1 E – Commerce HTM 304: Section 02/03 Collene Kelly Tanya Lastrilla Vinh Phan Henry Vasquez 17 May 20072 Table of Contents 1. History and Trends 3 2. Secure Shopping 5 2.1. What 5 2.2. Problems with the technology 7 2.3. Popular Products 7 3. Supply Chain Management 8 4. Demand and Trends 14 5. Conclusion 21 6. Works Cited 233 History and Trends Who enjoys long lines and enduring traffic when wanting a shopping experience? In the age of major information technology consumers enjoy being in the comfort of their home. And with the preference for comfort comes the need for e-commerce. E-commerce is defined as, “the buying and selling of goods over the internet (dictionary.com).” It can include business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions. With the creation of the internet in 1969, when the Advanced Research Projects Agency (a Department of Defense organization) funded research of computer networking, it was a sure thing that the internet was going to make it into our personal lives In the 1984, guaranteeing that businesses would be able to complete business to business transactions reliable, EDI, or electronic data interchange, was standardized through ASC (Associated Standard Committee) X12 (Hiser, Lanka, Li and Oliver). Then, in 1992, Compuserve begins to offer its products online for its consumers. Two years later, in 1994, Netscape was created and it provides a browser that allowed consumers to ‘surf’ the internet safely with a technology called Secure Sockets Layer (Hiser, Lanka, Li and Oliver). The Secure Sockets Layer encrypts information that is being sent through the internet. This protects the consumer, and helps the worry about sending their important information through the internet. Shortly after the creation of Netscape, two of the biggest online businesses in e-commerce were launched: Amazon.com and Ebay.com. (Hiser, Lanka, Li and Oliver) And while Amazon.com and Ebay.com were making their mark as two of the top e-commerce businesses, in 1998 DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) helped in creating faster online service that persuaded consumer to continue fast, reliable online shopping (Hiser, Lanka, Li and Oliver). The new innovations aided in the rise of e-commerce. One website states, “History of ecommerce would have never been possible without plastic cards,4 online shopping carts, secure payment gateways and many other inventions which had their say in the online world (ecommerce-land.com).” Through e-commerce, small businesses are able to advertise in a world-wide market and all businesses are able to track consumer demand (clicks) online through the computer. This enables businesses to properly monitor the demands for their products securely. Online shopping provided by companies like Wal-Mart and Dell helps convenience the customer in so many ways: “Wal-Mart Stores has simplified its Web site so customers can get to the checkout page in fewer than four clicks […] Wal-Mart's Web redesign this year provided greater ease of use. It eliminated an average of two clicks to get to the checkout page while adding interactive features to about 5,000 pages so users would not have to navigate to another page to get product information. Walmart.com projects that site visits will surge 40 percent to 700 million in 2006.” (Cheng) In addition, with e-commerce, consumers are able to shop at their computers with their pajamas on. Not only do customers like the fact that they don’t have to join the others in shopping in long lines and getting stuck in traffic in a shopping center parking lot, consumers also enjoy the fact that their information is properly secured. Limited brands, the company that owns Victoria’s Secret, Express, and many more, provides their customer with the convenience of online shopping. One source states, “Ecommerce has a great deal of advantages over “brick and mortar” stores and mail order catalogs. Consumers can easily search through a large database of products and services. They can see actual prices, build an order over several days and email it as a “wish list” hoping that someone will pay for their selected goods. Customers can compare prices with a click of the mouse and buy the selected5 product at best prices (Commerce land).” This quote perfectly describes the atmosphere with Victoria’sSecret.com. E-commerce has the need for security, a role in supply chain management, and an intense demand. And with all the positives that online shopping provides for customers, the following information will include both the negatives and positives that come with the need for security, the role of supply chain management, and the intense demand of e-commerce. Shop Securely With the need for security when shopping some consumers are hesitant when it comes to shopping online. However, many sites are making sure they add measures in order to make their customers happy and safe to shop online. What is a secure site? Well, a secure site is a site that uses the HTTPS protocol to ensure that your information cannot be stolen by a third party between the seller and the consumer. To have a secure site, the seller must have a SSL certificate to make their site secure. A SSL certificate is how a web server proves their identity to web browsers, thus allowing a secure site to communicate privately with the web browser through the HTTPS protocol. Companies like Victoria’s Secret online shopping guarantee and advertise a SSL secure checkout with icons advertised at the bottom of their official website. A SSL certificate is digitally "signed" by a certificate authority, which can be done with a site such as GoDaddy or Thawte, that web browsers already trust. This allows the web browser to verify the identity of a secure site before sending private personal information, such as bank account or credit card numbers, through the World Wide Web.6 To safely accept private information from users online, the site creator, the seller, needs a secure site that understands the HTTPS protocol. To set up a secure web site that the average person's web browser will trust, a SSL certificate will be needed. SSL certificates that most web browsers can accept are sold by a relatively small number of companies. These companies contain a set of "root certificate authorities" that they trust. This means that if your
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