B2C, B2B, B2G
Ecommerce builds on traditional commerce by adding flexibility and speed offered by electronic communications. eCommerce involves the sale or purchase of goods and services over computer networks by businesses, individuals, governments or other organisations. E-commerce is a new way of helping business enterprises to compete in the market.
At present, though most small enterprises lack the knowledge of how investment in eCommerce could benefit their businesses and help them develop that competitive edge. Ecommerce is the application of current information and communication technologies (ICTs) to conduct business. These include existing technologies like landline telephone and fax, but the ICTs offering most scope for small businesses are mobile phones, electronic mail and other Internet-based services.
Ecommerce is not just about using new technologies. eCommerce can also help support profitable business relationships and assist you to more effectively manage and run your business enterprise. This will involve creating more effective external interactions with customers, clients, collaborators and suppliers, but it can also mean improving internal business efficiency and even the emergence of new products and services.
Ecommerce involves selling directly from businesses-to-consumers (B2C eCommerce). This refers to a business communicating with or selling to an individual rather than a company. An online business-to-consumer system is a powerful tool that improves and facilitates sales of your company’s products and services.
Ecommerce can also be conducted directly between businesses (B2B eCommerce). This refers to one business selling to another business via the Web. This is used to describe eCommerce between two or more businesses, from a single transaction between a buyer and seller. At present, this is the most common type of ecommerce.
There is also business-to-government activity (B2G eCommerce) that refers to services delivered by a business to a government. It also refers the growth in supply of goods and services of government in online.