e-Commerce

Unit 2

Unit 2

Evolution of e-Commerce

Structure: 2.1 Introduction Learning objectives 2.2 History of Electronic Commerce Worldwide e-commerce growth Early business information interchange efforts Emergence of the Internet Emergence of the World Wide Web 2.3 Advantages and Disadvantage of e-Commerce Advantages Disadvantages 2.4 Roadmap of e-Commerce in India Indian readiness for e-commerce The internet and India e-Commerce opportunities for industries e-Transition challenges for Indian organisations 2.5 Summary 2.6 Glossary 2.7 Terminal Questions 2.8 Answers 2.9 Case-Let

2.1 Introduction
By now you must be familiar with the concept of e-commerce. In the previous unit, you have studied how e-commerce acts as a cutting edge in this modern competitive world. You have also studied the framework in which e-commerce operates and the role of media convergence in electronic commerce. In this unit, you will know the history of e-commerce and how it has evolved. You will also learn about the internet emergence of the internet and the World Wide Web. This unit sketches the roadmap of e-commerce in India and Indian readiness for e-commerce. It will also discuss the e-commerce opportunities for industries and e-transition challenges for Indian organisations.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 20

e-Commerce

Unit 2

Learning objectives After studying this unit, you should be able to: Outline the history of e-commerce. Analyse the worldwide growth of e-commerce. List the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce. Explain the roadmap of e-commerce in India. Discuss the opportunities for e-commerce in Indian industries. Discuss the challenges faced by Indian organisations in e-transactions.

2.2 History of Electronic Commerce

You must have realised the fact that the importance of electronic commerce has changed to greater extent over a decade or so. Initially, electronic commerce was a process of performing business-related transactions electronically via technology, which included Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Both these technologies helped companies to send commercial documents like buying orders or bills using an electronic medium and were launched in 1970s. In 1980s, there was development and approval of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking. The airline reservation system was another important form of e-commerce which emerged mainly in the USA, the UK, and in India. Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP), data warehousing and data mining came into existence in the 1990s. Boston Computer Exchange is an open market for second-hand computers established in 1982 and is the best example of e-commerce in physical merchandise. American Information Exchange was an online information market and a consulting firm launched in 1991. Tim Berners-Lee came up with World Wide Web, a web browser and altered an academic telecommunication network into a global communication system termed as internet/www in 1990. It took a long time for the first internet online shopping to start the security procedures even though the Internet became popular. Shortly, the World Wide Web was recognised and companies all over the world started offering their business transactions using World Wide Web. As a result, people started relating "e-commerce"
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 21

e-Commerce

Unit 2

with the ability of buying goods through Internet via secure procedures and electronic payment systems. Electronic data interchange The progress of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is an essential phase as far as the history of e-commerce is concerned. EDI provided with a set of instructions which allowed the famous business firms to perform a valuable electronic transaction. It also assisted in exchange of critical businessrelated information. The growth of Mosaic web browser, termed Netscape, was the second crucial phase in the history of e-commerce. Additionally, this expanded the scope and opportunity for electronic commercial transactions. There was a change in the description of e-commerce, however, the year of the dot-com ended and many internet companies collapsed. In spite of the epic fall down, most of the reputable traditional businesses were encouraged with the growth of e-commerce and also the vision of helping a worldwide customer base electronically. 2.2.1 Worldwide e-commerce growth By now, you must be familiar with the history of e-commerce. Now, let us discuss about the growth of e-commerce globally. e-commerce acts as a foundation for online users and excellent growth figures tell us a success story. The annual progress in worldwide e-commerce is almost more than 40% per annum. You can find some encouraging signs for further growth of e-commerce globally and they include: Many financial services are being carried out through internet for the last few years. Banking, trading, and online financial services have assisted in development of online commerce. Balanced investments have made the internet a safe place for transactions. Secured servers and encoding technology have also made online transactions secure than they were five years before. In addition to that, an increase in the availability of broadband and city-level Wi-Fi networks has made internet access easy to the users. There is also a necessity for small businesses to go online and then make e-commerce a significant feature of their business activities.
Page No. 22

Sikkim Manipal University

e-Commerce

Unit 2

This proves that the future e-commerce market is no longer costprohibitive. According to the survey done by Small Business Research Board in September 2007, e-commerce study confirmed that around 30% of online sales of small businesses would rise appreciably in the next one to two years.

