Module 5

Syllabus-
Electronic Commerce Software: Web Hosting, Basic and advanced
Functions of Electronic Commerce Software, Electronic Commerce
Software for Small, Midsize and Large Companies, Knowledge
Management, Knowledge Management technologies and Software.
Electronic Commerce Software
• E-commerce software is a type of computer software that enables businesses to
conduct online transactions and manage their online stores. It provides a platform for
businesses to create, manage, and sell products or services through the internet.
• E-commerce software typically includes features such as product catalog
management, shopping cart functionality, payment gateway integration, inventory
management, order processing, shipping management, and customer relationship
management. It may also provide tools for marketing, advertising, and analytics.
• The e-commerce software solutions provide various indispensable solutions to e-
business organizations, ranging from displaying products on a catalog to carrying out
transactions with customers and installing payment gateways. Some examples of e-
commerce software are Magento, XCart, ZenCart, and CubeCart.
Functions of Electronic Commerce Software
• There are three basic functions of e-commerce software. Let us
discuss the functions provided by e-commerce software in detail:
• Catalogue Display

• Shopping Cart Capabilities

• Transaction Processing
Cont.
• Catalogue Display
• A catalogue display is an inventory that arranges the products and services sold by an
organization. There are two types of catalogues:
• Static catalogue: Small enterprises use a static catalogue, which is a simple list in
HTML format and is displayed on a web page or a series of web pages. If an
organization intends to add, delete or change an item from the displayed list, it will
have to edit the HTML code of one or more pages.

• Dynamic catalogue: Large enterprises use a dynamic catalogue to display content on

their sites. In a dynamic catalogue, all information is mainly stored in a database.
Cont.
• Shopping Cart Capabilities
• Previously, e-commerce websites used to have online forms, where customers needed
to fill out separate text boxes to specify their choices about the type and quantity of
items to purchase. They would specify the quantity of an item in one text box, the unit
price in another, and the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) or product number in yet another.
This process was cumbersome when a customer had to order multiple items at a time.
• Nowadays e-commerce websites have replaced online forms with electronic shopping
carts. These shopping carts enable customers to keep track of the items they are
purchasing from a portal and allow them to view the contents of their carts in a single
view. Customers can easily add or remove items from the cart and even save the items
to purchase later.
Cont.
• Transaction Processing
• Once a customer has finalized the shopping cart items, he/she needs to click on the virtual
check-out box where the transaction processing begins. The e-commerce software
calculates the amount to be paid and applies discounts, tax, and shipping costs if any.
• This function of e-commerce software is called transaction processing. During this stage,
the customer’s web browser software as well as the organization’s web server software
change to a safe state of communication.
• Transaction processing is the most multi-dimensional part of e-commerce. It includes
significant aspects of online transactions, including applying taxes and adding shipping costs
and discounts. Website administrators should constantly check for tax rates and shipping
tables to make sure that they are updated.
Advanced Functions of Electronic Commerce
Software
• Some organizations have some business activities that are not related to typical
e-Commerce software. Such organizations would need advanced e-commerce
software to integrate these business activities.
• Let us discuss these advanced functions of e-Commerce software in detail:
• Middleware

• Enterprise Application Integration and Databases

• Web Services

• Integration With ERP Systems

Cont.
• Middleware
• This is used to integrate e-Commerce software with its offline
systems, such as accounting and inventory. A large organization with
sufficient IT staff may write its software. However, most other
companies purchase customized middleware from vendors or
consulting firms. Hence, using middleware involves, not just the cost
of the software, but also the consulting fees charged by vendor
companies for the customization of the software.
Cont.
• Enterprise Application Integration and Databases
• An application system or software performs different functions, such as
creating invoices, calculating payroll, or processing payments received from
customers. An application server, on the other hand, represents a computer
that receives request messages, which are first received by the web server.
• Through an application server, application programs are run based on rules
(also known as business logic). All the data is created, displayed, stored, and
changed based on business logic. For example, when a customer signs in on a
website, the application server checks the password entered against the
password file in the database.
Cont.
• Web Services
• These include the combination of software tools that enable
communication between various applications over a network. It is an
independent integrated application that allows one to carry out
various business functionalities of the application through an Internet
connection.
Cont.
• Integration With ERP Systems
• ERP refers to Enterprise Resource Planning, which is used by
organizations to integrate different business activities, such as
planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance, and human
resources. Business websites should be able to use ERP software to
link with the ERP systems installed in an organization for streamlining
business activities over the Internet.
E-commerce software for business
• As e-business organizations expand their business across the globe, they require advanced
capabilities in e-Commerce software to handle greater transaction loads. Organizations also
need dedicated software applications to manage specific elements of their online business.
• Larger enterprises require the same advanced capabilities as smaller ones, but larger
organizations have higher transaction loads. The e-Commerce software for larger organizations
streamlines specific tasks, such as:
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• Supply Chain Management (SCM)

