T3.6 Electronic Business

 T3.6 Electronic Business

The predicted growth of Electronic Business or e-business is the driving force behind all the excitement and interest in doing business over the Internet.  One of the better definitions I found of electronic business is “E-business (electronic business), derived from such terms as "e-mail" and "e-commerce," is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners.” (1)  I think up until now we all thought of e-business to include the buying and selling part of business.  But there are other aspects of e-business that we should not over look. 

One of the articles I found was from the U.S. Census Bureau and it related a different view on e-business. “It is useful to think of the electronic economy as having three primary components--supporting infrastructure, electronic business processes (how business is conducted), and electronic commerce transactions (buying and selling).” (2)  Looking at this perceptive, first there is the infrastructure is the hardware, software, and people power that is used to make the processes work. Second is the use of the computer to conduct any kind of business dealings, ie customer focus programs – email blasts, customer support; company process  - such as internal training, videoconferencing, recruiting, company webinars, and company focused programs like inventory tracking, payment processes, links to suppliers.  Finally, the e-commerce transaction is where the computer is used to complete a transfer of ownership of goods or services. And this is where the amazing growth is happening.

It is this e-commerce part of electronic business that is at an all time growth. “This according to Forrester, which is predicting that by 2014 US online retail will grow at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate  to reach nearly $249 billion. Correspondingly, the major Western European nations will grow at an 11 percent CAGR, hitting €114 billion in five years' time.” (3)  The article goes on to present a retail forecast to achieve these numbers:

•   “Online shopping will account for 8 percent of total retail sales by 2014.
•    Three product categories dominate online retail: apparel, footwear, and accessories; consumer electronics; and consumer hardware, software, and peripherals. Together, these represent over 40 percent of total online retail sales.
•    By 2014, 53 percent of total retail sales will be influenced by ecommerce as consumers increasingly use the web to research before purchasing.” (4)

So if e-business is good for the business to business environment, is it good for the consumer market?  Or should we be concerned that this increase on buying goods primarily off the Internet will hurt or close the brick and mortar stores.  Or perhaps this existence of selling and buying over the Internet will be good for business by creating a competitive environment where hopefully the buyer comes out the winner.  Of course time will be the answer.

I refer back to Market America and the site I have talked about before.  They were one of the first to give “cash back” offer to the people who bought from their site.  They are growing in leaps and “ …  was named to Internet Retailer’s Top 500 guide, ranking 54^th in the nation, up from the 66^th spot it held 2008. (5)   Go see what they have.  They do not cater to only one store, but they are the “cyber mall” that is talked about in the book.  Maybe this is how we will shop in the future. All the stores in one place, everyone gets back cash for their efforts, UPS delivery trucks comb the country side and e-business has it hold on all that we do.

E-business is a combination of business hardware and software, people, processes, selling and buying.  It’s not just the buying and selling as many may think. To think that one of the first times “electronic business” term was used was back in 1997 by IBM.  What a long way we have come…and are going.

(1)   http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/e-business     

(2)   http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/ebusines.htm

(3)   http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/5702-double-digit-growth-for-online-retail-in-us-w-europe

(4)   http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/5702-double-digit-growth-for-online-retail-in-us-w-europe 

(5)   www.internetretailer.com/top500guide/      www.marketamerica.com/pjsplace