Business-to-Business E-Business Technology - Research Paper Example

? Managing Information Contents Introduction 3 Understanding of Business-to-Business (B2B) E-Business Technology 3 B2B E-Business Technology’s Impacton Business Organisations 5 Benefits of B2B E-Business Technology to Business Organisations 5 Limitations of Business Organisations in use of B2B E-Business Technology 6 Changes in Business Process for B2B E-Business Technology and Developments Thereof 6 B2B E-Business Technology in Manufacturing Organisations 7 B2B E-Business Technology in Business Consulting Firms 8 Conclusions 10 References 11 Introduction The Business-to-Business domain of electronic business is extensively used by business organisations for expanding their trading activities across both national and international boundaries. This domain earns significance through the development of the internet technology which is increasingly being used by the business houses to penetrate effectively into newer areas and gain more number of customers. Business Corporations through the enhanced use of B2B E-Business Technology can work for alterations of their business processes in terms of effective sales and order management. Further the supply chain management activities of business corporations also counter sea changes owing to the introduction of the business-to-business electronic business technology. This helps the business corporations to enhance their effectiveness while serving the needs of the customers. Moreover through the enhanced use of the said technology the business corporations can help the customers gain better insights about the product and service portfolio. This helps the business houses to better penetrate an expanded market base both existing and new and thereby augment on its sales and revenue parameters. Thus the advent of internet technology in the business sphere acts as a boon by generating sophistication to the different activities performed (Boone & Kurtz, 2010). Understanding of Business-to-Business (B2B) E-Business Technology The Business-to-Business E-Business Technology concept emerged owing to the growing use of internet technology in the business sphere. With the enhanced use of internet technology the business corporations can effectively interact with each other both in an intrinsic and extrinsic manner. Intrinsically the business corporations can better relate the head office functions with the several branches spread along different regions and also to the warehouses. The business corporations with the use of internet medium can modify the business functions related to purchases and sales in a much faster and efficient fashion. Business-to-Business technological interface helps the business corporations gain a huge number of advantages which can be enumerated as follows. Management of the inventory and sales functions is better managed by the business houses through the expanded use of internet technology. The business corporations through the use of the internet medium can effectively track changes in the external market and thereby modify the products and services rendered. Through enhanced satisfaction of consumer demand the business houses can generate more amount of profit and also augment on the market share. Moreover with the enhanced use of internet technology in the business medium the business corporations can effectively minimize the cost of business operations thereby enhancing on the productivity aspects. Different companies pertaining to manufacturing and other information technology companies have gained largely owing to the expanded use of internet technology in the business to business sphere (Haag, 2005,p.139-410). An enhanced understanding of the Business-To-Business Electronic Commerce technology shows that the above technology can be used in different forms by the business corporations while performing business activities. Supply chain activities of the company can be effectively enhanced through the use of internet which coordinates the functions of the different vendor and supplier groups spread along different areas to the changing needs of the consumers. Business corporations can also exchange large volumes of data among its several branches based on the use of internet technology. Business-to-Business activities have thus gained new dimensions wherein large volumes of business data can be exchanged in a much faster and efficient manner. Similarly the development of the business processes through the use of internet technology is also found in the form of fund transfer activities in an electronic mode. Large business corporations through the use of business-to-business electronic commerce technology can transfer large amounts from one corner to another within a matter of seconds and also in a secured fashion. Moreover to help in the effective implementation of the business-to-business electronic commerce functions several technological advancements were rendered in the form of ‘virtual private networks’ and other technological interfaces like extranet (Doom, 2007, p.107). Through the development of the concept of ‘virtual private networking’ the business corporations can focus on developing private networking activities on a virtual plane amidst the public sphere. The public sphere gains attention owing to the dependence on internet as a communication medium (Scott, Wolf & Erwin, 1999, p.2-3). B2B E-Business Technology’s Impact on Business Organisations Benefits of B2B E-Business Technology to Business Organisations The development of the business-to-business electronic commerce technology has helped the business corporations to work on their outsourcing activities. The development of the outsourcing functions of the business corporations can be studied along several parameters like technology, change in business processes, human resources and thereby helping on enhancing the business returns. In terms of technological improvements the business corporations can gain access to large amount of sophistication through