Assignment 2

ITB
Dr. Vinay Singh

Submitted by:
Vidya Sindhu Dubey
2018-IMG071
Q1.1 Write Notes:
(a) E-Commerce
(b) Elements of Supply Chain
(c) Information Integration
(d) Business Processes
(e) Business Transactions through e-Commerce

Ans.
(a) E-Commerce
Electronic commerce (ecommerce) is a business model that allows consumers
and businesses to buy and sell goods and services over the Internet.
Ecommerce is a type of online shopping that may be done on computers,
tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices, and it caters to four distinct
market segments. Ecommerce transactions may be used to purchase practically
any product or service, including books, music, plane tickets, and financial
services like as stock investing and online banking. As a result, it's considered a
game-changing technology.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

● Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the
Internet.
● It is conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart
devices.
● Almost anything can be purchased through ecommerce today.
● It can be a substitute for brick-and-mortar stores, though some
businesses choose to maintain both.
● Ecommerce operates in four market segments, including
business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer,
and consumer-to-business.
Ecommerce operates in all four of the following major market segments. These
are:

● Business to business (B2B), which is the direct sale of goods and services

between businesses
● Business to consumer (B2C), which involves sales between businesses
and their customers
● Consumer to consumer, which allows individuals to sell to one another,
usually through a third-party site like eBay.
● Consumer to business, which lets individuals sell to businesses, such as
an artist selling or licensing their artwork for use by a corporation

(b) Elements of Supply Chain

A well-thought-out supply chain strategy that prioritises the most important

parts will deliver a boatload of benefits, including support for your company
plan, enhanced customer relationships and satisfaction, and increased
efficiency, performance, responsiveness, and quality.

1. INTEGRATION

Integrating your communications, information exchange, data analysis, and

storage operations should start with your strategic planning phase. When you
have a single-view, accurate, and trustworthy source of information on your
supply chain activities and details, human error, delays, shortages, and
over/under-stocking are all reduced. It also enables you to anticipate and
mitigate supply issues or disruptions.

Examine your technology requirements to ensure that the solution you select
has the capabilities you require to integrate your whole supply chain solution
while being flexible enough to grow and develop with your organisation.

2. OPERATIONS

Your operations require an accurate, real-time portrayal of your inventory and

production schedules in order to monitor output and forecast production and
distribution trends.

With the right software, you can connect your operations to the rest of your
company and give accurate and reliable information on production and current
stock levels for more efficient fulfilment procedures. Improve your profitability
by predicting possible challenges and optimising your operational procedures
to ensure a smoother, less costly path to fulfilment.

3. PURCHASING

The right supply chain software can assist you in sourcing products for your
supply chain, ensuring that you get the best prices and most trustworthy
products.

Demand forecasting is a practical and reliable method of ensuring that you

have the appropriate product, in the right quantity, at the right time.
Throughout the sourcing and procurement process, keep track of suppliers,
rivals, and demand cycles to reduce your operational costs.

4. DISTRIBUTION

Transportation, distribution, and item return are all components of your supply
chain that may be simplified, optimised, and corrected to improve customer
experience and save operational costs. Your shipping and returns method
should be centralised, regardless of whether a purchase was made in-store or
online, to give a real-time view of inventory, order status, and stock position.

(c) Information Integration

The supply chain performance of a company can have a significant influence.

According to survey respondents, supply chain digitization will have the largest
influence on operational efficiencies, customer expectations, customer service
levels, and order fulfilment rates, as well as aiding corporate performance
toward improved revenue and profit. All internal stakeholders and trading
partners of supply chains are connected through supply chain information
integration. They may share information in real time to work toward a single
objective and commit to continuous supply chain management improvement
to increase supply chain efficiency in this way.
WHY DO YOU NEED Information INTEGRATION?

1. To obtain access to relevant data by breaking down data silos

2. To harmonize the data format

3. To improve the quality of the data

4. Improve and automate the underlying the business processes

(d) Business Processes

A business process is a series of steps followed by a group of individuals in
order to achieve a specified goal. At each stage of a business process, each
participant is assigned a task. Other related ideas like as business process
management, process automation, and so on are built on top of it.

