e-Business solutions

There are some good articles in Integrated Media Marketing's free leaflet, published March 2012.
A digital version can be seen at this link.

Meeting the criteria: A Guide

P1 describe the technologies required for e-commerce 

See the presentation I have supplied for this which lists the main areas you need to write about - remember this means equipment as well as software.

P2 explain the impact of introducing an e-commerce system to an organisation

Your actual assignment was about a small clock company in London called Cuckoo who were thinking about setting up a website to sell items on-line. List the main impact of this potential development, likely to be under some the following headings:

• global marketplace, 
• 24/7 trading,
• relatively low start-up and running costs, 
• competitive edge, 
• search facilities, 
• gathering customer information,
• alternative income sources, 
• pricing opportunities eg differences, fluid pricing: 

P3 explain the potential risks to an organisation of committing to an e-commerce system

List and write about some of the potential problems that might concern the Cuckoo people - remember they're a small, quite old-fashioned business and might be displaying quite a different image on-line.

• consumer trust, 
• lack of human contact, 
• delivery issues,
• international legislation, 
• product description problems, 
• security issues: 

P4 review the regulations governing e-commerce

You need to mention the following and, in particular, the Trading Standards could usefully be explained more. There are good resources on-line, including a clear chart of who needs to satisfy which requirements, depending on their type of business. A brief summary of each or set of regulations and some examples of what Cuckoo (or another business) might get in trouble for would be a good way to cover this.

• Data Protection Act 1998, 
• Computer Misuse Act 1990, 
• Consumer Credit Act 1974, 
• Trading Standards, 
• Freedom of Information Act 2000, 
• copyright legislation, 
• E-commerce Regulations

P5 examine the social implications of e-commerce on society

You'll find lots of debate about this on various websites - just make sure the site you're quoting from is reasonably authoritative! here are some of the aspects you might talk about:

• changing customer perspective eg providing added value, providing service, ease and security; 
• economic and social impact due to speed of changes; bricks and clicks (integrating high street and on-line presence); 
• benefits for customers eg remote shopping, access to goods and services for the housebound, anytime access, internet discounts; 
• drawbacks eg payment security, assessing quality/fit without actual product, reliance on delivery services; impact on employment; social divide: 
• changing customer perspective eg providing added value, providing service, ease and security; economic and social impact due to speed of changes; bricks and clicks (integrating high street and online presence); 

P6 plan an e-commerce strategy.

This is all about how you would go about planning a site for an actual business - the important steps that are required and key actions that could make a difference.

• Promotion: effective use of search engines eg use meta tags, ‘spiders’, paying for prominence in search result listing; newsgroups and forums; banners and pop-ups; spam; site name; direct marketing; ensuring
• an effective user interface; establishing customer loyalty in a virtual environment: 

M1 recommend methods to promote an e-commerce system 

Your coverage of 'promotion' in P6 may well meet this criteria too if you have looked in more depth and provided examples

M2 discuss how security issues in e-commerce can be overcome

In P3 you will have indicated possible risks. Now you should look at these from a more general point of view (not just for Cuckoo) and advise, for a range of risks, what action should be taken to minimise their impact on both the business itself and customers.

M3 design an interface for an e-commerce business.

This is all about creating suitable sample pages for a web site where customers can purchase products, make enquiries, sign up for news etc. You should ensure that both the key features of a web page as well as the important components of an e-commerce site are included in your designs.

It is not necessary to have a 'working' page and it need not be produced using web design software. Naturally to view a sample actual page would be valuable but the important aspect of M3 is your description of / annotations for the design.

Remember that you will need to specify provision for viewing the products, purchasing them, asking questions, clear links to terms and conditions, delivery costs and options, special offers, etc., as well as the usual web page design features (theme, corporate ID, images, file sizes, links, compliance with legislation etc)

D1 evaluate the use of e-commerce in a ‘brick and click’ organisation

This requires study of an actual business. You will be describing the business (generally: product, staff, location, type) and how their on-line presence complements (if it does) their business (profits, customer perception, keeping up or leading competition) and also drawbacks or problems that they have experienced or are concerned about.

The extent to which they comply with regulations should also be examined.

