Decision Support in Business

Introduction

When integrated into the E-Business modules are responsive, they are investing in the framework of decision support applications based on data that helps them respond quickly to changes in market conditions and customer needs.

To be successful in business today, companies need information systems that can support the needs of decision-making and a variety of information from managers and business practitioners. In this section, we will discuss in more detail how this is achieved by various types of informai management systems, decision support, and other information systems. We will focus on how the role of the Internet, intranets and other information technologies to support Web-based decision-making activities of every manager and worker are knowledgeable in the business.

Information, Decisions, and Management

Illustrated that the type of information needed by decision makers in a company is directly related to the management decision-making levels and the amount of structure in the decision situations they face. You should be aware that the classic managerial pyramid framework can still be applied today to the organization downsized and leveled no hierarchy or organizational structure. Management decision-making levels is still there, but the size, shape, degree of management decisions that must be supported by information technology in organizations that are successful.

Strategic Management. Generally, the board of directors and executive committee consisting of the CEO and top executives develop a common organizational goals, strategies, policies, and objectives as part of the strategic planning process. They also oversee the performance and strategic direction of the organization within the overall political, economic, and competitive business.

Tactical Management. More and more business practitioners in the independent team and business unit managers who develop short-term plans and medium term, schedule, and budget as well as determine the policies, procedures, and business objectives for their subunits in the company. They also allocate resources and monitor the performance of their organizational sub-units, including departments, divisions, process teams, project teams, and working groups.

Operational Management. Team members independently or operational managers develop short-term plans such as weekly production schedules. They direct the use of resources and the performance of duties under the procedure and in accordance with the budget and the schedule they set for the team and other groups working in the organization.

Information Quality.

What are the characteristics that would make the product valuable and useful information for you. One way to answer this important question is to examine the characteristics or attributes of information quality. Information is ancient, inaccurate, or difficult to understand will not be very meaningful, useful, or valuable to you and other business practitioners. We need high-quality information, ie, information products have characteristics, attributes, or qualities that make information more valuable. Information is deemed necessary to have three dimensions, time, content, and form. Illustrated is a summary of the most important attributes of quality information and classify it into three dimensions.

Decision Structure

Decisions made at the management level tend to be more structured, while a decision on a more tactical level semi-structured, and decisions on the strategic level is not structured. Unstructured decisions involve situations where the procedures to be followed when a decision is needed, it can be mentioned earlier. Decision reordering supplies faced by most businesses is one such example. Melibakan unstructured decision-making situation in which there may specify earlier decision regarding the procedures to be followed. However, most decisions are semi-structured. That is, some decision procedure can be specified, but not enough to lead to a recommended decision. For example, decisions regarding the launch of the new E-Commerce or make major changes will be in the range   on employees structured to semi-structured.

Thus, information systems must be designed to produce a variety of products to meet the information needs of the decision makers change within the organization. For example, decision makers at the strategic management level can use the decision support system - DSS, for emndapatkan tejadwal reports, ad hoc and more concise, forecasting and external intelligence to support their planning predetermined with emphasis on the comparison of the old data and the present responsibility to support those who are more structured for daily operations.

"Clicks and Bricks" in E-Commerce

"Clicks and Bricks" in E-Commerce

The company knows that success will come to anyone who can execute the strategy of "clicks and bricks", "Clicks" means using the Internet, while the "bricks" means the use of buildings or shops selling traditional as well so the company has a virtual store and the actual store, the bridge the real world with the virtual world. Different companies will have to follow very different paths to decide how close and away the integration of their Internet businesses with their traditional operations.

Spectrum illustrated the various alternatives and weaknesses as well as excess benefits that companies face when selecting an E-Business strategy "virtual and real (clicks and bricks)" in E-Commerce. E-Business managers must answer this question: Should we integrate the business operations of virtual E-Commerce with traditional bisnisfisik our operations, or let it remain separate. The Company has implemented various strategies of integration/separation and decided the advantages and disadvantages of various benefits in answering these questions. Let's look at some of the alternatives available.

