What is the basic concept of e-commerce?

E-commerce is a variety of transactions completed electronically rather than face to face. E-commerce is an advanced application of information technology, which is used to strengthen the business relationship between trading partners. E-commerce is the realization of a business idea based on information, which is used to improve the efficiency in the trade process. E-commerce is a new business model. Enterprises in all industries will be connected together through the network, making all kinds of real and virtual cooperation possible. All enterprises in the supply chain can become a coordinated cooperative whole, and employees of enterprises can also participate in the supplier's business process. The retailer's sales terminal can automatically connect with the supplier, and the purchase order will be automatically confirmed and delivered without the manual link of the purchasing department. Enterprises can also provide better services to customers in a brand-new way, which is not an idea that large enterprises can realize. Internet provides new development opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and any enterprise may establish business relations with suppliers or customers all over the world. The effective use of information has become an important means for enterprises to enhance their competitiveness in the new economic model, and e-commerce will surely become a basic means of trade and communication.

Specifically, e-commerce has changed the following aspects of economic life:

1. E-commerce first changed the transaction mode.

On the surface, this is the most unusual change. There is no feeling of "breaking the ground". However, the most unusual change is pregnant with the most unusual change.

Looking back at the birth of the bank: in the era of metal currency, it was only a small role of "managing money for wealthy businessmen", that is, a small role of "cashier" for many wealthy businessmen. Because he found that the money in his hand could be lent out to earn interest, he gradually developed into a tycoon who controlled the lifeline of social economy. When it was still a small role of a wealthy businessman "cashier", who would have thought that earth-shaking changes would take place later?

E-commerce has changed and is changing people's consumption patterns.

Consumers' behaviors such as looking for manufacturers, running shopping malls, entering banks, queuing, negotiating and going through formalities are all being changed. The shopping method of "backache and leg pain" will be replaced by the easy "click of the mouse". In the language of economics, the transaction cost of the buyer is greatly reduced.

E-commerce has changed and is changing the marketing methods of manufacturers.

A. By changing the advertising methods of manufacturers, the spread of online advertising will be wider and the average cost will be greatly reduced.

B. change the way the brand is shaped, then the role of the brand's market advantage is also changing. The door for unknown brands to enter the market is opening.

C. Change the organization of sales: a series of work processes such as receiving orders, confirming credit standing or collecting money, preparing goods and delivering goods will change.

D. Change the management mode of customers: the consumption characteristics of customers can be directly recorded on the Internet and analyzed by certain software, so that manufacturers can provide better services to customers.

E-commerce is recreating the whole circulation link.

The traditional way of "manufacturer-wholesale-retail-consumer" is being broken, and the way of "manufacturer-(directly facing)-consumer" is taking shape, and a new material circulation system is taking shape. Therefore, a new logistics system is taking shape.

This is a ruthless "big wave scouring the sand". As a result, circulation organizations are rebuilt: some will die (especially some traditional commercial intermediaries will die), some will improve (or die), and some circulation organizations will emerge. The transportation system, transportation organization mode and corresponding storage mode will also be rebuilt due to e-commerce.

E-commerce has changed, and it is also changing the way manufacturers purchase.

From the production process of manufacturers, e-commerce not only greatly changed the "export" side of manufacturers, but also had a great impact on the "import" side.

Because it is easier to "shop around", it is a) more conducive to finding suitable raw materials and parts, b) more conducive to finding suitable partners, and c) thus reducing the transaction cost of procurement.

Then it will force the procurement methods and organizations of enterprises to change accordingly. Then it will affect the establishment of strategic alliance between enterprises and suppliers.

6. E-commerce has changed and is changing the operation means of enterprise financing.

Some financing methods (such as the stock and bond markets as part of the capital market) have long been electronic. Moreover, people have learned that the great destructive power of capital transactions based on electronic information networks is a force that shocks the world under the condition of imperfect rules or negligent control. The financial turmoil of 1997 is fresh in the memory of all people in the industry.

Another important source of enterprise financing is commercial banks (as the intermediary of capital market). Due to the development of IT technology and information network, commercial banks are also undergoing tremendous changes. The emergence of online banking has completely changed the means of enterprise capital operation and reduced operating costs. Some rules of enterprise financial management must also be changed accordingly. For example, within the bank's credit line, the timing of issuing loan information, and the decision-making technology about the amount and time of repayment. It will change due to the update of operation means, thus further reducing costs and improving profits.

7. The selection and use of talents are undergoing revolutionary changes.

In the previous discussion on e-commerce, the talent market has not received enough attention.

In fact, talent trading based on IT technology and electronic information network (talent self-recommendation, talent selection by enterprises, and even talent testing and employment) has been carried out for a long time, and it has developed rapidly relying on the Internet and multimedia.

The technology of online talent evaluation (such as questionnaire design and survey method) has developed rapidly.

The research topic of human resource management must also develop accordingly.

8. Enterprise technology sources and enterprise R&D are changing.

The technology needed for enterprise production always comes partly from the enterprise's own R&D and partly from the outside. For different enterprises, the proportion of these two sources will be very different. But it can't be completely without external technical sources.

For enterprises in China, the external source of technology is always one of the important elements at the "entrance" end of enterprises.

There are two basic forms for enterprises to introduce technology: a) buying ready-made technology, and b) entrusting development to acquire the required technology (this is the so-called technology externalization problem). The latter is the most desirable form for China enterprises.

From the perspective of external sources, e-commerce has also changed the form of technology trading, greatly broadened the vision of enterprises to search for needed technologies, broadened the vision of enterprises to entrust development, and changed the management mode of enterprises to obtain needed technologies from outside.

From the perspective of internal sources, the two technical sources needed for enterprise production are an organic system, and the change of external sources will inevitably lead to the change of enterprise's own R&D task, development investment and development organization.

In addition, the enterprise's own R&D must have the input of technical information and market information, especially "demand information". This will inevitably change the organizational form of enterprise R&D. For example, consumers can design their favorite car models based on software, and manufacturers must complete the design, production and delivery in a short time after negotiating the price with consumers online. The development and management of enterprises must adapt to this.

E-commerce is causing changes in the theory, organization and methods of enterprise science and technology management.

9. Change and change the manufacturer's production organization and production process management.

The farthest from e-commerce is the middle part of the enterprise logistics chain, that is, the organization and management of the production process. It is also deeply influenced by e-commerce. Great changes in the output and input of enterprises will inevitably bring about great changes in the middle. In order to adapt to the changes in input and output caused by e-commerce, it is inevitable for enterprises to re-engineer their production processes.

In fact, the appearance of virtual enterprise has changed the organization mode of production process to the extreme.

E-commerce will inevitably lead to the refinement (specialization) of enterprise technology units, the externalization of some production and the reengineering of production processes.

In a word, e-commerce has changed the whole economic process from development to production, to circulation, to consumption and to financial operation, and is changing and refreshing management concepts, theories and methods. Moreover, changes are also conveyed according to the following logic: productivity-relations of production-superstructure-culture and ideas.

This is the great power of economic DNA to change the world.