Business Skills for E-Commerce Essay Example

new and efficient methods payment and delivery so that, this newly soon as possible. Assessing Parce12Go. com In order to better understand the system and working of such a business, let us take one example. One of the very good examples of E-commerce is Parce12Go. om. This website offers the collection and delivery of parcels and items.

This service was basically initiated within I-JK, but with the immediate success and popularity, it now works in almost all parts of the world. It provides its customers the services of collecting their parcels from their thresholds and delivering to the destination responsibly. The working of this service first of all requires a proper website with a user friendly interface. It displays the offers, service details and terms, online filling forms for willing customers, secure billing methods and a comprehensive design above all. The service of Parce12Go. om works in a few simple steps.

The customer has to enter the size of the package, destination, address, etc. Parce12Go. com also provides the freedom of choice to customers regarding which of the listed courier service providers they want to opt for. There is a choice of courier services for the customers with different collection and delivery schedules and different service charges. One can easily select the most suitable one that fulfills his/her needs with the best price offer. An interesting thing about the website is that it asks you to inform them, in case any other company offers you a lower price than they do.

A good function or not, this gives every visitor a really good impression of the service and its costs. The visitor will undoubtedly get

the impression that they are offering the least possible service charges in the market. The Parce12Go. com has also been given the Hitwise Award for UK's Top Online Parcel Delivery Website due to its customer count. It has achieved a very high number of customers in a very short time because of its reliable and economic service. A very sensitive part of the business is the online payment system. It requires a lot of trust of customers in the service providers to pay ven before the services are provided.

For this purpose, the businesses get the help of Banks and other well-known financial institutes. In the online transactions, the banks work as intermediaries so that the customers can be satisfied. After the consignment has been delivered to the customer and he/she has verified it, the Bank transfers the charged amount to the business's account. In case of any mismanagement by the business, the amount charged can be transferred back to the buyer. The different courier services offered on the website include Yodel, TNT, Collect+, City Link, Hermes, UPS, Parcelforce, etc.

The variety in service providers gives the customer an open choice to choose the most suitable service with the most suitable price. The requirement of each service provider also differs, such as, selecting Yodel for service requires a printer for printing the contract, while some of the others don't. Collect+ doesn't give the service of collecting the parcel from your home. It asks the customers to drop off the parcel at any Collect+ point. So the variety in service terms and conditions of the courier services gives the power of choice to the customer to

select the most feasible one.

Every business is started with one aim in mind . i. e. earning profit legally, on a regular basis. Same are the aims of Parce12Go. com but they have a different approach. Unlike most of the businesses, they don't maximize their profit by keeping a high margin. Instead, they maximize their profit by keeping the profit margins low and attracting more customers, which eventually leads to greater profits. Online payment systems also require the trust of customers in the business, so they assure a very good customer service and also keep a safe payment method through PayPal and other intermediary institutes.

All these factors of growth, developed trust in customers, boost in business and transparent transactions has led them to winning an award for the best parcel delivery website. Conclusion With the introduction of e-commerce in the market, business has entered a new era of research and development. With the convenience of door-to-door service, and security of credit card and PayPal systems, e-commerce will soon be adopted all over the world and it will open a whole new path of ideas and renovation in its field.

It will provide better shopping, payment and transactional solutions for all and positively ffect the daily life of every individual. Learning Outcome 2 The idea of bringing innovation in the method of doing any old piece of work is always a risky Job. The adoption of the new ways to an old Job is always considered a risk, until it is efficient, convenient, less effort-demanding, more productive and of course, more economical. The adoption of innovated ideas is also dependent on the area and

people, so any kind of innovation has to be brought, keeping the customs and social setup of the people of that particular area in mind.

Introducing e-commerce was also a big risk to the business and all its investment. Business has always been considered safe when the transactions are made face-to- face. Paying the price amount through the internet to someone you have not seen always led to the disbelief of customers resulting in failure of online business in the beginning, but the innovative minds kept their heads busy in thinking of new ways of making this type of business practical and safe. It took a lot of time to make the business over internet trustworthy.

Companies introduced websites that serve as shopping stores and also offered safe payment systems through credit cards that had the minimum chances of fraud. This built the consumer trust on the e-commerce system and they started adopting this system. The introduction of e-commerce required a lot of research, marketing and advertising for better chances of prospering, getting into the knowledge of everyone and eventually getting adopted. The media played a very important role in bringing this mode of commerce into the sight and trust of people.