Americans are considered to be the pioneers in e-commerce race as they do online booking travel, complete their financial transactions, and purchase online. Next in the e-commerce race are the Europeans and most of Asians who are trying hard to grow in the field of e-commerce. Most of the e-commerce companies believe that a firm and ever-growing overseas presence is a must. Retailers now consider online sales as their best opening for new development. In spite of the present economic recession, the online retail sales in the United States have improved a lot with many product categories looking for more than 40 percent growth. Online sales in the US increased up to 52 percent in 2002 which was due to growth in new product categories and retailer control over digital marketing, web analytics and multi-channel marketing. The constant online shopping growth is highlighted by numerous product categories. U.S. online sales reached 4.5 percent of total retail sales in 2003, increasing from 3.6 percent in 2002. It is also evident that 40 percent of online customers are completely fresh to a retailer's business. Ongoing e-commerce growth was boosted by the development of the Internet access in Europe. According to some recent investigations most of the people in greater Europe got access to the Internet by 2004. By the end of 2002, the number of people using the internet in Europe reached 184 million, because of the gradual development of the Internet. Activity 1: List some of the technologies that you are familiar with through which business-related transactions in e-commerce are performed. Hint: Electronic Data Interchange Self Assessment Questions 1. Expand EDI and EFT. 2. The growth of the Mosaic web browser, termed as ____________ was the second crucial phase in the history of e-commerce.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 23

e-Commerce

Unit 2

3. _________ is definitely a favourite past time and an effective time-saver. 4. _________ and _________ have also made online transaction secure than they were five years before. 2.2.2 Early business information interchange efforts The evolution of large business firms in the early 1900s resulted in creation of official records of business dealings. Later, companies started using computers to save and process internal transaction records. But still the information flows between companies continued to be in a printed format; buying orders, bill, checks, payment advices, and some standard forms were used to record transactions. The method of using a person or a computer to create a paper form, mailing that form, and then asking some other person to enter the data into the trade partners computer was very slow, incompetent, costly, unnecessary, and changeable. Later, companies with large dealings started interchanging transaction details on punched cards or magnetic tape. Progress in data communications skill during the 1960s and 1970s permitted business partners to transmit data over telephone lines as an alternative for punched cards or magnetic tapes. Even though these information transfer agreements between business partners improved the effectiveness and removed errors, they were not a perfect solution. Many cargo and shipping companies combined together and established a Transportation Data Coordinating Committee (TDCC), which helped in finding out ways to lessen the paperwork issues that shippers and carriers faced. The TDCC formed a set of standardised information which included all the data essentials that shippers usually have on cargo bills, shipping manifests, and other paper forms. As a result, shippers were able to transfer information about delivery into a computer file that matched with the TDCC standard format. The shippers were also able to electronically send out that computer file to any cargo company that implemented the TDCC standard format. The cargo company converted the TDCC format into data that could be used in its own information methods. Even though these early industry-specific data interchange efforts were very useful, their advantages were limited the industries that formed standardsetting groups. Additionally, businesses that are in a particular industry buy products from businesses that are in other industries. For example, a
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 24

