Category: Management Notes

Management Notes

Initial Public Offering (IPO), Terms, Process, Advantages, Disadvantages

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the process by which a private company becomes publicly traded by offering its shares to investors for the first time on a stock exchange. This allows the company to raise capital for expansion, debt repayment, or other financial needs. The IPO process involves regulatory approvals, pricing, and underwriting by investment banks. Once listed, the company’s shares are freely traded in the stock market. IPOs provide investors with an opportunity to own equity in a growing company while enabling businesses to access public funding and enhance their market visibility and credibility.

General Terms involved in an initial public offering (IPO):

  1. Issuer: The company that offers its shares to the public through an IPO to raise capital. It transitions from private to public ownership.

  2. Underwriter: Investment banks or financial institutions that manage and facilitate the IPO process, including pricing, marketing, and share allocation.

  3. Prospectus: A legal document providing detailed information about the company’s financials, business model, risks, and IPO details, helping investors make informed decisions.

  4. Offer Price: The price at which shares are initially issued to investors. It is determined through book-building or fixed price methods.

  5. Book Building: A price discovery process where investors place bids within a price range, and the final issue price is determined based on demand.

  6. Fixed Price Issue: The company sets a pre-determined price for its shares, and investors subscribe at that price. Demand is known only after the issue closes.

  7. Lot Size: The minimum number of shares an investor can apply for in an IPO, defined by the issuing company.

  8. Subscription: The demand for IPO shares. If demand exceeds supply, the IPO is oversubscribed; otherwise, it is undersubscribed.

  9. Allotment: The process of distributing shares to investors based on their IPO applications. If oversubscribed, shares are allotted via a lottery system.

  10. Listing: The process where IPO shares get listed on a stock exchange (NSE, BSE), enabling public trading of the company’s stock.

Process involved in an initial public offering (IPO)

  1. Underwriting

IPO is done through the process called underwriting. Underwriting is the process of raising money through debt or equity.

The first step towards doing an IPO is to appoint an investment banker. Although theoretically a company can sell its shares on its own, on realistic terms, the investment bank is the prime requisite. The underwriters are the middlemen between the company and the public. There is a deal negotiated between the two.

E.g. of underwriters: Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley to mention a few.

The different factors that are considered with the investment bankers include:

  • The amount of money the company will raise
  • The type of securities to be issued
  • Other negotiating details in the underwriting agreement

The deal could be a firm commitment where the underwriter guarantees that a certain amount will be raised by buying the entire offer and then reselling to the public, or best efforts agreement, where the underwriter sells securities for the company but doesn’t guarantee the amount raised. Also to off shoulder the risk in the offering, there is a syndicate of underwriters that is formed led by one and the others in the syndicate sell a part of the issue.

  1. Filing with the Sebi

Once the deal is agreed upon, the investment bank puts together a registration statement to be filed with the SEBI. This document contains information about the offering as well as company information such as financial statements, management background, any legal problems, where the money is to be used etc. The SEBI then requires cooling off period, in which they investigate and make sure all material information has been disclosed. Once the SEBI approves the offering, a date (the effective date) is set when the stock will be offered to the public.

  1. Red Herring

During the cooling off period, the underwriter puts together there herring. This is an initial prospectus that contains all the information about the company except for the offer price and the effective date. With the red herring in hand, the underwriter and company attempt to hype and build up interest for the issue. With the red herring, efforts are made where the big institutional investors are targeted (also called the dog and pony show).

As the effective date approaches, the underwriter and the company decide on the price of the issue. This depends on the company, the success of the various promotional activities and most importantly the current market conditions. The crux is to get the maximum in the interest of both parties.

Finally, the securities are sold on the stock market and the money is collected from investors.

Advantages of coming up with an IPO:

  • Access to Capital for Growth

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) enables a company to raise substantial capital from public investors. This funding can be used for business expansion, research and development, acquisitions, debt repayment, and infrastructure growth. Unlike bank loans or private equity, IPO funds do not require repayment, reducing financial burdens. With more capital, companies can invest in innovation, expand into new markets, and increase operational capacity, ensuring long-term sustainability and competitiveness in their industry.

  • Increased Public Awareness and Market Credibility

Going public enhances a company’s brand visibility and credibility in the market. Being listed on a stock exchange like NSE or BSE attracts media attention, analysts, and institutional investors, boosting the company’s reputation. This credibility helps in gaining customer trust, attracting new business opportunities, and securing strategic partnerships. A public company is perceived as more transparent and financially stable, which strengthens investor confidence and improves long-term business prospects.

  • Liquidity and Exit Opportunity for Early Investors

An IPO provides an exit strategy for early investors, founders, and venture capitalists who seek to realize returns on their investments. Unlike private funding, where selling shares can be complex, a public listing allows shareholders to sell their stakes in the open market. This liquidity increases investor interest in the company, making it easier to attract future investments. Employees with stock options (ESOPs) also benefit by monetizing their shares post-listing.

  • Ability to Use Stock as Currency

Publicly listed companies can use their shares as non-cash currency for mergers, acquisitions, and employee compensation. This means that instead of paying cash for acquisitions, they can issue new shares, preserving liquidity while expanding their business. Additionally, offering stock-based incentives to employees improves retention and motivation, aligning employee interests with company performance. This flexibility makes IPOs an attractive option for companies looking to grow strategically without heavy financial burdens.

  • Improved Corporate Governance and Transparency

Going public requires companies to adhere to stricter regulations and disclosure norms, improving corporate governance. Listed companies must publish financial reports, undergo audits, and follow SEBI guidelines, ensuring transparency and accountability. This structured governance framework enhances investor confidence, reduces operational risks, and leads to better decision-making. Improved governance also helps in securing further investments from institutional investors, ensuring long-term sustainability and trust in the financial markets.