D2 compare different payment systems used by e-commerce systems

For this, you really just need to do what it says on the tin. Choose from a range of payment systems and compare them,. It is essential that your comments are supported by evidence, articles, reviews, actual use etc.

Assignment 1

Task 1

E-commerce Task 1 Notes

E-commerce

Ideas!

There are 5 main factors in E-commerce:

¨  Promotion of the products or services

¨  Getting paid

¨  Delivery

¨  Customer service

¨  Complying with the law

The principal place that a customer will encounter an E-commerce business will be the organisation’s web site. This has to cover those key factors.

Promotion

The site itself needs to be accessible – not only in terms of how easy it is to read or find one’s way around but also getting found in the first place! A key to this would be a web address that is easy to remember or type.

The products need to be seen so good quality images and descriptions are vital in most instances.

Prices have to be clearly stated (not just for legal reasons as above but because that’s what customers want to know!)

Processing e-commerce payments

The online shop needs to be able to process payments so people can actually buy from them online. If they buy a ready hosted package, payment processing will probably be included. If not, they’ll need to find a payment service provider (PSP).

These include services like PayPal, Actinic Payments and WorldPay. Google also have a service called GooglePay.

Delivery

You need details of how products will get to customers – there are many services that will take care of this or the company may wish to do the packing and postage themselves.

Customer Service

Who will deal with queries, complaints etc.? You’ll need a name and an address, ideally an e-mail address and on-line form that people can complete.

Legal matters

To comply with the general information requirements of the E-commerce Regulations 2002 they must give recipients of their online services:

• the business' name, geographic address and other contact details including their email address
• details of any publicly available register in which they are entered, together with the registration number or equivalent
• details of any professional body with which they are registered
• their VAT registration number

If the website refers to prices, these must be clear and indicate whether they include tax and delivery costs.

You must also ensure the website complies with the Companies Act 2006. All companies in the UK must clearly state the company registration number, place of registration, registered office address and, if the company is being wound up, that fact, on all of their websites. A common place to put this information is in the 'About us' or 'Legal info' page of the site - it does not have to appear on every page. This rule also applies to any electronic communications sent out by the company, such as emails.

There are more requirements but these are the essential ones to start with!

E-commerce and the law

Tips for complying with the E-commerce Regulations

To comply with the general information requirements of the E-commerce Regulations 2002 you must give recipients of your online services:

• your business' name, geographic address and other contact details including your email address
• details of any publicly available register in which you are entered, together with your registration number or equivalent
• the particulars of the supervisory body if the service is subject to an authorisation scheme
• details of any professional body with which you are registered
• your VAT registration number

If your website refers to prices, these must be clear and indicate whether they include tax and delivery costs.

You must also ensure your website complies with the Companies Act 2006. All companies in the UK must clearly state the company registration number, place of registration, registered office address and, if the company is being wound up, that fact, on all of their websites. A common place to put this information is in the 'About us' or 'Legal info' page of the site - it does not have to appear on every page. This rule also applies to any electronic communications sent out by your company, such as emails.

How to comply when contracting online

If your business forms contracts online you must provide your customers with information about:

• all technical steps required to conclude the contract, eg 'click this box'
• whether the concluded contract will be filed by you and whether it will be accessible
• the languages offered for the conclusion of the contract
• any relevant codes of conduct to which you subscribe, and information on how these can be consulted electronically

You must make sure that your website allows customers to go back and correct any mistakes made in their order before the order is placed.

Once a customer has placed an order electronically, you must acknowledge receipt without undue delay.

Notes about selling online

Setting up a web shop so your business can sell online can be straightforward. But is e-commerce right for your company?

Why sell online?

Even if you already have a company website, you could see lots of benefits from setting up an e-commerce website to sell online:

• Find new customers. If you don’t already have a website, building an e-commerce site makes it easier for customers to find you.
• Widen your reach. A web shop allows you to take orders from around the world, not just your local area.
• Boost profits. Your new customers should increase profits – especially as web shop overheads tend to be low.

However, building an e-commerce website isn’t without problems. Although you can take security precautions, there is a risk of fraud. You also need to establish how your online operation fits with other sales channels. For instance, do your online prices fit what you charge in store?

