Study Materials

Course Content/Lecture Notes

INTRODUCTION TO E-BUSINESS

E-Business is a superset of business cases which have been digitized and work on the internet.
E-Business is the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and
information through telecommunication and computer networks including the internet.

The business in developing countries that want to increase their export potential using the internet should
build their website to serve their customers.

E-Business = Anytime, Anywhere Business / Shopping.

These days’ businesses are using electronic medium to distribute information and provide
customer support. These activities are not termed as “Commerce” activities but “business”
activities. Thus, E-Business includes e-commerce along with other applications such as:

1. Re-engineer internal Business Processes.

2. Implement e-commerce system with their customers and Suppliers.
3. Promote enterprise collaboration among business terms and work groups.

E-COMMERCE

E-commerce is a subset of E-Business.

Is the act of buying and selling of goods over the internet.

E-commerce is the use of technology towards the automation of business transactions and
workflow.

Forms of E-commerce:

1. Pure E-Commerce

Information (Digital)

Delivery (Digital)
Buyer Seller

Payment (Digital)
 2. Partial E-Commerce
Information (Digital)

Delivery (Physical)
Buyer Seller

Payment (Digital)

Information (Digital)

Delivery (Digital)
Buyer Seller

Payment (Physical)

BRIEF HISTORY OF E-BUSINESS / OVERVIEW OF E-BUSINESS

The need for E-Business increase the demand within business & government to make better use of computing & to
better apply computer technology to improve customer interaction, business processes & information exchange both
within an enterprise & across enterprises.

During 1970’s, the introduction of EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) between banks over secure private networks
(VPNs) changed financial markets.

During the late 1970’s & early 1980’s, E-business become wide-spread within companies in the form of Electronic
Messages such as EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) & E-mail (Electronic Mail)

NETWORK ENABLED BUSINESS PRACTICES

EDI technology has improved buying practices & reduced costs for both manufactures & retailers. In the
late 1980’s & early 1990’s electronic messaging technologies came up with GROUPWARE.

E.g. LOTUS Notes (Taking existing Non Electronic Methods & grafting them onto an electronic platform
for improved business process efficiency)

In 1990’s Internet (WWW) has rapid growth to millions of potential customers, the term electronic
commerce was coined and e-business applications expanded rapidly. The main reason for the rapid
application was the development of networks, protocols, software and specifications for e-
business activities.

CATEGORIES / APPLICATIONS OF E-BUSINESS

1. E-Commerce
2. E-Auctioning
3. E-Banking & E-Payment
4. E-Directories
5. E-Engineering
6. E-Gambling
7. E-Learning
8. E-Mailing
9. E-Marketing
10. E-Supply
11. E-Trading
12. E-Jobsearch
13. E-Traveling
14. E-Matrimonial
15. E-Fashion

REQUIREMENT OF E-BUSINESS

1. Requirement of Networking, preferable Internet.

2. Requirement of Web management
3. Requirement of Hardware
4. Requirement of Software
5. Requirement of Database Management System
6. Requirement of Electronic Payment Modes, Digital Signature, Digital Currency Etc.
7. Requirement of Obeying Business Regulations.
8. Requirement for Arranging Delivery of Goods.

REQUIREMENT OF SUBSIDARY ITEMS FOR E-BUSINESS

1. CONSUMABLES
A. Computer Stationary – Paper Rolls, Printer Ribbons, Coated Papers.
B. Refills & Inkjet
 C. Toner Cartridges
D. Laser Toner
E. Computer Paper Data Binder.

2. COMPUTER ACCERORIES & SPARES

A. Mouse Pad
B. CD Storage boxes
C. Dust Cover
D. Sticker & Transparencies

3. STAND BY EQUIPMENTS
A. Stabilizer
B. Inverter / UPS
C. Generator.

BENEFITS / NEEDS / ADVANTAGES OF E-COMMERCE

Benefits / Needs / Advantages of E-Commerce to Businesses

1. Global Reach: Helps to reach a more geographical customer based and more business
partners as compared to the traditional business methods.

2. Reduction in Paper Costs: Through the use of EDI it has reduced the cost for paper and
become more secure.

3. Reduction in Inventories: A reduction in inventory is desirable to enable reductions in

storage, handling, insurance and administrative costs.

4. Faster Access to Information: Because of Internet the information can spread faster and easily.

5. Lower Telecommunication Costs: Low cost of connecting to the internet, small and medium
businesses can easily afford business on the internet.

6. Improved Customer Service: Helping the customer to access information before, during and
after a sale.

7. New Found Business Partners: Internet based E-commerce enables businesses to find new
business partners globally on the web, thus not restricting themselves to a specific choice of
suppliers.
8. Reduced Production Cycle Time: By allowing teams to electronically share design
specifications and refinement processes.

Benefits / Needs / Advantages of E-Commerce to Customers:

1. Convenience of shopping at Home: Anytime the customer can shop without considering
the store hours.

2. Virtual Auctions: E-commerce has made it possible for customers to participate in virtual
auctions for buying and selling.
3. Increased Choice of vendors and Products: Customers can have an increased choice of
vendors or products because they are no longer geographically constrained to reach a
vendor or a product.
E.g. Amazon.com, epaper.timesofindia.com etc.