Disadvantages of Coming up with an IPO:

  • High Costs and Expenses

Launching an IPO involves significant costs, including underwriting fees, legal expenses, regulatory compliance costs, and marketing expenses. Companies must hire investment banks, auditors, and legal advisors, making the IPO process expensive. Additionally, after listing, ongoing costs for financial reporting, compliance, and shareholder communication increase the financial burden. These costs may outweigh the benefits, especially for smaller firms with limited capital, making IPOs a less viable option compared to other funding sources.

  • Loss of Control and Ownership Dilution

When a company goes public, founders and existing shareholders lose a portion of their ownership as shares are distributed among public investors. This dilution can lead to a loss of control, especially if institutional investors or activist shareholders acquire a significant stake. Public companies must also consider shareholder interests in decision-making, which can limit flexibility and independence in business operations. Major decisions may require board approval, reducing management’s autonomy in strategic planning.

  • Regulatory and Compliance Burden

Public companies must adhere to strict regulations imposed by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and stock exchanges. They are required to disclose financial statements, conduct regular audits, and follow corporate governance norms. Any failure to comply can result in penalties, legal actions, or delisting. The increased scrutiny demands transparency in operations, making it difficult for companies to keep certain strategic or financial information confidential, which could impact their competitive edge.

  • Market Volatility and Stock Price Fluctuations

Once listed, a company’s stock price is subject to market conditions, investor sentiment, and economic factors. External events such as economic downturns, political instability, or industry trends can lead to extreme fluctuations in share prices, affecting the company’s valuation. A declining stock price may create negative investor perception, reducing the company’s ability to raise additional funds. Management may also face pressure to meet short-term earnings expectations rather than focusing on long-term growth strategies.

  • Increased Public and Investor Pressure

A public company is accountable to shareholders, analysts, and regulators, which increases pressure on management to deliver consistent financial performance. Investors expect regular profits, dividends, and stock price growth, forcing companies to prioritize short-term performance over long-term strategies. Additionally, the risk of hostile takeovers increases as external investors accumulate shares. Management must spend significant time handling shareholder concerns, investor relations, and public disclosures, which can divert attention from core business operations.

  • Risk of Underperformance and Delisting

Not all IPOs succeed. If a company fails to meet investor expectations or generates lower-than-expected profits, its stock price may decline. Poor market conditions, weak financials, or mismanagement can lead to low demand for shares, resulting in poor post-IPO performance. In extreme cases, if a company fails to maintain compliance standards or sustains financial losses, it may face delisting from stock exchanges, leading to a loss of investor confidence and reputation damage.

Management Notes

E-Business, Features, Players, Challenges

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes7

E-business, or electronic business, refers to the practice of conducting business processes over the internet. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including buying and selling products or services, serving customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions. e-business involves the entire business ecosystem, integrating internal and external processes.

E-business leverages digital technologies to enhance productivity, efficiency, and the customer experience. It covers a broad spectrum of applications such as supply chain management, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), online marketing, and more. The adoption of e-business allows companies to operate globally, reduce operational costs, and improve market responsiveness.

Features of E-Business

  • Global Reach

One of the most significant advantages of e-business is its ability to reach a global audience. With the internet as its primary medium, businesses can expand beyond geographic boundaries and tap into international markets without the need for a physical presence. This helps businesses increase their customer base and revenue potential.

  • Cost Efficiency

E-business reduces operational costs by minimizing the need for physical infrastructure, reducing paperwork, and automating business processes. For example, online platforms eliminate the need for physical stores, which significantly lowers overhead costs. Additionally, automated systems streamline inventory management, order processing, and customer support.

  • 24/7 Availability

e-business operates around the clock. Customers can browse, place orders, and make inquiries at any time, increasing customer convenience and satisfaction. This continuous availability provides a competitive edge in terms of customer service and responsiveness.

  • Personalization and Customization

E-business platforms can use data analytics and artificial intelligence to offer personalized experiences to customers. By tracking user behavior and preferences, businesses can recommend relevant products, customize marketing messages, and enhance customer engagement.

  • Interactivity

E-business fosters direct interaction between businesses and customers. Through online channels such as websites, social media, chatbots, and email, businesses can engage with customers in real-time. This interactive capability helps build stronger relationships and improves customer loyalty.

  • Integration with Business Processes

E-business is not limited to front-end operations; it integrates seamlessly with back-end processes, including supply chain management, finance, and human resources. By digitizing these processes, businesses can improve coordination, reduce errors, and enhance decision-making.

  • Scalability

E-business models are highly scalable. Companies can easily increase or decrease their operations to meet market demand. Whether it’s expanding product offerings, adding new features, or reaching new markets, e-business allows for quick and cost-effective scalability.

Key Players in E-Business

  • E-Retailers (B2C Players)

E-retailers are businesses that sell products or services directly to consumers through online platforms. Popular examples include Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba, and eBay. These platforms offer a wide range of products, competitive pricing, and customer-friendly return policies, making them highly popular among consumers.

  • B2B Platforms

Business-to-business (B2B) platforms facilitate transactions between businesses. These platforms help companies source products, find suppliers, and manage bulk orders efficiently. Alibaba and IndiaMART are prominent examples of B2B platforms that enable businesses to connect and transact.

  • Service Providers

Service providers in the e-business ecosystem offer services such as web hosting, payment gateways, cloud storage, and logistics. Examples include PayPal and Stripe for online payments, AWS (Amazon Web Services) for cloud services, and FedEx for logistics and shipping.

  • Technology Enablers

Technology enablers are companies that provide the infrastructure and software necessary for e-business operations. This includes firms offering e-commerce platforms, website development tools, and digital marketing solutions. Shopify, WooCommerce, and Google (with its suite of advertising and analytics tools) are leading players in this category.

  • Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms play a crucial role in marketing, customer engagement, and brand building for e-businesses. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter allow businesses to reach a large audience, interact with customers, and drive traffic to their websites.

  • Search Engines

Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo are integral to e-business success. They drive organic traffic to business websites through search engine optimization (SEO) and paid advertising. By appearing in top search results, businesses can increase visibility and attract more customers.

