The document discusses various types of electronic commerce (e-commerce) models and transactions. It describes business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-employee (B2E), business-to-government (B2G), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-citizen (G2C), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and virtual value chain models of e-commerce. It also discusses the history and growth of e-commerce since the 1990s with the rise of the internet and World Wide Web.

1. Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.<br />A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.<br />Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet. There is no intermediary service. The sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time such as Amazon.com for new books. If an intermediary is present, then the sale and purchase transaction is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com.<br />Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.<br />HISTORY<br />Early development<br />Originally, electronic commerce meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). These were both introduced in the late 1970s, allowing businesses to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically. The growth and acceptance of credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking in the 1980s were also forms of electronic commerce. Another form of e-commerce was the airline reservation system typified by Sabre in the USA and Travicom in the UK.<br />From the 1990s onwards, electronic commerce would additionally include enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), data mining and data warehousing.<br />In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee invented the WorldWideWeb web browser and transformed an academic telecommunication network into a worldwide everyman everyday communication system called internet/www. Commercial enterprise on the Internet was strictly prohibited until 1991.[1] Although the Internet became popular worldwide around 1994 when the first internet online shopping started, it took about five years to introduce security protocols and DSL allowing continual connection to the Internet. By the end of 2000, many European and American business companies offered their services through the World Wide Web. Since then people began to associate a word quot;
ecommercequot;
with the ability of purchasing various goods through the Internet using secure protocols and electronic payment services.<br />Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.[1] Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments.[2]<br />An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an integrated computer-based application used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.[1]<br />Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business.[1] The terms quot;
human resource managementquot;
and quot;
human resourcesquot;
(HR) have largely replaced the term quot;
personnel managementquot;
as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations.[1] In simple words, HRM means employing people, developing their capacities, utilizing, maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job and organizational requirement.<br />A content management system (CMS) is the Collection of Procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. The procedures are designed to do the following:<br />Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data<br />Control access to data, based on user roles (defining which information users or user groups can view, edit, publish, etc.)<br />Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data<br />Reduce repetitive duplicate input<br />Improve the ease of report writing<br />Improve communication between users<br />In a CMS, data can be defined as nearly anything: documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, and so forth. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation. Serving as a central repository, the CMS increases the version level of new updates to an already existing file. Version control is one of the primary advantages of a CMS.<br />Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G).<br />The volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving sub component or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction.<br />B2B is also used in the context of communication and collaboration. Many businesses are now using social media to connect with their consumers (B2C); however, they are now using similar tools within the business so employees can connect with one another. When communication is taking place amongst employees, this can be referred to as quot;
B2Bquot;
communication.<br />Internet marketing, also referred to as i-marketing, web-marketing, online-marketing or e-Marketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet.<br />The Internet has brought media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing in terms of providing instant responses and eliciting responses are the unique qualities of the medium. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing.<br />Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including: design, development, advertising, and sales.<br />Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies. In 2008, The New York Times - working with comScore - published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found the potential for collecting data upward of 2,500 times on average per user per month.[1]<br />OFFLINE MKGT.<br />All the talk these days seems to focus around ways to promote your Internet business. Most of them center around online methods such as Ezine advertising and banner ads. But there are some excellent, offline methods you can use to promote your business, too. <br />And they're FREE! <br />Radio Talk Shows <br />There is practically an unlimited number of radio stations that bring experts in various fields into their studios. I'm sure you have heard some of these shows on your local radio stations. <br />The guest expert answers calls from listeners who phone into the radio station. You can be that expert! <br />During the show, you have ample opportunities to announce your Web address so listeners can visit your site. <br />You don't pay anything to be a guest. It's a win-win situation.