Module 1

E Commerce Foundation

E-commerce, or electronic commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods and services
over the internet. It involves the use of electronic platforms, such as websites, mobile
applications, and social media, to conduct transactions between businesses and consumers or
between businesses. E-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses operate and has
created new opportunities for entrepreneurs and consumers alike.

Features:

 Product catalog: An e-commerce platform should provide an easy way to create and
manage a product catalog, including adding new products, editing existing ones, and
categorizing them.
 Shopping cart: A shopping cart is a tool that allows customers to add products they
want to purchase and keep track of the items as they continue to browse the website.
 Checkout and payment processing: A reliable checkout and payment processing
system is essential for e-commerce success. Customers should be able to complete
transactions quickly and easily using a variety of payment methods.
 Shipping and order management: Once a customer places an order, the e-commerce
platform should provide tools to manage the order, including tracking information,
shipping options, and delivery status.
 Customer accounts and loyalty programs: Many e-commerce platforms allow
customers to create accounts, which can help businesses build relationships and
loyalty. Additionally, loyalty programs can incentivize repeat purchases and
encourage customers to refer others.
 Marketing and analytics: An e-commerce platform should offer tools to help
businesses market their products, such as email campaigns and social media
integration. Additionally, analytics can help businesses track customer behavior,
identify trends, and improve their overall strategy.
 Mobile optimization: With more people shopping on their mobile devices, it’s
essential that e-commerce platforms are mobile-optimized, with a responsive design
that provides an optimal shopping experience on smartphones and tablets.
Uses of E-commerce :

 Online retail: One of the most well-known uses of e-commerce is online retail, where
businesses sell products directly to consumers through their online store, website, or
mobile app.
 Digital products and services: E-commerce is also commonly used for the sale of
digital products and services, such as music, e-books, software, and online courses.
 Business-to-business transactions: E-commerce can be used for B2B transactions,
where businesses sell products or services to other businesses.
 Online marketplaces: E-commerce marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, provide a
platform for businesses and individuals to sell their products to a large audience.
 Auction sites: Online auction sites, such as eBay, allow users to bid on and purchase
items from other users.
 Online banking and financial services: E-commerce is used extensively for online
banking and financial services, including payment processing, bill payment, and
money transfers.
 Online booking and reservations: E-commerce is used for booking and reservations of
flights, hotels, rental cars, and other travel-related services.
 Food delivery: E-commerce platforms are used for online ordering and delivery of
food from restaurants.
 Online advertising: E-commerce is also used for online advertising, where businesses
can advertise their products and services to a large audience.
E-commerce Vs E-Business

Advantages of E-commerce:

 E-commerce enables fast and secure shopping.

 It is making digitalized world.
 E-commerce also enables to choose different goods and services according to your
choice.
 It is a simple way of selling and buying products and services.
 E-commerce replaced the paper work as all transactions are through internet today.
 It provides better management system, as it has a centralized database.
 E-commerce via internet covers a large number of customers worldwide.
 E-commerce has several payment modes.

Disadvantages of E-commerce:

 E-commerce has no universal standard for quality and reliability.

  E-commerce works through internet, it is possible that navigation on internet itself
may be slow.
 Strong security is required in e-commerce as all transactions are through internet.
 There is high risk of buying unsatisfactory products through e-commerce.
 It uses public key infrastructure which is not safe.
 Customers also trap in banking fraud which is quite frequent.
 Hackers also try to get access of data or to destroy data in e-commerce

Ecommerce Framework

Role of E Business and its Challenges

E-business (electronic business) is the conduct of online business processes on the web,
internet, extranet or a combination thereof. These customer-, internal- and management-
focused business processes include buying and selling goods and services, servicing
customers, processing payments, managing production and supply chains, collaborating with
business partners, sharing information, running automated employee services and recruiting
employees.

Challenges of e-business

The types of challenges presented by electronic business vary from one organization to
another, depending on a host of factors, including whether the company was born digital,
whether digital services power the company's core value proposition, whether digital services
are used for e-business in only parts of the company's operations and whether the company
houses legacy technology. Despite the various levels of digital transformation, e-business
challenges have a common thread that include the following:

 securing e-business services against increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats;

 scaling services fast enough to meet demand without jeopardizing performance;
 evolving technologies fast enough to keep pace with changing market dynamics;
 finding and training skilled workers to keep pace with advanced technologies; and
 keeping pace with e-business capabilities that, by their electronic nature, are always
on.
 Additionally, many companies struggle to integrate their siloed data and functions
with e-business services to converge and work seamlessly together.
 Security and risks
 E-business tactics offer advantages like reaching a wider customer base and faster
transactions, but they also come with associated risks.
 E-business creates huge data security risks -- for example, because customers are
often required to provide sensitive information, such as contact information and credit
card numbers, during e-business transactions. This information is enticing to hackers
and particularly vulnerable to data breaches, so e-business website owners are
responsible for incorporating methods like data encryption to ensure secure
transactions. Failure to ensure data integrity and incorporate appropriate data security
measures can lead to costly fines and the loss of customer brand loyalty.
 E-business relies on swift, secure online transactions, so even something as simple as
a bad web hosting service creates a financial risk for companies. Crashed servers and
 insufficient bandwidth lead to persistent website downtime and customer
dissatisfaction, making it imperative for organizations to invest in well-known and
reliable hosting providers, which, in turn, can drive up the costs associated with
running a successful e-business.
 Marketing comes with its own set of risks as well. All types of businesses rely on
effective marketing to drive growth and sales, but online marketing techniques are
very different from traditional offline methods. Without an effective marketing
campaign specifically tailored to promote e-business, businesses face a huge financial
risk by investing in marketing resources that don't drive consumer traffic to the
transaction websites.
 E-businesses are also vulnerable to systemic risk that influences the entire online
market segment.