Jennifer Stone
Assignment: Analyzing Value of IS
7/10/12
For this assignment, I decided to analyze the value of the E-commerce as an information system for a company. The use of E-commerce as an information system is valuable for any company, especially small businesses. It is becoming costly to keep up with the global market, but the low cost of E-commerce allows small businesses to compete within the global market. E-commerce makes it so that virtually any business, larger or small, is able to market and sell worldwide at a low cost to the company. This information system is creating new business opportunities for companies.
E-commerce allows for the ease of exchanging of information between business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer, and to the public sector. This means that businesses and their consumers can exchange information through the use of a computer at their own home, on their own time. Information is always available for any relationship that is included in conducting a business (B2B, B2C, C2C, public sector).
The main system components of Processing and Feedback become much easier through the use of E-commerce. E-commerce has specifically and most importantly allowed for the flow of processing to speed up and take up significantly less time. Instead of moving from person to person, place to place for the processing of a business order or transaction, everything is done through essentially a one-step process through the internet between a company and a vendor. The use of E-commerce can potentially allow for a one-step buying process between a company’s employee and a vendor. The employee can seek information online through a vendor’s website, seek management approval, and place an order in a single transaction. This contrasts with the traditional process for placing a purchase order, which requires much more time and effort to complete. This ease of exchange of information between the business relationships would also most likely significantly help with the feedback system, as customers can communicate feedback to the business or the public that will help any business make changes to their system. Any problems or comments can be sent online, making feedback easier to give as well as receive.
Furthermore, the main system components of input and output are made easier through E-commerce. Input is the capturing of raw data. Through the use of the internet and e-mail communication, companies, for example, can see exactly what they need to order from a vendor or supplier for their inventory. E-commerce can provide an organized list online that tracks inventory used and inventory needed. This leads to output (the production of useful information). Through the use of online tracking, buyers can produce documents listing exactly which products that they will need to order. This is a much easier and quicker way to communicate with suppliers what the company will need.
Furthermore, the main system components of input and output are made easier through E-commerce. Input is the capturing of raw data. Through the use of the internet and e-mail communication, companies, for example, can see exactly what they need to order from a vendor or supplier for their inventory. E-commerce can provide an organized list online that tracks inventory used and inventory needed. This leads to output (the production of useful information). Through the use of online tracking, buyers can produce documents listing exactly which products that they will need to order. This is a much easier and quicker way to communicate with suppliers what the company will need.
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteJust a heads-up. You need to post the address of this into the Moodle "W1Part 1: Introduction to Systems and IS" Blog assignment section or you will not have completed it correctly.
Mike
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ReplyDeleteHi, Jennifer. I also did my assigment on e-commerce. I found it very interesting, so I'd like to comment on a few subjects you covered that I did not. I completely agree with e-commerce and its ability to make business transactions simpler and faster. We both seemed to cover the B2B, B2C, and C2C type of transactions, which are important sub-categories for e-commerce as a whole. We both failed to mention m-commerce in our analysis, even though it is a different type of Business IS, it nearly goes hand-in-hand with e-commerce in the sense that it makes use of the interconnected world wide web to create a multitude of business opportunities that wouldn't be possible otherwise. We could probably write 250 words on just the capabilites of smart phones as it relates to business.
ReplyDeleteWe both covered processing as a process that is made easier by e-commerce, but I'm glad you also mentioned feedback. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "Any problems or comments can be sent online, making feedback easier to give as well as receive." That is the systematic function of feedback through e-commerce, because we live in a world where people need constant updates and second-to-second news; why Twitter has become so popular. Things such as tracking #'s for deliveries and live online customer service chats, are two examples of how feedback has been so made easier by this Business IS known as e-commerce.
I like the point you made about small businesses trying to keep up with more established corporations. There are many businesses out there that never would have been nearly as successful as they are today without the help of e-commerce. I also like what you wrote about feedback and how customers can provide it through ratings and comments on a company's website. For instance, amazon.com provides consumer reviews for every product they sell. This helps the consumer find the product that is right for them and it also ensures that the companies with the best products will get the most attention rather than the biggest companies.
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