Types of E-commerce

E-commerce, also known as Electronic Commerce, refers to the purchase and sale of goods and services through the Internet. The first online transaction occurred in 1994 when a guy sold a Sting CD to a friend via his website Net Market, an American retail platform. This is the first case of a consumer purchasing a product from a business over the World Wide Web, sometimes known as e-commerce. After that, e-commerce evolved to make it easier to locate and purchase products through online merchants and marketplaces.

Types of E-commerce

E-commerce can be broadly classified into 4 types.

1. B2B Commerce

Both parties involved in e-commerce transactions are business firms, hence the name B2B, which stands for business-to-business.

The creation of utilities or the delivery of value requires the interaction of a business with a number of other business firms, which may be suppliers or vendors of various inputs, or they may be a part of the channel through which a firm distributes its products to consumers. For example, the production of an automobile requires the assembly of a large number of components, which are manufactured elsewhere, either locally or overseas. 

A computer network is used to place orders, monitor the production and delivery of components, and make payments. Similarly, a company can strengthen and improve its distribution system by exercising real-time (as-it-happens) control over its stock-in-transit as well as that with various middlemen in various locations. For example, each shipment of goods from a warehouse and stock on hand can be tracked, and replenishments and reinforcements can be initiated as needed.

Around 80 per cent of the total share of transactions is comprised of B2B transactions. Sharing of information, Commercial negotiations and Distribution of goods are some of the B2B transactions. 

2. B2C Commerce

 B2C (business-to-customers) transactions involve business firms on one end and their customers on the other. Although online shopping is the first thing that comes to mind, it is important to remember that selling is the outcome of the marketing process. Marketing begins before a product is offered for sale and continues after the product is sold. As a result, B2C commerce entails a wide range of marketing activities such as identifying activities, promoting, and sometimes even delivering products that are carried out online.

e-business enables these activities to be carried out at a much lower cost but at a much faster pace. For example, an ATM helps to withdraw money 24×7 in a convenient and fast manner.

Furthermore, the B2C variant of e-commerce allows a company to communicate with its customers around the clock. Companies can use online surveys to find out who is buying what and how satisfied their customers are. C2B commerce is a reality that allows consumers to shop whenever and wherever they want. Customers can also use call centres set up by companies to make toll-free calls to make inquiries and lodge complaints 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Selling and Distribution of goods, conducting surveys, after-sale services, promotional activities, etc., are B2C transactions.

3. C2C Commerce

C2C Commerce consists of the transactions taking place between two or more customers. For example, you could sell used books or clothes for cash or in exchange for goods. People can search for potential buyers all over the world because of e-commerce. Quikr, OLX, are such platforms where customers sell their goods and services to other customers. 

Furthermore, e-commerce technology provides market system security to such transactions, which would otherwise be missing if buyers and sellers interact in the anonymity of one-to-one transactions. An excellent example of this can be found on eBay, where consumers sell their goods and services to other consumers. Several technologies have emerged to improve the security and robustness of this activity. For beginners, eBay allows all sellers and buyers to rate one another.

The payment intermediary is another technology that has emerged to support C2C activities. PayPal is an excellent example of this type, rather than purchasing items directly from an unknown, untrustworthy seller; instead, the buyer can send the money to PayPal. The seller is then notified by PayPal that the funds will be held for them until the goods have been shipped and accepted by the buyer.

4. Intra B-Commerce

The interaction and dealing among various departments and persons within the firm is known as Intra B-Commerce. An intranet is used to interact and deal between various departments and firms within a firm. Intra B-Commerce has facilitated flexible manufacturing. For example, finance department may interact regularly with marketing department within a firm. Intra-B-commerce transactions are conducted for Inventory and cash management, reporting by subordinates to superiors, human resource management, recruitment and selection, and for training, development, and education. Nowadays, companies use VPN, which is, Virtual Private Network technology, which helps employees access the organisation’s network and enable work from anywhere through network.