns and claims must flow upstream. The following are the complex
customer service challenges that arise in the customized retaining which have not
fully understood or resolved.
1. Inventory Issues: to serve a customer properly a company should inform a
customer right from when an item is ordered to it is sold out, otherwise the company
will have a disappointed customer.
2. database Access and Compatibility Issues: unless the customer can instantly
access all the computers of all the direct response vendors likely to advertise on the
information super highway on a real time basis, with compatible software to have an
instant access to the merchants inventory and database.
3. Customer service issues: Customers often have questions about the product such
as colour, size, shipment etc. and other things in mind can resolved only by talking to
an order entry operator.
18 a)EDI – Electronic Data Interchange, Contact between companies exchanging
orders via intra- or internet. (EDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of
structured information, by agreed message standards, from one computer application
to another by electronic means and with a minimum of human intervention. In
common usage, EDI is understood to mean specific interchange methods agreed
upon by national or international standards bodies for the transfer of business
transaction data, with one typical application being the automated purchase of goods
and services.

EDI documents contain the same data that would normally be found in a paper
document used for the same organisational function. However, EDI is not confined to
just business data related to trade but encompasses all fields such as medicine
(patient records, laboratory results..), transport (container and modal information…),
engineering and construction, etc.- (Electronic Data Interchange) The exchange of
information between two or more companies with mutual interests over a network.

Email:
(i) E-mail is an acronym of electronic mail

(ii) E-mail system is basically used for sending message electronically to individuals
or group of individuals in an inter and intra office environment. It requires network to
connect them.

(iii) No such need.

(iv) One of the advantages of E-mail is that if gives users ability to review, respond
message quickly.

(v) No processing of the message received.

(vi) No such facility

EDI
(i) EDI is an acronym of Electronic Data interchange

(ii) EDI is the inter-organisatonal exchange of business documentation in structured,

machine processable form.

(iii) EDI provides communication between trading partners that agree to exchange
EDI transactions.

(iv) EDI eliminates the paper documents associated with common business
transactions.

(v) EDI message can be immediately processed by receiving computer without any
human intervention or interpretation or re-keying

(vi) One other advantage of EDI is that it generates the functional acknowledgment
whenever an EDI message is received, and is electronically transmitted to the
sender.

Hardware required for EDI are:

Modem, NIC, Telephone connection, cable.

Modem: Modem is called modulator/demodulator. It converts digital signal into

analog for transmission and vice versa.

NIC (Network Interface Card): It is the means by which the workstations are
connected functionally and physically to the network. It is microprocessor bases
device. Comes with software/driver which is to be installed. Software supplies the
intelligence to control access to and communications across the network and to
perform all communication processing.

18 b) Legal Issues
 
Where are the headlines about consumers defrauding merchants? What about fraud
e-commerce websites?  Internet fraud and its sophistication have grown even faster
than the Internet itself. There is a chance of a crime over the internet when buyers
and sellers do not know each other and cannot even see each other. During the first
few years of e-commerce, the public witnessed many frauds committed over the
internet. Let’s discuss the legal issues specific to e-commerce.
 
Fraud on the Internet
 
E-commerce fraud popped out with the rapid increase in popularity of websites. It is a
hot issue for both cyber and click-and-mortar merchants. The swindlers are active
mainly in the area of stocks. The small investors are lured by the promise of false
profits by the stock promoters. Auctions are also conductive to fraud, by both sellers
and buyers. The availability of e-mails and pop up ads has paved the way for
financial criminals to have access to many people. Other areas of potential fraud
include phantom business opportunities and bogus investments.
 
Copyright
 
The copyright laws protect Intellectual property in its various forms, and cannot be
used freely.  It is very difficult to protect Intellectual property in E-Commerce. For
example, if you buy software you have the right to use it and not the right to distribute
it. The distribution rights are with the copyright holder. Also, copying contents from
the website also violates copy right laws.
 
Domain Names
 
The competition over domain names is another legal issue. Internet addresses are
known as domain names and they appear in levels. A top level name
is qburst.com or microsoft.com. A second level name will be qburst.com/blog. Top
level domain names are assigned by a central non-profit organization which also
checks for conflicts or possible infringement of trademarks. Problems arise when
several companies having similar names competing over the same domain name. 
The problem of domain names was alleviated somewhat in 2001 after several upper
level names were added to com.
 
Another issue to look out for is Cybersquatting, which refers to the practice of
registering domain names with the desire of selling it at higher prices.
 
Security features such as authentication, non-repudiation and escrow services can
protect the sellers in e-commerce.
 
