Electronic Commerce

02 E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS
E-Commerce Division – Faculty of E-Commerce
 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2C E-Commerce
o Definitions
Business-to-customer e-commerce (B2C EC) refers to
transactions between businesses and customers and conducted
electronically over the Internet, extranets, intranets, or private
networks.
 Electronic Retailing
Electronic retailing (e-tailing) is a set of business activities that
adds value to the products and services sold to consumers for
their personal or family use and conducted over the Internet.

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 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2C E-Commerce
(continued)
o Characteristics of B2C E-Commerce
Goods with the following characteristics are expected to sell
the most:
̶ Brand name recognition.
̶ A service guarantee provided by well-known vendors.
̶ Digitized format.
̶ Relatively inexpensive items.
̶ Frequently purchased items.
̶ Commodities for which physical inspection is not
necessary.
̶ Well-known packaged items that you normally do not open
in a physical store.
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 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2C E-Commerce
(continued)
o Advantages of B2C E-Commerce
 Major benefits to the sellers are to:
̶ Lower product cost.
̶ Reach more customers.
̶ Change prices and catalogs quickly, including the visual
presentation.
̶ Lower supply chain costs.
̶ Provide customers with a wealth of information online as a
self-service option.
̶ React quickly to customer needs, complaints, tastes, and
so forth.
̶ Provide customization of products and services, self-
configuration, and personalization of customer care. Slide 4
Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
 Major benefits to the sellers are to (continued):
̶ Enable small companies to compete with larger
companies.
̶ Better understand customers and interact with them.
̶ Sell specialized items country-wide, or even worldwide
̶ Engage customers in interesting search, comparison, and
discussion activities.
̶ Contact customers who are not reachable by traditional
methods of communication.

Slide 5
Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
o Advantages of B2C E-Commerce (continued)
 Major advantages to buyers are to:
̶ Pay less than in traditional or even discount stores.
̶ Find products/services not available in local stores.
̶ Shop globally: compare prices and services.
̶ Shop anytime and from anywhere.
̶ Find it unnecessary to go to the store wasting time and
gasoline, and being pressured by salespeople.
̶ Create their own designs and products.
̶ Find collectors’ items.
̶ Buy in groups.

Slide 6
 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
B2C Business Models
o Classification of Models by Distribution Channel
 Direct marketing by mail-order retailers that go online
 Direct marketing by manufacturers
 Pure-play e-tailers
 Click-and-mortar retailers
• Multichannel business model
 Internet (online) mall

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 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
B2C Business Models (continued)
o B2C Social Shopping
 Flash Deals (Deals of the Day)
 Online Group Buying
 Personalized Event Shopping
 Private Shopping Clubs
 Group Gifting Online
 Location-Based E-Commerce
 Shopping in Virtual Worlds
o Virtual Visual Shopping

Slide 8
 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
B2C Business Models (continued)
o B2C business models in some specific industries
 Online Travel and Tourism (Hospitality) Services
 Employment and the Online Job Market
 Online Real Estate, Insurance, and Stock Trading
 Online Banking and Personal Finance
 On-Demand Delivery of Products, Digital Items,
Entertainment, and Gaming
 Other B2C Services: From Dating Services to Wedding
Planning

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 Business-to-Customer E-Commerce
Online Purchasing-Decision Aids
o Shopping Portals
o Helping Communities
o Price and Quality Comparison by Shopbot
Software Agents
o Ratings, Reviews, and Recommendation Sites
o Comparison Shopping Websites
o Trust Verification Sites
o Virtual Visual Shopping
o Mobile Apps

Slide 10
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2B E-Commerce
o Definitions
Business-to-business e-commerce (B2B EC) , also known as
eB2B (electronic B2B), or just B2B, refers to transactions between
businesses conducted electronically over the Internet, extranets,
intranets, or private networks.
 Generations of B2B e-commerce

Slide 11
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2B E-Commerce
(continued)
o B2B Characteristics

Slide 12
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and
Advantages of B2B E-Commerce
(continued)
o Major benefits of B2B (S = to seller, B = to buyer, J
= joint – to both seller and buyer):
̶ Creates new sales opportunities (S)
̶ Eliminates paper and reduces administrative costs (J)
̶ Expedites processing and reduces trading cycle time (J)
̶ Lowers search costs and time for buyers to find
products and vendors (B)
̶ Increases productivity of employees dealing with buying
and/or selling (J)
̶ Reduces errors and improves quality of service (J)
̶ Makes product configuration easier (B)
Slide 13
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
o Major benefits of B2B (S = to seller, B = to buyer, J
= joint – to both seller and buyer) (continued):
̶ Reduces marketing and sales costs (S)
̶ Reduces inventory levels and costs (J)
̶ Reduces purchasing costs by cutting down on use of
intermediaries (B)
̶ Enables customized e-catalogs with different prices for
different customers (J)
̶ Increases production flexibility, permitting on demand
delivery (S)
̶ Reduces procurement costs (B)
̶ Facilitates customization via self configuration (J)
̶ Provides for efficient customer service (B)

