SHANTO-MARIAM UNIVERSITY OF

CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Department of Apparel Manufacturing Management & Technology

Program: MBA in PFM

3rd SEMESTER
Module Title: E- Commerce

Module Code: MBA 6105

MODULE LEADER: LABLU MIAH

MODULE TEACHER: LABLU MIAH

Updated on: 18.10.2020

 Module Specifications Department: Apparel Manufacturing Management & Technology

• Module Title : E- Commerce

• Module Code : MBA- 6105
• Year of Study : 2nd (Semester: 3rd)
• Pre-Requisite : NA
• Contact Hours : 2.0 Hours per week , Total Week:18
• Total Contact Hours: 36 Hours
• Credits :3
• Assessment Way :Quiz, Class Test, Viva, Assignment, Presentation, Mid-Term and
Final Examination

Aim:

This course focuses on principles of e-commerce from a business perspective, providing an

overview of business and technology topics, business models, virtual value chains and social
innovation and marketing strategies. In addition, some of the major issues associated with e-
commerce—security, privacy, intellectual property rights, authentication, encryption, acceptable
use policies, and legal liabilities—will be explored. Students will build their own web presence
and market it using an online platform

Objectives:

By the end of the module, Students will be able to:

• Develop the concept of E-Commerce
• Improvement the knowledge of E-Commerce
• Importance of E-Commerce in RMG sectors
• Operational analysis of E-Commerce
• Trends of E-commerce

Class Contact and Teaching Pattern:

Lectures : 36
Total Hours : 36 Hours
Learning Outcomes:
After completion the module, students should be able to:
 • Create a portfolio of the steps required to start-up an on-line business
• Research a paper on the benefits or disadvantages of setting up an on-line business versus
a store-front business.
• Explain the steps required to set-up your E-commerce website for advertising purposes.
You can create a sample website to market your own products or services offered.
• Find at least 2 cases which provide examples of E-commerce violation of laws (such as
Federal Trade Commission, Truth-in-lending practice) and explain the significance of
those cases, along with the outcome.

Text Books:

• E-COMMERCE by Dr. Sushila Madan

• E-Commerce by Shruti Mathur

Mark Distribution

Mid-Term Exam Final Exam

1. Attendance: 05 1. Attendance: 05
2. Quiz: 10 2. Submission: 05
3. Class Test: 05 3. Assignment: 10
4. Mid-Term Exam: 20 4. Final Exam: 40

Total Marks: 40 Total Marks: 60

Grand Total: 100

 Module Continuous Assessment Timetable

Course: MBA in PFM

• Module Title : E-Commerce

• Module Code : MBA 6105
• Year of Study : 2nd (Semester: 3rd)
• Assessment Way : Class Test, Quiz, Viva, Assignment, Presentation, Mid-Term and Final Examination

Assessment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mid-Term 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final

Description Examination Examination
Weeks

10%
Quiz test

5%

Class Test

20% 40%

Written Written
Assignment Examination Examination

5% 10%

Presentation
&
Submission

All the above quiz, Class Tests must be carried out in NB: 5% is in Class Attendance in Mid-Term
class. Submission & Presentation will be present in Examination and 5% is in Final Examination.
Class.

Module Leader: Lablu Miah Module Teacher: Lablu Miah Date: 19.10.20
 At a Glance: Lectures Delivery Plan

Module Title: E- Commerce Module Code: MBA 6105 Contact Hours / Week: 3

Week Lecture Topic (Lecture Title) Assessment

Introduction to E-commerce
1 1

2 2 Models to E-commerce
E-commerce marketing
3 3

4 4 Applications of RFID (radio

frequency identification) in Textile
Applications of QR Code (Quick
5 5 Response code) in Textile

Applications of Barcode in Textile Quiz /class test

6 6 15%

E-Commerce ethics
7 7
E-Commerce securities Issue
8 8
Mid-Term Examination

E-Commerce securities Issue

9 9
Ecommerce Advertising
10 10

11 11 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Legal Considerations of E-
12 12
Commerce

13 13 E-Commerce Implementation Cost

Electronic customer relationship

14 14
management (E-CRM)
Wireless Application Protocol
15 15 (WAP)
 E-Commerce Implementation
16 16
E-Commerce Implementation
17 17
Review Class, Presentation,
18 18
Assignment submission
Final Examination
SHANTO –MARIAM UNIVERSITY OF CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Program : MBA in Product & Fashion Merchandising
Course Title : E-Commerce
Course Code : MBA 6105
Year of Study : 2rd (Semester: 3rd)
Lecture : 01
Week : 01

Topic: Introduction to E-commerce

E-commerce refers to commercial transactions of goods or services over the internet. Over the
past several years, e-commerce has rapidly evolved to become a combination of online and
offline retail that is vertically integrated.

Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or
services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.
Ecommerce is often used to refer to the sale of physical products online, but it can also describe
any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet.

Whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an online business, ecommerce refers
specifically to the transaction of goods and services.

Types of Ecommerce:

There are four main types of ecommerce models that can describe almost every transaction that
takes place between consumers and businesses.

1. Consumer to Consumer (C2C):

When a consumer sells a good or service to another consumer (e.g. You sell your old furniture
on eBay to another consumer).

2. Consumer to Business (C2B):

When a consumer sells their own products or services to a business or organization (e.g. An
influencer offers exposure to their online audience in exchange for a fee, or a photographer
licenses their photo for a business to use).

3. Business to Consumer (B2C):

When a business sells a good or service to an individual consumer (e.g. You buy a pair of shoes
from an online retailer).
4. Business to Business (B2B):
When a business sells a good or service to another business (e.g. A business sells software-as-a-
service for other businesses to use).

Terms in E-commerce

• Site traffic: The number of visitors to a site

• Conversion rate: The percentage of customers who place an order relative to the total
number of site traffic
• Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who enter the site, but then leave (“bounce”)
rather than going on to view other pages
• Order: A single checkout transaction, which may consist of multiple items
• Churn: The annual percentage of customers who stop shopping at the site
• Organic search: Traffic from search engines that is not paid for
• Paid search: Traffic from search engines that is paid for
• Affiliates: Paid traffic from other sites

Examples of Ecommerce:

1. Wholesale:
The sale of products in bulk, often to a retailer that then sells them directly to consumers.

2. Retail:
The sale of a product by a business directly to a customer without any intermediary.

3. Dropshipping:
The sale of a product, which is manufactured and shipped to the consumer by a third party.

4. Crowdfunding:
The collection of money from consumers in advance of a product being available in order to
raise the startup capital necessary to bring it to market.

5. Digital products:
Downloadable digital goods, templates, and courses, or media that must be purchased for
consumption or licensed for use.

6. Services:
A skill or set of skills provided in exchange for compensation. The service provider’s time can
be purchased for a fee.

7. Subscription:
The automatic recurring purchase of a product or service on a regular basis until the subscriber
chooses to cancel.

8. Physical products:
Any tangible good that requires inventory to be replenished and orders to be physically shipped
to customers as sales are made.

Driving forces behind the E-commerce evolution

The evolution of e-commerce since the turn of the century has dramatically impacted the daily
lives of consumers and altered the standard operating structure of many businesses. This
evolution is mainly driven by forces in four categories:

1. Demographics

In developing countries such as China, urbanization has taken place in many areas, with people
demanding better living conditions and driving higher consumer spending. Another major
marketplace trend is that of millennials becoming more dependent on mobile devices and the
Internet to fulfill their entertainment and shopping needs.

3. Structural Shifts

There are structural shifts in the e-commerce industry as a result of changing consumption
habits. More and more companies are focusing on promoting and selling products or services
directly to their target consumers on e-commerce platforms, through carefully tailored individual
marketing programs. Many consolidations have taken place among businesses in order to
achieve economies of scale.

4. Technology

Portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets have become more widely used by
consumers – both individuals and business consumers – to perform various functions such as
browsing and interacting on social media platforms and searching for new
information. Technologies such as advanced customer analytics help e-commerce companies
improve their business operations and better understand consumer behavior and preferences.

2. Consumption

Changing consumption habits are a huge factor in the rise of e-commerce. People put an
increasingly high value on convenience, customization/personalization, and simplification in
their online shopping experience. They discover new products, sources of information, and
different ways to access products and services to make their lives easier.
Lecture : 02
Week : 02

Topic: Models to E-commerce

E-commerce business models can generally be categorized into the following categories.

• Business - to - Business (B2B)

• Business - to - Consumer (B2C)
• Consumer - to - Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer - to - Business (C2B)
• Business - to - Government (B2G)
• Government - to - Business (G2B)

Business - to – Business (B2B):

B2B business model sells its products to an intermediate buyer who then sells the product to the
final customer. As an example, a wholesaler places an order from a company's website and after
receiving the consignment, sells the end product to the final customer who comes to buy the
product at one of its retail outlets.
Business - to – Consumer (B2C):
B2C business model sells its products directly to a customer. A customer can view the products
shown on the website. The customer can choose a product and order the same. The website will
then send a notification to the business organization via email and the organization will dispatch
the product/goods to the customer.

Consumer - to – Consumer (C2C):

C2C business model helps consumers to sell their assets like residential property, cars,
motorcycles, etc., or rent a room by publishing their information on the website. Website may or
may not charge the consumer for its services. Another consumer may opt to buy the product of
the first customer by viewing the post/advertisement on the website.
Consumer - to – Business (C2B):
In this model, a consumer approaches a website showing multiple business organizations for a
particular service. The consumer places an estimate of amount he/she wants to spend for a
particular service. For example, the comparison of interest rates of personal loan/car loan
provided by various banks via websites.

Business - to – Government (B2G):

B2G model is a alternative of B2B model. Such websites are used by governments to trade and
exchange information with various business organizations. Such websites are accredited by the
government and provide a medium to businesses to submit application forms to the government.
Government - to – Business (G2B):
Governments use B2G model websites to approach business organizations. Such websites
support auctions, tenders, and application submission functionalities.

Features:
E-Commerce provides the following features −

Non-Cash Payment − E-Commerce enables the use of credit cards, debit cards, smart cards,
electronic fund transfer via bank's website, and other modes of electronics payment.

24x7 Service availability − E-commerce automates the business of enterprises and the way they
provide services to their customers. It is available anytime, anywhere.