4. More Competitive Prices and Increased Price Comparison Capabilities

5. Access to Greater Amounts of Information on Demand

6. Quick Delivery of Digitized Products / Services: E-commerce allows quick delivery in the
case of digitized products such as music, software etc.

Others Benefits / Needs / Advantages of E-Commerce

1. Economy
2. Better Customer Service
3. Greater Profit Margin
4. Knowledge Markets
5. Information Sharing & control.
6. Better Team Work.
7. Increase Margins
8. Faster Business Transactions
9. New Services
10. Lower Business Setup & Transaction Cost.
11. 365 Days, 24 X 7 Open.

LIMITATIONS / DRAWBACKS / ISSUES OF E-COMMERCE

1. E-Commerce is not suitable for every kind of Business: E.g. Perishable Goods, Hospitals etc.

2. Incorrect Cost Estimations: Lack of experience of Virtual Cost

3. Problems with Online Environment: Merchant & customers can be both fake.

4. Increased Competition: Can be seen by customers but also to competitors.

5. Expensive Security

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS IN E-COMMERCE

1. Providing value to customers:
2. Providing Service and Performance
3. Providing an attractive website.
4. Providing an incentive for customers to buy and to return
5. Helping customers do their job consuming.
 6. Letting customers help themselves.

7. Providing a sense of community: Chat room, discussion boards, soliciting customers input, loyalty
schemes can help in this respect

Economic potential of E-Commerce / E-Commerce Framework

Application Services C2B (Customer to Business) B2B

(Business to Business) Intra-
Organizational
Data Management Order Processing – Mail Order Payment Scheme –
Electronic Cash Clearing House or Virtual Mall

Interface Layer Interactive Catalogue Directory Support

Function Software Agents

Secure Messaging Secure Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Encrypted E-mail,

EDI
Remote Programming (RPC)

Middle Ware Services Structure Document (HTML) Compound Document

(OLE)
Network Infrastructure Wireless- Mobile, Radio
Wire line – Co-axial, Fiber Optical

Categories of E-Business / E-Commerce Models

A company’s business model is the way in which it conducts business in order to generate revenue /
profit.

In the new economy, companies are creating new business models and reinventing old models.
Based on these categories of e-business models are divided into two broad categories:-

A. E-business model based on the relationship of transaction parties. B. E-business model based on the
relationship of transaction types.

A. E-business model based on the relationship of transaction parties.

1.Business-to-Business (B2B): Inter-Organizational transactions and electronic market transactions between

organizations or businesses. E.g. www.shop2gether.com, www.ICICIDirect.com, www.cisco.com

2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C): Retailing transactions

E.g. www.Amazon.com
3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): A consumer or individual sells directly to another consumer or
individuals. E.g. www.buynsell.com, www.ebay.com

4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Individuals Sells products and services to organizations E.g.

www.priceline.com, www.direct-marketing.net

5. Business-to-Government (B2G): Business selling to local, state & central govt. E.g. www.Igov.com

B. E-business model based on the relationship of transaction types.

1. Buying and Selling goods and services, usually referred to as electronic markets.

A. Product / Service Information Request.

B. Purchase Request with Payment (e.g. Credit Card no.)
C. Authentication of purchaser and verification of credit status.
D. Status of Credit Card OK
E. Purchase / Service Delivery (if Online) or Shipping Document.
F. Payment Advice from Bank to Supplier
G. Payment

2. Inter organization Information System

A. EDI
B. EFT
C. Electronic Forms
D. Integrated Messaging
E. Shared Database
F. SCM: Supply Chain Management: Co-operation between a company and its suppliers or company
regarding inventory management, demand forecasting and order fulfillment. This can reduce
inventories, speed shipments and enable just-in-time manufacturing.

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B) E-COMMERCE MODELS

Both sellers and buyers are business organizations

– Involves complex procurement, manufacturing, planning collaboration, payment terms

& performance agreements.

– Covers a board range of applications that enable a business to form electronic

relationships with its distributors, resellers, suppliers and competitors.

– B2B E-commerce contributes to lower purchase costs, reduced inventory, enhanced

efficiency and lower sales and marketing costs

B2B APPLICATIONS

- Supply Chain Management (SCM)

- Electronic Marketing

- Procurement Management
 - Just-in-Time (JIT) delivery

-
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
ENTITIES / COMPONENTS IN B2B E-COMMERCE

1. Selling Company
2. Buying Company
3. Electronic Intermediary: Which is a third- party intermediating service provider when the selling
and buying companies are not interacting with each other directly.
4. Network Platform: Can be Internet, an Intranet or an Extranet.
5. Communication Protocols: i.e. EDI
6. Back-end Information System: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) e.g. SAP’s R/3, Bayan etc.
and DBMS (Database Management System) e.g. Oracle, SQL etc.
MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN B2C BUYERS AND B2B BUYERS

S.No. Characteristics B2C Buyers B2B Buyers

1 Demand Individual Organizational
2 Purchase Volume Smaller Larger
3 Distribution Indirect Direct
4 Nature of Buying More Personal More Professional
5 Number of Customers Many Fewer
6 Decision Making Single Multiple
7 Negotiations Simpler Complex

8 Primary Promotional Method Advertising Contacts & Relationships

CATEGORIES / TYPES OF B2B E-COMMERCE

1. The Supplier-Oriented B2B E-Commerce

2. The Buyer-Oriented B2B E-Commerce
3. The Intermediary-Oriented B2B E-Commerce
4. The Intraorganizational B2B E-Commerce
5. The Online B2B Auctions
6. The Virtual Corporations B2B E-Commerce (Networking between Business Partners)

1. THE SUPPLIER-ORIENTED B2B E- COMMERCE

A Classic example of a supplier-oriented B2B marketplace is that of Cisco connection online (CCO) which
operates Cisco’s electronic marketplace.

