E-commerce Vs E-business

In corporate circles, the words e-commerce and e-business have for long been used synonymously and few have come to acknowledge the innate differences between them. And indeed there is! Traditionally, e-commerce relates only to those processes in a business which directly affects the customers, suppliers, vendors and other business partners. These processes include sales activities such as order taking delivery, payment via credit cards, customer support et al. It may also include interactions with suppliers regarding purchase of raw materials and office supplies.

E-business however is a superset of e-commerce and includes a gamut of other management processes that include inventory management, production and product development, supply chain management and financial management apart from e-commerce itself. It effectively “fast forwards” day to day activities of the e-business and streamlines its processes in such a way as to reduce costs augment and simplify access to information (for customers, employees and other business partners) and improve efficiency.

With more businesses embracing the Internet revolution with ascending fervour day by day, it is fast becoming imperative for businesses to quickly carve a niche for themselves in cyberspace and better their competitors. This is true whether it be in the matter of increasing sales volumes or increasing profit margins or search engine optimization, lowering input costs or improving organisational efficiency and bettering aesthetics or greater website user satisfaction.

At the centre of any such improvement is the concept of empowering through information. The organisation may use collaborative user applications, Intranets, extranets and the internet to make information accessible. An employee who has access to all the necessary information regarding his work will not only be able to perform better but will also feel as a part of the decision making process and thus put in his or her best.

Similarly, customers would feel empowered if they have access to information regarding the specifications or delivery status of their order. E-business makes it possible for this information to be effectively disseminated using minimum man-hours and expense. The returns of a well networked e-business are very high even if it is at the cost of a major organizational reshuffle. The differences between e-commerce and e-business may be many but the real difference is reflected in the quality of performance of e-commerce companies and e-businesses.