Advertising / Marketing − E-commerce increases the reach of advertising of products and

services of businesses. It helps in better marketing management of products/services.

Improved Sales − Using e-commerce, orders for the products can be generated anytime,
anywhere without any human intervention. It gives a big boost to existing sales volumes.

Support − E-commerce provides various ways to provide pre-sales and post-sales assistance to
provide better services to customers.

Inventory Management − E-commerce automates inventory management. Reports get

generated instantly when required. Product inventory management becomes very efficient and
easy to maintain.

Communication improvement − E-commerce provides ways for faster, efficient, reliable

communication with customers and partners.
Lecture : 03
Week : 03

Topic: E-commerce marketing

E-Commerce Marketing
E-commerce marketing pertains to activities that guide prospects through the conversion funnel.
E-commerce marketing enables the following:
➢ Creating awareness about your e-commerce store
➢ Driving traffic to the store
➢ Converting visitors into paying customers

Steps to Document an E-Commerce Marketing Plan

Before getting into developing an e-commerce marketing strategy, document your E-commerce
marketing plan as it acts as a guide when executing the strategy.

Step 1: Define Goals and Objectives for Your Store

Set the goals and objectives accordingly. Setting bold goals without considering what is currently
working in the industry might lead to disappointment when you review the performance later.
Existing stores should review their current performance and compare it against industry
standards. If the performance is below industry benchmarks, then setting the goals as the mean
between current performance and industry standards is the ideal way to go. If your performance
exceeds the standards, then you can set higher goals depending on your marketing budget.

Step 2: Assess Your Target Audience and Competition

Collate all this information to create multiple buyers. Knowing the ideal customers will be
helped to decide. Simultaneously, keep an eye on competitor activities to see what is working for
them.

Step 3: Determine the Marketing Strategies and Tactics

If you have devised a conversion funnel, it will be easy for you to determine the marketing
channels that would bring the best results for each stage. For example, SEO will play a crucial
role in the awareness stage, whereas email marketing will keep your leads engaged throughout
the interest and desire phase.

Step 4: Build Your Martech Stack

Choose products that offer comprehensive features to make your martech stack robust. For
example, apart from the e-commerce platform, a Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) and a
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application will help develop the foundation for
your marketing activities. So, if you choose a full-feature MAP, you don't need to invest in a
separate email marketing and social media management software.
Let’s look at the various marketing channels and recommended e-commerce tools for each
category in the next section.

E-Commerce Marketing Strategy

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Ranking organically on the search engine result pages (SERP) requires you to have a sound SEO
strategy. Here are a few considerations to help the store rank higher up on search engines:
➢ Make your website mobile-friendly.
➢ Optimize page load time (Google PageSpeed Insights).
➢ Run an SEO audit (Ubersuggest)
➢ Perform thorough keyword research and identify keywords that you want to rank for
(Google Keyword Planner).
➢ List all product, category, and blog posts and pages. Correlate target keywords and
keyword phrases to each post and page and place them strategically in on-page elements
such as the title, URL, header tags, text, alt text, anchor link, and so on.
 ➢ Strengthen your local SEO game by creating your Google My Business profile.
➢ Fix technical SEO errors such as duplicate pages. Seek help from an SEO expert if
necessary.

2. Content Marketing

We will expand on the concept of on-page SEO in this section. Content marketing for e-
commerce websites goes beyond its conventional meaning and includes product, category, and
cart pages. Copywriting is an essential component of e-commerce marketing as it contributes to
effectively driving conversions.

The implement content marketing:

Product pages: Headline, product description, high-res images, and demo videos.
Blog Section: Create content around your niche that is valuable and informative to your
prospects and customers. Example: blog posts, downloadable content, infographics, checklists,
etc.
Rich Media: There is a lot of space for storytelling for e-commerce stories. Try out videos,
podcasts, or other interactive media to create content.

Examples:
Feedly
Buzzsumo
Google Trends
Grammarly

3. Email Marketing

‘Email is dead’ articles surface occasionally, email is not losing its prominence in e-commerce
marketing.
You can boost your list building efforts through smart marketing tactics. For example, get your
website visitors to sign-up for your email list by enticing them with downloadable content or by
strategically placing lead generation tools (header bars, pop-ups, etc.).
Once they sign-up to your list or provide their email address during checkout, you can initiate the
appropriate email sequence. Here are a few examples of emails that you can send:
➢ A welcome sequence (drip email campaign) to new subscribers
➢ Transactional emails to keep buyers updated on their purchase (including an order
confirmation, receipts/invoices, shipment, delivery confirmation, and returns/exchange
emails)
➢ Promotional emails occasionally to promote upselling or cross-selling opportunities

4. Social Media Marketing

E-commerce is one of the industries that benefit tremendously from social media. The reason is
the user intent while scrolling social media, plus the product ads are not always perceived as an
intrusion.
Social media is ideal for e-commerce also because it is a visual medium and thus makes it is easy
to persuade people through images and videos.
Apart from the generous use of social ads to reach your target audience, the rise of social
commerce such as Instagram Shopping is going to facilitate your e-commerce marketing efforts
in the future.

5. Paid Advertising

Once you have peaked your reach through organic ways, your e-commerce store revenue
becomes a function of the money you spend in ads. That’s why almost every successful online
store invests heavily in paid ads (search ads, social media ads, native ads, etc.) that target each
stage of the buyer’s journey.
Here is how you can begin with your paid advertising efforts:
➢ Invest in search ads and Google Shopping ads to target the awareness stage
➢ Target people who visited your site but didn’t complete the purchase through remarketing
ads
➢ Expand your target audience through lookalike audience ads
6. Influencer Marketing

People are influenced by people they trust. Users would rather trust a celebrity or an expert in
their niche than a brand, that’s why e-commerce stores are now investing in influencer
marketing.
In influencer marketing, you collaborate with celebrities or users with a significant fan following
to act as brand ambassadors. You provide them with the content guidelines as the aim is not to
sound too pushy about your products. Once they share the content on their social media
accounts, you evaluate the performance.

7. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

The conversion rate is perhaps the most important metric for any e-commerce store. It is the
number of visitors converted per hundred visitors. Here are four ways that can improve the
conversion rate of e-commerce stores:
➢ Recommendation Engine: Recommendation engines personalize the shopping
experience by suggesting products to visitors based on their purchase and website
browsing history.
➢ Cart Abandonment: Cart abandonment software sends reminder emails to shoppers who
left the website without completing the purchase. E-commerce platforms such as
BigCommerce offer this feature as a part of their product.
➢ Lead Generation: These tools help you guide shoppers through the conversion funnel
via exit intent pop-ups, opt-in forms, and social proof notifications.

Examples
Sumo
OptinMonster
TrustPulse

8. Customer Service and Support

Online stores face occasional hiccups in the logistics, inviting angry customers concerned about
their orders. To tackle this effectively, e-commerce stores need to have a prompt customer
service department in place.
Shoppers should be able to communicate with you through the phone, emails, or live chat. In
addition to traditional mediums, e-commerce stores need to experiment with conversational AI
so that they can communicate with shoppers in real-time via digital assistants, messenger apps,
and chatbots.

9. Marketing Analytics
One of the crucial aspects of CRO is testing various elements of your website. Additionally,
tracking the store performance helps you evaluate the impact of these changes.
Having analytics tools in place will help you track all these aspects. Quantitative analytics tools
measure quantitative data, such as visits, conversions, page views, bounce rate, etc.
On the other hand, qualitative analytics tool uses heatmaps, user session recordings, and funnel
visualization to run A/B tests and understand the qualitative performance of the website.

Examples:
Google Analytics
Hotjar
Optimizely
Crazy Egg
Lecture : 04
Week : 04

Topic: Applications of RFID (radio frequency identification) in

Textile
RFID (radio frequency identification) is a form of wireless communication that incorporates the
use of electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the radio frequency portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum to uniquely identify an object, animal or person. Use cases for RFID
technology include healthcare, manufacturing, inventory management, shipping, retail sales and
home use.

RFID is an acronym for “radio-frequency identification” and refers to a technology whereby

digital data encoded in RFID tags or smart labels (defined below) are captured by a reader via
radio waves. RFID is similar to barcoding in that data from a tag or label are captured by a
device that stores the data in a database. RFID, however, has several advantages over systems
that use barcode asset tracking software. The most notable is that RFID tag data can be read
outside the line-of-sight, whereas barcodes must be aligned with an optical scanner.

Working principles of RFID:

RFID system consists of three components: a scanning antenna, a transceiver and

a transponder. When the scanning antenna and transceiver are combined, they are
referred to as an RFID reader or interrogator. The RFID reader is a network-connected
device that can be portable or permanently attached. It uses radio frequency waves to
transmit signals that activate the tag. Once activated, the tag sends a wave back to the
antenna, where it is translated into data.

The transponder is located in the RFID tag itself. The read range for RFID tags varies
based on factors including the type of tag, type of reader, RFID frequency and
interference in the surrounding environment or from other RFID tags and readers.
Generally speaking, tags that have a stronger power source also have a longer read range

Types of RFID

1. Passive
2. Active
Passive RFID

In passive RFID solutions, the reader and reader antenna send a signal to the tag, and that signal
is used to power on the tag and reflects energy back to the reader. There are passive LF, HF, and
UHF systems. Read ranges are shorter than with active tags and are limited by the power of the
radio signal reflected back to the reader (commonly referred to as tag backscatter). Passive tags
are usually smaller, less expensive, and more flexible than active tags.

Active RFID

Active RFID tags have their own transmitter and power source (usually a battery) onboard the
tag. These are mostly UHF solutions, and read ranges can extend up to 100 m in some instances.
Active tags are usually larger and more expensive than their passive counterparts and are used to
track large assets (like cargo containers, vehicles, and machines). Active RFID tags are also
often equipped with sensors that measure and transmit temperature, humidity, light, and
shock/vibration data for the objects they are attached to.

Applications of RFID in textile industry:

Warehouse Production and Quality Control

RFID information trail will typically start when the garment are fitted with hanging carton labels.
The RFID inlet is integrated into the carton label by the brand label supplier. These tags will be
used for checking production output, quality assurance and verifying the accuracy of shipments
from the factories to the distribution centers.

