Some Terms and Definitions:

eEnterprise

• is an enterprise with the capability to exchange value (money, goods, services and information) electronically.

eEconomy

• is the broader business environment in which global eCommerce is conducted.

EDI

• Electronic Data Interchange, the transfer of data beween different companies using networks, such as the Internet. As more and more companies get connected to the Internet, EDI is becoming increasingly important as an easy mechanism for companies to buy, sell, and trade information. ANSI has approved a set of EDI standards known as the X12 standards.

Digital Cash

• A system that allows a person to pay for goods or services by transmitting a number from one computer to another. Like the serial numbers on real dollar bills, the digital cash numbers are unique. Each one is issued by a bank and represents a specified sum of real money. One of the key features of digital cash is that, like real cash, it is anonymous and reusable. That is, when a digital cash amount is sent from a buyer to a vendor, there is no way to obtain information about the buyer. This is one of the key differences between digital cash and credit card systems. Another key difference is that a digital cash certificate can be reused. There a number of competing protocols, and it is unclear which ones will become dominant. Most digital cash systems start with a participating bank that issues cash numbers or other unique identifiers that carry a given value, such as five dollars. To obtain such a certificate, you must have an account at the bank; when you purchase digital cash certificates, the money is withdrawn from your account. You transfer the certificate to the vendor to pay for a product or service, and the vendor deposits the cash number in any participating bank or retransmits it to another vendor. For large purchases, the vendor can check the validity of a cash number by contacting the issuing bank.

Traditional Sales Cycle:

1. Design New Product(s)
2. Market New Product(s)
3. Distribute Product(s)
4. Provide Customer Support

Important Issues:

• Intelligent Tracking -

  Just knowing the number of visitors to your website isn't good enough, understanding what visitors are doing on your website is critical to your ongoing success. Employ technology that will help in smarter decision-making such as marketing tools like Coremetrics, Ad Relevance, and WebTrends.

• Affiliate Networks

  By sharing a percentage of a sale or offering a cost-per-lead, companies can enjoy ad placements that produce sales at a low fixed cost by building an affiliate network. By teaming up with affiliate technology providers such as BeFree, Linkshare, and Commission Junction, for example, companies are realizing a decrease in customer acquisition cost and increased brand reach.

 

New Payment Options:

• Digital Cash
• On-line Credit Card purchases
• Electronic Checks, Banking Accounts (see EDI)
• Third Party Vendor's supply solutions (for percentage, fee):
  • InternetCash
  • iTransact
  • Mondex
  • YahooStore (payment and storefront)

Portals

A Web site or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and on-line shopping malls.

• Yahoo: YahooStore
• Lycos

StoreFront Builders

Tools or agencies that help business's build e-Commerce storefronts.

• SoftCart by Mercantec
• FreeMerchant (free)

Auction Builders

Tools or agencies that help build auction sites.

• Yahoo: yahooauction
• OpenSite SW
• Ebay