The various services of B2B that cisco’s website provided to its customers

1. Customer Service
2. Online Ordering
3. Tracking Order Status.
 Advantages / Benefits of B2B for Supply Oriented Marketplaces:-

1. Reduced Operating Costs.

2. Enhanced technical support & Customer Service.
3. Reduced Technical Support staff cost.
4. Reduced distribution cost for digital products.
5. Greater Customer loyalty.

2.THE BUYER-ORIENTED B2B E-COMMERCE

e.g. http://shoppoint.co.kr/

The buyer-oriented B2B E-commerce has benefits for both Buyers and Sellers.

The advantages to the buyers are:

1. Identifying and building relationships with new suppliers worldwide.

2. Cutting down sourcing cycle times and reducing the costs of sourced goods.
3. Transmitting information to multiple suppliers simultaneously and quickly.
4. Quickly receiving and comparing offers from a large number of suppliers to get the best deal.

The advantages to the Sellers are:

1. Access to global buyers

2. Boosted Sales
3. Lowered costs for sales and marketing activities
4. Improved sales productivity

3. THE INTERMEDIARY-ORIENTED B2B E- COMMERCE

E.g. Shopping Online while flying.

4. THE INTRAORGANIZATIONAL B2B E- COMMERCE

e.g. Tricon Restaurant International which operates 10,000 KFC, Pizza Hut etc. in 83 countries.

5. THE ONLINE B2B AUCTIONS

B2B auctions can be categorized into three major types:

A. Independent Auctions: A co. may use a third- party auctioner to create the site and sell its goods. E.g.
www.fairmarket.com

B. Commodity Auctions: Many buyers and sellers come together to a third-party web site for the auction
of the same product. E.g. www.fastparts.com

C. Private Auctions: Many co’s auction their products themselves on their own sites, without taking the
help of intermediaries. Such auctions may be open or by invitation only. E.g. www.auctionblock.com
6. THE VIRTUAL CORPORATIONS B2B E- COMMERCE (Networking between Business
Partners)

A Virtual corporation is an organization consisting of several business partners or businesses which are
sharing costs and resources for the purpose of producing a product or service.

Businesses may agree to enter into virtual corporation alliances for many reasons:

1. Excellence
2. Utilization
3. Low Cost
 EDI – ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE

EDI versus Traditional Methods

 EDI is the exchange of documents in standardized electronic form, between organization, in an automated
manner, directly from a computer application in one organization to an application in another.

 EDI is defined as the transfer of structured data by agreed message standards from computer to
computer by electronic means.

 EDI is replacement of paper-based purchase orders with electronic equivalents.

 Easy & cheap communication of structured information throughout the corporate community.
 In EDI, the computer applications of both the sender and the receiver
have to agree upon a common format of the business document which is being sent as a data file over the
communications channel.

Issues with Traditional Methods of Exchange of Business

1. Increased Time
2. Low Accuracy
3. More Chances of Errors
4. High Labour Charges
5. Increased Uncertainty

Overcome of the issue’s by EDI

The information produced by the source computer in an organization is converted into an EDI format by translation
software and is sent to the receiving computer over a digital network. On the receiving side, the translation software
converts the EDI format into the form required by the business application at that end.
 Benefits of EDI

A. Direct Benefits
1. No Need for rekeying the information
2. Cost of processing EDI documents is much less than that of processing the paper documents.
3. Improved customer service is enabled.
4. Business documents move faster.
5. Information is managed more efficiently.
B. Strategic Benefits
1. Reduction in product costs is achieved.
2. Better customer and supplier relations through more effective and faster communication and exchange of
information.
3. More accurate forecasting and business planning is achieved due to information availability at the right place
and right time and with the help of data mining techniques.

DRAWBACKS of EDI

1. Unpopular
2. Expensive
3. Point-to-point
4. Requires expensive VAN networking
5. Not easy to use, learn, or implement

Components of EDI Systems

1. EDI Standards: E.g. UN/EDI FACT(The United Nations Standards for EDI for Administration Commerce
and Transport)

2. EDI Software:
Major Functions of the EDI Software are Data Conversion, Data formatting & Message Communication.

The EDI consists of four software components:

i. The Application Software or The Business Application

ii. The Translation Software
iii. The EDI Service Software &
iv. The Network Access Software

3. Network infrastructure for communications: The communications networks used may be Private networks,
Value Added Networks (VANs), or the Internet.
VANs work on the concept of store and forward mechanism, where the documents are sent by the sender without
knowing whether the receiver is ready to receive them or not. The documents are kept preserved in an “Electronic
Mailbox” and are delivered whenever the recipient becomes ready to accept the document.
Some of the well-know EDI VAN Service providers: AT&T, British Telecom (BT), Infonet etc.

