E-commerce has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry as advances in technology have enabled online ordering and payment. The bottled water industry is well-suited for e-commerce as it serves many customers through frequent transactions. Key aspects of successful e-commerce include high-quality products, secure payment systems, and excellent customer service.

1. E-commerce and Drinking Water

2. April 25, 2006

3. E- Commerce is coming of age with millions of new
customers from internet sales for a wide variety of
products. Advances in web site design, payment
mechanisms and delivery systems have met the increased
demand for online ordering.

4. With the advent of on-line ordering firms like Amazon and
E-Bay, what started out as a small business has morphed
into a multi-billion dollar industry. The key to success in
the field of E Commerce ist he offering of high quality
products coupled with state of the art technology to
ensure ease of ordering and secure payment mechanisms.

5. The bottled water industry is an ideal beneficiary of e-
commerce technology because of the large number of
customers served and the frequency of transactions and
purchases.

6. E-commerce Defined

7. E-commerce is similar to other forms of commerce except
that it involves the buying and selling of goods over the
Internet. E-commerce sites range from a simple web page
highlighting a single item to dynamic fully developed on-
line catalogs featuring thousands of products.The common
theme and benefit in e-commerce sites is instant
purchase, instant payment (if desired) and instant
gratification for the customer.

8. Over the years, the e-commerce web has blossomed into a
multi-billion dollar industry yearly, with significant growth
projected over the next 5 years. A defining characteristic is
that all ecommerce web sites accept a type of online
payment, whether through a third party or directly with a
merchant account..

9. E-commerce: The Wave of the Future

10. The internet is changing world view of shoppers. Instant
gratification is a reality. Utilizing e-commerce allows
customers the ability to quickly take delivery of the goods
they require and desire.In addition, the Internet is perhaps
the best sales tool ever invented as it allows customers to
browse endlessly in privacy. They can return and order
again and again without ever leaving their home.

11. Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before
all sales-oriented companies will have some sort of e-
commerce presence in order to remain competitive and
the development of software and tools to improve the
productivity of e-commerce sites remains strong. As more
and better technology is developed, e-commerce will
greatly expand.

12. Secure Payment and SSL(Secure Socket Layer): The Heart
of the System

13. SSL(Secure Socket Layer) has been the de facto standard
and heart of the system for e-commerce transaction
security, and it's likely to remain so well into the future.

14. SSL is basedon encryption. SSL encrypts data, like credit
cards numbers (as well other personally identifiable
information), which prevents unauthorized use. An SSL
protected page is identified when the address begins with
"https" and there is a padlock icon at the bottom of the
page.

15. SSL Certificates

16. The SSL certificate resides on a secure server and is used
to encrypt the data and to identify the Web site. The SSL
certificate also helps to prove the site belongs to who it
says it belongs to and contains information about the
certificate holder, the domain that the certificate was
issued to, the name of the Certificate Authority who
issued the certificate, the root and the country it was
issued in.

17. In general,e-commerce users are urged to avoid sites that
fail to use and display proof of SSL Ceritifcates.

18. The Bottled Water Industry and E-commerce

19. The bottled water business is actually two lines of
business: Local delivery water and private labeled water
and each is an important subset of the total business.

20. Local delivery water is defined geographically and usually
comprises rental or sales of coolers and delivery of 5-
gallon and small package (12, 16.5 and 20 oz.) bottles to
customers located within a limited distance from the
water source. This business includes a customer base of
consumers and businesses in the defined geographic area
who take periodic delivery of water. The key to success in
this line of business is the production and efficient
delivery of the highest quality pure water.

21. Private labeled water involves the development and
production of high quality custom labels with a clear
branding message. This line of business is national in
scope and includes a strong element of branding and
advertising. The key to success in this line of business is
the design and production of a label of the highest quality
with a clear branding message.

22. Each line of business has different requirements for e-
commerce. For the local delivery business, establishing
and meeting delivery schedules is critical with the most
advanced sites offering delivery programs that offer the
customer choice of delivery schedules and the ability to
modify deliveries as conditions warrant.

23. For the private labeled line of business design flexibility in
the form of interactive tools for the development,
proofing and production of labels is critical. Another
critical aspect of the private labeled line of business is fast
and cost effective delivery through national carriers.

24. A Culture of Customer Service

25. The best e-commerce site will not produce results without
support of an effective customer service organization. E-
commerce tools and capabilities must be complemented
by a customer service culture that includes rapid customer
feed back, human (as opposed to voice mail and e-mail)
interaction and clear communication. It is presently
impossible to totally remove the human element from e-
commerce and the human element is a critical part of the
customer satisfaction process..

26. Best and Powerful Features

27. There are many varieties of e-commerce sites ranging
from the simplest static site that offers very limited
features to full featured dynamic sites based upon the
latest database technology and access. No matter what
the level of technology however, the site should combine
ease of use with the most powerful features available. An
effective bottled water e-commerce site should include
the following minimum features.

28. General Features

30. Private Label Features

32. E-commerce lends itself to rapid fulfillment of orders and
increased customer satisfaction when the site utilizes
powerful state of the art tools and features coupled with a
culture of customer satisfaction. On a user friendly
powerful site, water orders for both local delivery and
private labeled business are safe, convenient and fast. E-
commerce vendors that maintain a culture of customer
service will guarantee customer satisfaction.

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