Integration of E-Commerce

Internet is just another channel that fitted into the business architecture. That says CIO Bill Settzer and office supplies retailer Office Depot, which fully integrate E-Commerce sales channel their traditional OfficelDepot.com into their business operations. Thus, Office Depot is a good example of the reason why many companies have chosen to integrate the strategy of "clicks and bricks", place their e-commerce businesses are integrated in some way, to the company's traditional business operations. The business case for such a strategy lies in: First, the use of the unique capabilities of any existing strategy in the company's traditional business operations, which can be used to support the E-Commerce business. Second, how to get some of the benefits of the strategy to integrate e-commerce into the traditional business enterprises, such as the famous brand and share critical business information, and the efficiency of the joint purchasing power of distribution.

For example, Office Depot has had a successful business catalog sales and call centers profesional and departure for more than 2,000 trucks. His store totaling 1,825 pieces and 30 the storehouse is connected through a network with a sophisticated information system that gives complete data over customers, vendors, orders, and product inventory in real time. These businesses form the resource base is invaluable for coordination activities of E-Commerce Office Depot as well as services in the business pelangannya katalaognya or physical store. Thus, customers can shop at OfficeDepot.com from their home or office, or of the various kiosks in stores. They can choose to take their own purchases at the store or ask the items have been shipped. In addition, the integration of E-Commerce applications that run Web memalui preformance traditional Office Depot stores and catalog operations, has helped to improve the physical store traffic and increase business productivity catalogs and average order size.

E-Commerce Business to Business

E-Commerce Business to Business

E-Commerce Business to Business is wholesale and supply side of the commercial process, where companies buy, sell, or trade with other companies. B2B E-Commerce depends on a lot of different information technologies, largely implemented in the E-Commerce Web site on the World Wide Web and intranets and ekstarnet company. B2B applications include electronic catalog systems, electronic trading systems such as sale and purchase and auction portals, Electronic Data Interchange-EDI, electronic funds transfer, and others. All factors to build a retail business site that we discussed earlier also apply to wholesale website in B2B E-Commerce.

E-Commerce Market

E-Commerce transaction systems are the latest established and adjusted to allow buyers and sellers meet various standards of high-speed trading, auctions, catalogs and buying and selling.

Companies of any size can now buy anything from chemicals, electronic parts, excess electricity, building materials, or paper products in the B2B e-commerce market. Has exemplified outlines five main types of E-Commerce market is used by companies today. However, E-Commerce B2B portal provides several types of markets. Thus, they can offer sebuahsitus shopping through catalogs and ordering for a wide range of products from many suppliers in an industry. Or, they can serve as a point of sale, for the sale and purchase through the auction process, or the bid price. The shape is very famous situ electronic auction site for auction B2B products and services. Illustrated B2B trading system that offers electronic marketplace for buying and selling, and, reverse auctions (where sellers bid for the business of the buyer).

Many of the E-Commerce B2B portal was developed and is run by a third party company which serves as a market maker infomediari that brings buyers and sellers together to catalog purchase, and auction markets. Infomediari is a company that serves as an intermediary in the transaction E-Business and E-Commerce. Examples are Ariba, Commerce One, VerticalNet, and FreeMarkers, which are some of the companies that succeed. Everything provides software products and services market to strengthen the E-Commerce Web portals in an E-Commerce transactions.

E-Commerce B2B buying decisions are made faster, simpler, and more efficient, because the company can use the site to examine the system and dealing with many sellers. The buyer gets the full purchase services under one roof (one-stop shopping) and purchase information is accurate. They also get objective advice from infomediari that they could not get from various websites run by suppliers and distributors. Thus, the company may negotiate or bargain a better price from the seller greater unity. Of course, the suppliers benefit and ease of access to customers around the world.

Electronic Data Interchange

Electronic Data Interchange-EDI is one of the early use of information technology for E-Commerce. EDI involves the electronic exchange of business transaction documents over the Internet or other networks between supply chain trading partners (organizations and their customers and suppliers). Data presents a variety of business transaction documents (such as purchase orders, invoices, request a price list, and shipping notices) that will automatically exchanged between computers using the company's proprietary document formats into a standard EDI format, as specified by industry and international protocols. Thus, EDI is an example of the automation of the trading partners, third-party services are also widely used. Value-adding network company like GE Global Exchange Services and Computer Associates offers a wide range of EDI services with relatively high cost. However, many service providers now offer EDI services EDI lower cost and safety, over the Internet.

EDI is still the data transmission format popular among various partners, especially to automate routine transactions, despite being replaced by XML-based Web services. EDI automatically track changes triggered ordering inventory, invoices, and other documents related to the transaction as well as scheduling and confirming delivery and payment. EDI streamline processes, save time, and improve accuracy, by digitally integrating the supply chain. In addition, through Internet technology, based EDI services Internat lower cost are now available for the smaller company.