the installation of hardware and software components to help in the faster exchange of potential business information. Again the business corporations can effectively enhance the existing business processes while operating on the internet sphere. The development of the business processes helps the business organisations to serve the changing needs of the customers through rendering of commodities on a timely basis. Again the enhanced use of internet technology helps develop the skills and productivity of the existing human resources. The organisational people can effectively interact with each other through the internet medium and help in fulfilling organisational goals. All the above functions effectively signify the growth of the revenue and productivity paradigm of the business corporations (Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum, 2007, p.16-30). Limitations of Business Organisations in use of B2B E-Business Technology Though the development of the Business-to-Business Electronic Business Technology model confers some distinct set of advantages underlined above yet the same also suffers from certain number of limitations which can be stated as under. Firstly it is observed that the whole activity being internet centric renders lot of complexities to the business dimension thus needing more amount of time. Moreover the training cost of the organisations also go on increasing which focuses on training the organisational people to work effectively on the search engines. Communication based on internet technology must be optimally designed to help gain maximum possible gains from the existing level of human and technological resources. Secondly the development of the business processes also happens to affect the traditional and existing business dimension. It is because with the enhanced use of internet technology happens to curtail the need of middlemen. The reduction of the middleman concept makes the external business stakeholders directly interact with the source affecting the traditional and hierarchical business models (E-Net Latina, n.d.). Changes in Business Process for B2B E-Business Technology and Developments Thereof With the enhanced introduction of the Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce technology in the business hemisphere the organisational and business process of these firms have undergone a sea change. The business organisations need to invest heavily in terms of aligning infrastructural facilities and training people for the effective implementation of the internet technology in the business sphere. Traditional and existing business processes systems needs to be newly configured to render large scale sophistication enabled through the introduction of internet technology. Different technological and business firms are developing effective software which would help service the needs of the society in an enhanced manner through gaining enhanced access to potential business information pertaining to price rates and technological improvements. Business corporations through enhanced use of internet technology can work to better up the relationship with the different stakeholders like vendors, financiers and the different distributors to help in the effective delivery of goods and services to the consumer groups. Again the enhanced use of internet technology has also helped the business corporations to develop their outsourcing activities thus helping emerge different specialized consulting functions (Khosrowpour, 2001, p.597-599). B2B E-Business Technology in Manufacturing Organisations The expanded use of internet technology has changed the shape of the functioning of several organisations pertaining to the manufacturing sector. To understand the effectiveness of the Business-to-Business model the case of Dell Computer can be closely studied. It is observed that Dell through the publishing of product related information online helps in attracting large number of business clients who act as business consumers to the organisation. These clients by gaining an enhanced knowledge of the different types of products can make potential business decisions before going for the relevant purchase. Dell again through the effective implementation of the technological model happens to correlate the warehousing activities to help reduce the lead times thus catering to the needs of the business clients. Business clients also gain largely owing to Dell’s strategic initiatives for helping gain access to low priced yet quality efficient products. Again the effective implementation of the technological paradigm causes the reduction of dependency of the clients on the wholesalers and retail communities. This fact shows that the business hemisphere is gradually changing itself from the traditional or conservative style earning a more sophisticated business approach. Quoting another example of the effectiveness of the implementation of the business-to-business electronic commerce technology the case of Ford can also be broadly studied. The motor vehicle manufacturing company is found to operate based on large number of vendors spread along its global supply chain matrix. This company tends to coordinate with these large vendor groups through the exchange of potential business information. The above process practiced by Ford thus helps in reducing the frequency of shortages and accumulation of inventory and thus potentially helps in enhancing the revenue parameter. Moreover the frequency of conducting errors is also effectively reduced through the avoidance of manual entry of important data and increased dependence on information technology. Further the organisation through the use of internet technology also effectively coordinates the actions of the different departments and infrastructural elements to fulfil the organisational goals. The existing resource belt of the concern strewn around the different departments both operational and support is effectively utilised by Ford to help fulfil organisational goals (Canzer, 