B2B, B2C, C2C and B2E Forms of E-commerce Web Sites to a Reasonable Extend - Literature review Example

Name of Student Lectures Name Subject Date Literature review The mode in which business is being transacted in today’s world has taken a totally different perspective. The birth of computer technology and wireless communication has led to business modes that involve buying and selling of products and services without human physical interaction. With increased competition for market share by businesses, most attention has been directed towards devising the easiest, faster and most effective way to reach the customers with information products and services. Through such advances the E-commerce mode of business was born and today businesses are done effectively through business websites and other E-marketplace avenues, thanks to the internet. The literature review that follows will discuss the B2B, B2C, C2C and B2E forms of E-commerce web sites to a reasonable extend. (Business to Business)B2B These are business websites that sell or advertise products and services to other businesses of the same kind or different online platform (Nemat, pg. 101). The term “business-to-business” was originally coined to describe the electronic communications between businesses or enterprises in order to distinguish it from the communications between businesses and consumers. They involve companies outsourcing portions of the supply chain to other business partners. The main goal of this business is inventory management, truncating the cost of business transaction and delivery of products and services to the customer in the shortest time possible. These websites require basic features to deliver. They must have optimized pages and contents to enable easy indexing by search engines, a tracker for visitor’s activities whenever they log in, security and privacy features must be integrated also in addition to mode of payment and follow up procedures. Another important component is a live chat interactive forum to enhance feedback collection and urgent questions answering. B2C Business to Consumer These are websites that avail services and products to potential consumers for personalized use. Their main target is the individual consumer rather than a corporate consumer. They sell basic consumable goods and services such as books food cars etc. Their biggest challenge in the market is capturing the customers trust and retaining their loyalty. The main aim of this website is to provide information to customers on a wide range of offered products and services with different pricing quality and quantity continuum. The basic feature necessary for the websites to function in the competitive markets include: a faster search engine, logically arranged information on goods preferably by category and easy navigation interface provision. Security and privacy must be a prerequisite. A monitor for customers’ activity is essential to provide data on the number of customer’s logging in and the products and services on high demand. The titles and tags in the websites must be accurately and deeply described. C2C (consumer to consumer) Consumer to consumer websites are those that involve selling and buying of goods and services among consumers (Minsung Li, pg 153) Consumer-to-consumer marketing is the creation of a product or service with specific strategies for promotion aiming for consumers to share that product or service with others as a brand advocates based on the quality and value of the product. This kind of website act as an intermediary between consumers involving consumers posting their products for other consumers to access and buy. They allow competitive pricing and it is mostly employed by auctioneer firms or business forms where the highest bidder takes the product home. The main aim of these sites is to provide consumers with a wide range of choice and pricing according to ones financial capability in the market. The basic requirements here demand that there consumer interaction online to negotiate the pricing. A catalogue and a customized search engine is a requirement for easy navigation. Also important is the mode of payment and updated section of new arrivals in the market. Privacy of the transaction and security is equally important. B2E (Business to Employee) Websites in this category are those that employ use of a single (intra-business) business network that allows navigation within the website by an organizations employee to access automated employee corporate procedures. Their main goal is to communicate vital work information requirements necessary for high performance. Employees resume and records regarding payments and other reconciliatory information can also be accessed from these websites. They serve to attract and retain the most competent and skillful brains in the market. They deal in delivering online requests and their subsequent processing, dealing with policies in insurance for corporate organizations and updating employee’s accessible services. Certain requirements must be met to qualify for the purposes described above. The site must possess a uniform URL accessible by everyone in the organization. These sites must be able to serve employees of all categories hence their optimization and alteration must be possible in achieving this. The most important feature that must be attended to concerns security and privacy measures. These measures must be sophisticated enough to prevent leakage of employee data besides being hacker proof. Without such measure the credibility of the organization is bound to be compromised. Case studies This essay will discuss Ecommerce forms of business websites, one B2B business and one B2E website. B2B website http://www.blazelead.com/ A good example of a business to business website is http://www.blazelead.com/. This is a business portal in addition to being an online market avenue that seeks to facilitate online transactions between willing exporters and importers. The business deals in advertisement, business directory services and even trade shows organization in general. Blazelead provides an efficient mode of international forum where business leads are posted with product display It also trades in current and up to date information on available products promotions, offers, packages and competitive pricing. Blaze lead provides a number of specific services