  • Consumers

Consumers are at the core of the e-business ecosystem. They play a dual role as buyers and promoters. Satisfied customers often share their positive experiences through reviews and social media, contributing to word-of-mouth marketing. In addition, their feedback helps businesses improve products and services.

Challenges of E-Business

  • Cybersecurity Threats

One of the most significant challenges for e-businesses is ensuring the security of customer data and online transactions. E-business platforms are prime targets for cyberattacks, such as hacking, phishing, and ransomware. Ensuring robust cybersecurity measures, such as encryption, firewalls, and secure payment gateways, is essential but costly. A single breach can damage a company’s reputation and result in legal penalties.

  • Lack of Personal Touch

Unlike traditional businesses where face-to-face interactions build trust, e-businesses operate in a digital environment where personal touch is minimal. This lack of direct interaction may lead to lower customer trust and loyalty, especially for high-value purchases or services that require personalized assistance.

  • Technical issues and Downtime

E-business operations are heavily reliant on technology, including websites, apps, and servers. Technical glitches, server crashes, or slow load times can disrupt business operations and negatively affect customer experience. Regular maintenance, software updates, and ensuring high uptime are critical but require significant investment.

  • Logistics and Delivery issues

For e-businesses that deal with physical products, efficient logistics and timely delivery are crucial. However, ensuring reliable shipping across various regions, managing inventory, and handling returns pose significant challenges. Factors such as delays, lost packages, and damaged goods can lead to customer dissatisfaction and increased operational costs.

  • High Competition

The online business environment is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for customer attention. Large players like Amazon and Alibaba dominate the market, making it difficult for smaller businesses to compete on price, delivery speed, and product variety. Standing out in such a competitive space requires innovative marketing strategies and exceptional service.

  • Legal and Regulatory Compliance

E-businesses must comply with various local and international regulations, such as data privacy laws (e.g., GDPR), taxation rules, and consumer protection acts. Navigating the complex legal landscape can be challenging, especially for businesses operating in multiple countries with differing regulations.

  • Digital Divide and Accessibility issues

While internet penetration is increasing, there is still a significant digital divide in many parts of the world. Limited internet access and lack of digital literacy among certain populations restrict market reach. Moreover, ensuring that e-business platforms are accessible to users with disabilities requires additional investment in technology and design.

Management Notes

Environmental Forces Affecting Planning and Practice of E-Business

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes1

The Ecommerce industry has seen immense growth in the recent years and apart from some fluctuations in the global economy like demonetization in India, the situation has remained favorable for its growth. China and US are the largest of the e-markets. However, growth rate is expected to be even higher than US in the Asia Pacific region this year. The US e-retail market is among the largest ones in the world.  Apart from Amazon, Ebay and Alibaba, there are a number of important players in the market like Fipkart, Walmart, Coles and Best Buy. The technological factors have also supported the growth of the Ecommerce industry. Growth in the use of mobile gadgets has also pushed the ecommerce sales high. A larger number of people are now shopping using their mobile phones.  There are several factors apart from economic and political that affect the global ecommerce industry.  This is a PESTEL analysis of the ecommerce industry that analyzes how these various forces can affect the ecommerce industry and how deep can their impact be on it.

Political factors

While the threats may not be the same before the e-retailers as the physical retailers, still there are several political hurdles before them. There are several risk factors affecting the e-businesses. For example for the global leaders like Amazon and E-bay growth in Asia pacific region can be made difficult by the Red tape. Several news reports highlight how Red Tape in India can become major difficulty in the way of new businesses trying to extend their presence there. The political and regulatory challenges before the e-businesses have kept rising.  The growth of Ecommerce in EU has also been challenged by political factors. EU has kept targeting technology giants from US. Google and Amazon have already been targeted by EU. Such issues can be a threat to the growth of ecommerce in Europe and it is why several sources predict that the growth rate of ecommerce in Europe is going to be low. Political issues are not limited to just those discussed above but there are many more. Political stability in most regions of the world leads to economic stability. Political chaos can result .to disruption of business both online and physical. Overall, political issues can have a significant impact on ecommerce and its growth.

Economic factors

Economic factors are very significant in terms of business. Whether it is an online business or physical, economic factors can have a significant effect on it. It is because economic factors are directly related to business and their effect is also direct on business revenue and profits.  During the period of recession, spending had decreased. People had adopted cost cutting measures as the level of economic activity and employment had gone down. During such periods when economic activity has gone down, the profits and revenue of businesses can go down. E-businesses too cannot remain unaffected. Economic fluctuations since the recession have also kept affecting businesses from time to time since the recession. In several economies like Russia, Brazil and India, these economic fluctuations affected both global and local businesses. Now that the recession has passed and economic activity has returned on track, the ecommerce industry has flourished in the recent years. Higher economic activity means faster growth and higher revenue for the Ecommerce industry whereas lower economic activity means just its opposite. In this way, economic factors can have a direct and deep impact in the ecommerce industry.

Social factors

Socio cultural factors too have a deep impact in ecommerce industry. Most importantly e-retail brands find it the easiest to flourish locally. Growth in foreign markets can be full of challenges. Changing trends can also have an impact on businesses. The growing use of mobile technology has affected ecommerce. In most societies the mobile technology has been very popular and a larger number of people worldwide are now using mobile gadgets for shopping and other purposes. Socio cultural factors affect businesses in other ways too. Cultural factors have an impact on how these ecommerce businesses market themselves. In several societies of the world ecommerce is still seen as a sign of Westernization due to which it has seen low growth in these areas.

Technological factors

Technological factors are very important in the context of the ecommerce industry.  It is because the industry relies heavily on technology. Everything is based on technology in e-retail from sales to customer service. All the ecommerce brands are in a race to be technologically ahead of their competitors. From Amazon to E-bay and Flipkart, every brand is investing a lot in technology to find faster growth. Technology decides several things in the ecommerce world from popularity to profits. The reason that Amazon is ahead of the others is because it is technologically ahead of the others. It has managed its customer experience so well that its popularity is very high.  In this way, technology is a major influence on businesses and in case of ecommerce technological factors acquire a very special importance.