e-Commerce

Unit 2

machinery company purchases resources from paint distributors, steel mills, electrical assembly contractors, and container manufacturers. Moreover, every business has to purchase office materials and the services of cargo and transportation companies. Hence it was not possible to transfer the data as these different industries were not part of the standard setting groups. 2.2.3 Emergence of the internet In the previous section, we discussed about the business information interchange efforts in the early days. Let us now discuss about the emergence of the internet. The Internet is a structure of interlinked computer networks that adopts standard Internet Protocol Suite (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) to assist users globally. It is also defined as a network of networks which includes various public, private, academic, trade, and government networks, starting from local to global scale. These networks are related by a broad range of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet and the appearance of the Internet news media have had an impact on the delivery of media content. According to some people, the traditional media is trying to emulate the Internet and making some changes in the way they report the news. You must be aware of the fact that the internet came into existence nearly 25 years ago as a project of the US Defence Department. The methodology adopted to carry out a business has changed today, because of the evolution of the Internet technology. Internet has played a crucial role in changing the world into a practical market which facilitates the customer to sit in front of his computer and order and purchase things of his choice. As a result, the customer has access to the entire world from his workstation itself. 2.2.4 Emergence of the World Wide Web Though the internet brought with itself a bundle of previously unknown advantages, it suffered some drawbacks. This is because of it being difficult to learn and tough to use, as compared to the interfaces of bulletin board systems, online services, and other software that people use. This resulted in the emergence of the World Wide Web. The web acts as a Graphical User Interface to the internet and it also stands matchless to any other online services with respect to its aesthetic nature and flexibility. Hence, the development of web compatible applications as
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 25

e-Commerce

Unit 2

websites is in great demand. At present, everyone from the local hotels or restaurants to TV news channels are displaying a Web address. The World Wide Web is defined as a system of interlinked hypertext documents that is accessible through the internet. It is abbreviated as WWW and commonly termed as the Web. The World Wide Web is an overall compilation of information that is in the form of documents hosted on networked computers and made accessible to the users. The information contains text files, pictures, videos, sound files, and so on. The documents with the information are sent to the users over a global computer network referred to as the internet. The World Wide Web is the best example of a decentralised system that demonstrates evolving properties. There is no presence of any essential organisation measuring the total number of links. However, the number of links directing to every page follows a power law wherein some pages are linked to many times and some pages are not often linked to. One of the properties of the network of links in the World Wide Web is that any pair of pages is linked to each other with the help of comparatively short chain of links. This is something that was impossible in an unregulated network. Activity 2: Read the link given below, it will give you a brief idea about the role of internet in e-commerce field.
Hint: http://www.usc.edu/dept/ATRIUM/Papers/Electronic_Commerce.html

Self Assessment Questions 5. Expand TDCC. 6. The _______ is a structure of interlinked computer networks that adopts a standard Internet Protocol Suite. 7. The web acts as a ________ to the internet and it also stands matchless to any other online services. 8. The _________ is the best example of a decentralised system that demonstrates evolving properties.

2.3 Advantages and Disadvantage of e-Commerce

We have learnt about the tremendous advantages brought in by the emergence of e-commerce. However, like any other business concept, it
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 26

e-Commerce

Unit 2

has its own disadvantages too. Let us now look at the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce. 2.3.1 Advantages With the Internet acting as an emerging technology, e-commerce is the most important aspect that has gained more prominence in the recent times. Electronic commerce involves execution of business via the Internet with the help of computers that are connected to each other as a network. In simple words, e-commerce is a process of purchasing and selling of products and services and funds transfer via digital interactions. The advantages of e-commerce include: e-Commerce helps people to run their businesses without any hurdles of time, distance, or place. The users can access the internet at any time, be it day or night to carry out online shopping. The cost-of-sale for online shopping done through a web site is less as compared to the shopping done via traditional means (retail, paper based). This is because there is no face-to-face human interaction during the on-line electronic purchase process. Also, online shopping is a faster and convenient mode of shopping. e-Commerce is the cheapest means of performing business. Operational advantages of e-commerce consist of reducing both the time and employees necessary for all the business procedures. e-Commerce is especially ideal for niche products. Customers for such products are usually few, but in the vast market place, that is the Internet, even niche products could generate considerable volume of sales. o e-Commerce increases the sales income to the business. o It helps in easy tracking of the customers segments. Immediate worldwide sales existence in quick time. o It facilitates in opening the shop in any part of the world, independent of geographical locations. o It also aids in reducing customer support expenses through e-mail marketing and customary or traditional newssheet. o It also facilitates the customers to easily purchase their products via various payment accesses. o It helps in developing more shopping carts.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 27