When e-commerce was decided to be initiated, it needed to get into everyone's knowledge and earn the trust of people to initiate a proper business so businesses used popular personalities and elebrities to be their brand ambassadors Just to advertise e-commerce. Not only prices than the conventional businesses to attract more conventional customers to their side. The Impact of this revolutionized commerce on the businesses was in the fields of managing physical outlets,

cash handling and a higher risk of loss.

When the customers started using the internet to look for their required products, the need of actual outlets was lessened. All that need to be managed and maintained was a website that comprehensively displayed the list of stock, product prices and payment methods. When the transactions became online, the companies handed over the responsibility of payment surveillance to banks and systems like PayPal that specialize in this method of payment. The credit card payments were first gone to the banks that would transfer the balance to the business's accounts after the purchased product had been received by the customer.

In conventional businesses, the risk of theft from the outlets; of products as well as cash was very high, whereas in online transactions, this risk has been eliminated. The Impact of e-commerce on the consumers was the main cause of its wide-scale doption in such a short course of time. It provided the highest levels of convenience and security. The items ordered over the internet are delivered at your threshold and there is no risk of payment loss or breakage because it is the responsibility of the business.

In the start, the idea of such a business looked ludicrous to the people unaware of its potential and they felt it was never going to be applied in the market. Bombshell! Today every person who has anything to do with money and currency is using e-commerce in one way or the other. Money transfer and payments are carried nline; shopping, courier services and advertisements are all now majorly dependent on the e-commerce. The largest customer base has now gone

online with their favorite businesses.

People look for shopping items and services over the internet and pay through their credit cards. The goods and services are brought to their doorsteps. This high level of convenience is so attractive to everyone that e- commerce has been adopted all over the world within no time. Global Impact of E-commerce on Society A society has always been ranked or Judged for being good or bad by looking at he level of convenience, ease and comfort in which the residents live. The variety of services that are provided to the people is always the first checkbox for grading a well-established society.

Same was the reason for introducing e-commerce and it definitely has made a very positive impact on the society and the typical business methods. It has shown new paths and better ways of doing business in more efficient and fruitful ways. Due to its introduction, today every large business has created its own website and offers online services to its customers. There is no need of going to arkets and asking for products and comparing their prices on different shops. Anyone can get the required information on the web. Customers can even talk to online customer support centers for any further or technical assistance.

Impact on Jobs and Careers: Due to the newly found scope in e-commerce, there is now a big space available in the market for employees of e-commerce. More people are pursuing their career in the fields related to computers. Job opportunities have Large businesses hunt for top institutes and reach the brightest students to offer them Jobs in their company. The pays and salaries

are also very high. Impact on Educational Institutes: As the demand for e-commerce related computer employees has suddenly gone to a boom, many educational institutes now offer specialized courses for Jobs in e-commerce.

The clients and customers are now very comfortable with the convenience that e-commerce offers. The number of students that get admissions in these courses has also increased a lot in a short time. Impact on Customer Base: With the evolution of business and commerce, the market structure has also evolved. The average number of people that access the web for shopping and business has highly increased because they find buying and selling stuff over he internet very easy, rather than going to the markets and malls to buy their required items.

There are some websites that now offer all the people to buy and sell their products online and do not even have to incur any additional costs on it. Global Impact: The impact of e-commerce over the globe is truly a large step for the progress of economies of countries and development of good commercial and business relations between each other. With the expansion of e-commerce services over the world the consumer can now buy any product from any place over the world. He does not have to travel anywhere far to get the product.

In fact he does not even have to exit his house. All of it can be done on the computer over the internet and the product will be shipped and delivered to his house. A few years from back, no one had any idea that it would so easy to shop or pay so conveniently. It

really is a marvel of science. Pros and Cons: The e-commerce really has made the humans go one step ahead in usage of technology and science but this trend will bring a bad effect to the cottage industry that are run locally and do not have enough resources to maintain large outlets or manage their websites.

The trend of e-commerce will ventually drive the consumers away from the conventional shopping styles and these small industries will suffer loss. It will be bad for the country because these industries also have a vital role in the economy of a country. E-commerce is also making more use of the resources that the mankind is left with. More use of electricity, more fuel for shipping and delivering goods from all over the world is using up the natural resources we have and destroying our environment too.