Environmental factors

Environmental factors too have a special importance in the context of Ecommerce industry. While the direct environmental impact of this industry is very low and nearly zero, it still focuses heavily on sustainability. Brands like Amazon have invested heavily in technology. Even in Ecommerce there are several areas where investing in sustainability can be highly productive. From sustainable packaging to waste reduction and renewable energy there are several areas where the e-retailers can invest in sustainability. Amazon has invested in renewable energy to gain freedom from the use of non-renewable energy resources.

Legal

Legal compliance is just as important for the businesses globally. Any tussle with the law can be a costly affair and even the e-retail brands can become a target unless they take care of compliance. It is why the big E-retail brands have separate teams to take care of the legal issues. Non compliance can result in financial losses as well as loss of image and reputation. From labor laws to sustainability laws, there are several areas where the e-retail brands have to be careful regarding compliance. Moreover, these laws differ from nation to nation and market to market and compliance in every area is important. So, in case of the companies operating internationally law can lead to major pressures and an increase in operational costs. The e-retail brands also have to be careful about the applicable laws and compliance.

Management Notes

Ethical Issues of e-Commerce

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

In the Information Age, technology evolves fast and data travels even faster. It can be difficult for the law to keep up with new technologies and inventive ways to conduct e-business. Because of this, the law often lags behind, and lawmakers end up drafting laws to clean up Internet messes instead of preventing them. Take digital file sharing dubbed piracy for example, laws were not created to prevent digital piracy until millions of albums were stolen and the music industry was crippled. The lag in laws mean that e-business executives must rely on ethics as they move forward in e-commerce.

  1. Client Privacy

Internet businesses have a legal obligation to protect the private information of their customers. E-commerce activity often involves collecting secure data such as names and phone numbers associated with email addresses. Many e-business activities also involve transactions, so customer banking or credit card information also ends up stored online. Legally, it is up to the e-business to store and protect or dispose of this sensitive data. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, for example, protects the online privacy rights of children. Under this law, parents have control of what personal information their children can give to e-businesses.

  1. Advertising Online

Several online marketing issues spring from the inherent anonymity of the Internet. It is often difficult to know the real identity of an e-business owner. A few online businesses take advantage of this in unethical or illegal ways. Some e-businesses track the online activity of their customers so that they can show advertisements based on the customer’s behavior. Behavioral advertising is not illegal, and it is not illegal to refrain from disclosing that an e-businesses tracks activity, although many people consider this nondisclosure unethical.

  1. Copyright Infringements

Due to the Internet’s free flow of information, plagiarism and copyright infringement is a continual problem. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act addresses plagiarism and copyright infringement in the specific context of the Internet and e-business. Under this law, it is illegal to use online technology to copy and distribute legally copyrighted material, such as photography, articles or books, music or videos.

  1. Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is the hotly debated idea that Internet users should have equal access to all websites. Most computers retrieve websites at the same speed, depending on the user’s Internet account settings or service, no matter if the site is a multibillion-dollar company or a neighbor’s blog. But some Internet providers have the capability to deliver different websites at different speeds. This is an issue because some websites could pay providers to deliver their content at faster speeds, while smaller business with less capital might not be able to afford the faster processing, and the Internet would lose its free-access-for-all feel. The Federal Communications Commission currently supports net neutrality and bans providers from participating in any program that offers extra pay for higher speed access to any websites.

  1. Disintermediation and Reintermediation

 Intermediation is one of the most important and interesting e-commerce issue related to loss of jobs. The services provided by intermediaries are-

(i) Matching and providing information.

(ii) Value added services such as consulting.

The first type of service (matching and providing information) can be fully automated, and this service is likely to be in e-marketplaces and portals that provide free services. The value added service requires expertise and this can only be partially automated.  The phenomenon by which Intermediaries, who provide mainly matching and providing information services are eliminated is called Disintermediation.

The brokers who provide value added services or who manage electronic intermediation (also known as infomediation), are not only surviving but may actually prosper, this phenomenon is called Reintermediation.

The traditional sales channel will be negatively affected by disintermediation. The services required to support or complement e-commerce are provided by the web as new opportunities for reintermediation. The factors that should be considered here are the enormous number of participants, extensive information processing, delicate negotiations, etc. They need a computer mediator to be more predictable.

Management Notes

Legal Issues of E-Commerce

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

With the advanced and increased use of online media, online business is becoming a fast emerging trend. Every five in eight companies are operating online, conducting e-commerce business. But being functional online doesn’t mean you can escape legal matters.

There are various legal issues associated with eCommerce businesses as well. And if these issues are not taken care of in time, they can lead to serious problems for your business.

Described below are some of the common legal issues an e-commerce business faces.

  1. Incorporation Problem

If you are a company operated merely via a website, not being incorporated is a crucial problem. Any purchase and selling activity related to your products will be considered illegal and you can’t claim your right in case of any fraud and corruption. Without incorporation, your business has no shelter.

  1. Trademark Security Problem

Not getting your trademark protected is one of the main legal issues in the field of e-commerce. Since trademark is your company’s logo and symbol, the representation of your business all over the web, it must be protected. If you don’t secure it, it won’t take long before you’ll realize your trademark is being infringed upon. This is very common legal issue and can become a deadly threat to your e-business.

With the hackers on loose and cybercrime so common, trademark infringement of your business or by your business can be a serious legal matter and may hinder your business’s progress.

  1. Copyright Protection Issue

While publishing content for your e-commerce website, using content of any other company can be a severe legal problem. This might mark an end to your e-business. There are many sites online which are royalty free and allow you to access their content and images. You may use those sites for creating web content for your business site.

Even if you unintentionally used copyrighted content, the other party can easily sue your business.