Tracking System
In spinning industry it is used to avoid product mix, which is one of the prevailing problems
faced in the quality control department. The areas such as carding, drawing and combing (sliver
can hank mix-up), simplex (bobbin mix-up), ring spinning (cop mix-up) can be avoided by
placing the tag in the corresponding semi-finished materials.

Tracking of Labour Movement

Knowing where an employee is at a particular time would allow the management to dispatch the
closest-qualified employee to a location requiring assistance. If an RFID reader detects an RFID-
tagged employee approaching a security door, the door could be designed to open automatically.
This would allow employees carrying packages or carts to move more efficiently. Additionally,
if store management could verify through an automated system that an employee was at the
appropriate station at the start of the shift or end of a break, some aspects of labour management
could be automated, requiring less effort by employees and the management. This type of
monitoring would also allow the management to know, for instance, if an employee spends
excessive time in the break room or if he/she is not getting enough break time. Reports could be
generated automatically to flag exceptions for management attention.

Fabric Lot Storage and Retrieval

Due to limited machine capacity in a wet processing unit, a fabric order may require many
number of lots, each lot will be having their own shades. In this process, it is mandatory to bring
each lot up to the garment stitching process in order to control the shade variations and product
mix up. An Italian textile manufacturer, Griva, has applied RFID tags as a part of a new system
to control production units and stock-rooms. The tags are attached to the outside parts of cores of
rolls with fabric. This has several advantages. First, the process of fabric stock-taking in
stockrooms is much more effective. Secondly, the effectiveness of all production and storage
processes is higher. Moreover, it enables tracking a given object at every stage of its production
process. Finally, Griva achieved a return on its RFID investment within nine months. Now,
Griva is trying to convince its customers to apply the same systems in order to improve its
production and commercial activity.

Garment Washing and Laundering

The normal RFID tags are not launderable and also it is not possible to tag the garment using
barcodes in the process of washing and laundering. For this purpose, a German company which
makes RFID tags, KSW Microtec, has unveiled two new labels. One can be ironed or sewn
directly onto the fabric of a garment. The other is mounted on a polyester substrate and sewn
onto a garment. The new flexible 13.56 MHz labels can withstand temperatures of up to 40ºC.
They have a life-expectancy of 10 years and are not affected by tumble-drying, ironing
processes. KSW is also working on a label that can withstand temperatures of up to 60ºC. The
company wants to apply its technology to tag uniforms for the US army. Texas Instruments plans
to offer its customers an RFID tagging system in a form of plastic rings that can be sewn or stuck
onto a garment cleaned in factory laundries.

Merchandise Leveling Across Stores

By monitoring inventories at different stores within a retail chain, the management could make
intelligent decisions about how to meet customer demand and reduce discounting by shipping
items between stores.

Easy Product Accessibility in Retail Stores

By using RFID, shop sellers can identify the exact location of any retail item at any time.
Customer requests can be handled quickly and easily by your customer service team through
access to a centralised database. RFID-tagged items offer store-to-store visibility, so items can be
located immediately with the touch of a button. This level of product accessibility results in
shorter wait times for customers and offers a better shopping experience. Improving overall store
efficiencies ultimately results in greater savings to customers.

Re-Stocking Alerts and Replenishment

Products are monitored to ensure that they remain stocked at appropriate levels. When they fall
below that level, an alert is sent to the stockroom or office to bring out or order more
merchandise. For stores with stockrooms, RFID monitoring alerts employees when stock levels
reach the threshold. Depending on how the system is configured, re-orders may be done
automatically for items that the store plans to continue selling. For example, if many black
trousers of waist 32-size are being sold and are getting out of stock, RFID can send an alarm to
order more such trousers from the storeroom.

Customer-Specific Shopping Reminders and Promotions

With RFID on loyalty cards to identify the customer, and a customer shopping-history database,
items could be priced differently depending on the characteristics of the shopper (eg, special
promotions for first-time shoppers and rewards for frequent shoppers). Different promotions
could be offered to different customers via their personal digital assistants or cell phone displays.
Exchange Goods Inventory Control
When any apparel product is returned or exchanged, its RFID tag could be read and
automatically added to the inventory database. Employees who do re-stocking could read the
RFID for returned items; they could be given information about where to place them (that is, the
appropriate shelf if the item is not defective, or a particular area in shipping for returning to the
vendor if the item is defective). An application could automatically compare the RFID code of
the returned item against recall notifications.
Lecture : 05
Week : 05

Topic: Applications of QR Code (Quick Response code) in Textile

QR code (Quick Response code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-
dimensional barcode) first designed in 1994 for the automotive industry in Japan. A barcode is a
machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached. In
practice, QR codes often contain data for a locator, identifier, or tracker that points to a website
or application. A QR code uses four standardized encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric,
byte/binary to store data efficiently.

Figure: QR Code

QR Codes in textiles:

1. To furnish fabric details

Every thread of fabric is unique. So is the process to handle it. Hence, it is important for
customers to know the process to maintain the cloth’s quality.
And as a manufacturer, it is your job to tell them how they can handle it. But how do you provide
these details? You cannot print them on the fabric or its tag, right? This is where a QR Code
comes into the picture.
But besides textual details, people now also prefer multimedia. In fact, there might sometimes be
situations where simple text won’t suffice.
For example—customers today want to be informed on what they invest their money on. Hence,
they are often interested in knowing details such as where is the fabric coming from. Or how is it
manufactured?
Their representatives travel to manufacturing sites and observe the process. Then they create a
record of this information to create QR Codes. And these QR Codes are added to textile labels
for customers to scan.

2. To manage your inventory

Can be created Serial Code QR Codes with unique product IDs. And download them as printable
labels. Then add these QR Codes to your products to track them.
Or say you ship your fabrics to various locations and want to monitor it. Here, a QR Code can
help you monitor the exact location of your products. How?
You can add them to your products. And as they move from one location to another, inventory
operators will have to scan these QR Codes.
When they do it, you will be able to see data on exactly when and where the QR Code was
scanned. This is due to its GPS location tracking feature.

3. To make your fabric design innovative

As a textile company, you do want to provide quality fabric to the customers. But that’s not
where it ends. You also have to provide the design options that meet the customer’s eye.
While taking care of color combinations and patterns is important, you must also provide
something unique.
And we are talking about interactive designs here. Designs that are not only good to look at but
also go a step ahead to engage the customers. And QR Codes help you do it easily.
But before you go ahead, think about what would you like the QR Code to do?

For example—you might want it to take customers to your website or provide them the best
offers.
Just make sure that the QR Code has enough contrast with the fabric color. That means if the
fabric is light in color (say white), use dark colors in the QR Code (such as black). And vice-
versa.
This color contrast is important to ensure the smooth scannability of the QR Code. The ones with
poor contrast do not scan well.
 4. To tackle the issue to fake designs
Fake brands and designs are a common issue in practically every industry today. With a number
of unauthorized sellers, buyers find it difficult to differentiate between fake and genuine
products.
For example—say you have your company’s website. You can create a unique QR Code for each
apparel containing a webpage address on your website. This webpage will be unique for each QR
Code and will show the cloth’s serial number, name, price, etc. on your website.
Hence, as customers scan this QR Code, they will be able to see these details. And since they
will be on your website, it will help them verify the authenticity of the material too.

Other uses of QR code:

• QR codes on business cards link to the individual's full resume or website.
• A Starbucks promotion featured a QR code-enabled scavenger hunt involving hints accessed
through QR codes in the stores.
• Quiring Monuments in Seattle puts QR code on gravestones to connects people to an online
obituary or a website about the deceased.
Lecture : 06
Week : 06

Topic: Applications of Barcode in Textile

A barcode, consisting of bars and spaces, is a machine-readable representation of numerals and

characters. Today, lines as shown below on packages of products sold at supermarkets,
convenience stores and other stores are ubiquitous. These are barcodes. A barcode consists of
bars and spaces of varying width that can be read with an optical barcode scanner.

A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form.

Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacing of parallel lines. These
barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D), can be scanned by
special optical scanners, called barcode reader.

For our textile manufacturer, affixing a barcode on each product and scanning it while it
moves from one manufacturing process to another should cost less than a thousandth of the
value of the product being tracked. But it can yield a windfall. The biggest gains can be
made in three specific areas — control over theft, curbs on over-production and elimination
of shipment delay. All three failures cost this industry dearly.
There is a widely held belief within the textile sector that between 3% to 4% products are
rejected due to quality problems during production and that by over producing by 5%, these
quality rejections can be compensated. The cost of producing 5% extra products that
ultimately generate no revenue is widely accepted as the cost of doing business and hence
is built into the cost of the product.
Components of Barcode:
OBJECTIVES OF BARCODING
a) To achieve accuracy;
b) Time saving of users;
c) Easy process as stock verification;
d) To reduce operational cost; and
e) Improve operational efficiency

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR BARCODE APPLICATION

a) Personal computers, (PCs);
b) Barcode Scanner;
c) Decoder;
d) Printer;
e) Printing Software;
f) Communication Software;
g) Database of Library Holdings;
h) Library Software; and
i) Membership Database;

Applications of Barcodes in the textile industry:

Improved Time Management
The ease of using a barcode scanner makes it an appealing alternative to traditional paper-and-
pencil processing. Not only do barcodes streamline processing time, but they also enable
tracking individual items within a shipment. Using barcodes can save time in several materials
handling situations.

• Inventories of in-house materials and equipment: While a traditional warehouse

inventory may take several employees days to complete, handheld barcode
scanners mean the same inventory can be completed in a fraction of the time.

• Processing incoming and outgoing shipments: The individual components of a

shipment can be scanned quickly and easily, for a quick gauge on whether all
necessary components are present.

• Tracking equipment that is dispatched to different work sites: When machinery or

supplies should be moved among work sites, barcode information can identify which
equipment can be moved with the least downtime.

• Following product movement among packing lines and at delivery

points: Barcodes can be used to track movement along complex supply lines, so that
exact locations can be pinpointed rapidly and accurately.

Increased Revenue

• Reduction in errors that cause duplication of work: Barcode errors occur in such
small numbers that they are statistically insignificant, making them an extremely
reliable method for tracking just about anything. Barcode quality far exceeds human
ability.