Requirements for Web Store

Requirements for Web Store

Most of the sellers of the E-Commerce site retail business in the form Wrld Wide Web, be it large retailers such as Amazon.com, or small Web retailers for special items, has a primary focus to develop, operate, and manage their websites so that they can become a major destination for customers who would repeatedly chose to go to their site to buy products and services. So, this web site must be able to demonstrate a variety of major factors for the success of the E-Commerce as we have discussed. In this section, let us basics language Web store requirements that must be implemented to support the success of your retail business on the Web.

Developing Web Store

Once you have built Web store, then the site should be developed as retail businesses site in a variety of ways to attract visitors to your site and turn them into loyal Web. Thus, your website should include Web pages and emails as well as various promotional advertisements for the site visitors and customers, as well as the Web advertising exchange programs with other web stores. In addition, you can also register your web site to search engines and web directories to help primary web surfers find your site more easily. In addition, you may consider doing a small affiliates as business partners with a variety of Web portals such as Yahoo! Da Netscape, electronics retailers and auction sites are more like Amazon and eBay, as well as with a variety of small business centers such as Microsoft bCentral and Prodigy Biz.

Serve Your Customers.

Once the stores are in the Web site and receiving site visitors should help you welcome and serve them personally and efficiently in order to be a loyal customer. So, most of the electronics retailer Web sites use multiple tools to create profiles, customer files, and web pages as well as well as personal promotion that helps to develop personal relationships with their customers. This includes the creation of incentives to encourage visitors to sign up, developing a web cookie files to automatically identify customers who come back, or make contracts with companies such as DoubleClick Web site search and other software to automatically record and analyze the details of the behavior and preferences of Web sites buyers on the web.

Of course, your site should look and feel attractive, friendly, and efficient as the web store. This means it should have a variety of features such as E-Commerce dynamically changing and updating multimedia catalog, catalog search engine is fast, and convenient shopping cart system, which is integrated with belanjaWeb information, promotional payment, shipping, and customer accounts. Software E-Commerce order processing you have to be fast and be able to adjust to the promotion of personalized treatment and customer choice as gifts, discounts, credit card payment or others, as well as a variety of alternative delivery and taxes. In addition, an email notification is automatically sent to your customers to recommend when the order is processed and shipped is the most important customer service feature in transaction processing electronics retailer.

Provide support for customers to shop your site is important adalahkemampuan website. So many websites electronics retailer that offers a menu of help, tutorials, and a list of questions most seringdiajukan (frequently asked questions-FAQs) to provide a self-service features for your Web pemveli offer more personal assistance to customers. Creating kelompokdiskusi websites and chat rooms for customers and personnel, which can provide invaluable support for customers, as well as for customer loyalty. Provide links to related Web sites from your Web store can help customers find information and additional resources, and can generate commission income from affiliate marketing programs from other Web retailers. For example, Amazon.com Affliate program pays up to 15 percent commission for purchases made by buyers who enter the Web site store them through the Web site.

Menelola Web Store

Web retail stores must be managed as a business and Web site, and most of the E-Commerce hosting companies offer software and services to help you do so. For example, companies such as Freemerchant, Prodigy Biz, and Verio hosting provide their clients with a variety of management lapaoran record and analyze traffic Web store, inventory, and sales results. Other services build customer lists for email and web page promotion, or providing customer relationship management features to help retain Web customers. In addition, some e-commerce software includes a variety of relationships to download sales and inventory data into accounting software packages like QuickBooks for accounting and financial reporting as well as various reports.

Of course, the web hosting company should allow the clients to their Web store is available 24 Hours a day and seven days a week throughout the year. It requires the manufacture or contract sufficient network capacity to load menagani Web traffic is very dense, and the server network of more than sufficient (redundant), and a power source for the system to respond to or cope with power failure. Most of hosting companies providing E-Commerce software that uses encryption to protect passwords and Web store transactions and customer records, as well as the use of hackers and other security threats. Many layananhosting who also offer their clients 24 hour tech support to help them with any technical issues that arise.

Success Factors of E-Commerce

Success Factors of E-Commerce

On the Internet, obstruction of time, distance, and forms impenetrable, until the company can conduct sales transactions of goods and services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with customers from all over the world. In some cases, even a thing might be done to change the physical goods (CDs, software packages, newspapers) in the form of virtual goods (MP3 audio, software that can be downloaded, the information in HTML format).

