RAAK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

(Approved by AICTE, Affiliated to Pondicherry University)

(A Unit of Farouk Educational Trust)

No. 1, Muthupillai Palayam Road, G. N. Palayam, Pondicherry-605 110

[email protected], www.raakengg.com

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

DEGREE : B.TECH BATCH : 2019 - 2023 YEAR/SEM : IV

IT-E81 E-COMMERCE

Unit II
E-commerce Models: Business-to-Business – Hubs - Market Places - Business-to-Business
Exchange -Business-to-Consumer - Consumer-to-consumer - Business-to-Government -
Government-to-Government.

BUSINESS MODELS OF E-COMMERCE

E‐Commerce is a much wider subject than selling online. It is of the view that e‐
commerce covers any form of transaction where technology has played a part. There are also
many different types of e‐commerce, with differing relationships existing with each. Some of the
important models of e‐commerce are as follows: ‐

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS [B2B]

 B2B (business – to‐ business) is the major and valuable model of e‐commerce. B2B
(business – to‐ business) e‐commerce is conducted between two separate businesses and
has been in effect for many years.
 As an example, a wholesaler places an order from a company's website and after
receiving the shipment, it sells the end product to the final customer who comes to buy
the product at the wholesaler's retail outlet.

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  E‐commerce plays an important role in enhancing and transforming relationships
between and among business.
 B2B (business – to‐ business)is also known as e‐biz, is the exchange of products,
services, or information between businesses rather than between businesses and
consumers.
 B2B (business – to‐ business )is a kind of ecommerce, which refers to a company selling
or buying from other companies. One company communicates with other companies
through electronic Medias.

Many organizations are implementing electronic commerce in numerous ways and

receiving tangible benefits but as electronic commerce matures and develops, these ways are
likely to change based on the accelerating adoption rate.
There are three specific implementation models of B2B E‐commerce:‐
• Transaction based‐ a single company establishes a common transactional method for
conducting business with its major customers or key suppliers. This offering is common across
all business units within the company and includes common tools, techniques, and infrastructure.
• Process based‐ Two companies establish a common business process to conduct business
efficiently between the two firms. The two firms establish and share this common practice
jointly, both within their firm and outside their organization with this predetermined trading
partner.
• Strategic relationship based – Two or more companies establishing a strategic relationship
partnership based on all major interactions between the organizations. This includes transactions,

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processes, and any other collaboration between the organizations. From a technology perspective
this includes linking the CRM, ERP and SCM systems of the two organizations. This way each
organization can actually monitor sales activity, production schedules, inventory management,
and technical service exchanges.

Key Technologies

Following are the key technologies used in B2B e-commerce –

 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) − EDI is an inter-organizational exchange of

business documents in a structured and machine processable format.
 Internet − Internet represents the World Wide Web or the network of networks
connecting computers across the world.
 Intranet − Intranet represents a dedicated network of computers within a single
organization.
 Extranet − Extranet represents a network where the outside business partners, suppliers,
or customers can have a limited access to a portion of enterprise intranet/network.
 Back-End Information System Integration − Back-end information systems are
database management systems used to manage the business data.

Architectural Models

Following are the architectural models in B2B e-commerce −

 Supplier Oriented marketplace − In this type of model, a common marketplace
provided by supplier is used by both individual customers as well as business users. A
supplier offers an e-stores for sales promotion.
 Buyer Oriented marketplace − In this type of model, buyer has his/her own market
place or e-market. He invites suppliers to bid on product's catalog. A Buyer company
opens a bidding site.
 Intermediary Oriented marketplace − In this type of model, an intermediary company
runs a market place where business buyers and sellers can transact with each other.

Three models of B2B EC

In this section, the three models of B2B EC are described. They are classified depending

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 on who controls the marketplace: the buyer, the supplier or the intermediary.
 In a Buyer-Orientated Marketplace few buyers face many suppliers.
 In a Supplier-Oriented Marketplace many buyers face few suppliers.
 In an Intermediary-Oriented Marketplace many buyers face many suppliers.

Other important B2B models are virtual corporation, networking between the headquarters and
subsidiaries and online services to business. This paper concentrates on the three B2B EC
models.

Buyer-Oriented Marketplace (Buy-Side-Solution)

Characteristics of the Buyer-Oriented Marketplace
 By using Supplier-Oriented Marketplaces, buyers would have to search electronic
stores and electronic malls to find and compare suppliers and products.

 This would be very costly and time consuming for big buyers, who purchase
thousands of items on the Internet.

 As a result, such big buyers prefer to open their own marketplace, which is called a
Buyer-Oriented Marketplace.

 By supporting transactions and procurement processes, these marketplaces offer great

potentials in cost savings.

 Buyer-Oriented Marketplaces are found in industrial sectors with few and dominant
buyers.

