Jerome Lauzon | What is Electronic Commerce?

 What is Electronic Commerce? 

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the management of online business processes on the Web, Internet, Extranet, or a combination thereof. 

Jerome Lauzon says These customers-, internally-, and management-focused business processes include buying and selling goods and services, serving customers, processing payments, managing production and supply chains, collaborating with business partners, exchanging information, operating automated employee services, and recruiting employees.

E-commerce is similar to e-commerce but involves much more than online shopping transactions. Functions and services range from the development of intranets and extranets to the provision of electronic services over the Internet by application service providers. 

Businesses engage in e-commerce to purchase parts and consumables from other businesses, collaborate on promotions, and conduct research together.

Cybersecurity has taken root in e-commerce through the use of endpoint security and advanced detection and response capabilities. Security is built into browsers, and digital certificates are now available to individuals and businesses from a variety of vendors offering cybersecurity tools and technologies. 

Although the security of e-commerce transactions remains a pressing concern for consumers and businesses, e-commerce continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

Examples of e-business

Jerome Lauzon said E-commerce includes older businesses that have moved from legacy processes to data-centric operations and new digitally-oriented businesses. 

The latter are organizations that, according to the definition of the consulting firm Gartner after 1995, have "operating models and capacities [that] are based on the use of information and digital technologies of the age of 'Internet as a basic skill'. Since then, examples of e-commerce organizations of various shapes and sizes have flooded the digital landscape.

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer and marketplace, has used its e-commerce model to revolutionize and expand into many established industries, including publishing and supermarkets.

Both Uber and Lyft, which have created companies that connect drivers with people who need to travel, have disrupted the taxi and ride-hailing industry. And in 2014, Uber went even further and expanded its e-commerce with the launch of a food ordering and delivery platform, Uber Eats.

Travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, and TripAdvisor allow consumers to research, plan and book all or part of their trips based on personalized criteria such as price, customer ratings, and location.

The Schindler Group, a multinational elevator and escalator company founded in 1874, is a historic company that has integrated e-commerce through the use of IoT and other technologies to add Internet services and mobility to its product offering.

Advantages of e-business

According to Jerome Lauzon E-commerce has radically changed the way businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other institutions work, enabling them to increase productivity, reduce costs, move faster towards digital transformation, and improve processes.

Electronic invoicing, automated invoicing, and digital payment systems reduce the time employees spend on these tasks, many of which were done manually decades ago. 

This type of time-saving allows companies to reduce the number of their departments or reallocate employees to higher-value tasks. Digital systems also streamline workflows, reduce the time between billing and payment, and improve the company's cash flow.

Electronic communication systems such as email, video conferencing, and online collaboration platforms increase productivity by reducing delays between requests and responses, whether the communication is between employees, employees, and external trading partners, or between employees and customers. 

Decision-making is faster, resulting in more agile organizations that are responsive to stakeholder needs and market demands. Electronic communications have also, in some cases, eliminated employee business travel and encouraged a more open and collaborative culture, allowing every employee to contribute ideas.

The digital systems that drive e-commerce can also extend an organization's reach beyond its physical walls. Cloud-based enterprise applications enable remote and hybrid workers to get their work done from the office, from home, and from other locations. 

These duties include archiving information, generating data insights, recording financial transactions, and personalizing customer interactions.

Types of e-commerce

Most organizations have at least some e-business capability to support their core competencies and ancillary functions, but the scope of e-business conducted within an organization varies.

Some organizations have limited e-commerce capabilities – for example, a small business that processes payments through a mobile payment service but does not use other digital services. At the other end of the spectrum are companies whose business model is entirely supported by electronic and digital services.