Feasibility of Venturing into Online Business (e-Business)

E-Business is about using the convenience, availability and internet reach to enhance existing businesses or creating new virtual business. E-business is what happens when the company uses the resources of traditional information systems with the vast reach of the worldwide web (usage of internet) and connects the business systems directly to critical business constituencies – customers, employees and suppliers via intranets, extranets via the Web.

An intranet is a private network, operated by a large company or other organization, which uses internet technologies, but is insulated from the global internet. An extranet is an intranet that is accessible to some people from outside the company, or possibly shared by more than one organization.

Gerbang Furniture(GF) will be considered an e-business by connecting their traditional IT systems to the Web. Most companies deploy applications on the Internet making it easier to do the things they already do; selling their products.

Types of e-business

There are three type of business available via the internet. Business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) and finally consumer-to-consumer (C2C).

B2B are done via the extranet. It consists of two intranets that is normally confidential to their own respective company but is now shared between the two partners online. Usually, not all information is available to be shared among the partners; only selective information is released and shared. It is considered a private network among these two partner. Virtual private network (VPN) are usually used in order to keep the transactions private.

B2C is widely used in the internet nowadays. Some examples would be Quelle, a German Fashion retailer, Discolandia, an online compact disc shop, and Megazine offer goods and services to anybody who comes to their web sites. It interacts with the public or consumers, who has the ability to connect to the business via internet.

Finally, C2C are businesses like e-bay or taobao.com which consumers sells and buy products from other consumers on a public platform. The business thrives on ads and other form of payments to maintain a profitable product.

As for GF, they can opt for B2B based e-business or B2C as they are a manufacturing company.

Advantages

There are many advantages venturing into the online business. Some of the most apparent ones include providing new ways to identify and communicate with customers. The internet allows GF to interact with their clients in the most direct way possible without the use of intermediaries and other form of channels. GF would also be able to reach out to new customer bases, as the Internet is not limited in terms of geographically. The price of marketing online is not as drastic as marketing in real life as the Internet reduces the number of media breaks that are necessary to transport information online. By providing easier access to the latest information and putting a 24-hours online site, the business will improve the customer loyalty. In terms of B2B, GF and their partner can develop a close relationship among one another.

Venturing into e-business

Many businesses whom are reaching out into the e-business have managed to grow very fast in very short time. A working Intranet based on the same key technologies as the Internet (e.g. TCP/IP) are needed for the e-business to start up. The company needs some good financial backing before starting up the e-business to avoid losses in terms of financially. For example, Amazon.com took five years until it could get back the investments it made up-front. If the e-business set up is used for cost-reduction, it is necessary to measure the costs for every single item up-front, which may cost more than using the Internet.

GF would need to face with some important management issues such as developing clear understanding of it e-business objectives and knowing how to choose the right technology to achieve these objectives. Other than that, they will need to develop an e-commerce presence map which the company needs to consider the four platform and activities associated with the website, e-mail, social media and offline media. To put it all in place, GF also needs to develop a timeline to break the project into their respective phases to prepare itself accordingly to venture into the e-business.

Reference:

Armor, D. (2001, September 15). Introduction to Internet Business. Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=165183&seqNum=3

Schofield, J. (2010, September 9). What are intranets and extranets? Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/intranets-and-extranets

Conclusion

In this paper, the following has been discussed thus far in length; the importance of information system in Gerbang Furniture (GF), the features of an executive support system(ESS) and advantages, advise on venturing into e-business and finally the economic impact of the information system for GF.

It has been stated that GF needs to improve the management of its resources and streamline its business processes through the implementation and use of information system (IS) which also enables them to create new products, services and business model based on the information derived from IS, has the power and capabilities to bridge the demand and supply force and link closer to both customer and supplier and finally improve decision making. Ultimately, creating a competitive advantage and higher survivability assurance.

ESS is a software that allows users to transform enterprise data into quickly accessible and executive-level reports. It is intended as a decision support tool for the senior managers that provide insightful information of the company’s performance and to assist the company’s executive with decision making. E-Business is about using the convenience, availability and internet reach to enhance existing businesses or creating new virtual business with plenty of advantages.

GF has been advised to opt for B2B based e-business or B2C as they are a manufacturing company and steps to take before venturing into the e-business world. Information system technology will be able to reduce several costs burdened by the company such as capital and labor. It can also improve the company’s efficiency and give views to the company’s strength and weaknesses to be amended accordingly.

Implementing the IS system will allow GF to grow as a company and will benefits it in the long run. GF should consider investing on enhancing the ESS system as it provides key data information, which is essential for any company’s growth, and venturing into the e-business world. Ultimately, GF should continue to look for ways to continuously improve themselves so they will thrive further.