• Improved accountability for equipment among employees: When employees know

that items are inventoried through an electronic system, they are more likely leave it
where it belongs.
• Greater customer satisfaction: Since shipments and equipment will reach their
destinations with virtually infallible accuracy, customers are more likely to be
satisfied, which pays off in terms of decreased returns and increased loyalty.
Lecture : 07
Week : 07

Topic: E-Commerce ethics

E-commerce has been growing very fast that has become important part of our business and with
this growth the ethics in e-commerce is also has been important part of the business. It is the
domain of study to learn the good and the bad behaviors. Now the Ethics E-commerce is the
behaviors either good or bad that do in business domains. These behaviors are laws, rules,
traditions, manners, and customs. Without ethics, there’s disorder and lawlessness business life.

Ethics in business towards customers in general:

1. Not to cheat the customers in pricing, product description, advertisement / promotional

communications etc.
2. Make sure their private data is secure with you
3. Make sure all your suppliers (in case you are a market place like Flipkart or Amazon)
are KYC compliant i.e. they are really who they claim to be.
4. Proper return policy

Ethical Issues

Web tracking
Analysis of log file means turning log data into application service or installing software that can
pluck relevant information from files in-house. Companies track individual’s movement through
tracking software and cookie analysis. Programs such as cookies raise a batch of privacy
concerns. The tracking history is stored on your PC’s hard disk, and any time you revisit a
website, the computer knows it. Many smart end users install programs such as Cookie cutters,
Spam Butcher, etc which can provide users some control over the cookies.
Privacy
A privacy issue related to the employees of company is tracking. Monitoring systems are
installed in many companies to monitor e-mail and other web activities in order to identify
employees who extensively use business hours for non-business activities. The e-commerce
activities performed by a buyer can be tracked by organizations. For example, reserving railway
tickets for their personal journey purpose can be tracked. Many employees don’t want to be
under the monitoring system even while at work.

Disintermediation
Intermediation is one of the most important and interesting e-commerce issue related to loss of
jobs. The services provided by intermediaries are

• Matching and providing information.

• Value added services such as consulting.

The first type of service (matching and providing information) can be fully automated, and this
service is likely to be in e-marketplaces and portals that provide free services. The value added
service requires expertise and this can only be partially automated. The phenomenon by which
Intermediaries, who provide mainly matching and providing information services, are eliminated
is called Disintermediation.
Fraud on the Internet
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
Internet addresses are known as domain names and they appear in levels. A top level name
is texile.com. A second level name will be texile.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.
Lecture : 08 & 09
Week : 08 & 09

Topic: E-Commerce securities Issue

E-commerce security is the protection of e-commerce assets from unauthorized access, use,
alteration, or destruction.

E-Commerce system must meet four integral requirements:

• privacy – information exchanged must be kept from unauthorized parties

• integrity – the exchanged information must not be altered or tampered with
• authentication – both sender and recipient must prove their identities to each other and
• Non-repudiation – proof is required that the exchanged information was indeed
received.

Privacy:

Privacy has become a major concern for consumers with the rise of identity theft and
impersonation, and any concern for consumers must be treated as a major concern for
eCommerce providers. the US Attorney General has announced multiple indictments relating to
a massive international security breach involving nine major retailers and more than 40 million
credit- and debit-card numbers.

Credit Card Fraud

Credit card fraud is the most common security threat that online retailers face. It occurs when a
hacker gains unauthorized access to customers’ personal and payment information. To access
this data, the hacker may penetrate the database of an e-commerce site using malicious software
programs. At times, a hacker’s intention when stealing customers’ data is to sell it on black
markets.

Integrity, Authentication & Non-Repudiation:

In any e-commence system the factors of data integrity, customer & client authentication and
non-repudiation are critical to the success of any online business. Data integrity is the assurance
that data transmitted is consistent and correct, that is, it has not been tampered or altered in any
way during transmission. Authentication is a means by which both parties in an online
transaction can be confident that they are who they say they are and non-repudiation is the idea
that no party can dispute that an actual event online took place. Proof of data integrity is typically
the easiest of these factors to successfully accomplish.

Technical Attacks:

Technical attacks are one of the most challenging types of security compromise an e-commerce
provider must face. Perpetrators of technical attacks, and in particular Denial-of-Service attacks,
typically target sites or services hosted on high-profile web servers such as banks, credit card
payment gateways, large online retailers and popular social networking sites.

• Unusually slow network performance

• Unavailability of a particular web site
• Inability to access any web site
• Dramatic increase in the number of spam emails received

Phlashing:

Also known as a Permanent denial-of-service (PDoS) is an attack that damages a system so

badly that it requires replacement or reinstallation of hardware. Perpetrators exploit security
flaws in the remote management interfaces of the victim’s hardware, be it routers, printers, or
other networking hardware. These flaws leave the door open for an attacker to remotely ‘update’
the device firmware to a modified, corrupt or defective firmware image, therefore bricking the
device and making it permanently unusable for its original purpose.

Non-Technical Attacks

Non-Technical Attacks is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive

information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a
trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing scams generally are carried out by
emailing the victim with a ‘fraudulent’ email from what purports to be a legitimate organization
requesting sensitive information. When the victim follows the link embedded within the email
they are brought to an elaborate and sophisticated duplicate of the legitimate organizations
website. Phishing attacks generally target bank customers, online auction sites (such as eBay),
online retailers (such as amazon) and services providers (such as PayPal).

Financial Fraud Online

One of the primary sources of fear among the general public is that fraud seems to be
everywhere. When we hear of websites from some of the best of companies getting hacked, it's
easy to raise an eyebrow. For example, Sony and Google, two of the largest tech giants, both
have been targets of hacking. If these huge companies cannot protect themselves, how can we?
Fear of online fraud is very legitimate.

Man-in-the-middle Attacks

As hackers are becoming smarter with technology, they are devising ways of listening to the
communications made by users of an e-commerce website. Through an approach known as a
man-in-the-middle attack, these hackers maliciously trick users into connecting to a public
wireless network. They gain access to people’s devices once they are on public wireless
networks. Hackers get to see a people’s browsing history, credit card numbers, passwords and
usernames if the websites they are visiting lack strong encryptions.

Bad Bots

Bots, either good or bad, are all over the worldwide web. Search engines such as Bing and
Google use good bots for indexing search results. On the other hand, there are hackers that use
malicious bots for gathering data such as product data, inventories and pricing data. These bots
are also capable of accessing the database of an e-commerce site and listing the logins of user
accounts.

Malware
In information technology, malware simply refers to malicious software programs. Attackers
usually inject web pages or files with these malicious programs to help them in gaining access to
online retails stores. Through means such as SQL injection, they can easily insert the malware
into a website’s database allowing it to compromise the data stored in the database.

E-COMMERCE SECURITY THREATS:

1. Intellectual property threats: Some browsers use the information personally from a website
without permission of the website owner. For example, music downloads, software pirating etc.
To get rid of this problem website owners have to use secured authentication system

2. Client computer threats: Sometimes client computers may impose for electronic threats
like Trojan horse, viruses. Which enters the client computer without user’s knowledge, steal the
data and destroy or crash the client computer. To avoid these types of threats we need to use
good antivirus system which should be updated regularly. The website owners should implement
a strong privacy policy.

3. Communication channel threats: As internet allows anyone to send and receive information
through many networks. Data may be stolen, modified by unauthorized users of hackers. Hackers
can develop software to steal the user Identification and pass words as well. Spoofing is another
major threat while data is being transmitted electronically. Denial of service is also one of
communication channel threat, where hackers’ sends unlimited number of requests to the target
server, which big number of requests may not be handled by the server. Obviously the genuine
user will find websites of that server are always busy.

4. Server threats: Denial of service is a major threat for the servers, where hackers generate a
program which sends many requests from the client side that cannot be handled by the server.
Spamming is another important threat for the servers. To protect our server from the above
threats we can use authentication for web access, digital signatures and firewalls. Firewalls check
the incoming requests packets and if anything which does not match with the server related data,
they simply reject those requests.
THE DEVELOP AN E-COMMERCE SECURITY PLAN:

• Perform a risk assessment

• Develop a security policy
• Develop an implementation plan
• Create a security organization
• Perform a security audit

Firstly, security plan starts with risk assessment which means an assessment of the risks and
points of vulnerability. Secondly, security policy is a set of statements prioritizing the
information risks, identifying acceptable risk targets and identifying the mechanisms for
achieving these targets where as in the implementation plan it will take to achieve the security
plan goals. Thirdly, security organization educates and train users, keeps management ware of
security threats and breakdown, and maintains the tools chosen to implement security. Lastly,
security audit involves the routine review of access logs.
Lecture : 10
Week : 10

Topic: Ecommerce Advertising

E-commerce advertising

Ecommerce advertising is the practice of distributing paid messages to sell a product online.
The advertiser will pay for placement, impressions, clicks, etc. on a publisher like
Facebook, YouTube etc.

Ecommerce advertising techniques

They are given below,

Personalization
Marketers say that personalization advances the customer relationship. If that’s not a
testament to its power, consider that bad personalization, in the past, has cost
businesses three quarters of a trillion dollars. That’s why it’s become a staple of ecommerce
marketers’ repertoire.
Through personalization, ecommerce advertisers can meet customer expectations with
precise targeting at every stage of the marketing funnel. At its core, personalization is about
discovering your customers’ needs through data collection, then segmenting based on them.
The more you learn, the closer you can get to true 1:1 personalization:
Mobile-first
It’s already more likely a shopper visits your store on mobile than anywhere else.
Even when they’re in-store, 80% of shoppers will use their mobile device to find reviews,
prices, and even other store locations. By 2021, it’s expected that 73% of ecommerce will
happen on a mobile device.

Post-click optimization
Advertisers spend much time, effort, dollars creating and testing countless advertisements,
only to drive their traffic to a single landing page — or worse, a homepage. This creates a
personalization gap. The ads are segmented, well-designed because they’ve been tested, etc.
However, after they’re clicked, audiences are driven to a generic landing page.

This experience succeeds in providing personalization early on but fails later in the
campaign. When this happens, it’s likely to result in page abandonment.
Post-click optimization aims to match the ad with the landing page experience and beyond.