  1. Transaction Issues

The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) governs all e-commerce transactions in Australia. Therefore, if you do not abide by the rules, you can get into serious law violation problems.

If your business fails to provide clear and complete description of the product, cost and purchase details, information about delivery i.e. when the customer will receive products and other information related to exchange and refunds, the ACL can impose penalties on your business.

  1. Privacy Issues

When it comes to online businesses, privacy is the major issue that can create problems both for the business and customers. Consumers share information with businesses online and they expect the sellers to keep their information confidential. By just one minor mistake and leakage of valuable information of a customer, you’ll not only lose your potential customer but your image and reputation will become a question mark. Moreover, you’ll be subjected to serious legal problems according to Australian privacy laws.

If e-commerce businesses lead to exposure and advantages for businesses online, then it certainly has given rise to some legal issues too that can be avoided by keeping in mind the rules and laws framed by Australian Government.

Management Notes

Social Issues of E-Commerce

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

Nowadays, the internet has created a fresh function called e-commerce. E-commerce is commonly known as electric commerce and today already turn into a virtual main road of the world. It really is essentially cover all the activities on internet and stimulate the customer to buy the product online. Thus, it is another way to jogging their own business over the internet and it used to selling and buying the product over the internet with other business man and customer on other condition. E-Commerce is an excellent way to do their business since it can enlarge their business to entire world so that they can do their business bigger and makes more money in future. Besides that, it can also let more folks know more about their product by discovering the picture of product that they upload and the details of the merchandise that they list out on internet. Apart from buying and selling product online on e-commerce, it likewise have another function on e-commerce called supply chain management, digital data interchange (EDI), electric funds copy, inventory management, online deal handling, and data collection systems to make it simpler for business man for reselling their product.

I choose this at the mercy of discuss their issues because e-commerce is typically the most popular on the internet and it has been become a digital main streets of the world. Besides that, it also offers many issues for all of us to discuss therefore i decide to choose this subject to discuss. First, I’ll discuss the problems for e-commerce is security & privacy. It is the most important issues for e-commerce because without security & privacy, the customer will frightened get cheated by the seller. For example, the customer will scared owner products whether is good or bad because they just saw the picture of the merchandise online so the customer have no idea whether the product are good or bad so they terrified the seller will post up an awful thing to sell at internet. Another example is frightened after the customer transfer the money to the seller then they won’t send the product to the customer. Other than this 2 example, there still have another example is the customer don’t know the real price at marketing and the seller just simply setup the price and did not follow the marketing price to gain their profit more than market price such as dual or triple from the marketplace price. These 3 samples will be the impacts of world because if owner fraud the customer then the contemporary society will become lower standard. Moreover, the impacts of IT industry is the buyer will not go to the web-sites again to buy their products such that it will influence IT division said that e-commerce is bad in use on internet to do business because the customer get cheat by the seller plus they won’t online to buy the products again plus they would rather choose the products on marketing by finding the products themselves.

Besides that, there still have other issues of e-commerce. The second issues that I’ll discuss are transport issues. Shipping issues means that when the buyer will buy a product from the seller and the seller is from other state then they should use transport to send the products to the customer such that it can arrive to the place of buyer stay. In shipment, there have to have a good data management means that owner need to manage the data firmly such as addresses of buyer, titles of buyer, visa or mastercard information of the buyer, and contact information of the buyer. They have to have a good management upon this because if owner never manage the info of the buyer securely and simply just write it down only then when they need to send the merchandise to buyer after confirm all the exchange then only believe that some information already lost because of the newspaper that list out the buyer details can’t think it is out then it’ll become a transport issues because without the info of the buyer then they cannot send the product to the customer so when the buyer did not obtain any products that they assure before with the particular date that the product will turn up to the customer then your buyer will feel that they get cheat by owner. It is rather important because if the buyer feels they get cheat by seller then they won’t go compared to that websites again to get the merchandise. Besides that, for transport price, it is calculate with the weight of the products so after determine the purchase price out for shipment charge then it still need to include up the price of the products so it will become an extremely high cost for the products compare with marketing price so it will definitely cost highly if want to acquire the product over the internet and the seller are not stay in your country. These issues will have an impact on the population become low standard if the buyer fell they get cheat by owner and the customer will think that mostly of owner that stay at that country also same with him/her so their country can be low standard. Besides that, these issues will have an effect on IT industry because the customer will fell that although using internet to get a product is more easy but need to pay dual or triple of the marketing price and they’ll they better buy themselves and not purchase though the internet so that it can saves additional money compare with purchase online then your buyer won’t use the internet again to purchase product so that it can be less people used for sale products.

Other than 2 issues above, there still have another issues called complexity of process. This means when the customer want to get that such products they need to check out their step to buy a products from them such as register as a member of this website, fill up the arrangement form, type in all your personal details, type in your credit greeting card number etc. There have many step to follow if want to acquire a products online. Although some step to do before choose the products is for the best security & privacy however the buyer will believe that the process of buying the products over the internet are complexity equate to buy a products outdoors. These issues also will be the same impacts to modern culture and IT industry like the society can be low standard and cannot improvement to be better, and IT industry also will become not many people to utilize it to purchase the products online.

Conclusion

After we discuss all of these the issues for e-commerce, we know that what’s the impact of this all issues to population and IT industry so we have to learn from the problems so that we can make it better and increase the efficiency for e-commerce. First, we have to increase the security & privacy such as build-up a good impression for your website which is do not fraudulence people and so forth so the buyer can trust your website when they want to purchase products. When the customer trust your website then our population will become more high standard because nowadays they are employing ecommerce to purchase products. Secondly, we need to decrease to transport issue such as have a good data management so that the data won’t get lost. Moreover, we also need to determine the cost-effective ways to ensure that your products will appear to the buyer with enough time that you guarantee before and the delivery fee won’t cost highly so that the buyer will continue to keep purchase products online. When the customer feel that shipment cost and product cost is a good cost and not cost highly then the buyer will keep purchase the products from your website so it can improve our world and and yes it industry. Lastly, we have to decrease the step before purchase products such as we just ask the customer to fill his/her details that can contact his/her then uses email to verify again their details and then only send out the products to the buyer so that the buyer won’t feel the process of buy a product complexity plus they also will always use internet to purchase the product so our population may become high standard and IT industry will have a good opinions from customer. After discuss how to reduce the issues of e-commerce, I believe e-commerce can be more users friendly and can become a virtual main road of the world to allow them to purchase any products that they want online.