Sender
 FINANCIAL EDI

• Electronic transmission of payments between a payee and a payer via their respective banks
• Allows businesses to replace labor-intensive activities of collecting,
disbursing & processing payments
• Improves certainty of payment flows

The three principal types of Non-Cash Payment instruments used for B2B Payments are:

1. Cheques
2. EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer)
3. ACH (Automated Clearing House)

EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer)

Are credit transfers between banks where funds flow directly from the payer’s bank to the payee’s bank based on the
instructions to the payers. EFT ensures timeliness and certainty of Payments.

ACH (Automated Clearing House)

Are used for services such as preauthorized credits (e.g. Direct Deposit of Pay Rolls), Pre authorized Debits (e.g.
Repetitive Bill Payments) and Consumer Initiated Payment.

STRATEGIES IN E-COMMERCE

1. SCM (Supply Chain Management)

2. JIT (Just-in-time Manufacturing)
3. Procurement Management

1. SCM (Supply Chain Management)

A supply chain consists of the facilities for acquiring the raw materials, transferring them, storing the
intermediate products, & selling the finished goods.

Supply Chain Optimisation

 Supply chain consists of multiple companies that function as efficiently and effectively as a single company
with full information visibility and accountability.

SCM has three basic business objectives:

1. To get the right product, to the right place, at the right time & with least cost.
2. To keep inventory as low as possible
3. To reduce the cycle times between customer orders and dispatch of finished products.

SCM consists of the following Components:

1. Supplier Management: Geographically discrete Suppliers & reducing the number of suppliers.
2. Inventory Management: Shortening the cycle time between order and dispatch and keeping the inventory
levels to a minimum.
3. Distribution Management: Using EDI to move documents, such as order, purchase bills, shipment notices
etc.
4. Channel Management: Distribute the information about changing operation conditions (Policies, Prices,
Delivery Schedules etc.) to trading partners
5. Payment Management: through EFT.
6. Sales Force Management: Improving the communication & flow of information among the sales, customer
service & production functions through automation.

Downstream with e-commerce (Supply Chain Management)

 Models of SCM

1. Push Based Supply Chain Management: uses Traditional Methods

2. Pull Based Supply Chain Management: uses Information technology and E-business systems.
All this enables to reduce the cycle tones and bring more efficiency and effectiveness to the supply chain.

2. JUST-IN-TIME Manufacturing (JIT)

JIT manufacturing focuses mainly on the reduction in inventories during the manufacturing process. It Emphasis that
in a production plant the needed materials are to be supplied just-in-time, no earlier or later than is demanded by
the manufacturing process.
 Benefits of JIT:

1. Production costs will decrease as the stock is redcued and hence

overheads of maintaining large inventories are reduced.
2. Materials from the suppliers are ordered only if the production plant can sell its products.
3. Quality control of production is considerably enhanced.

3. Procurement Management

Procurement in the traditional business consisted of inefficient buying, redundant processes, and non-strategic
sourcing resulting in long and costly procurement processes.

With the increase use of the e-commerce, easy-to-use web based procurement applications have helped to make the
procurement process more efficient and less costly.

E-Procurement has shifted from paper-based processes to automation, thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

E-PROCUREMENT CHAIN
E-Procurement Chain function’s

1. Management Control: Deals with decisions on which products are available to the employees, who are the
approved vendors, who is authorized to approve an order and so on.
2. Online Product Selection
3. Electronic Ordering

4. Application Integration: A good e-procurement system should be integrated with the existing applications such
as general ledger, accounts payable, purchasing and human resource applications.

5. Information & Reporting: A good procurement system should be able to track, what was purchased, by whom,
from whom, at what price and how long it took to complete each step of the cycle.

M-Commer ce or Mob ile Commer ce

Mobile Commerce popularly known as M-Commerce is conducting commercial transactions with the help of mobile
devices like mobile, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) etc.

Mobile Commerce is concerned with E-commerce applications via the media of wireless(WAP) and mobile computing.
A mobile commerce environment allows the users to access personal or business information and carry out all e-commerce
activities while travelling away from home or workplace.

Mobile Commerce extends the benefits of ecommerce to both businesses and consumers. Through M-Commerce,
businesses in their constant effort to increase their reach are able to reach to even larger number of consumers in
comparison to that offered by Internet. For consumers, M-Commerce makes E-Commerce available in their finger tip at
any place at any time.

Mobile commerce is increasingly becoming popular due to the fact that a mobile device is no longer being used only for
making phone calls but as a communication device for any type of communication need.

The key feature of mobile computing environment is that the user need not maintain a fixed position in the network.
 Wireless is a transmission method that enables mobile computing i.e. it enables communication without wires. Mobile
Computing focuses on the application side. Choices for mobile computing include infrared, cellular, packet radio
services, microwave and satellite service.

Mobile Commerce is about the explosion of applications and services that are becoming accessible from internet-enabled
mobile devices. It involves new technologies, services and business models. It is quite different from traditional e-
commerce. Mobile phones or PDAs impose very different constraints than desktop computers.

Mobile Computing: A technology that allows transmission of data, via a computer, without having to be connected to a
fixed physical link.

MOBILE COMPUTING connects mobile people to the information and applications they need-anytime, anywhere on
demand. Move the workplace to any space, using wireless and voice middleware on the server side to support the broadest
spectrum of mobile networks and a wide array of devices on the client side. Enable users of telephones, wired or wireless,
to conduct business transactions or access information simply by speaking.