Conversion rate optimization

Conversion rate refers to the number of people who land on a web page, or see an ad,
compared to the number of people who accomplish that page or ad’s primary goal —
whether it’s to buy, download, sign up, click through, etc. Conversion rate
optimization refers to the practice of improving that rate through data collection, analysis,
hypotheses, and testing. A/B and multivariate testing are commonly used to determine the
better of two designs. By starting with a business problem and testing a solution o n
prospects using sound experimental protocol, you’ll be able to discover methods to improve
your conversion rates.

Targeting and retargeting on social platforms

The supremacy of social networks to drive purchasing is commonly known. Nearly three
quarters of people speak to their social networks when considering a purchase.
Online, Facebook is still driving ecommerce, with 78% of shoppers 18-34 saying they
discovered products on Facebook. And 55% of shoppers say they’ve purchased a product
online after discovering it on social media.

Omnichannel
Omnichannel is a strategy that provides the ultimate convenience and relevance for any
customer. To offer a great omnichannel experience means to provide seamlessness across
every channel at any point in the buyer’s journey. It requires excellent coordination and
strategy — specifically the deconstruction of silos around an organization.

An omnichannel experience would allow, for example, someone to buy a shirt in -store, then
receive relevant recommendations for pants that go with that shirt the next time they log in
to Instagram. When they click through Instagram to the company website, they should be
able to see what’s available in stock at nearby stores. In-store, sales associates should be
able to provide as much information about the product as the online listing.
Experiences like these are becoming more and more common. And even though ecommerce
accounts for 5% of omnichannel spending by marketers, it has driven 40% of the industry’s
growth.

Artificial intelligence
Complementing the smart speakers in the AI service industry are chatbots. While they’re
still experiencing growing pains, chatbots are already capable of some powerful
things. Consider Kayak’s, for example, which allows you to book a trip without ever
speaking to a real person: Chat apps are already among the most-used in the world. So,
when chatbots finally catch up to the popularity of the platforms they’re hosted on.
Lecture : 11
Week : 11

Topic: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

ERP is an information system that aims to manage the large amounts of data in an
organization. ERP integrates sales, order, inventory, manufacturing and customer service
activities. ERP systems provide software, databases, procedures and job descriptions for
organization wide processes. The characteristics of ERP are:

- Provides a cross-functional process view of the organisation.

- ERP applications include a set of inherent processes for all organisational activities.
These processes may be documented in the form of a diagram, sometimes called a
process blueprint.

- Generally organisations must adapt their processes to the blueprint, although it

may be possible to adapt ERP software to organisational procedures.

- ERP stores information in a centralised database.

The history of ERP is as follows:

Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) (1970’s)

A method of translating a statement of required output into a plan for all activities that
must take place to achieve the required output in the operations function.
Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP 2) (1980’s)

Extends MRP across related departments; operations, marketing,

Finance and engineering 3. ERP (1990’s)

Integrates across all parts of the organisation; operations, finance, HRM, IT etc.

Web Integrated ERP (2000’s)

Integrates ERP using the web platform with other business systems
 Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP)

MRP can calculate the requirements for component materials needed to produce end items.
These components have what is called dependent demand. A dependent demand item has a
demand which is relatively predictable because it is dependent on other factors. The
components of an MRP system are the:

- Master production schedule (MPS)

- Bill of Materials (BOM)
- Inventory Status File (ISF)

Master Production Schedule (MPS)

The master schedule provides a plan for the quantity and timing of when orders are required.
The MRP system will use this information and taking into account delivery, production and
supply lead times and will indicate when materials are needed to achieve the master schedule.
The MPS will usually show plans based on time ‘buckets’ based on for example a day or a
week. The MPS will usually contain a mix of both plans for customer ordered items and plans
to produce to forecast sales.

Bill of Materials (BOM)

The Bill of Materials (BOM) identifies all the components required to produce a scheduled
quantity of an assembly and the structure of how these components fit together to make that
assembly. The BOM can be viewed as a product structure tree, similar to an organisation chart.
The accuracy of the BOM is vital in generating the correct schedule of parts at the right time.

Inventory Status File (ISF)

The Bill of Materials (BOM) indicates the quantity of components needed from the product
structure, but this will not be directly translated into demand for components because it is
likely that some of the components will be currently held in inventory. The inventory status file
(ISF) provides information on the identification and quantity of items in stock. The MRP
system will determine if a sufficient quantity of an item is in stock or an order must be placed.
The inventory status file will also contain the lead time, or time between order and availability,
for each component.

MRP Calculations

The following calculations are made by the MRP program.

- Gross Requirements. This is the estimated requirements for the item described.
 - Scheduled Receipts. This indicates when the item becomes available for use, from a
previously released order.
- Projected On Hand. This is the number of units to be available at the end of each
time bucket based on the balance of requirements and receipts.
- Net Requirements. If the projected on hand is negative it is called a net requirement
and means there will not be enough of this component to produce the quantities
required to meet the master production schedule.
- Planned Order Release. The planned order release (POR) row indicates when an
order should be released to ensure that the projected-on-hand figure does not
become negative.

MRP Reports

A number of reports can be generated by the MRP program which include information on the
quantity of each item to order in the current and future time period, indication of which due
dates cannot be met and showing when they can be met and showing changes to quantities of
currently ordered items. The system can also show the results of simulation of scenarios for
planning purposes.

Limitations of MRP

The success of the system depends on the accuracy of the data but lead times and capacities
are just static estimates and do not reflect dynamic nature of the operations system. Process
times are variable so difficult to predict when work will arrive at a particular location so lead
times are variable and depend on the utilisation of upstream resources. Therefore if lead time
calculations are wrong then planning system cannot allocate capacity correctly.

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II)

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) extends the idea of MRP to other areas in the firm
such as marketing and finance. Thus central databases hold information on product structure
(i.e. the Bill of Materials (BOM) file) which can be updated due to design changes by
engineering for example. By incorporating financial elements into item details, inventory cost
information can be utilised by finance departments. At a wider level information provided by
the MRP II system from simulations of business plans can be used to estimate plant
investment needs and workforce requirements. This information can then be used to co-
ordinate efforts across departments including marketing, financing, engineering and
manufacturing.

ERP
 ERP extends MRP and MRPII across the organisation and takes a process perspective, so how
does ERP improve process performance? An example is given of the procurement process
which involves acquiring all the resources needed by an organisation in the form of purchases,
rentals, contracts etc.

Manual Procurement Process

1 Create Order
Physically check for stock levels
Gather forms with previous purchases and potential suppliers

2 Get Quotes
Prepare forms requesting availability and pricing
information Collate quotation letters

3 Approve Order
Transfer requisition information to purchase orders and send to selected
suppliers

4 Receive Products and Services

Match purchase order to delivery list when
delivered Generate goods receipt form

5 Make Payment
Match invoice from supplier with purchase order and goods
receipt document Authorise and send payment

ERP Procurement Process

ERP supports the procurement process by:

1. Supporting the execution of the process

Documents can be quickly and easily created and stored in the system

2. Capture and store data

For example all stock levels and supplier information displayed on
purchase requisition screen All forms (goods receipt, purchase order,
invoice) held on database for checking
 3. Help monitor performance
Automatically generate exception reports if
problems occur Provides a variety of reports in
response to queries

Implementing ERP

ERP ensures all processes work to a template so potentially increasing efficiency. A

centralised database increases data visibility and so improves communication and helps
decision making. However working to the standard process design could mean some loss of
flexibility.

Web-integrated ERP

This involves using the web to integrate ERP systems with outside stakeholders such as
customers and suppliers. Many ERP systems have been found to offer only limited integration
with Internet systems. The ideal is to integrate ERP with the internal systems of other
businesses (not just connecting ERP to other customer and suppliers). This is difficult but
these web-integrated ERP (also called c-commerce) applications are beginning to make an
impact
 Lecture : 12
Week : 12

TOPIC: LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS OF E-COMMERCE

In e-commerce, as in traditional business, laws establish norms of conduct which promote

honesty and fair play and provide methods for addressing disputes. E-commerce's technological,
organizational, and commercial innovations have also introduced new legal problems that
existing business laws don't cover. For example, the contracts, facilities, and even products of e-
commerce frequently exist only in the virtual realm. Electronic business crosses state and
national borders effortlessly and invisibly, introducing jurisdictional, tax, and international trade
problems. Further complicating matters, e-commerce technology can change so quickly that new
laws are left quickly obsolete.

E-commerce's new business structures raise a number of unique legal questions. Traditional
businesses perform most functions in-house, including production, marketing, sales, order
fulfillment, warehousing. E-commerce, on the other hand, relies more on outsourcing—
contracting out many essential business activities to third parties. Outsourced activities might
include any or all of those listed above as well as others unique to e-commerce, such as Web site
development and Web hosting. Outsourcing eliminates many traditional employment agreements
and relationships, substituting short-term contractual agreements. Besides breeding a different
kind of commercial-personal relationship, outsourcing created a business culture in which more
than ever outsiders are intimately involved a business's affairs and may even have competing
stakes in it. The issues include:

• Controlling contractors' use of customer data

• Determining property rights to the company's Web site when outside developers and contract
operators are involved
• Negotiating and enforcing confidentiality agreements with outside contractors
• Does electronic delivery of a product (software, for example) satisfy the seller's
obligation the same way a material product sold in a store or by mail does?
 • How should international e-tailers deal with local or national laws that affect, possibly
even prohibit, their products?
• How can buyer complaints be redressed when purchases are made online?

IMPORTANCE OF CONTRACTS

In the absence of established law, e-commerce must depend heavily on contracts to clarify such
questions and bring a degree of certainty to business. The best contracts will be exhaustive ones
that cover as many contingencies as possible, spelling out responsibilities, rights, and a method
of dispute resolution. The best e-commerce contracts, some experts anticipate, will eventually
provide the basis for new e-commerce law. Because e-commerce is still evolving, in practice
there is no such thing as a boilerplate e-commerce contract. Nearly all are drawn up with a view
to the unique features of a particular deal or relationship.

