The Future of E-Commerce and Online Business - Report Example

E-Commerce Assignment Prepared by: Presented Table of Contents Selection of a Development Methodology 7 Building and Maintaining the Site 8 Systems planning and selection 8 Project team 9 Implementation plan 9 Knowledge management 10 Systems analysis 10 Requirements specification 10 Business process integration 11 External consultants 11 Systems implementation and operation 12 Testing and quality assurance 12 Knowledge transfer and documentation 12 User training 13 Web site monitoring and adaptation 13 Site Auditing 14 References 15 Introduction Without a doubt, the Internet has turned out to be a significant aspect of almost all the business organizations. In fact, advancements and improvements in the Internet bear in becoming rapid, through which both new and entrenched organizations are taking advantage of the web. In this situation, e-commerce has risen as an exceptionally appealing and supportive instrument. It is a conceded certainty that its impacts on business economy will be as critical as the movement from the horticultural budgetary arrangement of the seventeenth century (Shaik, 2007). This report is written in the context of A Company, which is a high street fashion retailer. Though, A Company has already presence over the Internet, but it has not turned this web site into a more profitable business. In the past few years, there have emerged a large number of competitors offering the similar products and the number of customers are increasing at a rapid pace. In this scenario, A Company should improve its existing web presence by making use of some latest technology such as B2C (Business to Consumer) model. This report will discuss the importance of a B2C model for A Company. This report will also discuss the important steps needed to implement a B2C business. An Overview of E-Commerce Innovations and developments in information technology have always been continued since the emergence of the Internet. In fact, most of the ways companies and people carry out their daily activities and live at the present are determined with the huge web of electronic networks that is commonly known as the Internet (Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005). Only a small number of tools, techniques, and technologies have received as quick recognition as the internet. Additionally, the internet technologies are changing and modernizing the ways through which business activities are carried out. In addition, these technologies are also modernizing the basic technological structures on which various corporations are establishing their internal information systems. Furthermore, the majority corporations are making use of internet technologies to develop a personal internal network that is acknowledged as an intranet. And a lot of corporations are making use of the similar technologies to develop protected business-to-business networks, which are acknowledged as extranets (Ahuja, 2011; Melissa, 2010; Pozin, 2012). Thus, these technologies movements are building a significant business model, electronic commerce. It is an admitted fact that the Internet has turned out to be a vital part of almost every kind of business. Basically, the simple description of a business is “any activity or transaction that entails the exchange of products and services with an aim of making money or generating profits. However, if this transaction is carried out over the web it is known as e-commerce. In the past few years, the reality of e-commerce has turned into a full-blown business (Ahuja, 2011; Melissa, 2010; Pozin, 2012). Now people want to shop from home by using their computer with a single click and the Internet has made it possible. Now the latest tools and technologies over the Internet have made the life easier. They have provided a large number of benefits to the customers and brought numerous opportunities for the businesses. In addition, despite the offering numerous advantages to regular customers, e-commerce has made business simpler and extra efficient for retailers and merchants. In fact, the innovations and the developments in information technology have offered a quick, inexpensive ways to sell and market products and services. Due to the mass applications of the Internet and the huge advertising and visibility the marketing has turned out to be an essential part of the e-commerce business model. Additionally, the e-commerce as well presents less transparency, an extensive market base, and reduces the need for a physical storefront. Moreover, with e-commerce businesses are able to expand far further than their restrictions of a physical store, however it as well outlines a marketplace at risk of becoming flooded, that is why internet marketing is one of the most fundamental areas and aspects of the e-commerce business model (Ahuja, 2011; Melissa, 2010; Pozin, 2012; Shaik, 2007). Without a doubt, e-commerce has turned out to be a most powerful tool for the business management. However, there are different trends or elements in e-commerce for instance business-to-consumer (B2C) is the most important e-commerce trend. In this scenario, B2C allows the business organizations to communicate with their potential customers. In addition, it is an efficient and modern marketing platform for a large number of business organizations for the reason that it is the simply feature they need to improve in an attempt to promote their business. Thus, this innovative idea allows businesses like A Company to catch the attention of numerous customers to their e-commerce platform (Turban et al., 2005; Anton, 2011; Epstein, 2004). Strategic Advantages through E-Commerce In the past few years, there have emerged a wide variety of business management technologies such as B2C. In fact, ever-increasing competition and the use of the Internet have forced the organizations to adopt modern and innovative ways of business management. A firm with a specific and unique way of doing business is considered to be in a position to achieve strategic advantage over its competitors. E-commerce or development of a Website to carry out business transactions through the internet can prove to be a competitive advantage in today’s technology oriented world (Augusto, 2012). This new technology of online retailing in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce has changed the way of doing business in this fast world and it is being predicted that it would increase in scale in the times to come. It allows the businesses to reach out to the larger geographical areas and in much lesser time than the traditional transactions. The customers can also get better information regarding the product or service and are able to compare the prices. Moreover, it makes a firm able to compete at a global level, which, unlike normal companies, earn them larger profits and competitive advantage (Scherer, 2005). Hence, it helps them to attain a distinct strategic positioning in the minds of the customers which does not only include doing things in a different way but also providing unique value to its market. The companies utilizing B2C e-commerce strategies earn the strategic advantages like international market access, better strategic partnerships, ensure