Question

E-commerce Web sites typically interact with or affect many different areas of an organization. Because of this interaction, e-commerce Web sites typically include functionality to assist in the communication that is required between the site and other parts of the organization. Sales or accounting may need reports. Marketing or sales may need the ability to update the product catalog. Manufacturing may need access to inventory levels, and the list goes on. In a typical large organization, the operational needs of the organization are available already through the main Web site.

Your e-commerce site needs to integrate with the following other software applications:

• Inventory Application
• Accounting
• Marketing

The next step in your E-Commerce Implementation Plan is to prepare for the integration of the e-commerce Web site with the above software applications. You will also design the database for your e-commerce application and create the database structure in any open-source database (such as SQL Server Express Edition, PostgreSQL, or others). Please refer to the unit resources for some articles that will help you complete this assignment.

The project deliverables are as follows:

• Create a section in the E-Commerce Implementation Plan document, and name it "Integration."
• Draw the process diagram that shows how your e-commerce site integrates with inventory application, accounting, and marketing.
• Design the architecture diagram that shows how the e-commerce site database integrates with other software applications.
• Design the e-commerce site ER diagram.
• Implement the database structure for the e-commerce site in any open-source database

Please provide diagrams

Answer 1

The E-commerce implementation plan

            To reduce costs and maintain a competitive edge, companies are mandating that their suppliers receive their purchase orders and send back invoices electronically.

            E-commerce essentially means selling products and services online—but it's not as simple as it may sound. E-commerce requires a sophisticated content management system and a strategy that combines many separate elements. To begin with, e-commerce demands dedicated purchase, payment, and support systems along with customer relationship management procedures. A quality marketing effort is paramount.

Seven steps to implement the E-Commerce

Step #1: Contact your Strategic Customers and Suppliers

Step #2: Determine what your industry is doing.

Step #3: Evaluate and Purchase the Proper Tools

Step #4: Start simple

Step #5: Create a Project Team

Step #6: Document your requirements

Step #7: Hire a consultant

Benefit of other area organization by E-Commerce.

• Using E-Commerce, organization can expand their market to national and international markets with minimum capital investment.
• E-Commerce application provides user more options and quicker delivery of products.
• E-Commerce helps reducing cost of products so less affluent people can also afford the products.
• E-Commerce helps government to deliver public services like health care, education, social services at reduced cost and in improved way.
• Ability for creating highly specialized businesses.
• Electronic commerce reduces the time between the outlay of capital and the receipt of products and services.
• Electronic commerce initiates business processes re engineering projects.
• Electronic commerce lowers telecommunications cost-the Internet is much cheaper than VAN
• Electronic commerce decreases the cost of creating, processing, distributing, storing, and retrieving paper-based information

eCommerce Process Flow:

Diagram: Overview of a typical eCommerce process flow

At the top level of an eCommerce process flow, the following can be easily identified:

• Customer places an order in your eCommerce system
• Order details are extracted from your eCommerce system and entered into your business software
• Order is passed to the warehouse to be processed
• Order is placed for fulfilment.

• Sales order details are manually extracted from your eCommerce system. Information includes customer information, description and ID of product ordered, payment details and transaction ID
• Employee manually checks sales order data for a correlation with your business rules e.g. full address, contact details, products ordered
• Employee manually enters order and customer details into your business software
• Employee manually creates and sends an order received notification to the customer

• Employee notifies warehouse of an order that needs to be processed
• Employee manually checks the order against pick list criteria e.g. stock availability, item location in warehouse etc.
• Employee creates and prints pick list
• If products are in stock and available, the order is picked and packed
• Order is now ready for the shipping process

Subprocess: Processing an Order for Shipping

• Employee enters package data, such as weight, size and destination into your courier provider system
• Employee prints shipping labels and delivery notes
• Shipping confirmation sent to customer
• Employee may or may not update your business software with tracking numbers
• Order handed over to courier for fulfilment.

The workbook includes:

• Top-level eCommerce process flow
• Subprocess model: Automating the retrieval of sales orders and automatically placing them into your business software
• Subprocess model: Automating the processing of sales orders in the warehouse
• Subprocess model: Automating the placement of sales orders with courier services for shipping
• Notes for you to map and modify your process models
• Process automation and system integration recommendations and considerations