d) The Internet Flashcards
E-commerce
Electronic Commerce
Electronic completion of exchange (buying and selling) transactions. This can use a private network OR the internet.
Ecommerce is a type of ebusiness but not the other way around
E-business
Electronic Business
Use of information technology, particularly networking and communications technology, to perform business processes in an electronic form.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
Computer to computer exchange of business transaction documents (PO’s/invoices) in structured formats that allow the direct processing of the data by the receiving system.
EDI handling costs and speed
Compared to traditional paper based processing, EDI reduces transaction handling costs and speeds transaction processing
Standard data format consists of
Mapping
Standards
Mapping
process of determining the correspondence between data elements in an orgs terminology and data elements in standard EDI terminology. Translation software can be used to convert transactions from one format to another once mapping is complete
Standards
XML is likely to become the standard for automating data exchange between systems
XML
extensible markup language
- Technology that has been developed to transmit data in flexible formats instead of the standard formats of EDI.
- XML tells systems the format of data and also what kind of information the data is
- could eventually replace EDI since XML tags can be read by many software applications
EDI Communication
can be implemented using direct links between the organizations exchanging information, through communication intermediaries (service bureaus), through value added networks (VANs) or over the internet
VAN
Value added network
- a service that operates like e-mail, only with structured data.
- internet based EDI is replacing VAN based EDI because it is cheaper
Features of EDI
- Allows transmission of edocs between computer systems in different orgs. Orgs called trading partners or business partners
- reduces handling costs/speeds trans processing
- requires all trans be submitted in standard data format
- can be implemented using direct links, through communication intermediaries, through VAN’s or over the internet
EDI Legal costs
costs associated with modifying and negotiating trading contracts with trading partners and with communications providers
EDI Hardware costs
costs of required communications equipment, improved servers, modems, routers
EDI translation software costs
Cost of acquiring/developing and maintaining the translation software to translate data into the specific EDI formats can be significant
EDI Data transmission costs
Cost of data transmission has been decreasing, especially with the evolution of EDI through the Internet
Process re-engineering & employee training costs
- Implementing EDI can significantly reduce human effort in the processing of business docs
- EDI processes are heavily integrated into other applications such as inventory control, shipping/receiving, and production planning which could require business process re-engineering
Audit trails in EDI system should include
- Activity logs of failed transactions
2. Network and sender/recipient acknowledgements
Greatest risk In an organizations use of EDI is
unauthorized access to the orgs system
BPR
Business process re-engineering
The analysis & redesign of business processes and information systems to achieve significant performance improvements.
BPR challenges-Tradition
Old ways of doing things do not die easily
Successful reengineering requires changes in employee culture and beliefs
BPR challenges-Resistance
Change is met with resistance
Managers must provide support to those affected, reassuring and persuading them that necessary changes will work
BPR challenges-Time and Cost reqs
BPR is costly and almost always takes 2 or more years to complete