Going to the market and buying stuff used more of human effort that kept man a bit more active and energetic; also it was no harm to the environment. So we are also stepping towards laziness and becoming couch potatoes as well. Learning Outcome 3 E-commerce has a lot of potential in the market because it cancels out all of the negative factors that come with the conventional ways of doing business: Monopoly: Some businesses create monopoly by capturing the market so all the areas and the resident customers are pre-occupied and other businesses cannot establish there . e. g. PTCL.

The customers have already got their connections from PTCL so even if there is a company willing to start a competition there won't be any products as well. If a better

service, lesser charges and more facilities are ensured to the consumers through the website, there will definitely be customers attracted towards the product. 2. Division of Work: When a business starts its service through internet, it mostly makes a contract with other companies for better handling of tasks and the burden. The delivery of items goes to the courier and transport services, while the payment and transactional services are handled by the Banks. . Job Opportunities: With the division of work, there are now more people required for the accomplishment of the service tasks, so the companies will hire more people o meet the requirements of the services demanded. This will increase the Job vacancies so the eligible people will be able to get some earnings. 4. Limited Risk: When the work is divided between different groups or companies on a contract, their responsibilities are different on a single task, so if the service task goes wrong the loss is Just limited to that company.

Others do not have to bear the loss. 5. Healthy Competition: With the means of electronic business, every business has now got equal chances of expanding and doing their business with an equal competition. Every business has now the equal opportunities to market, advertise and run their businesses over the internet, with very cheap prices as compared to the conventional advertising costs of business. 6. Intensified Price Competition: With every e-business website easily available, the price comparison has become very easy by the consumers.

This has led the businesses to start a very intense price competition. Every business now tries to cut- off any costs they can and reduce their

prices Just by a fraction so that the customers can be attracted to its portal. This gives the customers better prices on their purchases. Evaluation of E-commerce System of Parce12Go. com Parce12Go. com is a very successful web based parcel delivery system that has also won an award in 2010 for the best online delivery service.

It was initiated inside UK first, but now due to its success, it has expanded itself over the world. They have used the already developed trust of people on different courier services and PayPal payment service to increase their popularity in the market. They also offer comparatively lower prices than other service providers. This website gives the freedom of choice to the customers on selecting the courier that best suits their equirements, delivery schedule and prices. The payment is also made through PayPal which is a very secure medium.

The strategy on which this website has attracted a lot of customers and visitors is; making their website a digital franchise of many various courier services that are available for the people to choose according to their needs, schedule necessities and budget. It does not only provide a good service but also offers the best prices. This customers that eventually leads to a higher net profit. When a visitor accesses the website, he chooses the most favorable service and pays for the delivery. The payment is transferred to that courier service and that service then gives the pre- decided amount per order to Parce12go. om. PEST Analysts By using PEST analysis to evaluate the system of Parce12Go. com, following aspects are analyzed: Political Analysis: Early forms of e-commerce were introduced

in 1970's and it kept progressing from time to time, but when Tim Berners-Lee invented World Wide Web in 1990, the electronic media and electronic commerce spread all over the networks like fire. Obviously the politically strong people, who knew the potential of it, ept themselves adherent to this innovative idea of business and backed up the projects.

They also raised awareness about it in the government region so that it could flourish under the shade of strong political support. Now the activities of e- commerce are monitored and regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that supervises the commercial e-mails, ads and consumer privacy. It also sets the standards of online advertising and direct marketing over e-mails. Economic Analysis: E-commerce provides really good opportunities for businesses as the community is now very much aware of this electronic medium of business and has a huge ustomer base all over the world.

Having a huge market of e-commerce along with the conventional markets gives a boost to the sales. On the other side it increases the credit crunch and credit flow in the economy of a country that does not help in the times of recession. Social Analysis: E-commerce has made a huge social impact on everyone. Although it is unpredictable that what sort of business is going to catch up but some of them do catch really fast. No one knew that Facebook would become the largest social network on the internet or YouTube would be the largest video sharing platform.