e-Commerce

Unit 2

e-Commerce provides a lot of physical benefits from the customers viewpoint by: o Reducing customers sorting out time o Making better customer decisions o Spending less time in resolving bills, demands, and order differences o Increasing opportunities for purchasing substitute products.

2.3.2 Disadvantages In the previous section, we discussed about some advantages of ecommerce. Let us now discuss about disadvantages of e-commerce. In e-commerce, anybody can easily start the business, irrespective of the fact if it is good or bad. Also, there are many bad sites wherein customers money is wasted. e-Commerce cannot provide guarantee of product quality. Mechanical breakdowns can cause unchangeable outcomes on the total processes. Customer reliability is very crucial here, because there is less chance of direct customer to company interactions in e-commerce. e-Commerce sites, services, and payment accesses are always in danger as there are many hackers looking for opportunities to get the access. Some customers are uncertain of buying products online. For example, online furniture businesses have been a failure as the customers would like to find the comfort level of a costly item such as a sofa before buying it. Some people consider shopping as a social experience. For example, some people prefer to go to a shopping mall with family and friends and purchase products rather than online shopping hence they may not like to buy online. Things like food, jewellery, antique items and so on. can never be sold with e-commerce technologies as it is impossible to check them from remove locations. Many organisations face problems with hiring and maintaining employees with the designing, technological, and business process skills necessary to create a successful e-commerce presence. It is impossible to totally remove frauds in the e-commerce transactions.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 28

e-Commerce

Unit 2

Cyber laws are not correctly followed strictly, and the existing ones are not clearly defined in e-commerce. The most important disadvantage of e-commerce is shipping, as it takes several days to deliver physical products all over the world. Shipping Costs More: The more the weight of the product, the more will be the cost for shipping it. Doubts and Fears: Some people are unaware of the awesomeness of online shopping. They are also afraid of online shopping, as they have many doubts in their mind like if the store is dependable or if the product they buy is of good quality. Inability to feel the physical: There is no opportunity provided in online shopping to touch or feel the product. Hence, customers feel that purchasing products like apparels or furniture online can be sometimes risky.

Self Assessment Questions 9. The cost-of-sale for online shopping done through a web site is less as compared to the shopping done via traditional means. (True/false)? 10. ________ advantages of e-commerce consist of reducing both the time and employees necessary for all the business procedures. 11. _________ is very crucial because there is less chance of direct customer to company interactions in e-commerce.

2.4 Roadmap of e-Commerce in India

The growth of e-commerce in India has been remarkable because of the low cost of the personal computer and increasing internet usage in the recent years. A survey was done by Indian e-commerce Report and released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)1 and IMRB International. According to that survey, it is evident that the overall online dealings in India in the year 2006-2007 was Rs. 7080 crores and expected to increase by 30% and reach 9210 crores by the year 2007-2008. It is also evident based on the report of McKinsey-Nasscom that the e-commerce dealings in India are estimated to reach $100 billion by 2008. While, comparing with other western countries, India is still in is its preliminary stages of growth.