Benefits of Wireless and Mobile Computing

1 Mobility
2 Ease of Installation in difficult-to-wire areas
3 Reduced installation time
4 Increased reliability
5 Long-term cost savings.

APPLICATIONS OF MOBILE COMMERCE

Ideally any application that is offered on PC based E-Commerce can also be offered through Mobile Commerce;
but it will depend on usefulness of the application whether it will be successful on Mobile commerce.

The key factors which will dictate the success of an M-Commerce application are:

1) Urgency of the online service/information

2) Convenience and
3) Location based information/service requirement.
So far the following applications have been created in M-Commerce arena.

1. Mobile Advertising 6. Mobile Portals

2. Mobile Banking & Bill Payment 7. Mobilizing enterprise Applications

3. Music Purchase 8. Home Automation

4. Notifications 9. Other common applications

5. Tickets Reservation
 Infrastructure & Technologies of Mobile Commerce Frame required for mobile computing

Micro Browser
Mobile Wired E-Commerce
Device Infrastructure

Contents in WML

Wireless Channel
WAP
Contents in
Gateway HTML

The mains aspects of M-Commerce infrastructure that are different from a normal E- Commerce
infrastructure are:

1 Wireless Enabled Device: i.e. Bluetooth, IRDA (Infrared Adapter), GPS (Global Processing
System), Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) etc.

2 Micro Browser: browser is specially created for mobile devices.

3 Wireless Deliverable Contents: The Internet contents created needed to be displayed on a mobile
device are written using a mark up language named WML (Wireless Mark up Language). The E-
Commerce servers can serve Internet contents in two ways:
Either by rewriting their contents in a WML or to pass the existing html pages through a gateway that is
called WAP gateway (Wireless Access Gateway). Mostly WAP gateways are used to automatically
convert the already existing html contents in WML form.

4 Others: There are also other components that are normally used to take care of security, transaction
processing and other aspects of E-Commerce transactions.

Limitations of Mobile Commerce

1. Smaller device size

2. Limited processing power

3. Limited processing memory

4. Limited bandwidth.

5. Limited battery time.

Security Considerations for the Mobile Commerce

 Authentication techniques to ensure mobile security

 Fraud prevention
  Security Layer i.e. WTLS (Wireless Transport Layer Security):- This is an optional layer that
provides authentication, confidentiality and secures connections between applications.
 The Security services provided by the WTLS are:
 1. Privacy
 2. Server Authentication
 3. Client Authentication
 4. Data Integrity.

Security Concerns in M-Commerce

The role of Security Mechanisms is to ensure the

Privacy
Integrity of data
Authenticity of parties involved in a transaction.
In addition, it is also desirable to provide functionality such as copy protection, preventing denial of
service attacks, filtering to viruses & malicious code and in
some cases anonymous communication.

Some of the Major Security Concerns from the perspective of M-Commerce:-

1) User Identification: Attempts to ensure that only authorized entities can use the appliances.
2) Secure Storage: The Security of sensitive information such as passwords, PINs, Keys etc are reside
in secondary storage of the Mobile Appliance.
3) Secure Network Access: That only authorized device can connect to a network or service.
4) Secure Data Communication: Considers the privacy & integrity of data communicated to / from
the mobile appliance.
5) Secure Content: Content that is downloaded or stored in the appliance is used in accordance with
the terms set forth by the content provides (e.g. read only, no copying etc)
6) Secure Software Execution: Ensure security of the hardware implementation from various
physical and electrical attacks.

ELEMENTS OF A SECURE MOBILE APPLIANCE ARCHITECTURE

 Network Technologies

GSM - General System for Mobile Communication.

The Subscriber Identify Module (SIM) is used for storing the cryptographic keys; of its unique identify called
International Mobile Subscriber Identify (IMSI). The Authentication server of the wireless GSM network stores the
matching key and the IMSI of the subscriber as well.

Much any European nations and, the Asia Pacific Region using GSM

TDMA – Time Division of Multiple Access – In US we are using this kind of Network Technologies for
Mobile Communications.

CDMA – Code Division of Multiple Access – Reliance InfoComm, is using CDMA and US.

FDMA – Frequency Division of Multiple Access

GPRS – Global Packet Radio Service

AMPS – Advanced Mobile Phone System

WCDMA – Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access

EDGE – Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution.

EGPRS – Enhanced Global Packet Radio Service.

Service Technologies

Generation Channels Switching Mode Examples Data Rates

1G Analog Voice Circuit Switched AMPS N/A
2G Digital Circuit Switched GSM 9.6 Kbps
Packet Switched CDMA
2.5G Digital GPRS 171.2 Kbps
Packet Switched
EDGE 384 Kbps
3G Digital Packet Switched CDMA2000
WCDMA
Mobile Commerce

In the traditional computing environment it was necessary to come to the computer to do some work on it.

All computers were connected to each other, to networks, servers, etc. Via Wires. Mobile Computing
The first phase was to make computers small enough so they can be easily carried- Mobile devices
The Second solution to the need for mobile computing was to replace wires with wireless
communication media.
The third phase was a combination of the first two, namely to use mobile devices in a wireless environment.
Referred to as wireless mobile computing, this combination enables real-time connections between mobile
devices and other computing
environments.