Remember to abide by regulations too, like distance selling and data protection rules.

Sell online

Setting up a web shop so your business can sell online can be straightforward. But is e-commerce right for your company?

Why sell online?

Even if you already have a company website, you could see lots of benefits from setting up an e-commerce website to sell online:

• Find new customers. If you don’t already have a website, building an e-commerce site makes it easier for customers to find you.
• Widen your reach. A web shop allows you to take orders from around the world, not just your local area.
• Boost profits. Your new customers should increase profits – especially as web shop overheads tend to be low.

However, building an e-commerce website isn’t without problems. Although you can take security precautions, there is a risk of fraud. You also need to establish how your online operation fits with other sales channels. For instance, do your online prices fit what you charge in store?

Remember to abide by regulations too, like distance selling and data protection rules.

Web shop components

To create a successful e-commerce website, you need to take care of these key areas:

• Your product catalogue, so you can display what you sell to customers.
• Payment processing, to accept payments online, usually by credit card.
• A way to handle enquiries, so you can deal with questions.
• Stock control. You might want to display stock levels online.
• Fulfilment and returns. Shipping items out can take a lot of effort.

Not all these functions can be performed by an e-commerce system. For instance, you need to ensure you have adequate staff and procedures in place to handle enquiries, shipping and returns.

There are three main ways to actually build your e-commerce website:

• Use a marketplace. Sites like eBay and Amazon offer marketplaces where you can sell online. Because the marketplace takes care of all the important functions, it’s easy to set up a shop. You may also benefit from being visible on a popular marketplace site. However, marketplaces lack flexibility and can be expensive, because they usually take a cut of every sale.

• Use an e-commerce service. Usually offered by web hosting companies, these packages include everything you need to start selling online. Think of them as a web shop in a box. You just pick a template for your website and add information about your products. They cost from £10-£50 a month and are a good way to get started if you don’t already have a website.

• Use shopping cart system. Most shopping cart systems are designed to add functions to an existing website. They offer lots of flexibility and allow you to build an entirely customised web shop. However, they take longer to set up and are typically more expensive. You might pay £200 for a package from an industry-leading company.

When evaluating these options, consider how well suited they are to the type and volume of products you sell. In particular, some marketplaces and e-commerce services restrict the number of items you can offer for sale.

Your existing website will also be a key factor. If you have a website already and want to add an online shop to it, a shopping cart system is the best way to do this. If you opt for a marketplace or e-commerce service, you’ll have to set up a separate online shop and direct customers there.

To create a successful e-commerce website, you need to take care of these key areas:

• Your product catalogue, so you can display what you sell to customers.
• Payment processing, to accept payments online, usually by credit card.
• A way to handle enquiries, so you can deal with questions.
• Stock control. You might want to display stock levels online.
• Fulfilment and returns. Shipping items out can take a lot of effort.

Not all these functions can be performed by an e-commerce system. For instance, you need to ensure you have adequate staff and procedures in place to handle enquiries, shipping and returns.

There are three main ways to actually build your e-commerce website:

• Use a marketplace. Sites like eBay and Amazon offer marketplaces where you can sell online. Because the marketplace takes care of all the important functions, it’s easy to set up a shop. You may also benefit from being visible on a popular marketplace site. However, marketplaces lack flexibility and can be expensive, because they usually take a cut of every sale.

• Use an e-commerce service. Usually offered by web hosting companies, these packages include everything you need to start selling online. Think of them as a web shop in a box. You just pick a template for your website and add information about your products. They cost from £10-£50 a month and are a good way to get started if you don’t already have a website.

• Use shopping cart system. Most shopping cart systems are designed to add functions to an existing website. They offer lots of flexibility and allow you to build an entirely customised web shop. However, they take longer to set up and are typically more expensive. You might pay £200 for a package from an industry-leading company.

When evaluating these options, consider how well suited they are to the type and volume of products you sell. In particular, some marketplaces and e-commerce services restrict the number of items you can offer for sale.

Your existing website will also be a key factor. If you have a website already and want to add an online shop to it, a shopping cart system is the best way to do this. If you opt for a marketplace or e-commerce service, you’ll have to set up a separate online shop and direct customers there.