E-Commerce -  Introduction & Evolution

In recent years, you must have heard about e-commerce! And you must have heard about it from several different angles. For example: You have heard about all of the companies that offer e-commerce - the process of maintaining business relationships and selling information, services, commodities and managing online financial transactions by means of computer telecommunications networks. The focus of e-commerce is on the systems and procedures whereby financial documents and information of all types are exchanged. This includes online credit card transactions, e-cash, e-billing, e-checks, electronic invoices, purchase orders and financial statements. E-commerce is particularly concerned with the technologies that enable EDI-type functionality on the Internet.

You must have read all of the news stories about the shift to e-commerce & dot.com companies. And you may have actually purchased something on the web, so you have direct personal experience with e-commerce. Still, you may feel like you don't understand e-commerce at all. 

If you understand Commerce, then e-commerce is an easy extension. 

Commerce can be defined as the process of exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place. Quite simply, the exchange of goods and services, usually for money. We see commerce all around us in many different forms. When you buy something at a grocery store or selling your possessions onto your front lawn for a yard sale, you are participating in commerce. If you go to work each day for a company that produces a product, that is yet another link in the chain of commerce. 

The birth of The Internet and other technologies became primary channels for the distribution of goods, services and information which revolutionized the world of commerce to Electronic Commerce. E-commerce refers specifically the sale or delivery of products and services on the Internet. This is a very broad definition that includes everything from Internet auctions with bidders around the world, to simply allowing the customers to pay for their purchases from your website. 

E-commerce is a fantastic word which completely revised the way that people buy and sell goods and services. Below are some of the features of online shopping:

  The evolution of customer-driven e-business

For consumer-oriented businesses, e-business evolution means both new opportunities and new challenges. Winning online is about successfully selling, servicing, and marketing through a completely customer-driven channel. Digital storefronts today must have the flexibility to adapt quickly to the changing needs of consumers.

B2B (Business to Business) is the process of secured and streamlined business communications for data sharing among the Retailers, Suppliers, Distributors & Brokers via business portals.


B2C (Business to Consumer) is the strategic approach to reach, reward, retain, track and report the diverse consumers mix.


B2E (Business to Employees) is the collaboration process of knowledge bases within the enterprise providing quick access of data to the employees in secured locations for making better decisions.