Describe the functions of E-Commerce.

Describe the functions of E-Commerce.

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or e-Commerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. Electronic commerce means doing business online, such as when a consumer buys a product over the web instead of going to a store to buy it. E-Commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C.  According to Barron's Finance & Investment Dictionary: Buying and selling on the Internet. Also called e-commerce, it has three subcategories: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C).

This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet.

Online Shopping

Online shopping means buying a product or service through a Web site. In this time it will not be necessary for the customers to go in shop to buy any products. At the same time, consumer can browse in any popular web site as like amazon.com or buy.com and Then he will choice the products what he does want to buy. The consumer can purchase the products through his online account. But the effective online shopping sites share a few essential features:

A catalog where you can search for information about products and services.

A checkout section where you can securely pay for the items you want to purchase.

A customer service page, where you can contract the merchant of assistance.

Using Online Catalog

Online shopping would be very difficult if merchants did not provide easy to use catalogs on their Web Sites. In the early many retailers struggled to come up with catalogs that were user friendly for customers and easy to manage. Many E-Commerce Web sites are set up like directories. These catalogs lump products or services into categories and subcategories. If anyone wants to buy any products then he may find it tool search by entering the desired things. Then the details information of that product will show it to online shopping site.

Paying for Purchase

Consumer can pay cash by two systems. Those are One Time Credit Card Purchase where the consumer can give the personal and credit card information to the seller when the consumer makes a purchase for each time. Other one is Set up Online Account where a special account can be created by the particular vendor Web-Site for consumers. The Vendor Web Site stores the accounts and the passwords of the consumer on a secure server and then it send to the disk of consumer. Then this web site will give the account number and passwords to the consumer. Then the consumer can access there when he needs buy anything from that Vendor Web-Site through the account id and password.

Customer Service

Before buying anything from the vendor web site the consumer must check out the customer service of that vendor web site. The main customer services of a vendor web site are:

Contract Information: It is essential to inform about the telephone number and the regular mail of the consumer representative. If online shopping does not display any contract information then the experts suggest to purchase anything elsewhere  

Return Policies:  When the consumer would like to return it to vendor then the consumer will be responsible for packing and shipping it. It may be essential for the consumer to get an authorization number to return correctly.

Shipping Policy: Shipping charges will be charged by the vendor web site from consumer. Before purchasing anything from vendor site, it is mandatory to ensure a reasonable shipping fee.

Charges and Fees: Some online vendors charge processing charges and hidden charges what may not be described when the consumer purchases something. It must be ensured by the consumer before buying any products.

Online Banking and Finance

Usually E-commerce is not only for the customers and vendor web site for purchasing products. It is also effective for investing, borrowing money, buying insurance, applying for credit card or doing some other task involving personal finance too.

Online Banking 

Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank, credit union or building society

Online banking solutions have many features and capabilities in common, but traditionally also have some that are application specific.

The common features fall broadly into several categories

Transactional (e.g., performing a financial transaction such as an account to account transfer, paying a bill, wire transfer, apply for a loan, new account, etc.)

Payments to third parties, including bill payments and telegraphic/wire transfers

Funds transfers between a customer's own transactional account and savings accounts

Investment purchase or sale

Loan applications and transactions, such as repayments of enrollments

Non-transactional (e.g., online statements, cheque links, cobrowsing, chat)

Viewing recent transactions

Downloading bank statements, for example in PDF format

Viewing images of paid cheques

Financial Institution Administration

Management of multiple users having varying levels of authority

Transaction approval process

Online Finance

The term online finance refers to any kind of personal financial transaction anyone can conduct online, other than managing his bank account. These activities includes: Investing, Applying for loans, Applying for credit cards, Buying insurance, Preparaing tax returns and paying taxes, Doing financial research or seeking financial advice.

Business to Business Transaction

Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G). The volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving sub components or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction. B2B is also used in the context of communication and collaboration. Many businesses are now using social media to connect with their consumers (B2C); however, they are now using similar tools within the business so employees can connect with one another. When communication is taking place amongst employees, this can be referred to as "B2B" communication.

Intranets and Extranets

An "intranet" is the generic term for a collection of private computer networks within an organization. An "extranet" is a computer network that allows controlled access from the outside for specific business or educational purposes. Intranets and extranets are communication tools designed to enable easy information sharing within workgroups. Intranets and Extranets provide excellent securities against unauthorized access.

Telecommuters

Telecommuters spend at least part of their workday at home or a telecottage, using computers or other telecommunicationsequipment. Most telecommuters live on the fringe of large cities and in the suburbs and exurbs, in what is known as the "two-hour telecommuting ring". Nowadays, they are being used by almost every office and organization. They are especially useful because they help one to work and do office stuff whilst sitting at home or any far away distance.

Securities

Security is an important aspect of e-commerce and enhanced security measures have contributed to the explosion of e-commerce transactions in recent years. Security can be determined in two ways. They are

Check the URL. If the pages URL begins with https://, the page is secure. The letters indicates security measures.

Check the browsers status bar. It will open a secure Web page.

Conclusion

To conclude, it can be said it that E-Commerce has become an essential part for all us. It makes trade, commerce and purchase easier for all of us.