M-Commerce and M-Business is any E-Commerce or E-Business activities performed in a wireless environment. It
is not merely a variation on existing Internet services; it is a natural extension of e-business creating new
opportunities.
 Typical Applications Include:

- Financial Applications
- Inventory Management
- Field Services Management
- Product Locating
- Real Estate

MOBILE COMPUTING APPLICATIONS

1. Remote Communications
2. Remote Data Access

E.g. Mobile Workers such as field sales personnel will need access of libraries of reference files
containing product and price information.

There are several mobile computing applications

1. Sales & Retailing

 Accounting
 Non-Sales
 Order-Entry
 Duty Free Sales on Aircraft
2. Manufacturing
 Receiving and shipping goods
 Time and Attendance
 Inventory Control

3. Services
 Electricity, Gas & Water meter reading
 Parking fine issuing
 Customer field service

4. Other Applications
 Agricultural and forestry data collection
 Travel ticket issuing.

Mobile Computing Basic Terminology

Personal digital Assistant (PDA): A small portable computer, such as palm handhelds and pocket PC
devices.
Short Message Services (SMS): A technology, in existence since 1991, that allows sending short text
messages.
Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS): The next generation of wireless messaging, this
technology will be able to deliver rich media.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): A technology that offers Internet browsing from wireless devices.
Smart Phones: Internet-enabled cell phones that can support mobile applications.
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity): Refers to a standard 802.11b which most of the wireless local area
networks are based on.
Global Positioning System (GPS): A satellite based tracking system that enables the
determination of a GPS device’s location.
WLAN: Wireless local area network.
Mobile computing has two major characteristics that differentiate it from other forms of computing: Mobility and Broad
Reach.

Mobility (and localization) implies portability based on the fact that user carry a mobile device
everywhere they go. Therefore, users can initiate real-time contact with other systems from wherever
they happen to be.
Broad reach: is the characteristic that describes the accessibility of people. They can be reached at any
time.

BUSINESS MODELS
A Buyer-oriented e-commerce system.
A Seller-oriented e-commerce system.
A virtual market place with multiple buyers and sellers.

I Buyer-oriented E-commerce models suit large volumes of items of different types:

Maintenance, repair, and operating goods;

Products needed to service a given product;

Components of raw materials used in a manufacture;

Goods traded by a wholesaler;

Large, less frequently ordered capital items.

E-Procurement (Starts with purchase requisition and involves):

Different levels of authorization;

Selection of suppliers;

Requests for quotations;

Monitoring the order fulfilment;

Payment.

Two distinct classes of activities:

Intra-company activities;

Inter-company activities.
Integration Issues

B2B requires that companies integrate their systems:

Intercompany Integration

– Need of standards and overcome problems with EDI and VPNs.

– Interoperation using XML (which acts as a business connector).

Intracompany Integration

– Seamless integration of orders and back-end systems;

– Standardisation of information processes (e.g. through ERPs)

• Order entry & fulfilment.

• Logistics.

• Inventory.

• Production planning and monitoring.

• Accounting entry and financial systems

• Human resources and payrolls.

Buy-side e-commerce system

 Purchasing in “buy-side e-commerce”

II Sell-side e-commerce A supplier-to-buyers system providing:

Product catalogue;

Product configuration;

Business roles (for automating approval & ordering);

Customer service;

Fulfilment and shipping;

Accounts receivable/invoicing and e-payments;

Monitoring of order status and history.

Sell-side e-commerce system

Sell-side Software Platforms

Systems include:

sell.com - a platform that allows one to build a sell-side system;

WebDB - a front-end to Oracle DBMS, which allows one to build a portal that communicates with Oracle
DB.

III Virtual Markets

Meeting places for vendors and buyers:

Digital market places;

Vertical portals.

E.g. Boeing’s PART – allows airlines to purchase spare parts from different suppliers.
Virtual Organization (VO) or Company is one whose members are geographically apart, usually working by
computer e-mail & groupware while appearing to others to be a single, unified organization with a real physical
location.

A Virtual Organization is a temporary network of independent companies having several different roles connected
through a communication network in order to share skills and competencies to access new markets. Virtual
Organization will only exist for a temporary time limit that is the time needed to satisfy its purpose.

Features of Virtual Organization

 It removes many barriers-especially that of time & location.

 It emphasizes concentrating on new services and products, especially those with intensive information and
knowledge characteristics, rather than concentrating on cost savings made possible by removing the barriers.
 It goes beyond outsourcing and strategic alliances & is more flexible in:
That has continuously changing partners.
The arrangements are looses and goal oriented.
Emphasizes the use of knowledge to create new products and services.
Its processes can change quickly by agreement of the partners.

Reasons for Organizations becoming Virtual

 Globalization, with growing trends to include global customers.

 Ability to quickly pool expert resources.
 Creation of Communities of excellence.
 Rapidly changing needs.
 Increasingly specialized products and services.
 Increasing required to use specialized knowledge.

Scope of Virtual Organization

In India VO is still in its nascent stage. It will take a couple of years for India to Start competing for Virtual
Offices.
Electronic Payments

The Electronic Payments allow sellers and consumers to clear payments, dues and engage in cash payments, dues and
engage in cashless trading on the internet. Electronic payment is a financial exchange that takes place online between
buyer & seller. The information as a financial exchange is usually some form of digital financial instrument
(Electronic Cash, Electronic checks & encrypted plastic card numbers) that is indirectly produced by a bank or an
intermediary.