While much has been said and said about business process management, it's
important to understand why it's so important to your firm. In big businesses,
the necessity for and benefits of a business process are obvious. A process is
the lifeblood of every organisation, allowing it to simplify individual processes
and ensure that resources are used efficiently.

Key reasons to have well-defined business processes :

● Identify what tasks are important to your larger business goals

● Improve efficiency
● Streamline communication between people/functions/departments
● Set approvals to ensure accountability and optimum use of resources
● Prevent chaos from creeping into your day-to-day operations
● Standardize a set of procedures to complete tasks that really matter to
your business

(e) Business Transactions through e-Commerce

Ans:

The following are the different types of e-commerce business transactions:

 ● Business-to-Business (B2B)
● Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
● Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
● Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
● Business-to-Administration (B2A)
● Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)

a) Business-to-Business (B2B)

The conduct of commerce between two or more businesses/companies is

referred to as a B2B form of business. Traditional wholesalers and
manufacturers who engage with retailers are often included in such trade
channels.

b) Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

The Business-to-Consumer model of business handles the retail aspects of

e-commerce, i.e. the sale of goods and/or services to end customers via digital
means. Customers may study their planned purchases in full before placing an
order, thanks to a feature that has caught the corporate world by storm.
Following the placement of such orders, the company/agent receiving the
order will promptly deliver the order to the customer. Amazon, Flipkart, and
other well-known firms are among the companies that operate in this channel.

When opposed to the old technique, this manner of buying has proven to be
beneficial to customers because they have access to helpful content that can
direct their purchases wisely.

c) Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

This business concept allows a customer to sell used goods and/or services to
other consumers over the internet. Transactions take place on a platform
provided by a third party, such as OLX, Quickr, and others.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

A C2B model is the exact inverse of a B2C model. The C2B model allows
end-users to provide their products/services to businesses, whereas the latter
is delivered by a business. The method is frequently employed in
crowdsourcing initiatives involving logo design, the sale of royalty-free images,
media, and design elements, and so on. Note: The term "crowdsourcing" was
coined in 2005 to represent a sourcing paradigm that allows individuals and
businesses to obtain goods and services from internet users.

Business-to-Administration (B2A)

By permitting the sharing of information through central websites, this

paradigm permits online deals between enterprises and public administration,
i.e. the government. It provides a platform for companies to bid on government
opportunities such as auctions, tenders, and application submissions, among
other things. Because of the investments made in e-government, the scope of
this model has now been expanded.

Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)

The C2A platform is intended for customers who may use it to obtain
information or provide comments on public services directly to government
authorities or administration. It may be used in a variety of situations,
including:

● The dissemination of information.

● Distance learning.
● Remittance of statutory payments.
● Filing of tax returns.
● Seeking appointments, information about illnesses, payment of health
services, etc.

Why E-Commerce?

Here are a few important benefits, among a host of others, of this

revolutionary model of business:

● E-commerce connects local sellers with worldwide audiences, allowing

them to expand their reach throughout the global market segment
without having to make additional investments.
● The consumers are provided with a gamut of options for procurements.
● It facilitates the round-the-clock conduct of trade.
Q1.2 Justify the statement that ‘Does E-Commerce adoption be well
planned to get the maximum benefit of it in the business?’

Ans.
To answer this topic, we'll discuss about the hurdles of starting and running an
e-commerce firm, as well as the potential presented by this business model.

E-commerce looks to be consuming the retail business right now.

Long-established brick-and-mortar retail firms are closing or going bankrupt,

something no one could have foreseen 10 years ago.

Take Toys"R" Us, for example. After more than 60 years in operation, they are
liquidating and shutting all of its remaining U.S. sites.

Entrepreneurs are starting their own digital enterprises and competing in the
digital marketplace, making the internet world an exciting place to be.

The bulk of brick-and-mortar businesses are being forced to establish an online

presence.