good customer relationships and an enhanced information sharing. The firms involved in this internet technology based business model have to make certain that trust, loyalty, and value must be given to the customers, only then, success can be achieved (Turban, et al., 2005; Ngai, 2006). So, the development of B2C business will be very helpful to A Company in attaining a competitive edge and attracting more customers. Development and Implementation of B2C E-Commerce Doing business online or implementing a B2C platform is not an easy job, rather, many challenges should be expected in the adoption of B2C e-commerce. There are many network, competitive and resource-based factors that are involved in this innovation. The perception of a firm linked with the technology adoption and its resultant benefits is directly proportional to the success acquired in the process (Ngai, 2006). For a successful online presence, A Company should have attractive website content, structure and design of Web pages, a complete understanding of global consumers are the bases of the strategic performance of such companies. Selection of a suitable technology for a particular organization depends upon the features and knowledge of both the technology and the organization. In addition to that, Web page design is one of the many instrumental factors in the success of B2C administration. An all-inclusive execution framework and a comprehensive strategy is required by the website developers, keeping in view, all the implementation issues with due consideration to certain success criteria (Poon & Lau, 2006; Moertini, et al., 2014). In addition, development of a quality BC2 site is quite a complex pursuit which needs a proficient idea, a systemic approach, and a righteous knowledge of business, technology and social affairs. But, making of a website comes with many challenges as well. For instance, A Company will need a comprehensive understanding of business objectives and missions, selection of a well-thoughtful approach, methodology and technology to attain those objectives (Butler, 2012; Poon & Lau, 2006). Selection of a Development Methodology Website development is believed to be the software development activity for a business, which is not an easy process, rather, holds many complications. In order to achieve B2C implementation successfully A Company would require a methodical approach. It will necessitate the A Company to pursue a proven software development methodology for the establishment of B2C website. According to some researches, systems development life cycle (SDLC) methodology is appropriate, particularly for large scale B2C projects. On the other hand, development methodologies like prototyping and joint application development (JAD) can prove to be rightful alternatives of SDLC. Depending upon this, A Company can choose a development methodology which suits its environment the best. For example, A Company can use prototyping wants to ensure its online presence faster than its competitors (Poon & Lau, 2006; Turban, et al., 2005). Building and Maintaining the Site The oldest methodology for building information systems is SDLC which was introduced in 1970 and is still in use today for medium and large scale projects. According to this, a systems development project is composed of orderly representation of the phases from initiation of a problem till the operationalization of the software solution. There are involved many stages in a SDLC and in each stage the success is dependent on the appropriate implementation of the succeeding stage. However, in the case of A Company these phases can be adapted according to the situation (Poon & Lau, 2006; Stair & Reynolds, 2003). Systems planning and selection Return on Investment (ROI) is a formal process for planning a project that is quite advantageous for business activities. Initially, the success and failure of a website used to be measured by the business executives and investors with broader corporate strokes. But as e-commerce grew, only measuring success and failure of online presence with broad strokes is not adequate to get an idea of the performance of the site. Now, A Company should calculate the Return on Investment of business projects to reach the actual effectiveness of a website. Establishing a good and comprehensive business plan with precise objectives in order to attain the advantages like an increased sales of goods and incur incremental costs of hardware and software assists in such calculations (Poon & Lau, 2006). Project team The project team for development of a B2C website must be cross-functional. In other words, A Company should hire representatives from various major functions that can affect the B2C site, and others who have a healthy knowledge of business and the rest of the strategies should be a part of it. In addition to that, those who are proficient and experienced in the Internet technologies must also be included. The team should be very creative and efficient, which have the ability to take the firm one step ahead of the competition while addressing all the issues proactively (Poon & Lau, 2006). Implementation plan Every complex project needs a judicious understanding of the upcoming challenges. A proper implementation plan of B2C project should be carved out to help the team proceed smoothly and systematically towards the end. This plan helps in identifying the essential tasks that need to be performed as per their priorities and determine the schedule according to the requirements. Furthermore, allocation of resources, assigning jobs to the appropriate individuals, finding project deliverables, assessment of the status of the project along with its performance, estimation of any changes in the project and their effects to any particular variable can be determined by the plan. Hence, for A Company a plan can be a document giving the whole picture of the project while bringing every minute detail into the light. However, a plan must be flexible and evolving according to the need of the hour to ensure effectiveness (Poon & Lau, 2006). Knowledge management Knowledge sharing and carrying out proper communication for the implementation of any plan is very critical. In an organizational setup, particularly in today’s world, no firm can survive without having formal and informal ways of communication between its individuals. In this scenario, formal communication like project team meetings or simple chats on tea can help A Company in finding out in which direction a certain project is heading. A centralized project repository on the A Company’s local area network, carrying information of project plan and deliverables can be one such means of sharing knowledge. In this repository, the knowledge keeps on piling up and it can be reached by the team members at any time giving them first hand and quick information. It will also help the project manager to have an eye on the activities quite effectively and efficiently with which he can measure the status and completeness of the project (Poon & Lau, 2006; Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Systems analysis System analysis will help A Company find out how a particular system works and determines what users like to see in the new B2C site (Whitten, et al., 