• Content Management

• Knowledge Management
Cont.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• It is the combination of strategies, practices, and technologies used by
organizations to interact with and manage customers to achieve the
goals of customer retention and customer satisfaction. It helps the
organization in understanding customer needs, maintaining their
profiles, and developing better customer relations by providing them
with the required products and services.
Cont.
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• It is the process of streamlining various activities involved in a
business from the supply side till the product/service reaches the
customer. SCM aims to maximize customer satisfaction and attain
economies of scale at reduced costs.
Cont.
• Content Management
• It is an application that allows various functions involved in the
management of content, such as creating, publishing, altering,
arranging, and deleting.
Cont.
• Knowledge Management
• It is a combination of strategies and processes used to manage an
organization’s knowledge assets. Knowledge management involves
processes designed to create, store, analyze, share, and refine
knowledge.
Types of E-commerce Software
• Let us discuss each type of e-Commerce software in detail.
• Enterprise Class E-commerce Software

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

• Supply Chain Management Software

• Content Management Software

• Knowledge Management (KM) Software

Cont.
• Enterprise Class E-commerce Software
• This software is useful for large organizations with higher transaction loads. It
uses several dedicated computers along with a web server system and the
necessary firewalls. Examples of enterprise-class e-Commerce software include:
• IBM Web Sphere Commerce Business Edition

• Oracle E-Business Suite

• Broadvision One-To-One Commerce

Cont.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
• This software deals with aligning CRM. It is used to retrieve
information from operations software that performs various activities,
such as sales automation, customer service center operations, and
marketing campaigns. It also collects data about customers’ visits to
the company’s website or from other points of contact the company
has with its existing and potential customers.
Cont.
• Supply Chain Management Software
• It involves the collection of software that helps in the coordination of
various activities, such as product development, raw material
sourcing, production, and logistics. SCM software helps an
organization coordinate planning and operations with associates in
the industrial supply chain. It performs planning and execution
functions to aid SCM in organizations.
Cont.
• Content Management Software
• All websites consist of text, graphics, and media files that are unique to the organization and
vital for conducting business over the Internet. The content management software helps to
update and manage the content of the website to keep it attractive and convenient for
visiting users.
• With the introduction of wireless devices, such as mobile phones and Personal Digital
Assistants (PDAs), content management has become even more important for organizations.
• Wireless devices enable the use of online services at a click. This has significantly increased
the number of Internet users all over the world. Thus, websites should be updated more
frequently to gain more customers. The web page and design should be in line with these
media to support the software used by them.
Cont.
• Content Management Software
• All websites consist of text, graphics, and media files that are unique to the organization and vital for
conducting business over the Internet. The content management software helps to update and manage
the content of the website to keep it attractive and convenient for visiting users.
• With the introduction of wireless devices, such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),
content management has become even more important for organizations.
• Wireless devices enable the use of online services at a click. This has significantly increased the number
of Internet users all over the world. Thus, websites should be updated more frequently to gain more
customers. The web page and design should be in line with these media to support the software used
by them.
• KM software helps prospective users to benefit from the experience of existing users. It contains tools
that can read electronic documents (in formats, such as Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF), scanned paper
documents, e-mail messages, and Web pages.
Cont.
• Content Management Software
• All websites consist of text, graphics, and media files that are unique to the organization and vital for
conducting business over the Internet. The content management software helps to update and manage
the content of the website to keep it attractive and convenient for visiting users.
• With the introduction of wireless devices, such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),
content management has become even more important for organizations.
• Wireless devices enable the use of online services at a click. This has significantly increased the number
of Internet users all over the world. Thus, websites should be updated more frequently to gain more
customers. The web page and design should be in line with these media to support the software used
by them.
• KM software helps prospective users to benefit from the experience of existing users. It contains tools
that can read electronic documents (in formats, such as Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF), scanned paper
documents, e-mail messages, and Web pages.