Intermediary-Oriented Marketplace
Characteristics of the Intermediary-Oriented Marketplace

 This business model is established by an intermediary company which runs a

marketplace where business buyers and sellers can meet.

 There are two types of Intermediary-Oriented Marketplaces: horizontal and vertical

marketplaces.

 Vertical marketplaces concentrate on one industrial sector whereas horizontal

marketplaces offer services to all industrial sectors.

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  The Intermediary-Oriented Marketplace is a neutral business platform and offers the
classical economic functions of a usual market.

 These marketplaces can contain a “virtual catalogue of the industrial sector”.

 Companies have the possibility to present themselves in this virtual catalogue. On an

Internet based “notice board” single offers or requests of companies can be found.

 An Intermediary-Oriented Marketplace can also contain catalogues where information

on products and prices can be presented.

 By offering search functions, the marketplace makes the comparison and transparency
of products possible.

 Marketplaces can also offer auctions. These auctions can be organized by sellers
(products are sold) or by buyers (orders are sold).

 The intermediary company running the marketplace can generate profits through
provisions for successful transactions and for negotiation of services (e.g. a logistical
company to deliver the products).

 The company can also charge fees for membership and for presenting information,
offers or requests.

 Profits can furthermore be generated by advertising (e.g. banners).

 The company can also distribute its own products through the marketplace profiting
from more buyers entering the site than e.g. a normal e-store.

Buyer-Oriented Marketplace (Buy-Side-Solution)

Characteristics of the Buyer-Oriented Marketplace
 By using Supplier-Oriented Marketplaces, buyers would have to search electronic
stores and electronic malls to find and compare suppliers and products.

 This would be very costly and time consuming for big buyers, who purchase thousands
of items on the Internet.

 As a result, such big buyers prefer to open their own marketplace, which is called a
Buyer-Oriented Marketplace.

 By supporting transactions and procurement processes, these market places offer great
potentials in cost savings.

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  Buyer-Oriented Marketplaces are found in industrial sectors with few and dominant
buyers.

Essential elements of the marketplace are

 Internet-based product and supplier catalogue
 availability check
 informational support of negotiations
 invitation to bid in auctions and submissions
 catalogue ordering
 support of transactions
 delivery inspection
 quality management

Some B2B applications are the following:‐

1. Supplier Management
Electronic applications in this area helps to speed up business partnerships through the reduction
of purchase order processing costs and cycle times, and by maximizing the number of purchase
order processing with fewer people.

2. Inventory Management
Electronic applications make the order‐ship bill cycle shorter. Businesses can easily keep track of
their documents to make sure that they were received. Such a system improves auditing
capabilities, and helps reduce inventory levels, improve inventory turns, and eliminate out‐ of
stock occurrences.
3. Distribution Management
Electronic based applications make the transmission of shipping documents much easier and
faster. Shipping documents include bill of lading, purchase orders, advance ship notices, and
manifest claims. E‐commerce also enables more efficient resource management by certifying
that documents contain more accurate data.
4. Channel Management
E‐commerce allows for speedier distribution of information regarding changes in operational
conditions to trading partners. Technical, product and pricing information can be posted with
much ease on electronic bulletin boards.

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5. Payment Management
An electronic payment system allows for a more efficient payment management system by
minimizing clerical errors, increasing the speed of computing invoices, and reducing transaction
fees and costs.
Case Study 1 – B2B
Marketing Enterprise Software
B2B Communications helps FastTrack compete with giants
Fast Track, located in Queensland, Australia, offers regulatory compliance software for
large organizations. Over three decades, the 11-person company has been chosen over the likes
of IBM and Oracle for its innovative FastTrack.net platform.
The platform is deployed across major organizations such as Motorola, Parsons Brinkerhoff, the
Australian Department of Defence, and at hundreds of companies in medicine, mining, quality
management, and utilities.
In 2012, however, Sales was finding business decision makers more inclined to research their
options online than gather information via sales meetings. At the time, the Fast Track website
didn't support that kind of buying journey. Then, in June of 2012, founder and technical director
Greg Carroll ran across an article about B2B Communications' inbound marketing methodology.
Soon after, Fast Track retained B2B.
"B2B Communications, through their inbound marketing expertise, is helping Fast Track as it
competes against much larger competitors. It's certainly changed the level of management with
whom we are engaging."

Fast Track knew it needed to transform how it interacted with potential buyers - fast. "The way
that people buy has changed dramatically," observed Greg. "Prospects don't want to be sold to.
They expect to be better informed before making a selection; and as a company, we need to
provide helpful information that facilitates the buying process."

