Leading Role Of E-Commerce In Supply-Chain Management(E-Scm)

How does Internet help to transform and shape today’s companies in this information era? The answer is “ebusiness”. E-business infrastructure is an information tool for optimizing the entire business management and operation processes. Competition in the 21st century will be across supply chains, not individual companies. A supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options for the entire network of companies to work together to design, produce, deliver, and service products. Since its inception about 10 years ago, the field of supply chain management has become tremendously important to companies in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Companies focused primarily on manufacturing cost (C) before 70’s, quality (Q) improvements in 70’s, product delivery time (T) in 80’s, services (S) in earlier 90’s, and environmental (E) compatibility in late 90’s within their bounded walls; now their efforts extend beyond those walls to encompass the entire supply chain efficiently and intelligently in a knowledge-based (K) economy of this Millennium. E-commerce does not just mean trading and shopping on the Internet. It means business efficiency at all operation levels. Executives know it is critical to effective business operations, but until now quantifiable performance measures have been as scarce as the number of corporate executives of China who heard of the phrase "supply chain management" (SCM). Supply Chain Management means coordinating, scheduling and controlling procurement, production, inventories and deliveries of products and services to customers. The SCM is the backbone of Ecommerce, a very critical component of E-commerce. Supply Chain Efficiency means having the right product at the right place at the right time, can save money/reduce costs, and can enhance cash utilization. So, in this paper , I am highlighting , the impact of e-commerce in supply chain management in the following area… • Integrated, automatic system-to-system interaction with all trading partners •The ability to integrate those interactions seamlessly with your in-house applications and processes to provide true end-to-end visibility and control •Accommodation of the individual nuances of each partner's mode of interaction • A high-quality and reliable means of exchanging messages over the Internet, which provides business-level guarantees of delivery and integrity •Intelligent management of those interactions, allowing control and ability to change them dynamically • The ability to adapt to change, by quickly and easily locating new services or partners, learning their specific capabilities, and forming a rapid "electronic bond" with them.

1.    Introduction: A supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options for the entire network of companies to work together to design, produce, deliver, and service products. Since its inception about 10 years ago, the field of supply chain management has become tremendously important to companies in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. On the contrary, e-commerce does not just mean trading and shopping on the Internet. It means business efficiency at all operation levels. Executives know it is critical to effective business operations, but until now quantifiable performance measures have been as scarce. A very of us in the corporate level who heard of the phrase "supply chain management" (SCM).


2. Definition & Relation with E-Commerce: Supply Chain Management means coordinating, scheduling and controlling procurement, production, inventories and deliveries of products and services to customers. The SCM is the backbone of Ecommerce, a very critical component of     E-commerce. Supply Chain Efficiency means having the right product at the right place at the right time, can save money/reduce costs, and can enhance cash utilization.


3. Leading Role of E- Commerce: So, let’s going to highlight the leading role of e-commerce over supply chain management.
A. OVER ALL LEADING ROLE…
1.    Integrated, automatic system-to-system interaction with all trading partners…
In a simple phrase, an integrated supply chain management (SCM) system is the backbone to achieve the above ebusiness objectives. Although the phrase “SCM” interprets different meanings to different people but one fact is clear: businesses have been striving to achieve efficiency in their "sourcing," "making" and "delivering" 
2.    The ability to integrate those interactions seamlessly with your in-house applications and processes to provide true end-to-end visibility and control…
SupplyChain Management means coordinating, scheduling and controlling procurement, production, inventories and deliveries of products and services to customers. It includes all the steps people does everyday in his/her administration, operations, logistics, and information processing from your customers to suppliers.
3.    A high-quality and reliable means of exchanging messages over the Internet, which provides business-level guarantees of delivery and integrity…
Supply Chain Efficiency can improve customer service - having the right product at the right place at the right time. Supply Chain Efficiency can save money/reduce costs. According to a recent benchmarking study conducted by
Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath, one of the founders of the Supply-Chain Council, best in class companies have an advantage in total supply chain management cost of 3 to 6 percent of revenue.
Total supply chain management cost = Order-Management Cost+, Material Acquisition Cost+ Inventory Carrying Cost+ Supply-Chain Finance Cost+ Planning Cost+ MIS Costs.
4.    Intelligent management of those interactions, allowing control and ability to change them dynamically…
The organizer of SCM, in collaboration with e-commerce facilities is trying to attract the participants by starting to ask the following questions:
•    Is your product design linked to supply chain considerations?
•    Are your supplier and outsourcing strategies coordinated?
•    Do you and your partners have performance measures in place to measure true supply chain effectiveness?
•    Is your organizational structure inhibiting successful supply chain management?
•    What will be the effect of the Internet on your supply chain?
With an integrated supply chain management system one can easily improves customer service and reduce inventories across the chain; Moreover,  if they
integrate supply chain concepts into their product development and design plans early on, they will gain economic and competitive advantage throughout the entire product-life-cycle.
5. The ability to adapt to change, by quickly and easily locating new services or partners, learning their specific capabilities, and forming a rapid "electronic
bond" with them…
The global rush toward e-business is having a profound impact on organizations in very industry. It affects not only how they do business with their customers, suppliers, distributors and other trading partners, but also how they must manage their businesses internally. What is more, the nature of e-business itself is rapidly evolving, further compounding the rate at which business transformation must occur. Business world is moving ever faster than before. Adaptation to change is very important for any e-business software. Agility will become a necessity for any e-business infrastructure software. The credit on payment over Internet and lawful accounting practices will be a serious problem to affect e-business development. It relates to legal aspects and law enforcement practices. It will be a very hard fight to overcome legal hurdles.
Purpose…
a. To increase enterprise satisfaction and confidence in doing business on the
Internet.
b.To establish credibility and trustworthiness of enterprises, suppliers, and
distributors.
c. To help enterprises provide a world-class customer experience, innovate
rapidly and lower their costs.
d. To support and enhance self-regulation of B2B Internet commerce.