Management Notes

Developing e-Business Framework

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes1

E-Business framework is related to software frameworks for e-commerce applications. They offer an environment for building e-commerce applications quickly.

E-Business frameworks are flexible enough to adapt them to your specific requirements. As result, they are suitable for building virtually all kinds of online shops and e-commerce related (web) applications.

Features of e-business

Configuration, Product management, Marketing & Design, Technology & Storefront, Internationalization, PayPal Extensibility, manufacturer support, extendable via plugins, product Streams.

They provide an overall structure for e-commerce related applications.

An e-business framework must

  • Allow replacing all parts of the framework code
  • Forbid changes in the framework code itself
  • Contain bootstrap code to start the application
  • Be extensible by user-written code

E-business frameworks should

  • Define the general program flow
  • Consist of reusable components
  • Be organized in functional domains

Examples of e-business frameworks are

  • Aimers (Laravel, Symphony, Typo3, Flow)
  • Spyker (Symfony only)
  • Sylius (Symfony only)

The key framework feature which are vital for e-businesses are:

  1. Quality Search Functionality

This is one of the functions which play a very big role in the market with search functions that helps in conversion rates. Basically this function is kind of filtering which processes keywords and helps you to get precise effect over search and into your sales too.

  1. Content Management System (CMS)

It is the system which makes your website unique in searches across the global markets. This is one of the features which highly impact over the website as speed key to efficiency.

  1. Multi-channel Functionality

In current retail market and environment, it is highly considered that your business is spread all across global and though it is possible to get done through managing products, listings and orders in a multi-channel environment.

  1. Mobile Supported E-commerce

The fact is that everyone is looking forward to have easy browsing on mobile than to go for getting an efficacious platform, which will surely help to grow user and customer’s attraction.

  1. Third Party Systems and Plug-ins

It must have ability to use the third party plug-ins which is meant to provide adaptability, customization and innovation. These features can be used while developing a website and though some may not be the part of the standard package.

  1. Business Intelligence

When it comes to managing the data, it is mandatory to get precise and accurate details over the data. The tempo should be maintained while managing the data, business intelligence helps to get that done on your website because only through the tempo and flow, which you will be able to analyze the depth of transaction and then take advantages of the opportunities that comes up.

Management Notes

Developing e-Business Models

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

Ecommerce business models of all types are thriving. Sales from online stores are expected to increase 78% by 2020.

It’s easy to get caught up and excited in the latest ecommerce trends, but unless you know the fundamentals, you’ll hit a profitability wall without knowing it.

A booming ecommerce business takes intuition, knowledge of your market, a solid business plan, and careful research into products and business models. But one of the biggest hurdles most newcomers to the space face is easy to solve. Many would-be ecommerce business owners just don’t know how ecommerce businesses are set up and what different types of e-commerce are available to them.

E-business models can generally be categorized into the following categories:

  1. Business – to – Business

A website following the B2B business model sells its products to an intermediate buyer who then sells the product to the final customer. As an example, a wholesaler places an order from a company’s website and after receiving the consignment, sells the endproduct to the final customer who comes to buy the product at one of its retail outlets.

  1. Business – to – Consumer

A website following the B2C business model sells its products directly to a customer. A customer can view the products shown on the website. The customer can choose a product and order the same. The website will then send a notification to the business organization via email and the organization will dispatch the product/goods to the customer.

  1. Consumer – to – Consumer

A website following the C2C business model helps consumers to sell their assets like residential property, cars, motorcycles, etc., or rent a room by publishing their information on the website. Website may or may not charge the consumer for its services. Another consumer may opt to buy the product of the first customer by viewing the post/advertisement on the website.

  1. Consumer – to – Business

In this model, a consumer approaches a website showing multiple business organizations for a particular service. The consumer places an estimate of amount he/she wants to spend for a particular service. For example, the comparison of interest rates of personal loan/car loan provided by various banks via websites. A business organization who fulfills the consumer’s requirement within the specified budget, approaches the customer and provides its services.

  1. Business – to – Government

B2G model is a variant of B2B model. Such websites are used by governments to trade and exchange information with various business organizations. Such websites are accredited by the government and provide a medium to businesses to submit application forms to the government.

  1. Government – to – Business

Governments use B2G model websites to approach business organizations. Such websites support auctions, tenders, and application submission functionalities.

  1. Government – to – Citizen

Governments use G2C model websites to approach citizen in general. Such websites support auctions of vehicles, machinery, or any other material. Such website also provides services like registration for birth, marriage or death certificates. The main objective of G2C websites is to reduce the average time for fulfilling citizen’s requests for various government services.

Management Notes

e-Commerce Websites

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

Recent years have seen an exceptional evolution in the way India trades and shops. E-commerce is one of the rapidly growing sectors, stimulating an entire generation of entrepreneurs, large scale manufacturing of small and medium-sized enterprises. E-commerce has enabled helped reduce barriers and bring the manufacturer closer to the customer. The presence of a virtual store on e-commerce websites has helped millions of business flourish in India and has led to more employment opportunities as well.

Today, technology has advanced at a rapid pace and with the use of smart phones, the online shopping experience has become seamless for customers. With easy to use mobile apps with elaborate store catalogs, e-commerce has ushered new opportunities for both traders and consumers.