2000): Requirements specification The involvement of outsource service providers and external consultants in B2C projects is essential because these individuals may or may not understand the particular needs of the business and its customers. Therefore, A Company needs to provide them with an adequate amount of information, knowledge and should also supervise their decisions. The in-house project team must have complete knowledge of specifications and all important aspects of the system which in return, should serve as a layout for consultants and outsource service providers (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). Business process integration There are many firms in the marketplace that work according to the concept of divide and conquer in which the business applications are dealt with separately and functional specialists are created. But, this model of business operations has been challenged by the business theorists who claim that in a chain process, all the applications and individual functions should operate in an intricate and well-knit manner, only then, effectiveness can be ensured. Hence, integrations of all the activities are the soul of a good B2C project. All the gaps among ordering, distribution and payments must be abolished on priority basis and this allows the process to run smoothly (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). External consultants The B2C projects are mostly complicated and there can emerge some problems which are not in the prior knowledge of the project team and they may not have come across them ever. In this case, keeping in view the nature of the issue, A Company can get help from two types of external consultants. First, organizational consultants which guide the team on organizational structure, job designs, required communication strategies, training techniques and motivational schemes for employees which could help the deployment of B2C site. Second, technical consultants who give knowledge about the operating systems and database systems and their link to the B2C site. In short, they provide all the necessary knowledge and information about new internet technologies and standards (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). Systems implementation and operation This is the phase of building and testing the B2C site after analysis of the whole system. It will require monitoring of the website and bring it into conformity with the business environment (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). Testing and quality assurance After the implementation of B2C site A Company should perform a quality assurance test in which it is assured that it is completely purified from all types of bugs. And it should be done before making it public. The key users of the site can also participate in this testing, most importantly in acceptance testing. This testing covers things like hyperlinks and navigations, the search engine, special functions, design and content of the Web page, the speed of its loading and other load testing, script testing and database connection testing (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). Knowledge transfer and documentation By the time the project is concluded, the external consultants and outsource service providers usually have all the experiential, direct knowledge of site maintenance and the up gradation. A Company should transfer essential knowledge from consultants and service providers to in-house project team immediately to make sure that documentation is finalized. These are considered as housekeeping chores on which a check can be easily exercised regularly as per requirement (Poon & Lau, 2006). User training Usually the users don’t have an understanding of the extent to which changes might affect a B2C implementation. Only sometimes they can gauge it. They may find it worrisome to comprehend with the new business operations, but training can solve this problem. A Company should carry out training efforts and both key users and project team members should be involved in it. It would draw the attention of other users towards it when they would see the rest of the people learning and doing the job satisfactorily (Poon & Lau, 2006). Web site monitoring and adaptation In today’s competitive business world, the dysfunctional sites can thwart the attractions for the customers. For that reason, A Company should establish a devoted Web team, which is one of the many critical success factors of a B2C site which is responsible for monitoring the site for its performance and make necessary changes proactively according to the changes in the market. This Web team comprises of IT individuals and users from other functions affecting the site. This team has many responsibilities like getting feedback from the customers and responding accordingly, to ensure proper working of all the links on a Web site and updating the Web pages, and bringing the layout and design in compliance with the competition or even beyond that (Poon & Lau, 2006; Whitten, et al., 2000). Site Auditing Audit is crucial in order to measure the performance of the implementation as well as finding any discrepancies. After the site is launched, A Company can review and inspect if the CRM strategies and the business objectives have been achieved. This audit will help in giving an insight into the effectiveness of the strategies which were established to meet the goals. In return, it will assist the A Company to find out its appropriate course of action and new plans (Poon & Lau, 2006). Conclusion and Recommendation The present information technology trends show that the use of the Internet for carrying out business operations is always increasing. Especially, in the past few years, the use of the Internet has turned out to be very common for performing business operations and expanding their appearance to the worldwide customers in a convenient way. Thus, realizing the business organizations’ always growing interest in the Internet, many studies and researches regarding business to the customers and Internet shopping have been carried out to discover the key attributes or factors that can have influence over customers’ behaviors and decisions while shopping on the Internet. This report has presented the importance of B2C business in the context of A Company, which a growing fashion business. This report has discussed some of the major aspects associated with the implementation of a B2C business. However, security has always been a significant issue that B2C companies face. Hence, it is essential for A Company to implement all the security measures in order to run its business in a better way. References Ahuja, B., 2011. The Future Of E-Commerce And Online Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-future-of-e-commerce-and-online-business/27002/ [Accessed 02 March 2015]. Anton, 2011. Selecting New Type of E-Commerce. [Online] Available at: http://essays24.com/print/Selecting-New-Type-ECommerce/36237.html [Accessed 10 March 2015]. Augusto, R. H., 2012. Competitive Advantages: the E-commerce as a Strategy or Competitiveness in the Retail Market. International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, 5(1), pp. 60-66. 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