B. ROLE TO CHECK PRODUCT/SERVICES AVAILABILITIES…
•    The enterprise impose some restrictions on customers of any restrictions (for example, restrictions based on location or quantity) regarding who or where the enterprise will sell or ship to in the enterprise’s Information., etc.
•    Before the customer is required to submit a binding order, the enterprise shall provide estimated availability from inventory of each item offered for sale.
•     Items that are promoted on a Website but that cannot be ordered directly at the site shall be identified with a consistent page treatment, logo, color
•    scheme, or other distinctive treatment that will inform the customer.
•     Any customer placing an order for an item that is not in stock at the time of the order should be notified by the enterprise when the item becomes available.

A.    ROLE TO MAINTAIN PRIVACY & SECURITIES…
The enterprise shall provide at least the following information on their privacy policies via net:-
•    Assures the customers that the customer’s personal information will not be used by the enterprise to send the customer unsolicited materials and the choice will be provided at least at the time the customer’s data is initially gathered.
•    In the enterprise’s Information Center and Privacy Policy description, the
enterprise shall provide links to the privacy and security policies of their relevant third parties when those third parties have privacy and security policies that are different from the enterprise’s.
•    Enterprises shall provide encryption of the transmission of the entire purchasing session and all data provided by the customer.
•    Personal information about the customer that the enterprise has stored also kept encrypted
•    The enterprise shall provide customers the required information regarding its security practices including what interactions and data the enterprise secures.

B.    ROLE TO SEND CONFIRMATION…
•    An enterprise shall provide confirmation via e-mail that the enterprise has received the customer’s order within of one business day of the customer’s placement of the order.
•    Enterprises should notify the customer via e-mail that the customer’s order has been shipped or executed within one business day of the shipment or execution.
•    The enterprise shall include the following information in their notification of order shipment or execution or provide clear information on how to get this information (e.g., the enterprise may provide a link to a place where the customer can find the expected shipping date)
o    Items ordered,
o    Total charges,
o    Where the order is being shipped and how the order is being shipped,
o    Expected shipping date and
o    What to do if there are questions/problems
•    The enterprise should provide tracking information to enable the customer to track the status of the customer’s shipment.
•    The enterprise should notify the purchasing customer that the customer’s shipment was received and who received it.
•    In cases where the enterprise ships a partial order, the enterprise should notify the customer via e-mail that the remainder of the order will be shipped separately at a later date.
•    If a customer has cancelled an order or returned an item, the enterprise shall notify the customer that the enterprise has received the order cancellation or the returned merchandise within three business days.

C.    ROLE IN CUSTOMER SUPPORT …
•    The enterprise provides customers with mechanism for submitting a question or complaint via e-mail.
•    The enterprise allows access to the enterprise’s customer service policy in its Information Center.
•    The enterprise shall provide a means for customers to provide feedback or file complaints.
•    The enterprise shall acknowledge receipt of a question or complaint within 48 hours of receiving it.
•    If the complaint is regarding merchandise and cannot be handled by the enterprise, the enterprise shall provide the customer with an appropriate contact at the manufacturer.