<br />The radio station needs qualified guests to fill its airtime and you need the exposure. Everyone benefits. <br />Local Television Segments <br />Pay particular attention to the content offered on your local television stations. Do you notice shows, or segments of shows, where guests speak about various topics? If so, contact that station and offer to be a guest on their segment. <br />Chamber of Commerce Guest Speaker <br />Almost every city in the United States has a Chamber of Commerce. Although I don't have first-hand knowledge of such in other countries, I'll bet most have a similar organization. <br />Chambers of Commerce look for guest speakers. Most of them host weekly or monthly breakfasts or lunches to allow the business people who are members to network with one another. <br />During this time, they book guest speakers to offer a presentation to the Chamber members. <br />You have a captive audience that you can speak to, network with and direct to your Web site.<br />A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value[1] - economic, social, or other forms of value. The process of business model design is part of business strategy.<br />In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies.<br />Whenever a business is established, it either explicitly or implicitly employs a particular business model that describes the design or architecture of the value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms employed by the business enterprise. The essence of a business model is that it defines the manner by which the business enterprise delivers value to customers, entices customers to pay for value, and converts those payments to profit: it thus reflects management’s hypothesis about what customers want, how they want it, and how an enterprise can organize to best meet those needs, get paid for doing so, and make a profit[2].<br />Business models are used to describe and classify businesses (especially in an entrepreneurial setting), but they are also used by managers inside companies to explore possibilities for future development, and finally well known business models operate as recipes for creative managers [3].<br />A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. One of the most pervasive types of virtual community include social networking services, which consist of various online communities.<br />3RD PARTY Amazon Marketplace is Amazon.com's fixed-price online marketplace that allows sellers to offer their goods alongside Amazon's offerings. It is available on Amazon sites in various countries: USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Canada. Buyers can buy new and secondhand items sold directly by a third party through Amazon using Amazon Marketplace. This concept is similar to eBay's successful half.com. In order to sell on Amazon, you have to live in certain countries,[1] and you need a bank account in certain countries.[2] Sometimes, you can't use a bank account in the country of residence, though: for example, Amazon.fr allows a Japanese address of residence, but not a Japanese bank account.<br />The value chain, also known as value chain analysis, is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.<br />Telecommunication is the transmission of information, over significant distances, for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, or sent by loud whistles, for example. In the modern age of electricity and electronics, telecommunications now also includes the use of electrical devices such as telegraphs, telephones, and teletypes, the use of radio and microwave communications, as well as fiber optics and their associated electronics, plus the use of the orbiting satellites and the Internet.<br />The virtual value chain, created by John Sviokla and Jeffrey Rayport, is a business model describing the dissemination of value-generating information services throughout an Extended Enterprise. This value chain begins with the content supplied by the provider, which is then distributed and supported by the information infrastructure; thereupon the context provider supplies actual customer interaction. It supports the physical value chain of procurement, manufacturing, distribution and sales of traditional companies.<br />Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. Contrasting terms are business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-government (B2G).<br />Business-to-consumer (B2C, sometimes also called Business-to-Customer) describes activities of businesses serving end consumers with products and/or services.<br />An example of a B2C transaction would be a person buying a pair of shoes from a retailer. The transactions that led to the shoes being available for purchase, that is the purchase of the leather, laces, rubber, etc. as well as the sale of the shoe from the shoemaker to the retailer would be considered (B2B) transactions.<br />Business-to-employee (B2E) electronic commerce uses an intrabusiness network which allows companies to provide products and/or services to their employees. Typically, companies use B2E networks to automate employee-related corporate processes.<br />Examples of B2E applications include:<br />Online insurance policy management<br />Corporate announcement dissemination<br />Online supply requests<br />Special employee offers<br />Employee benefits reporting<br />401(k) Management<br />Business-to-government (B2G) is a derivative of B2B marketing and often referred to as a market definition of quot;
public sector marketingquot;
which encompasses marketing products and services to various government levels - including federal, state and local - through integrated marketing communications techniques such as strategic public relations, branding, marcom, advertising, and web-based communications.<br />B2G networks provide a platform for businesses to bid on government opportunities which are presented as solicitations in the form of RFPs in a reverse auction fashion. Public sector organizations (PSO's) post tenders in the form of RFP's, RFI's, RFQ's, Sources Sought, etc. and suppliers respond to them.<br />Government agencies typically have pre-negotiated standing contracts vetting the vendors/suppliers and their products and services for set prices. These can be state, local or federal contracts and some may be grandfathered in by other entities (ie. California's MAS Multiple Award Schedule will recognize the federal government contract holder's prices on a GSA General Services Administration Schedule).<br />There are multiple social platforms dedicated to this vertical market and they have risen in popularity with the onset of the ARRA/Stimulus Program and increased government funds available to commercial entities for both grants and contracts.