http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/Ecommerce.asp

Sikkim Manipal University

Page No. 29

e-Commerce

Unit 2

Scope of e-commerce In India, the usage of internet has raised up to 19% starting from April 2006 to April 2007. By April 2007, Internet users number went up to 30.32 million. Also the e-marketer believed that by the end of 2011 there will be around 71 million total Internet users in India. India is developing remarkably in the field of e-commerce. In Rival tradeindia.com, there are around 700,000 registered customers. There is a growth rate of around 35% annually. Indiamart.com is a famous website which maintains the income of Rs. 38 crores, and it has an increasing rate of 50 annually. It also obtains around 500,000 enquiries every month. With the ever increasing population of the upper middle class, e-commerce is bound to have further growth in the future. The ways to attract Indian Online customers The Indian online customers can be attracted by: Providing value for the customers that goods must possess along with quality. Promising security. Selling branded products. Establishing faith and then gaining confidence. Providing easy guidance. Providing clear and precise information about delivery time. Delivering at the scheduled time. Giving discount proposal and other gift items. Asking for limited personal data. Providing value added services at lower cost. Providing full details about the product in simple words. Offering some innovative products. Presenting social shopping experience. Providing cost comparison. Providing clear information regarding the products. 2.4.1 Indian readiness for e-commerce By now you must be familiar with the development of e-commerce in India. Now, let us have a look at the Indian readiness for e-commerce. We shall deal with different issues related to e-commerce readiness. You can view

Sikkim Manipal University

Page No. 30

e-Commerce

Unit 2

the table 2.1 which shows the growth of e-commerce industry in India according to market speculations and research units:
Table 2.1: Table of e-Commerce Growth in India Market Size for the Year Online Travel Industry Online Non-Travel Industry e-tailing Online Classifieds Paid Content Subscription Digital Downloads Total B2C/C2C ecommerce Market 2006-07 (Figures in Rs. Crores) 5,500 1,580 850 540 20 170 7,080 2007-08 (Figures in Rs. Crores) 7,000 2,210 1,105 820 30 266 9,210

While it is agreed that the usage of internet is growing at a tremendous rate in India, the e-commerce has touched only a few sections. The main reasons for this, according to a recent panel discussion can be summarised as follows: For example: Every airline has a presence online. The convenience of buying tickets online is very high. This happens because it provides value. In contrast this may not be true for category apparel. The look and feel of the product is very important, and hence people prefer to buy them from a store rather than online. The next challenge that India is facing is to find a suitable web development company to build applications. Most of the companies in this space have been bought over by MNCs. And some have just made cyber coolies of independent entrepreneurs. Most online payments need to be made through credit cards. Indians, by nature, are not very comfortable with the idea of credit. Another perception that exists with most customers in India is that it is unsafe to transact with the credit card. India has limited English speaking population which is a big constraint, as to carry out online transactions, one should be able to read and write English.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 31

e-Commerce

Unit 2

PC costs and broadband costs are still high. Though comparatively the costs have come down, PCs and broadband are still unaffordable for a big percentage of the population. Hence, it can be concluded that though India has witnessed tremendous changes in the last decade with respect to usage of the Internet, people are not yet ready to plunge into e-commerce. They still prefer to do their shopping in the traditional ways. Activity 3: Given below is the link of Indias one of the top 10 e-commerce companies. Visit the link and list the products and services offered by them. Hint: http://www.asasystel.com/ Self Assessment Questions 12. Expand IAMAI. 13. _______ and ________ act as a backbone of such business systems. 14. e-Commerce ________ for an organisation is both technological as well as a cultural issue. 2.4.2 The internet and India According to market trends and research analysts reports, it has been too optimistic to project about the development of Internet customer base and broadband penetration in India for the last few years. Initially, both internet and broadband access levels were low, but later raised considerably from 0.1% in 1998 to 4.5% in 2005 in India. Internet subscriptions increased to 8.5 million by the end of year 2006. Broadband services are becoming increasingly popular and available, with many multinational companies launching internet services. The usage of internet globally is increased because of the low cost of broadband services. Internet growth in India has been influenced a lot with increasing popularity of internet cafes. Subscriber growth is motivated because of the heavy usage of relatively inexpensive internet cafes. The factors that are responsible for increase in online customers are growth of e-commerce and a great demand for .in domain registrations. The ".in" domain registrations have already exceeded 150,000.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 32