TERMS-OF-USE AGREEMENTS

A notable exception is the contract governing the use of an e-commerce Web site. These
contracts usually included as a separate page of a Web site serve a variety of purposes, including
defining and limiting the liability of the Web site owner and setting terms of sale. Frequently
they are drawn up so use of the site implies acceptance of the terms, but as with much in e-
commerce law, courts do not necessarily enforce these clauses. To increase their enforceability,
some Web site operators require users to click an "I accept" button under the contract's terms or
to indicate acceptance even more clearly by typing the words "I accept." Without such an explicit
agreement, a key to making Web site contracts binding is stating prominently preferably on the
opening page that use of the Web site is governed by certain terms and restrictions. Those terms
can then be listed on a legal page.

LEGAL PAGES

An effective e-commerce legal page includes certain key elements

• Terms of sale, including return and refund policy, delivery and return information, technical or
customer support information, and possibly an option for customers to reject the terms
• Copyright and trademark notices informing visitors that their right to use material on the site is
limited by law
• Disclaimers of responsibility for errors and omissions on the site, such as typographical errors,
outof date information, pricing errors
• Disclaimers of implied warranties which reduce a merchant's liability for product performance
• Limit of liability for the damages visitors can claim, for example, for profits lost as a result of
use of information posted on Web site
• Disclaimer of responsibility for material posted at linked Web sites
• Guidelines for online behavior, for example the posting of material that is obscene, libelous, or in
violation of copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights
• Privacy policy indicating how customer information is used and shared

Since e-commerce is to a large extent based on such "paperless contracts," it is expected that
these virtual contracts will eventually be upheld as binding.

DOMAIN NAMES

Domain names, one of the most valuable assets of an e-company, are one area where e-
commerce-specific laws have been put on the books. Early in the rise of the Internet, so-called
"cybersquatters" registered potentially valuable domain names, often the names of established
large companies, and sat on them until the company paid for them. Cybersquatting was made
illegal. A company with a trademarked name now has a stronger legal claim to a related domain
name than do others. There are still questions: If companies in two industries have the same
name, which is more entitled to the domain name? Should domain names be covered under
property law as "virtual property"?

OTHER CONCERNS

Other legal problems in e-commerce persist. Online exchanges—Web sites used by groups of
companies in an industry to secure volume prices on supplies and services, sell equipment, post
prices, and exchange information—raise serious as yet unaddressed antitrust questions. For
example, is information-sharing on exchanges anti-competitive behavior?
Another troublesome issue is the elastic use of the term "partner" by e-businesses. "Strategic
partner" is a buzzword that can mean anything from a partner in a formal joint venture to a
company who has allowed its name to be used in advertising. Nearly all of these uses, however,
are very different from the established legal term "partner" which under partnership law carries
with it a set of specific responsibilities and liabilities which most "strategic partners" would be
unwilling to shoulder.

A separate problem is when cash-poor dot-coms use stock or stock options to pay for goods and
services. In the wake of the partial collapse of the dotcom economy such practices are not as
common as they once were. However, it is likely they are in violation of securities law.
Lecture : 13
Week : 13

Topic: E-Commerce Implementation Cost

The size of the business

Small business. If you have a limited range of products, a small customer base, and no intention
to expand in the near future, it’s better to keep things simple and try to save some money. There
are many possibilities on the market to design your online store investing not so much.

Mid-size business. If you have a decent range of highly specialized products, an average
customer base and you consider increasing your sales in the future, it’s better to search for
solutions that can help you to reach your goals. You will need to have robust features and
functionalities and might require implementing a few plug-ins or extensions. When setting up
your budget you have to take into account the cost needed for custom software development.

Enterprise business. If you have a wide range of products, a large customer base and you’re
well-established in the market you need to choose a perfect solution for your enterprise business.
This solution should provide scalability, manage large inventories, unlimited categories, multiple
sales channels, and product attributes. Don’t forget about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems integration. Enterprise store
development requires a considerable budget.

Ecommerce platform
These days, building an online store has become so much easier than a few years ago, thanks to a
variety of ecommerce platforms becoming available on the market. Certainly, you’ve heard about
such ecommerce solutions as Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, Hybris, and Salesforce.
These platforms offer an easy way to design website infrastructure and include ready-made
layouts, content management systems, search and filtering, payment, and shipping integrations.
Check out a useful guide on how to select the most reliable enterprise ecommerce platform.
Whatever ecommerce platform you choose, most often you still need to hire a team with certain
technical skills to be able to launch and maintain your online store (unless you’re using SaaS
platforms like Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace). A developer can charge $10-250 per hour to
develop an online store. The rate largely depends on the region where you hire a developer, but
can also depend on experience and qualifications.

Ecommerce web design cost

The design is a crucial factor that contributes to the overall cost. If you need a unique design for
your online store, then it’s better to hire a professional team with a strong UI/UX expertise.
What is the average cost to develop an online store design? Usually, the cost can range
from $250 to $20,000 depending on the design’s complexity and requirements.
Lot’s of platforms, especially SaaS-based, have design galleries offering various readymade
themes you can implement into your online store yourself. These themes don’t take into account
the characteristics of a particular business. Also, other online retail companies might apply the
same templates. However, a template-based design is fast and inexpensive. Anticipate spending
from $0 to $300 to purchase a template and $1,000 to $3,000 if you want to alter or customize the
template. Remember that you still need taking into the additional budget to spend on logos,
banners or creative images.
Another option is to apply a custom-made design. It gives you the opportunity to design a website
that is unique to your business. You can design any features you want, including custom layouts,
scrolling animations, and more. A custom-made design created with your specific user persona in
mind helps to significantly increase the sales.

Ecommerce functionality cost

Typically, ecommerce functionality makes the greatest cost of an online store. A successful retail
company should provide the latest, efficient, interactive functionalities to navigate the website
easily and find the products that the customers are looking for.
For instance, you might need customized search functionality due to the type of product you sell
or you want to offer an effective checkout with special benefits for clients. These kinds of
functionalities demand extensive programming and thus only bigger budgets can sustain the
design and development of these features.
Numerous ecommerce platforms offer various modules or extensions where functionality has
been developed by someone else and can be applied to your online store for a much lower price
than you could build on your own.
However, you need to check what plugins are available before writing custom code. Quite often
extensions are incompatible with certain online stores. Our company always evaluates extensions
for effectiveness, security, features, and integration before advising them to our clients.

Ecommerce fulfillment cost

Ecommerce fulfillment cost is a part of a total ownership cost. They cover basic expenses such as
inventory receiving, order picking and packing, storage, shipping, and returns. Fulfillment
services can be outsourced or done via self-fulfillment.
Some fulfillment companies include all of the mentioned expenses into an overall charge whereas
others cover only several services.

Ecommerce marketing cost

The customers more than ever search products and services on Google as well as Facebook and
Instagram. Digital marketing is an investment that helps to boost your online visibility, resulting
in returns in the form of sales.
Common marketing expenses include brand development, SEO (search engine optimization),
PPC (pay per click) advertising, copywriting, content marketing, social media marketing, and
email marketing. The store owners can reduce their marketing costs by restricting the number of
marketing strategies. For instance, to lower the cost you can focus on SEO over PPC.

Ecommerce maintenance cost

Ecommerce maintenance is important for ensuring that your website runs accurately and
effectively. The support and maintenance package includes new feature development, systems
integration, troubleshooting, bug fixing, performance optimization, extension updates, security
patches installation, website audit, quality assurance, and server setup.
 Web hosting cost
Put simply, hosting is a service that makes your website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web
hosting has an impact on the page loading time so you need to choose a provider thoughtfully.
You have three options on how to host your online store accessible on the internet 24/7/365:
• Hosting services – the most typical type where you “rent” space from the servers of the web
hosting providers such as Amazon.
• Hosted platforms – you can build your online store on platforms with built-in hosting such as
WordPress or Shopify.
• Host your own – a self-hosted website where you manage everything yourself.

Types of ecommerce websites and their costs

Small-sized ecommerce website

A small-sized ecommerce website is determined by a few aspects: small product catalog (100-
1000), some custom programming (mainly concerning the appearance of the site and the structure
of pages), off-the-shelf themes, light traffic, basic design. Small websites have no more than 25
pages and out-of-the-box functionality. Estimated small business ecommerce website
cost: $2,000 to $15,000.

Medium-sized ecommerce website

A medium-sized ecommerce website is built using an average product catalog, medium traffic
(1000-5000), customized themes, unique functionality, design, and development of “pro”
features. Medium-sized ecommerce stores usually have less than 100 pages and a content
management system. Estimated medium business ecommerce website cost: starting
with $15,000 – $30,000.

Custom ecommerce website

A custom ecommerce website is built from scratch and usually has a large product catalog, high
traffic, custom layouts, and imagery. In addition, it has a custom design, custom programming,
system integration, a great variety of payment methods, multiple shipping options, a content
management system, unique functionality, order tracking, refund processing, and other advanced
features. Such custom stores usually have more than 100 pages and a content management
system. Estimated custom ecommerce website development cost starts from $30,000.
Bear in mind, that all these estimates cover only the initial costs to establish an online store, and
do not include upcoming monthly costs to maintain a site or extra costs such as marketing and
branding.
Lecture : 14
Week : 14

Topic: Electronic customer relationship management (E-CRM)

Electronic customer relationship management (E-CRM) is the application of Internet-based

technologies such as emails, websites, chat rooms, forums and other channels to achieve CRM
objectives. It is a well-structured and coordinated process of CRM that automates the processes
in marketing, sales and customer service. An effective E-CRM increases the efficiency of the
processes as well as improves the interactions with customers and enables businesses to
customize products and services that meet the customers’ individual needs.

Electronic Customer Relationship Management (E-CRM)

Electronic customer relationship management provides an avenue for interactions between a

business, its customers and its employees through Web-based technologies. The process
combines software, hardware, processes and management’s commitments geared toward
supporting enterprise wide CRM business strategies. Electronic customer relationship
management is motivated by easy Internet access through various platforms and devices such as
laptops, mobile devices, desktop PCs and TV sets. It is not software, however, but rather the
utilization of Web-based technologies to interact, understand and ensure customer
satisfaction. An effective E-CRM system tracks a customer’s history through multiple channels
in real time, creates and maintains an analytical database, and optimizes a customer’s relation in
the three aspects of attraction, expansion and maintenance. A typical E-CRM strategy involves
collecting customer information, transaction history and product information, click stream and
contents information. It then analyzes the customer characteristics to give a transactional analysis
consisting of the customer's profile and transactional history, and an activity analysis consisting
of exploratory activities showing the customer's navigation, shopping cart, shopping pattern and
more. The benefits of E-CRM include the following:

• Improved customer relations, service and support

• Matching the customers' behavior with suitable offers
• Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Greater efficiency and cost reduction

E-CRM: Meaning, Evolution and Benefits

• Improve customer service and satisfaction through eCRM.

