NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES WITH E-COMMERCE Abstract The advent of e-commerce as a major business model has become quite important in the light of some of the advantages of World Wide Web in expanding market access. The use of the Internet has made accessibility for consumers easier. In addition to this, there is also the added value of lower transaction cost and capitalization in setting up an online business (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001). This model, however, has changed certain roles of the firm and has expanded the strategies that they must employ in order to remain competitive. Issues in E-commerce One of the first observable changes in pattern is the change in the kind of information that businesses have started to give importance to. E-Business has made it necessary that businesses start to compile important customer information that is not previously available.
This includes patterns of product interest through patterns of click-throughs. Businesses have become more psychological in analysis as e-commerce have started to proliferate analysis of scenario that would enable consumers finish their purchase process online and discovering at the same time why customers do not finish checking out their carts online (Goff, 2005) E-Commerce has also made businesses increasingly sensitive to market segmentation and competition (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001). The real-time generation of market segments in online access has enabled businesses to strategize more effectively in terms of branding techniques that could effectively entice specific market segments. The stiffer competition makes effective information handling as a major force in this new business model. In effect, the E-Commerce models have expanded the perspective of businesses. The access to a variety of information has enabled businesses to actually focus more on the changing customer demands.
The psyches of the consumers have become more and more accessible through E-Business models making competition stiffer and more strategic. Competitiveness of Businesses Extreme competitiveness in the business world is a raw reality. Being able to keep up with the rigors of the industry and with the continuous pressure for improved performance determines an enterprises survival today and in the future. Keeping up with the demand is not for the faint-hearted corporate leader. There is nothing that may be considered as static in this field.
New knowledge and technologies that may possibly catapult a company to success, relieve it of its present disarray, give it a head start in its operation, or just simply improve its productivity and output, must be welcomed by the ever adaptable manager. Changes, however, comes with a price tag. ERP Today The last two trends pertain to information sharing. ERP today does not only connect departments with only the heads having access, but the technology now allows for a broader range of users that include multi-enterprise users, self-service users and mobile users. The last one is the integration of ERP with the Internet. The trend was brought about by the trend in later part of the 1990 s, where there was a swing from client / server application to Internet-based ones.
ERP, thus, becomes more convenient and more powerful because it can effortlessly and simply be accessed anytime and anywhere. (IT Motor for Business Success). There came a point in Erp's history that it has been regarded as obsolete. There was the strong option for companies to just implement internal programming instead of buying from ERP vendors. The technology faced tough critics and even tougher client complaints. But through time, it endured because it is continuously revolutionizing to address the calls of the times. Although ERP is far from being perfect ERP manufacturers are also far from being idle as they unceasingly strive to introduce new innovations and ideas into the market to make ERP as an indispensable part of corporation IT and an investment worth every penny spent.
The area of application for ERP systems today is now going beyond the traditional user groups of managers. In fact experts are saying that ERP providers are now geared up for new horizons because of the new requirements from e-business and the growing competitiveness (IT Motor for Business Success). New Forms of Customer Relations The advent of modern technologies has developed including new form of business to customer relations in the name of e-commerce. E-commerce has expanded not just the reach of the business sector but also that of the consumers because it has given the latter easy access to information that they need to make intelligent purchases. A good example of a company that has taken the challenge of e-commerce is WebMD, the leading provider of health information and services to consumers and healthcare professionals (WebMD 2005). WebMD (2005) claims that its consumers portal makes consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information.
This portal provides various information that take the form of news and feature articles as well as decision-support services. (WebMD 2005). It is obvious that e-commerce has, in many ways, empowered consumers as it has given them access to real-time information that are valuable for their own decision-making. Valuable pieces of information are available to them at their own convenience because the WebMD has provided consumers access to information 24 hours a day. The website of WebMD has given consumers the benefit of making an informed decision as to the management of their health and lifestyle because various information on healthcare and wellness are being provided by the site. In the presence of vast information, a customer could intelligently weigh in the benefits and disadvantages of certain products before plunging in to purchase them.
For instance, through the use of WebMD, a customer can, prior to undergoing a certain medical treatment or procedure, have a prior knowledge as to what and how that medical treatment / procedure would affect them. (WebMD 2005). Generally, the Internet has provided a new mechanism by which the relationship of customers to a certain industry or enterprise becomes more intimate. According to Quinn, the internet, being able to provide a combination of mass and interpersonal communication, has enabled companies to have intimate, personal relationship with their clients or customers (Joines, Schererm Scheufele, 2003, pp. 91 - 92). Customers are provided with the sense of intimacy by means of personal, real-time electronic communication.
Indeed, e-commerce has provided both the customers and the enterprises a vehicle to reach out to each other. REFERENCES Goff, C. (2005, September 1). NMA explains online retail: Web Analytics. New Media Age, 1. IT Motor for Business Success. (August 4, 2004). Retrieved September 1, 2007 at web Joines, J.
L. , Scherer, C. W. and Scheufele, D. A. (2003). Exploring Motivations for Consumer Web Use and Their Implications for E-Commerce. The Journal of Consumer Marketing 20 (2 / 3): 90 - 108.
Rayport, J. F. and B. J.
Jaworski. (2001). Introduction to E-Commerce. CA, United States: McGraw-Hill College. WebMD. (2005). WebMD Health Consumer Portals. Retrieved September 1, 2007 at web
Free research essays on topics related to: access to information, market segments, business success, medical treatment, e commerce
Research essay sample on Access To Information E Commerce