The fundamental fact of retailers in the Internet retailing Web sites are all created equal. The slogan "location, location, location" in retail is not an important thing. No site closer to the customer site, and competitors offering goods and services that are almost the same, only one click. This makes the company must find a way to build satisfaction, loyalty, and customer relationships, so that customers keep coming back to their web store. So, the key to the success of electronic retailing are several key factors such as optimizing the choice and value, performance and service efficiency, the look and feel of the site, advertising and incentives to purchase, personal attention, the relationship with the community, as well as security and reliability. Let us consider for a moment the factors critical to the success of the B2B Web business.

Choice and value. Of course, a business must offer a great selection of products and services that appeal to customers at competitive prices or they will quickly go from a web store. However, the price of the lowest in the company should not be trusted if they are building a reputation for high quality, guaranteed satisfaction, and customer support is great for the customer when the customer is good for shopping and after going on sale. For example, a leading electronics retailer, REI.com help you choose a variety of outdoor sports equipment for hiking and other activities with the "How to Choose," and give a guarantee of your money back on your purchase.

Performance and Service. B2C sites can offer a display Web, shopping areas, and exciting multimedia product catalog. This can range from a pleasant shopping experience through audio, video, and motion graphics to look and feel more simple and convenient. So, most of the E-Commerce site retailers, enabling customers to explore different parts of the product, adding them to a virtual shopping cart, and enter the virtual cashier they are prepared to pay for the order.

Advertising and Incentives. Some web stores advertise in traditional media, but most of the site with banner advertising in targeted and personalized advertising and promotion of web pages or email. Most B2C website also offers shoppers an incentive to buy and restore. Typically, this means giving coupons, discounts, special offers, and vouchers for other Web services, Web sites sometimes with other electronics retailers in website traffic. Many web stores that also increase their market by being part of an exchange program with thousands of web banner advertising to other Web retailers. We compare a wide range of communication options in the main market of traditional marketing and E-Commerce to support any purchasing process.

Personal Attention. Personalize your shopping experience and encourage you to buy a re-visit. Thus, E-Commerce software can automatically record the details of your visit and build user profiles as well as other buyers. Many sites also encourage you to register their site and fill out a profile hobby. Furthermore, whenever you come back, you are greeted by name or personal web pages, addressed with special offers and in various parts of the site are of most interest to you. The ability of direct marketing and relationship building is one of the main advantages of the retail practice of personalized web.

Community Relations. Giving online customers who have a special interest in the process of having the feeling of a group of similar individuals, help build customer loyalty and indigo. Thus, relations Web site and attraction marketing programs, build community and promote virtualantara customer, supplier, company representatives, and others through the Web-based collaboration tool. Examples include discussion forums or newsgroups, chat room, message board system (message board system), and cross-linking to related websites community.

Security and Reliability. As a customer of a successful Web store, you should feel confident that credit card, personal information, and details of your transactions secure from unauthorized use. You also need to feel that you are dealing with a trustworthy company, whose products and other website information you can trust like with advertising. Order fulfillment and delivery is done in accordance with your request, within the time promised, and with good customer support, are other measures of the reliability of the electronic retailer.

Applications and Issues in E-Commerce

Trends in E-Commerce Applications

E-Commerce has become a part of us. Web and E-Commerce is the main driver in the industry. Both changed the way many companies do business. E-Commerce creates a new channel for customers. The company is now the intersection of E-Commerce and there are many paths to take.

E-Commerce changed the way how to do business internally and externally with customers, suppliers, and other trading partners. How to apply e-commerce companies in their business is also changing in line with the E-Commerce alternatives faced by the management. E-Commerce application in many companies have gone through several major phases in line with the maturation of E-Commerce in the business world. For example, E-Commerce between changes with customer (B2C) move from simply offering multimedia information over the company at the company's Web site (brochureware), into product and service offerings on the Web site displays through electronic catalogs and online sales transactions. B2B E-Commerce, on the other hand, started with the support Web site to help customers of the business field for self-serve, and then split to the procurement system intanet and extranets.