Slide 14
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
o Major benefits of B2B (S = to seller, B = to buyer, J
= joint – to both seller and buyer) (continued):
̶ Increases opportunities for collaboration (J)
̶ Web-based EC is more affordable than traditional EDI
(J)
̶ Allows more business partners to be reached than with
EDI (J)
̶ Reaches a more geographically dispersed customer
base (S)
̶ Provides a better means of communication with other
media (J)
̶ Provides 24/7 coverage of the shop front (J)
̶ Helps equalize small enterprises (B)

Slide 15
 Business-to-Business E-Commerce
Basic Types of B2B E-Marketplaces and
Services
o Private E-Marketplaces (company-centric EC)
 One-to-Many: Sell-Side E-Marketplaces
 One-from-Many: Buy-Side E-Marketplaces
o Public E-Marketplaces (exchanges)
B2B Support Mechanisms
o B2B Portals and Directories
o B2B in Web 2.0 and Social Networking
o B2B Online Advertising and Marketing
o B2B Collaboration Networks and Supply Chain
Facilities

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 Innovative EC Systems
E-Government
o E-government performance objectives

Slide 17
 Innovative EC Systems
E-Government
E-government (digital government) refers to the use of
information technology in general, and e-commerce in
particular, to improve the delivery of government services
and activities in the public sector.
o E-government categories of activities

• government-to-citizens (G2C)
• government-to-business (G2B)
• government-to-government
(G2G)
• internal efficiency and
effectiveness (IEE)
• government-to-employees (G2E)

Slide 18
 Innovative EC Systems
E-Government (continued)
o E-government performance objectives

Slide 19
 Innovative EC Systems
o E-government performance objectives (continued)

Slide 20
 Innovative EC Systems
o E-government performance objectives (continued)

Slide 21
 Innovative EC Systems
o E-government performance objectives (continued)

Slide 22
 Innovative EC Systems
E-Government (continued)
o E-Government 2.0 and Social Networking
o M-Government
Mobile government (m-government) is the implementation
of e-government applications using wireless platforms.
 Benefits of M-Governments
̶ More citizens and employees can be reached.
̶ Cost reduction.
̶ Modernizing the operations of the government.
̶ Employees can bring their own mobile devices to work,
saving hardware and software costs.
̶ Providing quality, flexible services to the public.
̶ Increasing the reach and speed for public dissemination of
information.

Slide 23
 Innovative EC Systems
E-Learning, E-Training, and E-Books
o E-Learnings
E-learning is the use of online delivery of educational
materials and methods using information technologies, for
the purposes of learning, teaching, training, or gaining
knowledge at any time, and at many different locations.
 M-Learning
E-learning or other forms of education using mobile
devices.

Slide 24
 Innovative EC Systems
o E-Learnings (continued)
 Benefits of E-Learning
̶ Education.
̶ Learning and training time reduction.
̶ Cost reduction.
̶ Large number and diversity of learners.
̶ Innovative teaching.
̶ Measurement and assessment of progress.
̶ Self-paced and motivation learning.
̶ Richness and quality.
̶ Flexibility.
̶ Updated and consistent teaching material.
̶ Ability to learn from mobile devices.
̶ Expert knowledge.
̶ Fear-free environment.
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 Innovative EC Systems
o E-Learnings (continued)
 Drawbacks and Challenges of E-Learning
̶ Need for instructor retraining.
̶ Equipment needs and support services.
̶ Lack of face-to-face interaction and campus life style.
̶ Assessments and examinations.
̶ Maintenance and updating.
̶ Protection of intellectual property.
̶ Student retention.
 Distance Learning and Online Universities

Slide 26
 Innovative EC Systems
E-Learning, E-Training, and E-Books
(continued)
o Online Corporate Training
o Social Networks and E-Learning
o Learning in Virtual Worlds
o Visual Interactive Simulation
o E-Learning Management Systems
o Electronic Books (E-Books)

Slide 27
 Innovative EC Systems
Knowledge Management, Advisory
Systems, and Electronic Commerce
Collaborative Commerce
Consumer-to-Consumer Electronic
Commerce

Slide 28