D.    ADDITIONAL ROLE …
•    Enterprises ensures that every package shipped receives the shipper’s standard insurance that guarantees against loss, theft, and damage.
•     Enterprise provides the customer with all relevant order data in a format that can be printed as a receipt.
•    If the shipper chosen by the customer supports it, the enterprise should provide customers the ability to provide special delivery instructions to the shipping company.
•    The enterprise should offer a “one-click ordering” capability, giving customers an option to buy a product with only one click .This assumes a customer has previously provided required data.
•    The enterprise should support ECML (Electronic Commerce Modeling Language) to allow consumers to fill out shopping cart forms without typing in repetitive information such as shipping and billing information.
•    The enterprise should process orders and authorize the customer’s transaction in real-time.
•    Enterprise should offer a site-wide search function to allow keyword searches for information and/or products.
•    The enterprise should provide the customer with a means to check on the status of an order via a Web-based report.
•    The enterprise should provide the customer with access to the customer’s order history, and many more…
•   
Recommendations

•    B2B Enterprises shall create an Information Center and provide a link to it from every page of their site.
•    The B2B enterprise shall use the word “information” in naming the enterprise’s Information Center.
•    The Information Center shall acquire a digital certificate from an authorized CA center.
 

REQUIREMENTS…
•    The enterprise shall provide customers with the following information about the enterprise in the enterprise’s Information Center: Legal name and ownership, Physical address of a primary office, How to contact the enterprise.
•    Before the customer is required to confirm a final binding order, the enterprise shall provide the customer with access to a clear statement of entire charges that will be included in the customer’s bill including product/service cost, shipping and handling charges and taxes.
•    For each item offered for sale, the enterprise shall in its Information Center provide the customer with complete warranty information. This shall include: the length of the warranty, what aspects of the item's construction or performance are covered, what aspects of the item's construction or performance are not covered, who will honor and administer the warranty, and how warranty remedies are activated.
•    For each product/service offered for sale, the enterprise shall provide in its Information Center information about what, if any, post-sale support or service is available. This shall include: a description of the support or categories of support that is provided or offered, including how the customer can get support, the length of the product support period, who provides the support, and the cost of the product support.
•    In the enterprise’s Information Center, the enterprise shall notify the customer which country’s laws that the enterprise believes apply to the customer’s transaction.
•    In the enterprise’s Information Center, the enterprise shall describe the customer’s payment alternatives.
•    Enterprises shall provide customers with access to the enterprise’s cancellation/return and refund policy in the enterprise’s Information Center. This policy shall include: The period in which the order can be cancelled and/or product can be returned; any conditions associated with the enterprise’s acceptance of a return; order cancellation and/or restocking fees; who pays for return shipping; when the enterprise will refund the customer’s money.

Conclusions

E-commerce is not a new concept. Some of the necessary technology and idea of electronically exchanging information and conducting transaction were already there before these terms were already made popular. It is the trend of e-commerce revolution. i.e. the diffusion of internet and e-commerce technology, particularly with SCM. It is found from our surveys and reading, that the striking role of e-business involves the execution of business transactions over the Internet. Companies conducting e-business mainly perform some or all of the following activities over the Internet across the supply chain:
• Providing product and other information
• Negotiating prices and contracts
• Placing and receiving orders
• Tracking orders
• Filling and delivering orders
• Paying and receiving payment.
All these activities, which have been conducted in the past using existing "channels" such as retail stores, sales people, and catalogs. The strategic framework starts from the premise that supply chain decisions must be evaluated in a strategic context based on the answers to the following three questions:-
1. What is your firm's desired strategic position?
2. Given your the firm's strategic position, what supply chain capabilities are needed to support the strategy?
3. Given the desired supply chain capabilities, how should the supply chain be structured?
The goal is to create fit between the desired strategic position of the firm and the capabilities of supply chain processes used to satisfy customer needs (Porter 1996). The desired strategic position may be articulated in terms of a clear priority ranking on the needs of the customer segments that are targeted by the firm. Typical dimensions of customer needs that may be targeted by a supply chain include timeliness, accessibility, availability, customizability, quality of service, and price. There is a tradeoff between the level at which a set of customer needs is targeted and the cost incurred by the supply chain in meeting these needs.

•    From a supply chain operations perspective, the analysis suggests some guidelines that may help the e-business in practice:
•    Think about integrating the Internet with the existing supply chain network, rather than setting up a separate e-business. Integration will leverage and improve current processes, while separate channels may add inefficiencies to the supply chain.
•    Structure e-business logistics to accommodate packages instead of pallets. The goal should be to mitigate the loss of economies of scale due to increased volume in smaller sizes. This suggests new logistics opportunities such as order consolidation (merge in transit, mega distributors) and order pick-up sites.
•    Devise shipping pricing strategies that reflect the costs of activities. Disregarding or underestimating transportation costs has contributed to the losses incurred by e-grocers to date.
•    Design the supply chain to efficiently handle returns. Because the Internet cannot match the traditional customer experience of touching, feeling, testing and even smelling the product before buying it, returns in an e-business will always exceed those of traditional store.
•    Keep customers informed throughout the fulfillment and returns cycle.