e-commerce

1. ESLSCA UNIVERISTY
Intake: IMBA 03
E-Commerce
Assignment # 01
1.1, 1.2 & 1.3
Submitted by
Magdy Mahmoud Mohamed El Tantawy
Supervisor
Dr. Riem Hamdi

2. E-COMMERCE – ASSIGNMENT 01
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Ecommerce
Answer the following questions.
 1.1 Understand why it is important to study e-commerce.
 1.2 Define e-commerce, understand how e-commerce differs from e-business, identify
the primary technological building blocks underlying e-commerce, and recognize major
current themes in e-commerce.
 1.3 Identify and describe the unique features of e-commerce technology an discuss their
business significance.
 1.4 Describe the major types of e-commerce.
 1.5 Understand the evolution of e-commerce from its early years to today.
 1.6 Describe the major themes underlying the study of e-commerce.
 1.7 Identify the major academic disciplines contributing to e-commerce.
 Why it is important to study e-commerce.
E-commerce refers to electronic commerce that started in 1995 and due to revolution of
internet and becoming accessible to all people. The buyers gain a clear a dvantage when the
Internet gives them access to the global market, by which they can compare prices
across regions, find out whether prices vary by order fragmentation and get awareness
about substitute products. Due to transparency of the market, customer can compare the
services of various e-commerce sites easily.
 Define e-commerce, understand how e-commerce differs from e-business, identify the
primary technological building blocks underlying e-commerce, and recognize major
current themes in e-commerce.
E-commerce involves the use of the Internet, the World Wide Web (Web), and mobile apps and browsers
running on mobile devices to transact business.
E-business the digital enabling of transactions and processes within a firm, involving information systems
under the control of the firm.
Accordingly, E-commerce primarily involves transactions that cross firm boundaries. E-business primarily
involves the application of digital technologies to business processes within the firm.
Technological building blocks
 Internet
 World Wide Web (HTML-Deep& Surface Web)
 Mobile platform (Mobile Apps)

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Major current themes in e-commerce
Business trends include:
– Covid-19 pandemic fuels surge in retail e-commerce, m-commerce, and certain on-demand services
• Technology trends include:
– Mobile platform and cloud computing
– Big data and Internet of Things
• Societal trends include:
– Increased concern about impact of social networks
– Concerns about increasing market dominance of big technology firms
 Identify and describe the unique features of e-commerce technology an discuss their
business significance.
1. Ubiquity: available just about everywhere, at all times.
2. Global reach: permits commercial transactions to cross cultural, regional, and national boundaries far
more conveniently and cost-effectively than is true in traditional commerce
3. Universal standards: shared by all nations around the world
4. Information richness: the complexity and content of a message
5. Interactivity: allows for two-way communication between merchant and consumer
6. Information density: the total amount and quality of information available to all market
participants
7. Personalization/customization:
Personalization: merchants can target their marketing messages to specific individuals by
adjusting the message to a person’s name, interests, and past purchases
Customization: changing the delivered product or service based on a user’s preferences
8. Social technology: User-generated content and social networks.

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 Describe the major types of e-commerce.
 Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
 Business-to-Business (B2B)
 Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
 Mobile e-commerce (M-commerce)
 Social e-commerce
 Local e-commerce
 Evolution of e-commerce from its early years to today.

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 Describe the major themes underlying the study of e-commerce.
 Technology:
Development and mastery of digital computing and
communications technology
 Business:
New technologies present businesses with new ways of organizing production and transacting
business
 Society:
Intellectual property, individual privacy, public welfare policy
 Identify the major academic disciplines contributing to e-commerce.
• Technical
– Computer science, management science, information systems
• Behavioral
– Information systems research, economics, marketing, management, finance/accounting,
sociology.

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Chapter 2: E-commerce Business Strategies
 2.1 Identify the key components of e-commerce business models.
 2.2 Describe the major B2C business models.
 2.3 Describe the major B2B business models.
 2.4 Understand key business concepts and strategies applicable to e-commerce.
 Identify the key components of e-commerce business models.
1. Value proposition
2. Revenue model
3. Market opportunity
4. Competitive environment
5. Competitive advantage
6. Market strategy
7. Organizational development
8. Management team
 Describe the major B2C business models
• E-tailer
• Community provider (social network)
• Content provider
• Portal
• Transaction broker
• Market creator
• Service provider
 Describe the major B2B business models
• Net marketplaces
– E-distributor
– E-procurement
– Exchange
– Industry consortium
• Private industrial network
 Key business concepts and strategies applicable to e-commerce.
– Product/service differentiation
– Cost competition
– Scope
– Focus/market niche
– Customer intimacy

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Assignment 1.3
 Why did BloomThat opt to partner with existing delivery services like UPS rather than
use local deliverers or florists?
The co-founder of BloomThat decide to focus on core business which is offering flower business s
and another company to handle delivery. It was mandatory to keep business service quality tup
to standard to assign delivery via expertise companies in delivery industry like FEDEX & UPS to
achieve best shopping experience from selecting flowers to delivery.
 Compared to other on-demand companies, what type of regulatory hurdles does
BloomThat face?
Engaging consumers at their current geographic location where is required to develop sufficient
size and scale that they will become profitable over time.
 What level of delivery speed is most important to BloomThat customers, according to
Schwab?
Delivery speed required 4-7 days, where BloomThat succeeded to determine consumer
requirements with respect to product and delivery on same day that was considered a
competitive advantages comparing to same firms.