One needs to be careful while doing e-commerce activities. The need to educate the
public about the ethical and legal issues related to e-commerce is highly important
from a buyer as well as seller perspective.
19 a) Internet Technology
Advantages: 

1) Information on almost every subject imaginable. 

2) Powerful search engines 
3) Ability to do research from your home versus research libraries. 
4) Information at various levels of study. Everything from scholarly articles to ones
directed at children. 
5) Message boards where people can discuss ideas on any topic. Ability to get wide
range of opinions. People can find others that have a similar interest in whatever they
are interested in. 
6) The internet provides the ability of emails. Free mail service to anyone in the
country. 
7) Platform for products like SKYPE, which allow for holding a video conference with
anyone in the world who also has access. 
8) Friendships and love connections have been made over the internet by people
involved in passion over similar interests. 
9) Things such as Yahoo Answers and other sites where kids can have readily
available help for homework. 
10) News, of all kinds is available almost instantaneously. Commentary, on that
news, from every conceivable viewpoint is also available. 

Disadvantages: 

1) There is a lot of wrong information on the internet. Anyone can post anything, and
much of it is garbage. 
2) There are predators that hang out on the internet waiting to get unsuspecting
people in dangerous situations. 
3) Some people are getting addicted to the internet and thus causing problems with
their interactions of friends and loved ones. 
4) Pornography that can get in the hands of young children too easily. 
5) Easy to waste a lot of time on the internet. You can start surfing, and then realize
far more time has passed than you realized. Internet and television together of added
to the more sedentary lifestyles of people which further exacerbates the obesity
problem. 
6) Internet has a lot of “cheater” sites. People can buy essays and pass them off as
their own far more easily than they used to be able to do. 
7) There are a lot of unscrupulous businesses that have sprung up on the internet to
take advantage of people. 
8) Hackers can create viruses that can get into your personal computer and ruin
valuable data. 
9) Hackers can use the internet for identity theft. 
10) It can be quite depressing to be on the internet and realize just how uneducated
so many people have become in today’s society.
Disadvantages of web technology

Matters involving web technology can be very complicated, and it would be difficult
for someone without relevant experience to sort a network problem out. This means it
is necessary to employ someone with the specific skills to solve network issues,
which costs money.

Additionally, the existence of a network provides the opportunity for an attack on the
computer system. Weaknesses in a network could be exploited; important
information could be stolen or destroyed and malware could infect the various
network systems. For this reason, network security is another issue that must be
considered when using web technology.

Advantages of web technology

The main advantage of web technology is that it offers convenience and a high
speed of communication in the computer world. Whether in the office or the home,
processes using a computer are more swift and straightforward with the use of a
network.

Web technology allows messages to be sent around a system, whereas before it

may have been necessary to employ a runner or leave your workspace to
communicate a message. It is clear to see how web technology reduces costs and
makes a company more efficient, raising business potential.

19 b)Digital Libraries

Digital libraries represent a powerful new set of tools for preserving, disseminating,
and reusing technology on a large scale within distributed corporate organizations.
Drawing from disciplines including information retrieval, the Web and library science,
digital libraries provide a means for capturing and preserving design, manufacturing
and quality information for complex products and systems during their lifecycles.

How information is managed in corporate?

 Decision Support Systems

 Management Support Systems

 Visual Information Access and Analysis

 Data/Information Warehouses

 Structured Document and Imaging Databases

 Executive Information Systems

 Business Intelligence Systems

 On-line Analytical Processing

 Multidimensional databases

Key decision support trends

• Digital information infrastructure consisting of documents and data • Better

utilization of information in strategic and operational decision making, which involves
effective on-line information search and retrieval in a distributed environment •
Architecture for implementing decision through workflow automation and business
process integration

Digital Document management

The document is the life blood of the enterprise

• Digital document is the means by which members in the organization interact with
each other and customers
• Ability to automate and streamline document-based processes –
Authoring –
Approving –
Distribution
– Searching –Retrieving
–-Storing

– Viewing

• Leverage the value of corporate information by providing tools to access

information

• Wide variety of disparate functions

Corporate data warehouses

• An information based approach to decision making
• Involvement in highly competitive, rapidly changing markets with a large, diverse
customer base for a variety of products
• Data stored in many systems and represented differently
• Data stored in complex, technical, difficult-to-decipher formats, making conversion
for analysis difficult Functions
• Allows existing transaction and legacy systems to continue operation
• Consolidates data from various transaction systems into coherent set
• Allows analysis of vital information about current operations for decision support

Part D
20 a)Customer retention is the collection of activities a business uses to increase the
number of repeat customers and to increase the profitability of each existing
customer.

