E-Business

e-Business : Impact and Strategy

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e-Business : Impact and Strategy

Rapid developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT have ushered in the digital era wherein the Internet and the computer system have been applied extensively to bring about far-reaching changes in almost every walk of life and every field of activity . One very glaring manifestation of the ICT revolution has been the prefixing of the ubiquitous `e ' to a wide range of human activities including business . E-business is defined as the

conduct of business transactions and activities using in large part electronic means and typically involving use of the Internet and the world-wide web (Clegg Icasati-Johanson Bennett , 2002 ,

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Impact on Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

Implementation of ICT tools in running any business implies the digitization of value chains and business processes , and utilizing the potential of these tools to create new value through the maximization of operational and financial efficiency . The direct impact of implementation of e-Business on a conventional business organization can be broadly assessed in terms of increased communication and computing facilities that result in time and money savings and marked convenience in operations for all concerned including the firm , the customers suppliers and vendors , value-added resellers and other channel partners The resultant benefits accrue in terms of high responsiveness , high quality of customer service , cost reduction , reduction in cycle times and in opening up of new avenues to the market . But more fundamentally e-business technology also has the potential to radically transform procurement processes , supply chain management , and inter-organizational relationships (Icasati-Johanson Fleck , 2003

Customer Orientation

To derive the maximum benefits from any e-Business initiative complete synergy between technology and processes is very essential . ICT applications and e-Business processes must not only run in tandem , but also take into active consideration the readiness of customers and suppliers so that these three basic elements of e-Business are in sync with each other

As in conventional business , the focus of e-Business is also on the customer . For e-Business to result in improvement in customer service and relationship , the firm has to evaluate customer-related processes in the context of the e-Business framework . It is neither sufficient nor adequate enough to provide the customer online access unless customers are able to communicate their requirements online through a single-point contact . In the absence of a single-point contact , the customer is left in a quandary over the appropriate channel through which to make service or product requests . Once the online customer requirements are received by the firm , ICT applications in place should ensure that response is fact and relevant and there is no lack of co-ordination in the customer support system . It is also very crucial that relevant ICT tools are used to disseminate customer feedback into organizational processes at the earliest possible . Large lag time between feedback and resultant changes takes the edge of the technology advantage of e-Business

Application of ICT tools should have both inward and outward orientation . In addition to enabling seamless information...