to buyers and sellers buyers are provided with: services to reach suppliers with god credit prospects, detailed information on products in the market and their respective suppliers to avoid spending time calling for support. Buyers also have full access to the supplying company’s catalogue. Buyers are also assisted to facilitate their transactions. The sellers on the other side are allowed unlimited posting of products to increase probability of contacting as many suppliers as possible. They are allowed to get their products for top search in the website. Immediate alerts are also sent to them as notification whenever an interested buyer is available. In addition, they are allowed to get paid advertisement for their respective products and services. The main target market is international exporters and importers dealing in products of all kinds from plant machinery to kid play items such as toys and dolls. Blazelead is mainly a facilitator company for international business transactions through dissemination of required information to customers to locate sellers and vice versa. Case study 2 B2C http://www.shopbop.com/ The http://www.shopbop.com/ website is a good example of a business to consumer website. Shopbop is a consumer serving website dealing in consumer goods only at an international level. The main products on sale include basic consumer goods such as designer clothing, shoes bags, accessories and boutiques related products. The online store also conducts shipping arrangements and delivery procedures for goods ordered by customers living in other countries. The main function of the website is to communicate a variety of products to consumers with the aim of increasing sales and profit margins. Evaluation of the two websites. Website evaluations of the above businesses are important in identifying the loopholes that are detrimental in limiting the business to meeting its ultimate objectives. The following evaluation will be based on the basic requirements for qualification of the sites in their respective categories and the general review of literature on forms of E-commerce business models. http://www.blazelead.com/ Considering my keen analysis and consequent evaluation of this website, I agree that it meets the standards set for a B2B website basing on the features. The site exhibits privacy and tight security features such as membership registration information that includes personal data and company details that are protected by a password There are also defined terms and conditions with a policy statement. The homepage is very organized and attractive to motivate anyone coming across it to check inside (Zhang and Dran , pg.2065 ).To keep a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive web environment, website designers need to constantly identify and build motivation factors into their websites. A detailed catalogue and a customized search machine are included that not only allows buyers to browse by category but also search products by country or “All countries” There are also slide show windows indicating business leads with latest buying leads and latest selling leads that are updated regularly. There is also an advertisement view for available products. A comprehensive site plan is provided that saves the users their time in searching for any detail. Provision to post your own lead on products is available to save the administrator time. This allows for specific description of your own products and pricing. An online interactive chat box is also present in addition to the “help” window for enquiries. The number of transactions and activities for users is also tracked and automatically updated. Modes of online payment are also available in detail. The website is very detailed and almost if not all sorts of information a customer may require is easily availed and fits in the category ( Rowley, Pg. 520). A good website must be a usable website, which is valid, has detailed required information and has easy navigation features that provide quality information to everyone. It is recommended that due to the number of users, the online communication network should be upgraded to deal with the jams associated with it otherwise the standards are up to date. Case 2 http://www.shopbop.com/ In my evaluation of this website it was found that the website, other than its ability to serve the general purpose it doesn’t meet the requirements for a B2C website. The website has security and private policy statement in addition to terms and conditions. The procedures for shipping are also catered for. Categories with dropdown menus are also on the home page for easy access. Log books in which specifications of products can be found is also availed. Products are easily categorized in line with the fashion trends and particular designer is provided for more customized search Payment modes and currency forms are also included. On the other hand several setbacks exist within the website. The home page is not appealing and not attractive basing on the skin color. Home pages perform the same basic functions-to inform-and to persuade as other communication messages (Surendra and Dalal. pg. 96). The page has a full photo shoot of ladies yet the products being sold are for both sexes. Another weakness in the website comes with information about the online store. Location of the information proved very difficult and was not found yet this is the most important thing in communicating to potential users. It is recommended that the homepage be improved to a more appealing look. The information about the store should be included in the home page. A Report On The Evaluation of blazelead.com (B2c) (B2b) shopbop.com Websites As At 18th Aug.2011 Executive Summary A thorough evaluation of the above websites was conducted to establish the effectiveness of the E commerce models in delivering to the immediate market segments they target to control. It was found that the blazelead .com website was very effective and up to standards in the E-marketplace basing on the requirements. It was however recommended that due to it serving many people and the log jams that are associated with busy sites, the internet network speed for the browser should be improved to eliminate the jams. The shopbop.com website on the other hand was fairly commended for delivering on the basics but did not meet the requirements