Making it big on the internet, on the other hand, isn't always simple. You'll
need to know certain trade secrets if you want to make it to the top.

Here are the results:

Why many e-commerce businesses struggle

Around 80% all e-commerce businesses fail. And there are three common
reasons why customers are likely to leave you in the dust:

1. Customers don’t know how to use your site

2. Product value isn’t clear
3. Navigation is difficult

Aside from long wait times and tricky shipping options, struggling businesses
fail to take the following into account:

● Branding
 ● SEO
● User Experience
● Transparency
● Engagement
The first step is building your brand with some great values behind it.

1. Your brand is your purpose

Your e-commerce firm has a brand at its core, whether you realise it or not. To
figure out what it is, consider what you do and why you do it. Your company's
goals are based on a set of values that your brand symbolises. Some older
businesses aren't ageing well since they don't have a defined goal.

2. SEO(Search Engine Optimization) brings in traffic

Google acts as an usher, determining which websites are allowed to mix

towards the top of organic search engine results.

However, keeping up with continual algorithm updates might be difficult. The

Fred algorithm update, which went live on March 8, 2017, targets websites that
do not adhere to Google's webmaster guidelines. The majority of the sites
affected publish low-quality content solely to generate ad revenue. You run the
risk of mucking up your current rankings if you have any of these posts on your
site (or worse, losing high rankings entirely).

Regularly review Google's Search Quality Guidelines and avoid posting too
much ad-centred content. If you do decide to display advertising or affiliate
content on your site, make sure the pages on which they appear are relevant
and high-quality. The goal of SEO is to provide the most relevant results to
searchers.

3. Customers love a great user experience

If you want to steer traffic toward a desired activity, such as completing a

purchase, you must optimise UX. If visitors are bewildered, they will depart. A
website's navigation should always be easy. On your website, you must make it
clear what your firm does. For example, Scott's makes it clear that they offer
lawn care equipment. You should also ensure that the shopping cart is simple
to see and use. The checkout procedure should be simple. Nobody likes to deal
with a checkout procedure that makes buying your goods more difficult than
necessary. Include interactive material to your site (if appropriate). This
includes the following:

● Videos
● Animated images
● Games

Remember to enhance the mobile user experience as well, as mobile shopping

is getting more popular in 2018.

Make sure your print is large, your load times are under three seconds, and
your site's mobile version is easy to navigate using touch.

4. Transparency builds trust

One of the simplest ways to look transparent is to have your contact

information public right on your website. Every page of your website should
have your email address and phone number available at the bottom or top.
Customers will be able to contact you (and will be aware that you are a real
firm with a physical location) as a result of this. Be straightforward and honest
when it comes to costs. Everyone is irritated by hidden costs. If you charge an
additional fee for shipping and handling, make sure your customers are aware
of this before proceeding to the checkout page. Don't forget to give your
prospects detailed product information.

It's great to hear that your product isn't causing traffic to bounce. Your product
may, in fact, be the most effective solution to your customers' concerns.

What's the bad news? The value of your product isn't translating.

The website's visitors do not have the option of visiting a real store. Customers
are just given access to the information presented, rather than being able to
interact with your things.

The quality of product information and photographs attached can make or

break your sales pipeline.

Conclusion
The monopoly of brick-and-mortar merchants in the retail business is long
gone. Internet merchants are an excellent area to sell since the digital world is
here to stay. Making it huge online, on the other hand, is significantly more
difficult than it looks. In such a congested industry, many e-commerce
businesses struggle to distinguish apart.

Customers unfamiliar with your website, hidden shipping expenses, ambiguous

product value, poor navigation, and other things are to blame. Fortunately, you
have power over the success of your e-commerce shop. To begin, recognise
that your brand must stand for something, and you must tell people what that
something is.

Q1.3Does ‘Enterprise Integration through IT’ need to be Value

oriented and value driven?

Ans.
What's the difference between an IT firm that acts as a strategic business
partner and one that acts as a cost centre with a variety of unknown or
unrealized benefits?