India is one of the largest markets of e-commerce players. With giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Myntra, new entrants like PayTm Mall, Shopclues, etc are also establishing a strong hold in the Indian market.

Top 7 e-commerce websites in India

  1. Amazon

Amazon is one of the biggest online stores with a global presence. It not only provides a variety of product choices but also provides a great user experience and splendid customer service. Besides putting prominence to personalization, Amazon also monitors user’s browsing and purchase patterns in order to provide them recommended products for future purchases. It operates in India as a marketplace rather than a retailer.

Amazon has started two new initiatives for sellers in India: the ‘Self Service Registration (SSR)’ and ‘Amazon Easy Ship’.

Amazon SSR allows sellers to self register in Amazon marketplace, irrespective of location and size of the catalog. It enables sellers to start selling within a day without any third party intervention. With Amazon Easy Ship, the seller has to pack the shipment and confirm to Amazon that they are ready to ship. Amazon Logistics ensures that the pack is delivered to the customers within two to three working days. With new features such as Amazon Prime, customers can receive delivery of products within 24 hours. By reducing the shipping time, Amazon keeps both retailers and customers happy and increases customer stickiness on the website.

Right from mobile phones, to fashion products, electrical appliances, books, and grocery, Amazon has become a one-stop shop for all consumer needs.

  1. Flipkart

Flipkart is an Indian based e-commerce venture and over the years, it has garnered a lot of interest in the minds of Indian consumers. It has opened up the scope for Indian e-tail market in a tremendous way. It started out as an online bookstore and now it has a gamut of products ranging from: books, apparels, electronics, digital music, home care and beauty. Moreover, it has now become a mega marketplace.

Flipkart’s fundamental differentiator is its supply chain efficiency— definitive delivery of goods. It has been continuously developing and improving the customer experience. The website is easy to browse, hassle-free, and convenient.

Two of the most important reasons for Flipkart’s grand success are the discounts and the option of Cash- on- Delivery which makes consumers more confident in purchasing products. Flipkart has an amazing customer retention rate with 70% of repeat customers.

Apart from the shopping experience, Flipkart’s biggest online shopping festival – Big Billion Days is one of the most successful campaigns and it churns out millions of orders during that shopping season.

  1. Jabong

Jabong came into the e-commerce market with a bang and created a revolution within 6 to 7 months of launch. Besides selling products on their own through inventories, Jabong is also an online marketplace for third-party sellers. They predominantly cater to apparel, footwear, jewelry, and accessories and catalog more than 50,000 products across 700 brands.

Jabong is known for its own logistics network that ensures fast delivery. If you are in a city like Delhi, you are bound to receive the product within 24 hours of order placement. Jabong is also trying to expand its international presence through its site ‘JabongWorld.com’. It ships Indian products to international customers.

One of Jabong’s uniqueness lies in its new idea of a fashion magazine— “The Juice”an interesting blend of fashion, people, trends and pop culture. The magazine has everything in it that readers would love to read in a fashion magazine. Jabong has also collaborated with films such as “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, “Main Tera Hero”, and “Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya” to offer exclusive products inspired by the movie.

The various payment gateways offered by Jabong have made it convenient for consumers to order products from the website. In 2016, Jabong was acquired by Myntra.

  1. Snapdeal

Snapdeal is a successful e-commerce portal catering to customer’s buying needs at a much wider aspect. It was established with a concept of making products available to the customers at a discounted rate through offers and Snapdeal coupons.

It gives you the best deals in a particular city in various service categories ranging from: restaurants, spas and salons, apparel, footwear, baby care, home and décor. It has adopted the marketplace business model. Snapdeal came up with a unique idea of permitting local vendors and manufacturers to publish their product catalog and sell it on the Snapdeal portal. This avoids expensive costs involved in building own inventory.

Snapdeal’s business model was awarded with mammoth funding to scale up their products, business and operations. It focuses on logistics and efficient delivery to customers.  It operates in such a fast pace that a new product is added in every 30 seconds.

  1. Myntra

Myntra is one of the largest shopping e-tailers in fashion and lifestyle merchandise. It supplies a wide range of products from clothing to footwear and accessories. It focuses on bringing the most fashionable brands for its customers. In 2014, Myntra was acquired by Flipkart.

Myntra has created a niche in the territory of e-commerce and subtle trust from people. Additionally, from discounts to Cash-on-Delivery benefits, the Myntra success mantra belongs to its hybrid logistics model. It takes uttermost care of its supply chain management and employs delivery agents with high experience.

Myntra has also come up with a complete guide to your everyday fashion and latest style trends. The “MyntraLookGood” is a daily fix of style tips, beauty tricks, celeb fashion, and non-stop entertainment. The tie-ups with celebrities and events are an outstanding strategy by Myntra to represent that fashion is in its DNA. Myntra has many celebrity brands— Hrithik Roshan’s HRX, Salman Khan’s Being Human, Deepika Padukone’s All About You, and Farhan Akhtar’s MARD. They believe that Bollywood influences fashion and frequent tie-up with celebrities helps to bring customers closer to Myntra.

  1. Shopclues

Shopclues is the latest addition to the top e-commerce websites in India. Unlike Amazon and Flipkart, Shopclues is a market place that focuses on unstructured categories of home, electrical, fashion, and daily utility items.  The mass market of shopclues comes from tier 2 and tier 3 cities and most of its business comes from smaller cities. Shopclues helps give brands from unstructured markets a voice of its own.

Shopclues has a comparatively larger merchant base. It focuses on small and medium sized traders located in smaller cities and helps them take their business online. With over 50 million visitors on its website, one of the major revenue generating categories has been the home and kitchen appliances category.

  1. PayTm

PayTm is the second largest e-commerce platform in India and has also made its way to the list of unicorn startups. Primarily started as a mobile wallet, in 2016, PayTm entered the e-commerce industry with PayTm Mall. As the name suggests, it is an online market place for products ranging from electronics to daily consumer needs.