for a professional B2C website. It was recommended that the website improve the home page outlook in terms of appeal should be considered in addition to including information about the store on the same home page. Criteria for evaluation The criterion used in the evaluation of the two websites was based on the basic standards requirements for them to qualify in their specific categories. Accessibility features was considered, privacy and security measures, interactive session and ease of navigation were also looked at in addition to logically arranged links. Detailed website content was also a parameter. The evaluation was necessary in identifying the possible setbacks that limit the businesses from attracting and maintaining their customers in goal attainment. Elliot et al. [2] described an evaluation framework called the Centre for Electronic Commerce (CEC) Website Evaluation Framework which consisted of six categories; these categories were: company information and function, product/service information and promotion, buy / sell – transactions, customer services, ease of use and innovation in services and technology. Basing on the above criteria, some basic conclusions were reached as discussed in the following section Conclusion In a nut shell, the evaluations of the websites has really shed more light on how business are using their strength in reaching, attracting and retaining a wide range of business partners whether corporate or individuals. It is only through such steps that the identification of E-marketplace weaknesses can be identified and dealt with before getting out of hand. The results and findings can be presented to the specific companies in assisting them in improving their marketing strategies in particular while improving business information technology in general. It is therefore important to all firms to recruit the best professional minds in the Information technology sector to design the best quality websites that can deliver in the competitive market. In essence, it is better to sacrifice the business resources in a good website that will ultimately deliver than limit them on a shoddy job that will cost the company its success. Screen shots Popular Searches Agricultural & By-product Agents Agricultural Growing Media Plant Extract Animal Extract View all categories Sweaters Ladies Blouses & Tops Sock Knitting Machinery Parts Hoodies & Sweatshirts View all categories Car Care Products Steering System Tricycles Motorcycles View all categories Guard and Emergency Service Auction Repairs & Maintenance Security Services View all categories Other Inorganic Chemicals Flavour & Fragrance Chemical Product Machinery Elementary Substance View all categories Hard Drives Routers Printers Modems View all categories Bitumen Alarm Construction Materials Processing Elevators & Elevator Parts View all categories Power Distribution Equipment Relays Electrical Plugs & Sockets Transformers View all categories Electronics Projects Electronics Stocks Electronics Agents Electronics Production Machinery View all categories Coal Biodiesel Energy Projects Coal Gas View all categories Environment Product Agents Waste Management Water 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Other Security & Protection Products Security Services View all categories Funeral Supplies Cargo & Storage Equipment Commercial Laundry Equipment Wedding Supplies View all categories Shoes Stock Other Shoes Clogs Slippers View all categories Souvenirs Fishing Other Sports & Entertainment Products Camping View all categories Broadcasting Equipment & Services Antennas Telephones & Accessories View all categories Textile Machinery Parts Textile Agents Leather Product Bleaching Machinery View all categories Necklaces Quartz Analog Watches Desk & Table Clocks Jewelry Findings & Components View all categories Tool Processing Services Tool Parts Used Tools Tool Design Services View all categories Wind Up Toys Noise Maker Plastic Toys Toy Parts View all categories Transportation Projects Aviation Parts Container Jetski View all categories Other Beauty & Personal Care Products Skin Care Tool Fragrance & Deodorant View all categories Other Consumer Electronics Car Reversing Aid Mobile Phones Consumer Electronics Agents View all categories View all categories Home Textile Product Machinery Parts Metallurgy Machinery Parts Aquaculture Machine Aerators Energy Saving Equipment View all categories Others View all categories General Mechanical Components Stock Moulds Pneumatic Parts Gaskets Seals Cylinders General Mechanical Components Agents Hydraulic Parts Flanges General Mechanical Components Design Services Other Mechanical Parts Shafts Valves Pumps Ball Screws Used General Mechanical Components Linear Guides Pipe Fittings Valve Parts Bearing Accessories Custom Fabrication Services Power Transmission Parts Bearings View all categories View all categories View all categories Screen shots from www.blazelead.com http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Shopbop/pcs/media/images/lnf3/myLinks/right_arrow_v1_m56577569831840148.jpg http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Shopbop/pcs/media/images/lnf3/myLinks/down_arrow_v1_m56577569831840147.jpg 1136603633 6 Login 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Morup, A., Petersen, N. and Bjorn Andersen. Towards a framework for evaluation of commercial web sites, Electronic Commerce: The End of the Beginning. Proc. Of International Bled Electronic Commerce Conference, Bled, Slovenia, pp. 69-86, 2000 Jennifer, Rowley. Understanding digital content marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 24, No. 5. pp. 517-540, 2008. Minsung, Li. Studying Business Models for E-Commerce from a MarketPerspective. Journal of Technology and Business.151-165, 2007 Rania Nemat Taking a look at different types of e-commerce World Applied Programming, Vol (1), No (2), June 2011. 100-104 ISSN: 2222-2510 retrieved fromwww.waprogramming.com(2011) Singh, Surendra and Dalal, Nikunj, ‘Web home pages as advertisements’, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 1999 42(8), pp. 91-98. Zhang, Ping, and von Dran, Gisela, ‘Satisfiers and dissatisfies: A two-factor model for website design and evaluation’, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 51(14), pp. 1253-1268, 2000 http://www.shopbop.com/ http://www.blazelead.com/ Read More