The reason is commonly attributed to the executives' decision-making

processes and communication skills.

Led by Alternatives : 

Alternatives-driven CIO considers the consequences of alternate solutions after

starting with a single activity or action item. A corporation that focuses on
cost-cutting, or more accurately, total cost of ownership, is known as an
alternatives-led company (TCO). TCO is described as pursuing choices without
respect to a set of clearly defined business objectives and then presenting a
business case based on the outcomes: The rationale goes like this: if desktop
standardisation reduces costs, then cost reduction must be critical to the
business. Finally, the tactical tail is waggled by the strategy dog.

Worse, such a strategy may have a negative impact on the company's

performance. Pursuing cost reduction as a key goal might encourage
behaviours such as frequent vendor changes and procrastinating PC
replacement, both of which can result in unacceptable service quality
degradation.
If the executive board assigned an alternatives-driven CIO to study the
possibilities of CRM applications, for example, he or she would most likely
research and report on the relative features and capabilities of numerous CRM
systems rather than the business challenges at hand.

Value-Oriented

A value-driven IT firm, on the other hand, generates several options for how IT
may best offer maximum business value. The CIO plays an active role in the
executive board's decision-making process and develops strategies based on a
thorough understanding of important business objectives such as enhancing
customer communications, identifying different client categories, improving
service targeting, and cross-selling.

So, if a value-driven CIO is asked for information on CRM solutions, he or she

would begin by defining the problem to be solved in business terms, and then
make a compelling argument for whether or not a CRM system truly
accomplishes business goals.

Business Transformation

One of the most significant parts of a value-driven IT management approach is

the development of a shared language between business and IT. Shared
vocabulary establishes a consistent language for discussing future objectives
and identifying relevant IT value measurements, allowing IT and business
leaders to engage on issues that are critical to their companies' long-term
success. By designating such areas of concentration or concern, a framework
may be developed to measure IT's value contribution as a developer of new
channels, a basis for improving company efficiency, a source of management
information, or a tool to improve customer experience.

Value Creation in Eight Steps

There are several benefits to value-driven IT management. So, what can an

alternative-minded CIO do to define the features of a value-driven IT
organisation?

The metamorphosis may be broken down into four stages and eight distinct
steps:
Define the context :

Step 1: Establish the strategic framework within which IT operates, including

the role of IT, the extent to which the business relies on IT, the attitude toward
innovation, and the investment balance between supporting and advancing the
business.

Step 2: Analyze the IT tactics of your competition. Determine what your

competitors' fundamental strengths and distinguishing characteristics can be
reproduced, leveraged, and exploited.

Lay the Groundwork :

Step 3: Master the essentials. provide a cost-effective, high-quality service, and

provide high-quality solutions on time and on budget

Step 4: Rather than merely an invoicing system, define service levels, build a
service catalogue, and use chargeback as a platform for constructive discussion
about future investment.

Create a framework for performance management:

Step 5: Establish quantitative links between business activity and IT utilisation.

Put business line managers in a position to anticipate how IT decisions will
influence the business.

Step 6: Using the framework, assist business line management in being

accountable for future IT expenditure.

Create a Management Proces:

Step 7: Create a working relationship between key business and IT

professionals in order to measure business and IT performance quantitatively.

Step 8: Repetition and double-checking the procedure on a regular basis is

recommended.

It's more of a journey than a decision to go from alternative-driven to

value-driven IT. It demands building trust with the firm, generating more open
communication, and becoming more active in IT investment and deployment
choices with the business.
Q2.1 Explain the understanding of ‘information diffusion processes’
in general.

Ans.
Diffusion: Diffusion is the spread of information from one place to another by
touch. It is a field that combines approaches from a wide range of sciences and
fields, such as sociology, epidemiology, and ethnography. Naturally, no one
wants to become afflicted with a contagious disease. The three main
components of the diffusion process are as follows:

Sender. A sender starts the process of disseminating information (or a group of

senders).

Receiver. Diffusion data is sent from the transmitter to the receiver (or a
collection of receivers). In most cases, the number of recipients outnumbers
the number of senders.

