ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

  The growth of Internet into a global market place attracts more business firms to use this
media for commerce. Business firms may use the Internet initially for communication. Websites
are set up to provide information about its products and services. Business firms offer corporate
information, product information, marketing related services etc,.
The Internet has integrated the fragment markets words over though in a modest way. But
this interaction is growing rapidly. The most important advantage of the internet for business
firms is that it allows reaching customers at very low costs.

Electronic commerce is the process of searching, choosing, buying and selling of
product or service on the electronic network; it uses the computer and communication networks
for promoting products, selling, delivery, collection and delivery service.

Electronic Commerce includes:

a) Buying and selling on the internet
b) Making payments electronically
c) Business transaction in which there is no physical exchange or physical contact.
d) It is transacting a business over am electronic network without physical contact.
The problems connected with electronic commerce are:
a) Identity
b) Authentication
c) Protection of data
d) Confidentiality
These problems can be solved by using:
a) Secure socket layer and hypertext transfer protocol
b) Digital signatures
c) Using public key cryptography
d) Using digital certificates.

In E- commerce, the parties to a transaction interact electronically. They may be
separated by long distances physically, yet the electronic network bring them together not only to
complete a transaction but also to get after sales support, E-commerce is not just doing
transaction over the Internet, it aims at few other things as well like :

• Web enabling an organization’s business so that it can facilitate better customer interaction, handing customer enquiries receiving customer order and payments online.
• Improving customer service capabilities by allowing customers by providing Inert access to its databases containing customer interest information.
• Use the web to gather customer need information and thus to reducing cycle time by responding to customer needs quickly. It enables the firm in coming out with new availablenew product information to customers.
• Raising productivity of all activities in the organization by improving the flow of information in the organization.

FEATURES OF E-COMMERCE

E-Commerce has the following general features:
a) It is a business strategy to cut down costs, while improving quality and increasing the speed
of delivery of goods/services.
b) It has ability to sell and purchase products/services/information on computer networks.
c) It is a solution for office automation and quick business transactions.
d) It is a tool to improve intra business functioning like business re-engineering.
e) It is tools to improve inter business