 • Personalize service, optimize marketing, and improve customer relations by co-
coordinating customer information for electronic, telephone, and store-based formats.
• Reduce customer service costs through "self-service" features such as search functions
and order delivery status.
• Grow profitability by analyzing customer information to optimize marketing efforts.
• Improve customer service and satisfaction through eCRM

eCRM generally includes an electronic sales platform for some customers, sales is their only
contact with the company as well as gathers and co-ordinates customer information. Information
can be used for several purposes:

Customer service:

Whichever medium the customer uses, sales and service personnel can quickly identify the
individual's essential background information such as location, recent purchases, account history,
and payment status.

Self-service:

Customers can access Web-based or telephone-based electronic systems to track their own
orders, identify the nearest store outlet, or find the answer to a question.

Customer analysis:

Retailers use customer information and buying data to guide purchasing andmarketing as well as
to improve service efforts.

Order status:

Checking order delivery status is another way customers can help themselves. This serviceis
simply a "front end" to your internal systems.

Vision

The board must take leadership in creating a CRM vision for the enterprise. The CRMvision
should be used as the guide to the creation of a CRM strategy.

Strategy

The CRM strategy is all about how to build and develop a valuable asset: the customerbase. It
must set objectives and metrics for attaining that goal. It directs the objectives ofother
operational strategies and the CRM implementation strategy.

Customer experience
 The customer experience must be designed in line with the CRM vision and must beconstantly
refined, based on actively sought customer feedback.

Organizational collaboration

Changes to organizational structures, processes, metrics, incentives, skills, and even the
enterprise culture must be made to deliver the required external customer experience. Ongoing
change management will be key.

Process

Successful customer process reengineering should create processes that not only meet
customers' expectations and support the customer value proposal, but also provide competitive
differentiation and contribute to a designed customer experience.

Information

Successful CRM demands the creation of a customer-information blood supply that flows
around the organization, as well as tight integration between operational and analytical systems.

Technology

CRM technologies form a fundamental part of any enterprise's application portfolio and
architecture. CRM application needs should be considered as the provision of integrated
functionality that supports seamless customer-centric processes across all areas of the enterprise
and its partners.

Implementation of a CRM System

The keys to successful CRM implantation are the followings:

• Develop your customer-focused strategy first before considering what kind oftechnology
you need.
• Break your CRM project down into manageable pieces by setting up pilotprograms and
short-term milestones. Start with a pilot project that incorporatesall the necessary
departments but is small enough and flexible enough to allowtinkering along the way.
• Make sure your CRM plans include a scalable architecture framework. Think carefully
about what is best for your enterprise: a solution that ties together “bestof breed” software
from several vendors via Web Services or an integrated package of software from one
vendor.
• Don't underestimate how much data you might collect (there will be LOTS) andmake
sure that if you need to expand systems you'll be able to.
 • Be thoughtful about what data is collected and stored. The impulse will be to graband
then store EVERY piece of data you can, but there is often no reason tostore data. Storing
useless data wastes time and money.

Advantages of CRM

By using CRM methodology, an enterprise can:

• Provide better customer service

• Increase customer revenues
• Discover new customers
• Cross sell/Up Sell products more effectively
• Help sales staff close deals faster
• Make call centers more efficient
• Simplify marketing and sales processes.

The Types of data, CRM software collects

CRM software collects the following types of data:

• Responses to campaigns
• Sales and purchase data
• Account information
• Web registration data
• Service and support records
• Demographic data
• Shipping and fulfillment dates
• Web sales data.

Disadvantages of CRM Systems

While advantages usually outweigh disadvantages for most organizations implementingan CRM
system, here are some of the most common obstacles experienced:

• Record Loss
• Training
• Require additional work inputting data
• Require continuous maintenance, information updating, and system upgrading costly
• Difficult to integrate with other management information systems.
E-CRM

As the internet is becoming more and more important in business life, many companies consider
it as an opportunity to reduce customer-service costs, tighten customer relationships and most
important, further personalize marketing messages and enable mass customization. Together
with the creation of Sales Force Automation (SFA), where electronic methods were used to
gather data and analyze customer information, the trend of the upcoming Internet can be seen as
the foundation of what we know as eCRM today. We can define eCRM as activities to manage
customer relationships by using the Internet, web browsers or other electronic touch points. The
challenge hereby is to offer communication and information on the right topic, in the right
amount, and at the right time that fits the customer’s specific needs.

Different levels of eCRM

In defining the scope of eCRM, three different levels can be distinguished:

Foundational services

This includes the minimum necessary services such as web site effectiveness and responsiveness
as well as order fulfillment.

Customer-centered services

These services include order tracking, product configuration and customization as wellas
security/trust.

Value-added services

These are extra services such as online auctions and online training and education. Self-services
are becoming increasingly important in CRM activities. The rise of the Internet and eCRM has
boosted the options for self-service activities. A critical success factor is the integration of such
activities into traditional channels. CRM activities are mainly of two different types.

Reactive service

Is where the customer has a problem and contacts the company.

Proactive service

Is where the manager has decided not to wait for the customer to contact the firm, but to be
aggressive and contact the customer himself in order to establish a dialogue and solve problems?
Lecture : 15
Week : 15

Topic: Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

Wireless application protocol (WAP) is a communications protocol that is used for wireless data
access through most mobile wireless networks. WAP enhances wireless specification
interoperability and facilitates instant connectivity between interactive wireless devices (such as
mobile phones) and the Internet.

Wireless Telephony Application

The Wireless Telephony Application comprises a client-side WTA programming library and
WTA server; together they allow the WAP session to control the voice channel. A voice call can
be placed, DTMF can be sent along the voice channel and call legs joined to create a conference
call. The WTA server performs a function similar to the model for Computer Telephony
Integration (CTI): it generates WTA events which the WAP gateway then interprets and sends
the resulting WML to the WAP mobile phone. The WTA server then initiates and controls any
voice connections that are required. The control of the voice channel would prove useful for
enhancing voice messaging applications or using speech recognition for authentication of a data
service. Many mobile devices have hands-free earpieces which would allow the user to talk
whilst viewing the mobile device display. The incorporation of WTA will enable the user
through a WAP data session to view the CLI and timestamp when a voicemail was deposited and
request the message to be played over the voice channel.

Walkthrough: In the beginning there is a new voice mail in the voice mail system.

1. The voice mail system informs the WTA server about the voice mails.

2. WTA server creates a WML deck, which is PUSHED to the client via the WAP gateway.

3. The client shows a list of voice mails to the user and the user selects a voice mail to listen for.
4. A request is sent back to the WTA server.

5. At the same time a new card is shown to the user (‘Listen’) and the network event, ‘incoming
call’ is mapped using a WTA event binding in order to be answered automatically.
 6. The WTA server sends information back to the voice mail system about which voice mail to
play.

7. The voice mail system makes the call to the WTA client.

8. Since there is an event mapping, the incoming call is answered automatically and therefore
the client can accept the call without the need for user interaction.

9. When the speech connection is established, the voice mail system starts playing the voice mail
and the user can listen.

Billing
Getting information to the handset of a user is the simple part. Devising a mechanism that meets
the commercial aspirations of all the players involved in making this happen is much harder.
Many Network Operators will partner with a publisher to manage the day-to-day operations of
their portal. Service providers will want recompense for the information provided. Even in the
simple case of portal provision, a number of revenue models have been developed to describe the
different ways in which the value can be expressed. For example, a simple revenue share might
be appropriate for a traffic-congestion report, the operator charging the user ‘per click’ for
information and passing on a share to the information provider. A service offering sports news
(for instance, all the latest scores) might require a subscription from the user to the operator, but
a volume-dependent fee to the service provider. Other services would require more complex
interactions between companies, for example in the case of a car-hire scenario, requiring co-
operation between an operator, an airport, an airline and a car-hire company. Resolving the
issues of ownership of the service, software and access to customer information is more
challenging than building the basic service. WAP services are expected to be expensive to use
since the tendency is to be on-line for a long Circuit Switched Data (CSD) call since features
such as interactivity and selection of more information are used by the end user. It takes several
short messages to send one piece of information through WAP. Specific tariff initiatives will be
needed to encourage usage and manage user expectations when their mobile phone bill arrives
for the first time.

Security

The are several areas of WAP security that will need additional development to ensure the end-
toend security requirements for transactions involving payments or instructions requiring non-
repudiation. These include what is being called premature encryption endpoint. The WAP
gateway acts as a proxy and decrypts the incoming WTLS session and encrypts as SSL3.0 for the
outgoing connection to the Origin server. There is an opportunity on the gateway to store as plain
text the information passed between the two endpoints. Developments are underway to allow
session redirection to a gateway within the firewall of a Bank or service provider so they can
ensure control and security of the session. The WAP specification 1.1 supports the use of
certificates in a way similar to X.509 and encryption is supported at 56 bit and 128 bit. Many
WAP-enabled mobile phone devices only support 56-bit encryption and the Finance applications
may require a minimum of 128-bit encryption for transactions. In the future the WAP
specification will be extended to include the Wireless Identity Module (WIM) which is a
replacement for your SIM card which contains a personal digital signature to identify and
authenticate the user. The addition of a Crypto library will enable the developer of WAP services
access to a range of functions, this will allow the user to digitally sign and encrypt a message
before it is sent from the mobile device. Due to the security holes, it is likely that a Bank would
require ownership of the gateway, and maybe even the dial-in. A user is unlikely to want large
numbers of Configuration settings in order to obtain the services they require.