<br />Government-to-Business (abbreviated G2B) is the online non-commercial interaction between local and central government and the commercial business sector, rather than private individuals (G2C). For example http://www.dti.gov.uk is a government web site where businesses can get information and advice on e-business 'best practice'. http://g2b.perm.ru is another example.<br />Government-to-Government (abbreviated G2G) is the online non-commercial interaction between Government organisations, departments, and authorities and other Government organisations, departments, and authorities. Its use is common in the UK, along with G2C, the online non-commercial interaction of local and central Government and private individuals, and G2B the online non-commercial interaction of local and central Government and the commercial business sector.<br />G2G systems generally come in one of two types:<br />Internal facing - joining up a single Governments departments, agencies, organisations and authorities - examples include the integration aspect of the Government Gateway, and the UK NHS Connecting for Health Data SPINE.<br />External facing - joining up multiple Governments IS systems - an example would include the integration aspect of the Schengen Information System (SIS), developed to meet the requirements of the Schengen Agreement.<br />Government-to-Citizen (abbreviated G2C) is the communication link between a government and private individuals or residents. Such G2C communication most often refers to that which takes place through Information Communication Technologies (or ICTs), but can also include direct mail and media campaigns. G2C can take place at the federal, state, and local levels. G2C stands in contrast to G2B, or Government-to-Business networks.<br />One such Federal G2C network is USA.gov: the United States' official web portal, though there are many other examples from governments around the world.[1]<br />Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) (or citizen-to-citizen) electronic commerce involves the electronically-facilitated transactions between consumers through some third party. A common example is the online auction, in which a consumer posts an item for sale and other consumers bid to purchase it; the third party generally charges a flat fee or commission. The sites are only intermediaries, just there to match consumers. They do not have to check quality of the products being offered.<br />Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketing is the creation of a product or service with the specific promotional strategy being for consumers to share that product or service with others as brand advocates based on the value of the product. The investment into concepting and developing a top of the line product or service that consumers are actively looking for is equatable to a Business-to-consumer (B2C) pre launch product awareness marketing spend.<br />Consumer-to-business (C2B) is an electronic commerce business model in which consumers (individuals) offer products and services to companies and the companies pay them. This business model is a complete reversal of traditional business model where companies offer goods and services to consumers (business-to-consumer = B2C).<br />This kind of economic relationship is qualified as an inverted business type. The advent of the C2B scheme is due to major changes:<br />-Connecting a large group of people to a bidirectional network has made this sort of commercial relationship possible. The large traditional media outlets are one direction relationship whereas the internet is bidirectional one.<br />-Decreased cost of technology : Individuals now have access to technologies that were once only available to large companies ( digital printing and acquisition technology, high performance computer, powerful software)<br />Focus is an independent subsidiary of Davy and a specialist equity investment manager operating six equity funds.<br />An information broker, also known as an independent information professional or information consultant, is a person or business that researches information for clients. Common uses for information brokers include market research and patent searches, but can include practically any type of information research.<br />Value Chain Integration-DEFINITION: The process in which multiple enterprises within a shared market cooperatively plan, implement, and manage (electronically and physically) the flow of goods, services, and information from point of origin to point of consumption in a manner that increases customer-perceived value and optimizes the efficiency of the chain, creating competitive advantage for all stakeholders involved.<br />e-Auctions are being used by councils to secure better contract terms and prices for the goods and services they buy. An e-auction allows councils to set up a scheduled event where companies can bid against each other to win the council’s business. Understandably, this can give councils significant savings on price when compared to previous contracts, but the process of running an e-auction can be complicated and councils using e-auction technology need to be sure that the e-auction process has been backed up with a well run procurement process. For more information on procurement best practice please visit the procurement pages.<br />An emerging category of computer software, collaboration platforms are unified electronic platforms that support synchronous and asynchronous communication through a variety of devices and channels.<br />Collaboration platforms offer a set of software components and software services that enable individuals to find each other and the information they need and to be able to communicate and work together to achieve common business goals. The core elements of a collaboration platform are messaging (email, calendaring and scheduling, and contacts), team collaboration (file synchronization, ideas and notes in a wiki, task management, full-text search), and real-time collaboration and communication (e.g., presence, instant messaging, Web conferencing, application / desktop sharing, voice, audio and video conferencing), and Social Computing tools (e.g., blog, wiki, tagging, RSS, shared bookmarks).<br />Collaboration platforms could be proprietary or open source or free software, and used in wider information and communication environments.<br />