Electronic Payment System [EPS]

o Electronic Payment Systems are indispensable in today’s business process as companies are looking for
innovating ideas to serve customers faster and at low cost.
o Prompt and secure payment, clearing and settlement of credit or debit claims are the important aspects of
electronic payment system.
o E-commerce capability of reducing transaction time, its cost and providing security is the main reason of its
 growth.

Issues while designing e-payment system

1. Payment instruments must be secure, have a low processing cost and be accepted widely as global
currency tender.
2. The forms and characters of payment instrument e.g. electronic cash, credit/debit cards should be
desirable to consumer.
3. The issues regarding privacy, fraud, mistakes, bank features should be guarded by proper security
features as authentication / privacy etc.
4. The issues regarding the protocols that connect one financial institution to the other.

Types of Electronic Payment System:

Electronic Payment System (EPS) or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) can be divided into
three broad categories:

1. Large Scale and Financial Payments

o Whole Sale Payments (e.g. Bank to Bank Transfer)
o Retail Payments (e.g. ATM)
2. Retailing Payments
o Credit Cards (e.g. Visa, Master Card, Maestro)
o Private Level Cards (e.g. JC Penney Card)

3. On Line Electronic Commerce Payment

I. Token Based

oElectronic Cash e.g. Digi Cash oE-

checks e.g. Net Cheque oSmart Cards e.g.
Mondex Card.

II. Credit Card-based E-Payment System

o Encrypted Credit Cards (e.g. WWW Form Based)

o Third Party Authorization numbers (e.g. First Virtual)

Digital / Electronic Token based Electronic Payment System

1. Cash or real time:. The transactions are settled with the exchange of electronic currency

2. Debit or Prepaid: Users pay in advance for privilege of getting information.

3. Credit or Postpaid: The Customer purchases goods first, which is authenticated by server. The value of
purchase is deposited later in bank.
 SMART CARDS
Smart Cards are credit, debit cards & other card products enhanced with microprocessors capable of holding information.
E.g. (Metro Card) Smart Cards are basically of two types.

1. Relationship Based Smart Cards: A relationship based smart card is an enhancement of existing
card service that a financial institution delivers to its customers via a chip based card. The new services may
include. The new services may include:
o Access to Multiple Financial Accounts.
o Value Added Market etc.
o A Variety of functions, such as cash access, bill payments, balance inquiry or funds transfer.

2. Electronic Purses Based Smart Cards: The Electronic Purses are Wallet size smart cards embedded with
programmable microchips that store sums of money for people to use instead of cash.

Working of a Smart Card?

CREDIT CARD

A Credit card is a small plastic card that has a magnetic strip on the exterior. The magnetic strip carries some form of
encodedinformation about the card number and the card holder.

1. Visa
2. Master Card
3. American Express.
4. Diners
5. Discover
6. Mestro

Credit Card Number: 16 Digit Expiration Date: Month Year

Types of Credit Cards

1. Secured Credit Cards

2. Prepaid Credit Cards
DEBIT CARDS

Is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. Physically the
card is an ISO-7810 card like a credit card. It Functionality is more similar to writing cheque as the funds are
withdrawn directly from either the card holder’s bank account. In Some countries the debit card is multipurpose
acting as the ATM card for withdrawing cash and as a check guarantee card. Merchants can also offer “Cash
Back” / “Cash Out” facilities to customers, where a customer can withdraw cash along with the purchase.

DIGITAL SIGNATURE

A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a type of asymmetric cryptography used to simulate the security
properties of a handwritten signature on paper. Digital signature schemes normally give two algorithms, one for
signing which involves the user's secret or private key, and one for verifying signatures which involves the user's
public key. The output of the signature process is called the "digital signature."
A signature provides authentication of a "message". Messages may be anything, from electronic mail to a contract,
or even a message sent in a more complicated cryptographic protocol. Digital signatures are used to create public
key infrastructure (PKI) schemes in which a user's public key (whether for public-key encryption, digital
signatures, or any other purpose) is tied to a user by a digital identity certificate issued by a certificate authority.
PKI schemes attempt to unbreakably bind user information (name, address, phone number, etc.) to a public key,
so that public keys can be used as a form of identification.

E-Commerce and on-line publishing

A publication is information, regardless of its format or method of delivery that is made available to the general
public, or to an identified public, either free of charged or for charged. In theory, these include everything publicly
available via the internet.

Types of online / Web publishing

1. Online Newspaper publishing

2. Online Magazines publishing
3. Online Journal publishing
4. Online Book publishing
5. Online Article publishing

How does online publishing works?

Once the sales are made the publishers create username and password for the customer so that the customer can
login to the publisher’s site and access the contents. The customers uses the username and password and can
creates more user accounts for there staff or students so that they can access the material online and can take
the tests online, and their results are automatically captured and analyzed.

Advantages / Need of online Publishing

1. Brings the publishers to mass market

2. Widespread use of web throughout globe
3. Infrastructure expenses are not required, as others have already made them.
4. Rapidly evolving technology
5. The publishers can reach customers in unique ways.
6. Easy reach the interaction between students and teacher.