Medium. The transmitter provides the diffusion information to the recipient

using this channel. Television, newspapers, social media (e.g., a tweet on
Twitter), social relationships, air (in the event of disease transmission), and
other media can be used in this way.

From a network perspective, how is the diffusion process passed on? In reality,
social interactions are crucial. They serve as vehicles for social contagion and
persuasion. Certain people are more ready to absorb innovation than others
because of their structural positions and personal characteristics. Distinct types
of network connection have different properties in terms of how information is
distributed, which has crucial implications for interventions like rumour
transmission.

Diffusion starts with a single early adopter (or a small group of early adopters)
who spreads the idea to others. Innovation is often connected with novelty;
nevertheless, it differs from invention in that it is both a process and a product,
and it involves discontinuous change.

Early adopters are often too resourceful to have an impact in a local network.
They infect their contacts, who infect their contacts' contacts, and so on. The
more people a person knows, the more likely they are to adopt the new
technology. On a larger scale, because communities are interrelated, it's very
likely that innovation will jump from one to the next via border spanners (or
bridges) and then spread all over again. It's a characteristic of social media
platforms.

Any diffusion process, on the other hand, may be sped up, slowed down, or
even stopped if it is discovered that the result (for example, a video, audio, or
book) is flawed and has to be fixed before being republished. This process is
referred to as an intervention. Interventions include halting the production of a
product, limiting its distribution, restricting exposure to the product,
decreasing interest in the product, and reducing interactions within a
community. In any event, intervention strategies may jeopardise the success of
small firms by leading many customers to lose trust in the products they
provide.

One of the most well-studied market forecasting models is the Bass diffusion
model. The model, which was initially published in 1969, has shown to be
beneficial in showing a variety of product uptake patterns, ranging from
"sleepers" to "blockbusters." Consumer durables, computers and technology
products, medicine and medical services, agricultural advances and services,
prestige personal care, movies, and literature are just a few of the categories
and application sectors where it excels.

The essential premise is that two types of behaviour, innovation and imitation,
encourage prospective client acceptance. External influences such as
advertising, which are not depending on the activities of individuals in the
social system, stimulate "innovation." In the early stages of a product's life
cycle, it has a higher impact. "Imitation" refers to prior adopters' positive
word-of-mouth influence.

The model also assumes that:

● The maximum number of possible adopters or purchases has been set.

● All potential adopters make a purchase at some point.
● Repeat purchases are not taken into consideration.
● The following equations represent the fundamental model:

n(t)=adoptersviainnovation+adoptersviaimitation

adoptersviainnovation=p×remainingpotential=p
[M−N(t)]

adoptersviaimitation=q×proportionofadopters×remainingpotential
\s=qN(t)M[M−N(t)]

Equation1:n(t)=p[M−N(t)]

+qN(t)M[M−N(t)]

Where n(t) denotes the number of adopters at t.

N(t) = n(0) + n(1) + n(2)... n (t).

M = total number of potential adopters.

p = coefficient of innovation.

q = coefficient of imitation.

In Bass' model, the pressure function has two parameters: one depicts the
innovator effect, while the other describes the imitation effect in the diffusion
choice. The imitation effect refers to the number of adopters who make their
own decisions about adoption (internal pressure). External pressure is used to
control the rest of the user's potential, following in the footsteps of the early
adopters (innovators and imitators already made the positive adoption
decision).

The Bass' model has following properties:

• the model is asymmetric and the inflection point (varies in the area from 0 to
0.5*F) depends on the parameter values.

• in the analysis, the model assumes the availability of empirical data

exceeding the inflection point (compare e.g. Fisher-Pry assumes exceeding the
lower treshold only).

The model assumes static environment of the diffusion and is useful for
first-purchase analysis only; it can be used in the empirical data reaching the
inflection point.
Q2.3 Discuss the factors affecting the performance of the bass
diffusion model .

Ans.