e-Commerce

Unit 2

As the Indian government is looking forward to support e-commerce growth, all operators are planning to invest in their broadband business. Many Indian states are aiming at reaching about 30 million broadband subscribers in India by the end of 2011. e-Commerce also helps in driving the growth of internet usage in India. This is done with increasing number of credit cards, high-quality online shopping places, online ticketing options, and also online banking. 2.4.3 e-Commerce opportunities for industries e-Commerce provides opportunities in different fields which include ebusiness, e-learning, e-commerce education integration, e-insurance, ecommerce for developing countries, and future media of e-commerce. Ultimately, many companies and communities in India have started taking the benefit of the potential of e-commerce. According to Elizabeth Goldsmith and others (2000)2, e-commerce is categorised into two parts: e-Merchandise. e-Finance. e -commerce

e-merchandise

E-finance

Figure 2.1: Parts of e-Commerce

e-Merchandise: e-Merchandise is the process of selling products electronically and moving the products via distribution channels. For example, through Internet shopping for groceries, music, clothes, tickets, accessories, hardware, books, travel, flowers or gifts. e-Finance: e-Finance is a process of carrying out financial activities via electronic communication and computation. This includes online

http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC822/fc822.html

Sikkim Manipal University

Page No. 33

e-Commerce

Unit 2

banking, smart cards, debit cards, credit cards, banking machines, telephone and Internet banking, insurance, financial services and mortgages on-line. Open and distance learning The demand for open and distance education has increased as education and continuous learning play a vital role in the Indian society. Besides the significance of lifelong learning, distance education and e-learning have started earning popularity because of their ease, convenience, and flexibility. e-Commerce and e-insurance While e-commerce mainly focuses on business to customer (B2C) applications, the importance is now changing to business to business (B2B) applications. In such a case, the insurance sector suggests a suitable model that is a mixture of both B2C and B2B applications. e-Insurance process is safer as compared to traditional insurance process. This is because in an e-insurance process, the policy details are stored digitally or electronically, and the transactions are performed over safe channels. These channels offer some extra market access that is missing in traditional channels. They also assist in earning more income as compared to traditional insurance processes. 2.4.4 e-Transition challenges for Indian organisations At present, the questions related to Indian economy and their challenges are: What are the challenges that the Indian economy is facing currently and the examples of it in context of several organisations? How can the organisations overcome these challenges? The methods adopted by various organisations and corporate sectors in India are changing because of the emergence of the Internet. In Indian corporate sectors, the managers are facing several issues as the senior business executives expect implementation of IT-related technologies. It is necessary to understand: The type of trends that are influencing the e-commerce marketplace The methods that an organisation adopts to use e-commerce to get better business results.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 34

e-Commerce

Unit 2

Adjusting and assessing the existing IT investments and competencies with suitable and proper operations is very crucial. This assists the Indian corporate sectors to accomplish the e-commerce goals more effectively. Given below are the challenges faced by the Indian Corporates in the field of e-commerce: Enterprises more often struggle with cross-domain and cross-enterprise administration procedures for business processes and end-to-end service levels. The change to Internet Protocol and a worldwide infrastructure provides a platform for the interruption of traditional services markets, as new sellers with different value proposals, benefit models and designed control assets forcefully hold the marketplace. There is a requirement for the entire management of company intranet and multi-enterprise business procedures to form a new model for customer technical service and support. This new model necessitates the skill to capture, examine and then act upon environmental data starting from platform construction to business-process performance, inside and across the company. Back-end systems also are likely to play a big role, companies need to gear up for this. Enterprises also come up with the continual challenge of managing quick growth and staying in touch with latest technologies. Activity 4: Visit any Indian organisation and collect information on the e-transition challenges faced by them. Hint: Enterprises more often struggle with cross-domain and crossenterprise administration procedures. Self Assessment Questions 15. ________ services are becoming increasingly popular and available, with many multinational companies launching services. 16. Name two parts of e-commerce. 17. ________ systems also are likely to play a big role because many companies manage e-commerce systems.