2006, p.20-21). B2B E-Business Technology in Business Consulting Firms E-commerce is the business solution that can help an organization to improve its sales and its market share along with customer satisfaction and also decrease the overall operating cost of the firm. In order to thrive in a competitive environment the firms no longer depends on the direct sales process but rather new strategies and business processes must be implemented and deployed in a cost effective manner. No matter how good and creative the technology has been used if the communication process is not user-friendly it is of no use for the firm. Creating business value should be the real concern for the e-business implementation for the consulting firm in the B2B environment (Valtech, 2007). Logistic management is another issue of e-business which is a crucial success factor with the impact on services by improving the delivery time and quality for more acceptances by the customers (Kidd, 2000, p. 437). Meeting the business needs both internally and externally in this age of e-business is the major challenge for the companies to be in the next level of efficiency and also gain profitable expansion. For an instance, a global leader in biotechnology tools, Life Technologies implemented an e-commerce business strategy for the improvements in customer satisfaction and also reduce its total cost of ownership when the company partnered with Infosys for an e-Commerce based solution for their clients. They improved their way of communication with the customers through the new e-Commerce solution by incorporating Voice of the Customer process to improve customer experience and satisfaction. With this the company also reduces its cost for call centre process by introducing the customer self service feature within the system. The company realized the key to success for growth and development lies in the act of responding to the Voice of the Customers. Life Technologies ensured that the customer faces no problem in finding the best products and can take instant decision for the buying process and get all the relevant information about the pricing and the features of the products they are interested in, all at one place in a user friendly environment. The e-Commerce system of the company also provides an interactive buying process along with the cross-sell and up-sell options for the customers. Customer self service feature for tacking history and transaction status tracking system gives the company an extra edge over its competitors with its new e-business strategies (Infosys, 2011, p. 1-3). Infosys’ Approach in collaboration with Life Technologies for the implementation of Sterling Multi-Channel Selling with the support of e-commerce and its 4-D methodology of Discover, Design, Develop and Deploy provided the best of breed features for the customers in business helping the company for a sustainable growth with higher transactional profitability and build customer loyalty at the same time (Infosys-a, 2011, p. 30). Conclusions Business-to-Business electronic commerce technology has emerged as one of the key strategic tools helping the business organisations to gain control of large markets spread along large geographical areas. This technological process emerged with the potential development of internet communication systems and expanded use of it by business corporations to exchange important data both at the internal and external business level. Different companies in sectors like manufacturing and business consulting through the use of the internet technology have become successful in opening up new segments like outsourcing activities. Again the effective utilisation of the potential resources existing in the business concern has also been largely enabled through the implementation of the technological approach. Finally other business organisations has through the use of internet technology been able to reduce the incidence of middlemen and thereby has developed the interface with the client base more effectively. Henceforth it is found that the development of internet technology leading to the emergence of electronic business has turned out to be a potential boon for a business organisation. References Boone, L. & Kurtz, D. (2010). Contemporary Business. John Wiley and Sons. Canzer, B. (2006). E-business: strategic thinking and practice. Cengage Learning. Doom, C. (2007). An Introduction to Business Information Management. Asp / Vubpress / Upa. E-Net Latina. (2001). Electronic Commerce and Internet Marketing. [Ppt]. Available At: http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fpas/cmp/online/cs14k/resources/E-Commerce1.pps. [Accessed on June 17, 2011]. Haag. (2005). Business Driven Technology W/Cd. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Infosys, (2011). Life Technologies implements an eCommerce solution to improve customer satisfaction and reduce total cost of ownership. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.infosys.com/supply-chain/case-studies/Documents/e-commerce-infrastructure.pdf. [Accessed on: June 17, 2011]. Infosys-a, (2011). Life Technologies improves e-commerce infrastructure with the help of Infosys. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.infosys.com/supply-chain/case-studies/Documents/life-technologies-improves-eCommerce.pdf. [Accessed on: June 17, 2011]. Khosrowpour, M. (2001). Managing information technology in a global economy. Idea Group Inc (IGI). Kidd, P. (2000). E-business: key issues, applications and technologies. IOS Press. Scott, C., Wolf, P. & Erwin, M. (1999). Virtual private networks. O'Reilly Media, Inc. Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum. (2007). Driving Business Value Through B2B Outsourcing. [Pdf]. Available At: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/scforum/documents/FullReport_FINAL.v3.pdf. [Accessed on June 17, 2011]. Valtech, (2007). Putting the end-user. [Online]. Available at: http://www.valtech.com/com/index/ebusiness.html. [Accessed on: June 17, 2011]. Read More