Various Trends in E-Commerce

Let's see how the illustration B2B E-Commerce Web store changed from a simple display into an interactive marketing capability that provides a unique shopping experience for the customer, and then to a wholly integrated web store that supports a wide range of customer shopping experience. B2C E-Commerce is also moving toward self-service model where customers configure and customize a variety of products and services they want to buy, assisted by the configuration software and online support for pelnggan when needed.

The parties involved in B2B E-Commerce rapidly move from self-service on the Web for configuration and customization capabilities and extranets that connect trading partners. If the E-Commerce B2C berpinah leading full service Web portals and retail options are extensive., B2B also has a tendency towards the use of e-commerce portal that provides various catalogs, buying and selling process, and the auction market for the customers of the business areas within or across industries. Of course, these two trends is possible with the E-Business capabilities such as customer relationship management and supply chain management, which is a sign of the supply chain that focuses on customers and interconnected, in a wholly run by the E-Business.

E-Commerce Business-to-Customer

E-Commerce applications that focus on the customer has the same essential goal: attract prospective buyers, making transactions on goods and services, and build customer loyalty through good service for buying and individuals involved with various community features.

What is required to create the company's E-Commerce B2C successful. That is the question many posed in the failure of many waves of pure dot.com companies running B2C. One obvious answer is to create a web business that offers a wide range of interesting products and services with great value for the customer, and the business plan is based on realistic estimates of the rate of profit over the first year or two of operation. A condition that does not exist in many dot.com companies failed. However, such failure does not deter waves millions of companies, both large and small, which meindahkan least part of their business to the Web. So, let's look at some of the critical success factors and the various capabilities to Web sites that run the company's E-Commerce B2C or B2B.

Electronic Payment Process

Electronic Payment Process

Payment for products and services purchased are real process circuit and is important in e-commerce transactions. However, the payment process is not simple, because almost anonymous electronic properties occur among various computer systems network of buyers and sellers, as well as many security issues are involved. E-Commerce payment process is also complicated because of the many alternative types of debit and credit as well as financial institutions and intermediaries that are part of the process. Therefore, various electronic payment systems have changed over time. In addition, a variety of new payment systems are being developed and tested to meet safety and technical challenges of e-Commerce on the Internet.

Web payment process.

Most e-commerce systems in businesses involved in Web and B2C customers rely on the credit card payment process. However, many e-commerce B2B system that relies on a more complex payment processes based on the use of purchase orders. However, both types of e-Comerce usually use an electronic shopping cart process, which allows the customer to choose the product catalog and display Web sites and put it in the shopping cart for a while and then totaled and processed.

Electronic Fund Transfer

Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) is a common form of electronic payment in the banking and retail industries. EFT systems using a variety of technologies to capture and process information as well as credit money between banks, companies, and their customers. For example, the banking network terminal supporting a teller at bank offices and Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) at various locations around the world. Banks, credit card companies, and other companies can support service payments over the phone. Web-based payment service that is well-known, as well as PayPal and Billpoint to transfer money, and CheckFree and PayTrust for automatic bill payments that enables bank customers and other bill payment services using the Internet to pay bills electronically. In addition, POS terminals at retail stores are connected into a network with a bank EFT systems. This allows you to make use of credit card or debit card in order to instantly pay gasoline, grocery store, or purchasing eat it in a variety of retail outlets that implement ERP.

 Secure Electronic Payment

When you make a purchase online in the Internet, your credit card information very prone to interference from the network sniffer, the software can easily recognize the format of a credit card number. Some basic security tools used to address these security issues are (1) encryption (code and randomization) data between the customer and the merchant, (2) encryption of data passing between the customer and the company extend credit card transaction authorization, or (3) take sensitive information offline. (Note: Because encryption and other security issues will be discussed a future post, this topic will not be discussed in this post further.

For example, many companies do security methods Secure Socker Layer (SSL) developed by Netscape Communications that automatically encrypts the data passing through your Web browser to the merchant server. However, information is still very vulnerable to sensistif abused so dideskripsi (encoded and encrypted) and stored in the merchant server. Thus, the digital wallet payment system developed. Inside this method, you add security software in the form of additional modules to your Web browser. It allows you to encrypt explorers over your credit card data in a certain way to the bank only authorize the merchant credit card transaction that could see it. All traders are told whether your credit card transaction has been approved or not.

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET), is a standard for expansion of secure electronic payment security on the Internet is safe on the Internet. SET is an advanced inhibitor that reluctance various companies to meet the requirements of hardware, software, and costs.