One of the attractive features of PayTm has been its cashback feature. Consumers are given a variety of discount coupons to choose from and also provide good savings on the purchase of goods. With close to 120 million buyers on the platform, PayTm Mall is finding new ways to enhance the buying experience. It is also collaborating with retail brick-and-motor stores and with use of its mobile app and QR codes, it takes the customer through an online shopping experience with attractive discounts.

Thus, India is a growing marketplace and e-commerce industries are bound to flourish. But with the right technology and design strategy, new entrants can have a competitive edge.

Be it a website, a mobile app, or even building a market place software from scratch, GoodWorkLabs has helped clients in the retail, real estate, and fashion industry build powerful e-commerce applications for their business.

Management Notes

Software Hardware and Tools

indiafreenotesby indiafreenotes0

Hardware Tools

The following are the tangible, hands-on tools you should have available for your use when managing and maintaining your network. While virtually monitoring your system is made easier with the right software, the network itself still lives and breathes through the technological foundation you’ve built here in the real world.

  1. Butt Set

Used in telephony, a butt set allows you to test your network’s phone lines using alligator clips and a handheld set.

  1. Cable Certifier

Want to verify your cable’s bandwidth and frequency? A cable certifier can help you confirm that your CAT 5e cable meets proper specifications, supporting speeds of 1000 Mbps.

  1. Cable Tester

A cable tester can help you verify that your cable is wired correctly or to troubleshoot suspected faulty cables, allowing you to identify short or open cables. Fluke Networks is a great resource for high quality cable testing and diagnostic hardware.

  1. Crimper

You’ll need a crimper to attach cables and connectors.

  1. Toner Probe

Need to find the other end of a cable? Then a toner probe’s your new best friend, allowing you to place a tone on one end of the wire to find the corresponding tone on the other end with a speaker and contact probe. This excellent troubleshooting tool can also be used to identify cable continuity because a short or open cable will not complete the circuit and produce the tone.

  1. Environmental monitor

Your environmental monitor will log the conditions (temp and humidity) of the room in which your sensitive network equipment resides. An excellent tool for monitoring the conditions in your data center(s) and/or server rooms, an environmental monitor can help you identify those issues that could potentially cause problems for your equipment helping you to sidestep a down. Tracking these logs can also assist you in ferreting out potential environmental causes of problems like random reboots or overheated systems. AVTECH makes a wide range of tools to monitor your environmental and power status in server rooms.

  1. Loop back plug

Want to test your data ports and NIC jacks? A loop back plug can help you verify that data is flowing properly on that port, both sending and receiving.

  1. Multimeter

Your multimeter can help you with continuity checks, measuring voltages, amperage, and resistance. Touch the probes to two ends of a wire and listen for the multimeter’s characteristic beep. No beep? Your cable has a break in continuity it’s that simple.

  1. OTDR & TDR

The optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) and time domain reflectometer (TDR) work similarly, allowing you to isolate the locations of breaks, measuring the distance between cable ends by sending a signal down the cable and measuring how long it takes to return or reflect the signal back from a break. Both are invaluable in troubleshooting breaks and even more minor disruptions in the electrical flow of your cables. OTDR works on fiber optic cables.

  1. Punch Down Tool

Allowing you to “punch down” connecting cables to wiring blocks or terminate cables to jacks with a small amount of pressure, the punch down tool is spring loaded and a must have for all those maintaining a network.

Hardware or Software Tools

Some tools offer an opportunity for choice between hardware or software to do the same job, which you choose will depend on your network’s needs, budget, and priorities.

Protocol Analyzer aka “Packet Sniffer”

Want to hunt down an unauthorized application or suspected attack on your network? Send in the sniffer. Protect your network by analyzing traffic, troubleshooting problems or suspicious activity using a protocol analyzer. While many folks view a hardware-based protocol analyzer solution as superior to software solutions, the cost difference and network priorities of your organization may make a software solution a better choice for you.

Regardless of which you choose, this hardware device or software program is used to sniff out issues and allows you to see a snapshot of wireless traffic on your network, capturing packets traveling over the network for analysis. Packets are then saved in a capture file and can be inspected for information like the source and destination IP addresses, service set identifier (SSID), source and destination media access control (MAC) addresses, source and destination ports, and payload data, allowing admins to verify they’ve been compromised and to identify the location of the computer involved. Wireshark provides both free and commercial resources for deep inspection of network activity.

Software Tools

While there are many all-in-one solutions available to help you monitor, analyze, and maintain your network – we’ll leave the choice of which to use up to you. Here is a list of the most common tools your network management software should contain and how they can assist you in doing what you do.

  1. Bandwidth Monitor

Monitor the average BPS and utilization percentage of interfaces, identifying traffic bottlenecks in a switch or router in real-time with this vital bandwidth tool. Presented in an easy-to-understand graphical format.

  1. Network Monitor

Continuously monitoring device response time, your network monitor alerts you via email, reporting node status and prioritizing severity. Ipswitch creates industry leading tools to visualize and monitor your network.

  1. Port Scanner

Track down unknown or unwanted services running on your system using a port scanner to scan for port status, associating ports with known services.

  1. Switch Port Mapper

Manual cable tracing is both time consuming and a total drag, save yourself from tedium and identify each switch port a device is connected to within a switch using a switch port mapper. Useful in helping you quickly assess port availability and gain real-time operational status and speeds of each port.

  1. System Details Update

Streamline your system details update process using this handy tool that lets you to view, scan, modify, and update the details on a range of devices all at once.

  1. TCP Reset

Providing a list of all established TCP connections in a device, the TCP reset lets you verify legitimate connections and reset those that are unwanted or unauthorized.

  1. Wake-On-LAN

Wake it up when you’re on the go-go. Wake-on LAN allows you to remotely “wake” or boot up a machine in low power mode on the network with the use of a remote command. Solarwinds provides free tools to manage your network power consumption and use wake-on-lan technology to save energy and remotely control system power.

error: Content is protected !!