Matt
10-03-2008, 20:40
Electronics technologies will continue to be deployed progressively throughout the entire supply chain of all industries over the next ten years. It is definitely expected that e-Business will be come so common that the letter “e” will become redundant and it will be “business as usual” but conducted through a whole new medium.
Far too many small and medium businesses fail to perceive the full important of the electronic business model and make little effort to understand it or adopt it. Indeed, many businesses still confuse e-Business with e-commerce, which is the transactional aspect of e-Business.
E-Commerce refers to the various transactions which occur between the public and businesses.
Though e-commerce opens a world of businesses to customers and a world of customers to business, the model clearly shows that e-Business incorporates both this function and the provision of more significant opportunities for interaction, transaction and profitability in back office and supply chain systems. Many supply chain systems are in fact e-commerce tools e.g. procurement, inventory management, CRM and some ERP systems.
Front-end-Business systems include email, websites – whether it is in-house or outsourced, passive brochures or highly interactive – and marketing strategies geared to promote the website.
Back-end systems include procurement – purchasing – warehousing, production, delivery, administration, accounting systems, inventory systems etc.
The bottom line benefits of e-Business are simply the following:
Business process optimization
Full integration of electronic technologies throughout front and back end business processes will provide significant benefits
.
Improvements to customer responsiveness and service
By allowing customers to track delivery of parcels in real time, the website keeps customers in touch with the location of their goods and when they will arrive. Provision of this sort of information creates greater customer satisfaction and sense of control.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) are now well used by most bank customers, who, although some still express feelings about the lack of personal interaction with bank staff, generally would not want to return to the old system of standing in a queue for personal service. They feel more in control of transaction process and can access their information any time.
Publishing frequently asked questions on a website saves customers time and money waiting on the phone for a response. They also allow the business to concentrate on generating more business rather than dealing with often simple issues.
Automatic email responses provide customers with instant information to their enquiries and help create more sales by answering general queries more quickly and comprehensively.
Websites with interactive features, e.g. chat line, bulletin board, email, e-forms. These facilities will help keep the customer in touch with the real person in the business. Some customer’s response better in this environment and the business owner can ask more direct questions of the customer to help build personal profile information.
Useful information about products, services, prices etc and something free or value adding. This again provides the customer with what they are generally looking for in their first contact with a business and helps to create a successful sale more quickly
Far too many small and medium businesses fail to perceive the full important of the electronic business model and make little effort to understand it or adopt it. Indeed, many businesses still confuse e-Business with e-commerce, which is the transactional aspect of e-Business.
E-Commerce refers to the various transactions which occur between the public and businesses.
Though e-commerce opens a world of businesses to customers and a world of customers to business, the model clearly shows that e-Business incorporates both this function and the provision of more significant opportunities for interaction, transaction and profitability in back office and supply chain systems. Many supply chain systems are in fact e-commerce tools e.g. procurement, inventory management, CRM and some ERP systems.
Front-end-Business systems include email, websites – whether it is in-house or outsourced, passive brochures or highly interactive – and marketing strategies geared to promote the website.
Back-end systems include procurement – purchasing – warehousing, production, delivery, administration, accounting systems, inventory systems etc.
The bottom line benefits of e-Business are simply the following:
Business process optimization
Full integration of electronic technologies throughout front and back end business processes will provide significant benefits
.
Improvements to customer responsiveness and service
By allowing customers to track delivery of parcels in real time, the website keeps customers in touch with the location of their goods and when they will arrive. Provision of this sort of information creates greater customer satisfaction and sense of control.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATM’s) are now well used by most bank customers, who, although some still express feelings about the lack of personal interaction with bank staff, generally would not want to return to the old system of standing in a queue for personal service. They feel more in control of transaction process and can access their information any time.
Publishing frequently asked questions on a website saves customers time and money waiting on the phone for a response. They also allow the business to concentrate on generating more business rather than dealing with often simple issues.
Automatic email responses provide customers with instant information to their enquiries and help create more sales by answering general queries more quickly and comprehensively.
Websites with interactive features, e.g. chat line, bulletin board, email, e-forms. These facilities will help keep the customer in touch with the real person in the business. Some customer’s response better in this environment and the business owner can ask more direct questions of the customer to help build personal profile information.
Useful information about products, services, prices etc and something free or value adding. This again provides the customer with what they are generally looking for in their first contact with a business and helps to create a successful sale more quickly