Introduction
Electronic Commerce, or E-Commerce, refers to any type of
commercial/business transaction where information, data, products and services
are exchanged across the internet. These transactions can cover a wide
diversity of business types to include: consumer-based retail sites (e.g.
Amazon), sites that provide facilities such as auctions (e.g. eBay) and
business exchanges between different organisations. E-Commerce allows consumers
to electronically exchange goods and services 24/7 with no barriers in terms of
time or geography. Within this unit students will gain an understanding of how
and why businesses and organisations develop E-Commerce strategies: to remain
competitive in the global market.
Students will also appreciate the elements and resources required to set
up an E-Commerce site and be engaged in the design and implementation of their
own strategies that would in reality form part of a secure E-Commerce site. Students
will examine the impact that E-Commerce has on society and the global market
for consumers, buyers and sellers in terms of the benefits and drawbacks of online
purchasing.
Through investigation, students will also research the technologies involved
in setting up a secure E-Commerce site in preparation for their own ECommerce strategy.
There is an expectation that students will devise a strategy based on an
element of ECommerce such as designing a shopping cart, an ordering system,
payment system or an online marketing system, for example.
This design should be fully implemented and evaluated accordingly in
terms of its success or failure. Standards and levels of support, marketing,
CRM, promotion and supply chain management will all be explored within the
context of developing the implementation strategy. On successful completion of
this unit a student will have gained both a technical and practical insight
into E-Commerce strategy, design and development. As a result they will develop
skills such as communication literacy, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning and
interpretation, which are crucial for gaining employment and developing academic
competence.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit students will be able to:
ü LO1. Examine the strategies
employed and the impact of E-Commerce on business organisations.
ü LO2. Analyse the hardware,
software, web-based and database technologies involved in setting up a secure
E-Commerce site.
ü LO3. Design an E-Commerce
strategy based on a given end user requirement or specification. LO4. Implement
an E-Commerce strategy based on a given end user requirement or specification.