The Bass model makes several key assumptions. We can relax many of these
assumptions by using more sophisticated models as summarized below:

• The market potential (N-) remains constant: This assumption is relaxed in

models in which N- is a function of price declines, uncertainty about technology
performance, and growth of the target segment. The software includes an
option to specify the growth rate of the target segment.

• The marketing strategies supporting the innovation do not influence the

adoption process: Considerable research has been devoted to incorporating
the impact of marketing variables, particularly price, advertising, and selling
effort. We described the generalized Bass model, which represents one way to
relax this assumption.

• The customer decision process is binary (adopt or not adopt): This

assumption is relaxed in several models that incorporate multistage decision
processes in which the customer goes from one phase to another over time:
awareness → interest → adoption → word of mouth.

• The value of q is fixed throughout the life cycle of the innovation: One would,
however, expect interaction effects (e.g., word of mouth) to depend on
adoption time, being relatively strong during the early and late stages of a
product’s life cycle. This assumption is relaxed in models that incorporate a
time-varying imitation parameter.

Uniform mixing, i.e., everyone can come into contact with everyone else.

One way to relax this assumption is by incorporating the social structure of

connections among the members of the target group. An appealing structure
to include is the "small world network" with both "close" and "distant" ties
among members.

• Imitation always has a positive impact (i.e., the model allows only for
interactions between innovators and noninnovators who favor the innovation):
Several models are available that allow for both positive and negative word of
mouth. When word-of-mouth effects are likely to be positive (e.g., “sleeper”
movies such as Ghost), it may be wise to gradually ramp up marketing
expenditures, whereas when word-of-mouth effects are likely to be negative
(e.g., the “mega-bomb” movie Waterworld), it may be better to advertise
heavily initially to generate quick trials before the negative word of mouth
significantly dampens sales.

• Sales of the innovation are considered to be independent of the adoption or

nonadoption of other innovations: Many innovations depend on the adoption
of related products to succeed. For example, the adoption of multimedia
software depends on the adoption of more powerful PCs.

Likewise such innovations as wide area networks and electronic commerce

complement each other and have to be considered jointly to predict their sales.
Several models are available for generating forecasts for products that are
contingent on the adoption of other products.

• There is no repeat or replacement purchase of the innovation: There are

several models that extend the Bass model to forecast purchases by both
first-time buyers and by repeat buyers.

Q2.4 Discuss the factors affecting the parameters of the base

diffusion model .

Ans.

The Bass model has four parameters: market capacity; time when
product/service is introduced; coefficient of innovation and coefficient of
imitation. Although values of coefficient of innovation and coefficient of
imitation describe the process of how new product/service gets adopted as an
interaction between users and potential users, their explanatory meaning is not
perceptible.

The chapter presents the new model based on the Bass model where
coefficient of innovation and coefficient of imitation are substituted with
explanatory ones: time of sales maximum and time interval needed for
product/service to reach the designated penetration level. Obtained model is
suitable for the forecasting of new product/service adoption when little or no
data are available. In cases of product/service adoption forecasting prior to its
launch, all model parameters can be assumed by means of analogy with the
existing products/services due to their explanatory features.

The mathematical model, known as the Bass Model Principle, is presented in

Equation (1). The model allows the forecaster to determine the probability of a
purchase at time t given that the individual has not previously purchase the
product.

Where n(t) = probability of purchase at time t

p(0) = coefficient of innovation at time t = 0

q = coefficient of imitation

m = total number of buyers in the market

N(t) = number of people who have adopted the product at time t

Of interest are the coefficients p and q. The coefficient p, also known as the
coefficient of innovation, reflects the adopters who accept the product without
social influence, while the coefficient q, known as the coefficient of imitation,
reflects the adopters who try the product due to social influence.

Over the years, the Bass Model Principle has been extended in order to model
different situations. If treated as a continuous density function over time, the
Bass Model Principle is represented as shown in Equation 2
Where n(t) = Sales in period t

N(t) = Cumulative sales to period t

m = Total number of buyers in the market

p = Coefficient of innovation

q = Coefficient of imitation