There is a high level of uncertainty in the social factors is e-business. Technological Analysis: The flourishing sector of e-commerce has attracted lots of

hardware and software companies to bring new technological advancements related to this sector. This sector has advanced a lot but still has a lot of potential for more advancement. This has led to a competition between companies for bringing new technology in this sector that will eventually get adopted and give them profit. Every system has its advantages and disadvantages. Same is the case with the e- commerce system . . e. used in Parce12Go. om. E-commerce is a very convenient mode of business and is now preferred by large firms but still, it has some negative aspects that every person connected to it has to suffer. They can be minimized though, if proper know-how is used. Running Costs: Parce12Go. com apparently is a very high profit making company because of its high count of customers but actually the running cost of this whole web-based service system is also high so the company has to employ more people, maintain a better web service . i. e. load-free server, 24 Hour service, client satisfaction and better overall experience. This does cost pretty much to the business in terms of finance and for a company that keeps its profit maintained. Trustworthy Website: Another initial disadvantage of e-commerce is the absence of hard proof and person-to-person contact during the transaction. When a person has to pay through a machine and enter his personal details over the internet, he certainly has doubts of fraud and deception, so building up the trust in the customers might take some time.

Hacking: The chances of fraud and hacking are also very much present during the transactions so in order to increase business

and ncome this is a big challenge for the starter companies. If a hacker penetrates into the system he can do a fair amount of damage and even shutdown whole system. High Risk: Risk is the basic factor in the commencement of a business and it has to be taken to make a big business but in e-commerce there is a high level of uncertainty present.

The social network businesses or businesses related to specific trends, regions and fashion have a very fair chance of failure and investing in such a place is a huge risk. Innovation: When there is a very tough competition between the usinesses and comparison of price and quality of products is very easy for the customers, the factor that matters the most is bringing an innovation in the style and products that are sold with the price kept reasonable. If one seller is giving a specific product or service in even with a little bit of betterment or innovation in it, all the customers are going to buy it from that service provider.

Even simple innovations like a free gift or bulk discounts can also be very effective for increasing sales. Commerce The basic factor that affects the sale of a business is always the outer look of the roduct and outlets. Technical Solution: In e-commerce, the website is considered the outlet of a business. That is why it should be very attractive, informative, convenient and fast. The customers that visit for the first time should be able to understand the functioning of the system at the first glance.

The website should be able to guide the people properly through

their relevant tasks and provide help and information to the customers, who need it; should function like a physical outlet does. Financial Solution: For financial strength of the business, it should get help of he strong financial institutes like Banks and insurance companies which ensure a strong base for the company to work. Security Solution: In the field of security, any business related to e-commerce must take the extreme steps to avoid any data leakage, hacking, or payment frauds.

Most of the businesses get help from systems like PayPal that have developed a very secure online payment system for people to pay through their credit cards. Legal Solution: Legal issues include being registered to the proper authority that gives a license or permit to the business for working. The usiness cannot function until it is registered and pays tax to the government. Registration also provides a security to the customers against any kind of fraud. After registration, a business can not commit a fraud or a fraud cannot be committed against it.

E-commerce Design Principles: When a business starts e-commerce it must follow the following steps to improve its web design: 1. Having a unique logo that 2. Giving user a good experience while he/she is on your website. 3. Avoid the Pitfalls that have sunk other online businesses by keeping eyes wide open and keeping yourself updated on the info and news. . Product detail page should have an interactive interface that provides high graphic and statistical information about that product. 5. The checkout process should be simple and open. 6.

There should be no hidden taxes and charges. This gives customers an impression

that you are taking advantage of them. 7. The payment and transfer should be secure so that no party suffers any kind of loss. 8. The page weight also matters. The website should be very light so the customers should have no problems while browsing the pages. The market and consumers have still a lot to learn about e-commerce. It surely as a lot of potential and it is the way to future. It is a very useful and efficient way of doing business without the problems of being far in distance.

This sector should be researched and developed a lot still to make it perfect in every aspect. It surely has many positive and negative aspects but with development, they can be minimized and even nullified. Parce12Go. com has been in the market for quite a while now and it has very successfully achieved many of its goals and objectives. It has created a light weight website and a good interface. It has gained customer trust and satisfaction by roviding quality services and low prices.

It is a very successful and renowned business in I-JK and the rest of the world now. It is hard to achieve a good reputation like this but even harder to maintain it for a long period. Parce12Go. com has to keep on improving its service in order keep its reputation alive. In my opinion, Parce12Go. com should now stretch itself to the far flung countries and collaborate with local courier services over there in order to achieve a large customer count, increase its profit and eventually, become a very famous e- commerce company.