But gradually the publishers started realizing that presence on web was not sufficient to make money, they had to
develop business model that:-

Allows company to offer unique, valuable content to customers.

Online material related services
Good Packaging
Efficient deliver system
To charge customers directly and convincing them of the price.

Strategies in Online Publishing

1. Early Movers – High rated publishers who are skilled and experienced in their job and have good system of
 direct marketing and efficient order fulfillment capability are able to tap the new media of internet, They act as
initiators of online publishing. They understand and learn the tricks of online publishing and selling and are
able to develop required business model for online publishing.

2. Watchers – big traditional publishing houses which are doubtful about online publishing in the initial years
wait and watch. When channel costs become economical and distribution system efficient they enter online
publishing business. These publishers generally are not established brand and cannot bear the heavy expenses
involved in starting the online publishing.

3. Testers – these are publishers who are eager to compete in the online medium and ready to take the challenge.
Such publishers are generally established brand and take the web medium as an alternative to beat their
competitors.

Approaches in Online Publishing

1. The Online archive approach: This is new to the web, but is a logical extension of the trends in
electronic delivery over the past several years.

Those publishers who have an existing digital archive turn to web to provide electronic material of the same,
besides utilizing the other medium like print media, CD-ROM etc. Example: the library catalogues databases are
made online. Many websites offer these databases free of cost to the users. Many magazines, library catalogues,
full text search providers are now on the Internet providing easy access to users.

2. The new medium approach: This is more troublesome and more difficult to implement, but also more
exciting.
Many print publishers have taken Internet as a complete medium and are providing personalized news delivery and
entertainment to the users. Web as a medium requires its own material and acts as an alternative to print media not
a replacement. However technology is a constraint for such customized web pages, unlike print media formatting
becomes difficult in web media.

3. The publishing intermediation approach: This is an online extension of the third-party publisher role off-
line.

Many publishers understand the need for providing intermediation on web. With the difficulty in locating
specific web services and sites and e-markets on Internet many publishers houses have turned to act as
intermediary service providers on net. For example Yahoo.com providing additional information for
books, games, brands, services, products etc.

4. The dynamic and just-in-time approach: in this approach, content is assembled in real-time and
transmitted in the format best suited to the user’s tastes and preferences.

The online content can be created in real time and transmitted to desired location and can be varied according
to user requirements and preferences. The dynamism is added as web pages customize according individual
taste and needs.

Personalized and Customized News

Some of the online news papers site:

CNN.com Aajtak.com
Starnews.com
NDTV.com
LiveIndia.tv
 ShahraSamay.com
BBCWorld.com

But above these excellent news sites the online news was failure.
A dynamic news delivery system requires:

1. Time critical alerts – the timeliness of the information/news provided.

2. Delivery control – The transmission or delivery of specific news to target users should be
easy and smooth.
3. Aging and Archival – there should be system to discard unimportant information and
save important information on regular basis.
4. Dynamic user preference – the flow of information must be smooth and dynamic
corresponding to the changing need of the users.

EDUTAINMENT = EDUCATION + ENTERTAINMENT

1. The act of learning through a medium that both educates and entertains.
2. Any of various media, such computer software, that educate and entertain.

INTERCAST TECHNOLOGY = INTERNET + BROADCAST

The Intercast medium gives you the power to:

1. View detailed background information on a breaking news story instantly

2. See status or feature reports on a sports figure, entertainer or TV event.
3. Join other viewers for a real-time Internet chat about your favorite television program.
4. Select your viewing choice from 250 channels.
5. Jump instantly to detailed reports on sports, finance or other news topics.
ADVERTISING AND ONLINE PUBLISHING

There are five reasons for the growth of online advertising:

1. Internet audience is growing

2. Spend more time online
3. The growth in broadband connection of internet.
4. Increase in the numbers of buyers and sellers online.
5. Advertisement online by big companies.

DIGITAL COPYRIGHTS AND ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

Features of Digital Technology:

1. Easy to manipulate
2. Inexpensive to duplicate
3. Easily reproduced with no loss in quality
4. Easily distributed across the Internet.
Online Copyright Protection Methods

Different technical ways of restricting access to web

1. Identifying users and controlling which objects they can access (Host based access control)
2. Username / Password Restriction
3. Setting up the restricted directory.

Management Issues with Online Publishing

1. Technical Issues
2. Organization Issues
3. Financial Issues
4. Political Issues

Supply Chain Management

SCM Fundamental

“A Supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of
procurement of material, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and
distribution of these finished products to customers.”

A supply chain essentially has three main parts:

1. The Supply – concentrates on how, where from and when raw materials are procured and supplied
to manufacturing
2. Manufacturing - converts these raw materials to finished products &
3. Distribution - These finished products reach the final customers through network of
distributors, warehouses and retailers.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Delivering the right product to the right place, at the right time and at the right price. It is one of the
leading cost saving and revenue enhancement strategies in use today. SCM deals with planning and
execution issues involved in managing a supply chain.
 Functions of SCM

1. Supplier Management
2. Inventory Management
3. Distribution Management
4. Channel Management
5. Payment Management
6. Financial Management
7. Sales force productivity

Components of SCM

1. Demand Planning (Forecasting)

2. Order Promising
3. Production Scheduling
4. Demand Forecasting
5. Transportation
6. Distribution Planning
Managing retail supply chains