Customer retention strategies enable you to both provide and extract more value
from your existing customer base. You want to ensure the customers you worked so
hard to acquire stay with you, have a great customer experience, and continue to get
value from your products.

In short, acquisition creates a foundation of customers while your retention strategy is

how you build customer relationships and maximize revenue for each one.

When to focus on customer retention

Whether you should focus more on customer acquisition or retention is heavily

influenced by where your store is in its lifecycle. A store that started yesterday is
vastly different than one that’s been up and running for many years

1. Just starting: When you’ve just started your store there is one thing you should
be focused on: getting customers. At this point your acquisition efforts should
completely trump retention. Focus on strategies and tactics that will help you grow
your customer base.
2. Gaining traction: You now have customers and you are getting sporadic sales. At
this stage you can begin to introduce retention elements to encourage each customer
to buy more. My recommendation would be to start with retention email
campaigns that focus on encouraging a past customer to purchase from you again.

3. Consistent: You aren’t quite an ecommerce juggernaut, but sales are growing.

This is the point where you should begin to think about mixing in more retention with
your acquisition efforts. You can look at starting a referral and/or a loyalty 
program as well as getting more serious with marketing automation.

4. Established: You are now an established ecommerce store. A common problem

for retailers of this size is finding ways to continue to grow. Acquisition may be
leading to a lot of one time purchases, but a retention strategy can get customers to
buy more often which increases their lifetime value. At this stage, you should be
serious and deliberate about your retention efforts.

5. Well-established: At this stage your store has made it past the initial gauntlet.
They ’ve achieved many early successes and you have a lot of processes and
automations in place. Now is the time to focus heavily on retention.

For example, in the graph below, each store has 100 customers buying a $10 item
each month. The light purple store is retaining 5% of those customers each month,
and the dark purple is retaining 10%. As you can see the 5% increase can lead to
rapid growth that is difficult to match with straight acquisition.

20 b)The analysis of existing web sites related to agriculture shows that all of them
can be divided into four categories :

I)Websites that provide the transaction cost savings

ii)Intermediaries on the electronic market iii)Integrated e-
commerce services iv)E-commerce support service
providers.

This classification, however, should be considered as general, since hardly any

website has an interest to cover a single aspect, i.e. their business includes all of the
above mentioned aspects.

1. Websites that provide transaction cost savings Transactions, in this context,

include the flow of information, goods and money. Such transactions are significant
different than conventional, since in traditional trade goods can be seen (touched),
contracts between stakeholders (a quote, dispatch note, receipt, invoice) are in a
form of a hard copy and payments are in cash or cashless. When it comes to e-
commerce, all information, money, and sometimes even goods must be transformed
into a binary format and thus transported across the network at a high speed, with
practically zero marginal cost. The Internet can therefore reduce transaction costs by
reducing trading costs or transfer fees, or both at the same time. Trading costs
decrease since searching for necessary goods is free of charge, establishing
communication with the seller/buyer via e-mail does not require additional costs and
it is practically carried out without any delay or waiting, which is extremely important
when stakeholders are geographically separated.
2. Intermediaries on the electronic market Having achieved cost reduction, due to
application of the e-commerce, some of the activities previously carried out by
companies can now be coordinated through the market. The reduction in transaction
costs eliminates market mediators, but, on the other hand, it leads to the
development of completely new and different intermediary activities on the market.
This primarily refers to providers who classify supply/demand on the market, often
specialised for a particular type of goods (grain, livestock, etc.); mediators that
quickly link buyers and sellers; market space providers and auctioneers who make
the negotiation on prices be public, in accordance with clearly defined rules.
3. Integrated e–commerce services Some web sites are designed as agricultural
portals, aimed to provide a wide range of information and play a mediating role. It is
possible to set a broader picture, taking into account that users easily jump from one
site to another if they are connected by hyperlinks. The various portals are thus
linked to form a kind of web community. Given the fact that most of agricultural
products cannot be converted into a digital form, it is necessary to integrate with
storages, transporters, and control and insurance bodies to achieve a full advantage
of E-commerce.

4. E-commerce support service providers Participants in e-commerce expect from

companies that opted for this type of business to have their own website. Often it is
not profitable for farmers and people who run small business to invest in this kind of
promotion since the costs of having a website are relatively high, since a modern
website, besides advertising, also includes software tools for database searching,
query systems, interactive work and a protection system of an entire website. Such
participants are left to use services of internet providers specialised for agriculture.