WAP is an interim solution to the scarce use of radio bandwidth and the lack of screen ‘real-
estate’ available on current devices. The limitations such as bandwidth, screen size, battery life
and processor speed will all improve, enabling devices in the future to support TCP connectivity,
allowing them direct access to HTML
Lecture : 16 & 17
Week : 16 & 17

Topic: E-Commerce Implementation

Implementing an e-commerce shopping cart gives your business the ability to sell your
products online day and night, reach new clients, target your ideal market, establish a strong
brand, and build closer relationships with your customers by improving their purchasing
experience.
Whether you’re setting up an online store for the first time or updating your current platform,
platform implementation is one of the most complex aspects of launching an e-commerce site.
Without the guidance of a consultant with years of e-commerce experience, programming
expertise and deep knowledge, your efforts to set up an e-commerce solution can become
plagued by cost overruns, programming errors, and delays resulting in poor sales performance
and reduced profits. Simplicity has over 20 years of e-commerce implementation
experience. We have been helping businesses just like yours, big and small, build e-commerce
platforms to get their businesses up and running on the web. Contact us today to see how we can
get your business’ e-commerce store implemented and making money.

Advantages of ecommerce implementation:

• Allows you to sell products 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

• Lowers your costs and raises your sales margins
• Creates cost-saving efficiencies
• Creates an automated cycle of repeat business
• Connects you to new customers previously unavailable to you due to distance
and operating hours
• Collects customer data, demographics, and produces marketing leads
• Gives your customers control over how and when they’d like to shop
Implementing an E-commerce Site
There are three general ways to implement the site with all sorts of variations in between. The
three general ways are:

• Enterprise computing
• Virtual hosting services
• Simplified e-commerce
Enterprise computing means that you purchase hardware and software and hire a staff of
developers to create your e-commerce web site. Amazon, Dell and all of the other big players
participate in e-commerce at the enterprise level. You might need to consider enterprise
computing solutions if:

✓ You have immensely high traffic - millions of visitors per month

✓ You have a large database that holds your catalog of products (especially if the catalog is
changing constantly)
✓ You have a complicated sales cycle that requires lots of customized forms, pricing tables,
et cetera
✓ You have other business processes already in place and you want your e-commerce
offering to integrate into them.
Virtual hosting services give you some of the flexibility of enterprise computing, but what you
get depends on the vendor. In general the vendor maintains the equipment and software and sells
them in standardized packages. Part of the package includes security, and almost always a
merchant account is also an option. Database access is sometimes a part of the package. You
provide the web designers and developers to create and maintain your site.

Simplified e-commerce is what most small businesses and individuals are using to get into e-
commerce. In this option the vendor provides a simplified system for creating your store. The
system usually involves a set of forms that you fill out online. The vendor's software then
generates all of the web pages for the store for you. Two good examples of this sort of offering
include Yahoo Stores and Verio Stores. You pay by the month for these services.

Guidelines for implementations of E-Commerce

1. Plan it out

Determine first the nature of your business—its needs and goals, strengths and weaknesses, and
challenges. This is also the first step in knowing which channels to take advantage of. Keep in
mind that not all will be beneficial to you. Just because a particular channel worked for one
business, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for yours, which is why studying the details of your
business is essential.

2. Embrace all possible channels in the customer journey

It is important to determine which channels to start with and utilize. Fortunately, there are low-
cost solutions for reaching your target market. Take advantage of these systems and allow your
customers to interact with you through their preferred method. Forcing them done a single
generic path may be easier for you in terms of boosting your numbers, but the priority should be
adapting to consumer behavior and preference..

3. Decide which customer segments you to focus on for a personalized experience

Around 74% of consumers do not like receiving content that isn’t relevant to their interests.
Segmenting your buyers depending on specific criteria (with the help of your CRM) allows you
to personalize the messages to send out—assuring you of maximum engagement and that your
content doesn’t go straight to the Trash. Identify what works for your customers through social
monitoring, analytics, and even surveys. Listen to what they are saying and invest in their
experience.

4. Make every touch point a shopping haven

According to Google, a critical element in omnichannel strategies perfects the customer journey:
making every touch point shoppable. This means that all platforms utilized are capable on its
own to convert. Reduce friction to help give customers a seamless purchasing experience, and
for your business to drive to more conversions.

5. Maintain a consistent brand image

The omnichannel strategy requires consistent branding. Whether customers access your business
at the physical store, on social media, or the e-commerce website, they should be able to identify
your brand and message. This helps in providing them a consistently excellent buying
experience.

Unifying your channel approach means avoiding conflicting messages and making your
campaign goals clear. There should be a common theme running on your UX, website, emails,
and all other customer-facing materials. They should be able to trust you.

6. Invest in customer care service

According to reports, 54% of millennials, 50% of Gen Xers, and 52% of baby boomers will
discontinue supporting a business due to poor customer service. Another 77% of people say that
excellent customer service for businesses means valuing the customers’ time. It’s safe to say that
customer support is integral in retaining buyers. Apart from that, it may also lead to referrals and
recurring revenues. Listen to your customers and implement these suggestions accordingly to
improve customer service.

7. Integrate your systems and tools for customer data gathering and processing
Consolidate your marketing systems and tools to reduce data ambiguity and ensure integrity.
With the correct data, you get a better picture of the success of your campaign.

There are services from different providers offering every aspect of omnichannel setup. You can
pick several providers including e-commerce outsourcing instead of just one. You can even
choose specific tools to favor your business and the needs of your customers while retaining
control on your system. May it be BPO services or providers in your area, they should have
specialists working to implement the strategy effectively. In addition, the programs should be
kept up to date with new features.

8. Continuously optimize your channels

Optimizing your online and offline channels means monitoring their performance including
cross-channel experiences and reorganizing them when needed. Here are some of the ways to do
it:

✓ Use the data you gathered to determine the efficiency of the channel, not industry
benchmarks.

✓ Modify the channel that is not generating revenue. If still ineffective, drop it
altogether. Invest in a channel that offers you the best ROI and take advantage of the
channels that are performing well.

✓ Regularly monitor top channels and modify the strategy if the ROI is decreasing or
not increasing as fast as before.

Successful implementation of any ecommerce business is dependent on

implementing or adopting these seven key steps:

✓ Planning for eCommerce Business

✓ Technology Selection/Website Audit & Analysis

✓ Customer Acquisition

✓ Customer Engagement

✓ Customer Retention

✓ Optimizing Key Metrics, and

✓ Business Analysis & Customer Insights

1. Strategic business planning and roadmaps – Strategy is about making the right
choices that will help reach the stated business objectives.
There should to be a clear cut vision, mission and objective about what will be achieved, in how
much time, within what budget, identification of the right resources for and constraints in the
face of execution of the strategy mentioned in the business plan, and what elements will be
considered for roadmap.
Knowledge and deep understanding of the digital marketing tools and techniques that will help in
reaching and acquiring customers is required. Your business must reach out to customers who
are online across multiple dimensions and devices. So, the assumptions considered in preparing
the strategic business plan should be in alignment with the ecommerce industry’s norms and
trends.

2. Technology selection/ website audit and analysis – In order to provide the

maximum benefit to the end customer, your chosen ecommerce technology should be fully
capable of being customizable, and be able to complement the business model, and adhere to the
existing best practices in offline retail.
If you’re a retailer taking the first-time plunge into ecommerce, various functionalities on the e-
commerce website should be carefully thought over based on the industry, audience being
targeted, various customer segments who may be buying the offered products and services.
With respect to retailers who have implemented an ecommerce strategy and have not yet
received the rewards of the complete capability of the ecommerce technologies, there needs be a
complete assessment of how the website can perform better by examining the store front and
customer flow, analysis of competing websites, identification and implementation of solutions
based on the gap analysis carried out (‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’). It is equally important to measure and
monitor the process that was made because of the implementation of the suggested changes.

3. Customer acquisition – Online or popular digital marketing encompasses multiple tools

for reaching out to the new generation of customers, who are actively engaged in using multiple
devices, through search engine optimization, search engine marketing (paid advertisement that
includes both cost per click and cost per thousand impressions), social media marketing (that
includes both cost per click and cost per thousand impressions), email campaigns, display
advertisements using various ad networks, referral programs and re-targeting campaigns.
Going by the sales principles of AIDA (awareness, interest, desire and action), it’s important to
note that the cost of customer acquisition will be very high for brands and retailers that are newly
establishing their product offerings exclusively online.
However, for brands that are well established offline and are pursuing ecommerce strategy,
the cost of customer acquisition is lesser compared to the new entrants.

4. Customer engagement – Customers these days are actively seeking to engage with brands
to understand the core benefits and unique value proposition that the brand offers, discount and
offers during special seasons, a robust support mechanism for queries/clarifications regarding the
products displayed and interaction with customer support executives to know more about
policies on returns and exchange, etc.

5. Customer retention –With the advent of sophisticated e-commerce technologies, new age
retailers will be able to leverage an almost one-to-one customer experience and that’s the best a
customer can really expect.
However, it should be noted that to fully leverage best-in-class technology, there needs to be a
constant effort to look out for features and functionalities that will enhance the customer
experience.

6. Optimization based on key metrics – Some of the key metrics to measure the health of
an ecommerce venture are the total revenue generated, cost of customer acquisition, % of
customers converted, and % of customers entering the website through various channels.
However, these metrics may vary significantly based on the business objectives and so every
business needs a fully customized approach for defining the key metrics and further analysis.
Once these are defined and there are a substantial number of customers visiting the website, a
deeper level of optimization is needed at 2 levels – on the technology and the business front.
✓ Technology – This generally includes optimizing the page load speed, shopping cart,
check-out and other web pages, a/b and multivariate testing, etc.
 ✓ Business – Optimization here includes analysis of the total revenues generated, total
spends for running the e-commerce operations, optimizing the gross net margins,
conversion rates from each of the various channels, customer loyalty and retention rates,
rate of repeat purchase, frequency of repeat customers (across multiple dimensions), % of
carts abandoned, etc.
7. Business analysis and customer insights – The final step in the entire process is about
fine-tuning and understanding the product categories that have performed well compared to other
products displayed in the webstore. Assessing this is crucial since each of these categories and
products within those categories occupy the prime real estate in the online world – the web store.
✓ It also should consist of understanding the customer segments, demographics, profitable
customers, source of channels through which the profitable customers came to the web
store, % of revenue each profitable customer contributes to and the marketing spends that
has gone into acquiring these customers.
✓ These metrics are only a small representation of a larger list that can be optimized further.
These metrics vary based on the business needs and require a customized approach for
defining, monitoring and optimization.
Lecture : 18
Week : 18

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