Sikkim Manipal University

Page No. 35

e-Commerce

Unit 2

2.4 Summary
At first, e-commerce was a process of conducting business-related transactions electronically, via technology which included Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). History of e-commerce provides you the details of how the e-commerce is adopted as the most accepted online method of economic exchange. Electronic Commerce also deals with the online transaction of goods. e-commerce helps the online users in achieving excellent business progress figures. The overall growth of global e-commerce is improving day by day. Internet is proving to be an emerging technology. This is helping e-commerce to gain more prominence in the recent e-commerce scenario. Electronic commerce also includes performing business transactions with the help of Internet and computers that are connected to each other as a network. Hence, e-commerce is referred to as buying and selling of products and services and funds transfer with the help of digital interactions. e-Commerce is mainly about online transactions. e-Commerce offers several benefits to the customers, which include availability of products at reasonable rates, wider option, and also saves time. e-Commerce also includes businesses that are conducted with new and innovative communication instruments.

2.5 Glossary
Term Decentralised Encoding Manifests Merchandise Perception Description Withdrawing from a centre or place of concentration The process of converting data or information into code Evidently noticeable to the sight or understanding A product or service offered for sale A method of conceiving something

2.6 Terminal Questions

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. List some encouraging signs for the growth of e-commerce globally. Explain the advantages of e-commerce. Mention the strategies involved in attracting Indian online customers. Explain the role of internet in India. Explain briefly the challenges faced by the Indian corporates.
Page No. 36

Sikkim Manipal University

e-Commerce

Unit 2

2.7 Answers
Self 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Assessment Questions Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Funds Transfer Netscape Online shopping Secured servers and encoding technology Transportation Data Coordinating Committee Internet Graphical User Interface World Wide Web True Operational Customer reliability Internet and Mobile Association of India Intranet and Extranet Readiness Broadband e-merchandise and e-finance Back-end

Terminal Questions 1. Refer section 2.2.1 Worldwide e-commerce Growth. 2. Refer section 2.3.1 Advantages. 3. Refer section 2.4 Roadmap of e-commerce in India. 4. Refer section 2.4.2 The Internet and India. 5. Refer section 2.4.4 e-Transition Challenges for Indian Organisation.

2.8 Case-Let
Axablues Online Sales Explode Using e-Commerce Best Strategies Axablue has worked closely with ABC, a global pioneer in e-commerce outsourcing, nearly since Axablues initiation to develop its online store and then increase its online sales with the guidance of ABCs widespread services. The outcome has been very remarkable, and in 2009, Axablues online sales raised up to 300 percent.
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 37

e-Commerce

Unit 2

Axablue are the leaders in providing innovative performance and utility or service software planned to deliver better-quality performance, security for PC users at home and small-offices and also business markets. Initially, the company understood the significance of online sales. In January 2008, after having surveyed for appropriate e-commerce providers, Axablue started working with ABC to implement a complete set of services to capitalise on its sales. Currently, ABC is Axablues e-commerce partner of choice. ABC managed Axablues online store. It also provided the e-commerce and emarketing tools that support Axablue to fully recognise its online sales potential. Axablues rapid progress is due to the use of ABCs more advanced online services, and also a complete set of e-marketing tools and services. Result: Axablue has seen an excellent outcome. The total sales volumes has doubled since mid-2008 because of strong Internet sales increase both for existing products and new product launches during 2009. Axablue has implemented many innovative business strategies. As a result, the company continues to test new ABC services that help customers by providing a better service. Questions: 1. What are the services offered by Axablue? Hint: providing innovative performance and utility or service software. 2. How did ABC help Axablue in executing a complete set of services to capitalise on its sales? Hint: e-Commerce and e-marketing tools. The case study is taken from http://corporate.digitalriver.com/store/driv/Corp/sectionName.company/ subSectionName.clients/page.caseStudiesFull8 References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/16168.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence#World_Wide_Web_and_the_ Internet

Sikkim Manipal University

Page No. 38