Listening to leadership and customers

A five-member account team at B2B interviewed Fast Track leadership and customers,
listening for their descriptions of the company's differentiators. After listening closely to
leadership and customers, B2B was able to help Fast Track tighten its messaging, create visual
aids that explain buying options, develop pull sheets, publicize glowing customer reviews, start
drafting case studies, and produce items visitors would download .

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 Building trust
Fast Track needed a website that inspired confidence in visitors and offered tangible
takeaways. The site needed to instantly convey to experienced executives that Fast Track has an
impressive track record and is worth comparing to brand name solutions
In fact, some customers had initially bought from big brands like IBM or Oracle, then
sought out Fast Track for its software features, service, and value. To help prospects compare
their options before buying from a big brand, Fast Track published the "10 Essentials" guide ,
which offers checklists, examples, and facts demonstrating that, when it comes to enterprise
software providers, big doesn't mean best.
Leadership also started sharing their expertise and opinions through webinars  and a
company blog. Blog posts are frank and informative, not product focused. After the company's
inbound marketing had ramped up and it published the blog post, "Safety In Size? Not for IBM
Software Implementations", for example, site visits doubled and visit-to-response conversions
soared.
Today, Greg says, blogging and social media are keys ways that Fast Track gets in front
of the right people. "We're reaching a lot more prospects through our blog and LinkedIn. When
they're ready to buy, our name registers."
B2B helped Fast Track repurpose and expand on webinar content and blog content to
produce “Mastering 21st century Enterprise Risk Management”, a book that solidifies Greg's
position as an authority on risk (Figure 4).
"It's certainly changed the level of management with whom I am now engaging," he says.
"Without your initial ghost writing and subsequent review and advice, this would never have
occurred."
Customer case studies also began reaching the target audience via media coverage. A
case study B2B wrote and placed on Fast Track's behalf, for example, was published in the
mining industry's magazine, Ferrett. Fast Track's sales team could now offer the article to
prospects at appropriate times, and/or offer the new product guide, product demo, 10 Essentials
guide, other case studies, and more.

Measuring progress
As of spring of 2014:
 Fast Track ranked above competitors in search engine results for often-searched phrases
like "compliance software" (Figure 6).
 Site visits had risen 1,152% since the launch of inbound marketing efforts

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 Inbound links from reputable sites -- the currency of the internet -- rose from 4 to 118
 Inbound requests for information averaged 12 per week, up from 5 per month
 Among those requesting information: decision makers at major institutions in Fast
Track's target audience
"Both our COO and I are 'Top Contributors' on LinkedIn now, and are having active
conversations with the likes of the chairman of ISO31000 and leading counsel for the Australian
Institute of Company Directors," observes Greg. "B2B Communications, through their inbound
marketing expertise, has given Fast Track a great digital presence, which is helping Fast Track as
it competes against much larger competitors. B2B has not only elevated our standing as an expert
in the marketplace, but has also improved our standing with existing customers. It's certainly
changed the level of management with whom we are engaging."

Recap of services provided under retainer

Lead generation
 List Building
 Prospecting
 Lead Follow
 Search Engine Optimization
 Conversion Optimization 
Content
 Ebooks & Guides
 Case Studies
 Website Content
 Blog Articles
 Social Media & PR
Design
 Ebook Design
 Banner Design
 Brochure Design
 Landing Page Design
 Website Redesign
Strategy and execution
 Marketing Roadmap
 Agile Implementation

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 Dedicated Team
 Proven Method
 Weekly Reporting
About B2B Communications
We are a business to business (B2B) marketing agency helping companies accelerate trust, leads,
and growth. We help marketing directors and business owners engage more potential clients,
while using limited resources. Allstate, National Business Group on Health, Qualys, Sutter
Health, Surewest, and Swagelok, as well as dozens of $1M-$50M firms have hired us since
2001. Close teamwork with clients has helped produce roughly $2.2B worth of qualified leads
over the last decade.

MARKET PLACE:
 A (digital) marketplace is a piece of software with comprehensive E-Commerce
functionality.
 It can be characterized by m suppliers and n customers (m>1, n>1).
 Process and software are under control of the marketplace owner. It uses portal
technologies and enables the cooperation of different suppliers and different customers.
Providing and demanding organizations act autonomously.
 It is possible, that members are at the same time providing and demanding organizations.

 Marketplaces can be differentiated due to:

 Type of product or service,
• Type of transactions,
• Functions.

Due to the type of product or service we consider:

 Tradable quantities: Transaction costs must be low according to tradable quantity.
 Specificity: A specific product with a low application potential has low market
liquidity.
 Complexity of products: Complex products are not appropriate for electronic

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 trade.
 Price components: material, service, production, transport, profit margin.
 Consequences for the consumer: contract business, spot business.
 Value creation: A-Products (Goods needed for the production),
 C-Products (MRO =Maintenance/Repair/Operations).

Due to the type of transaction we consider:

 Market liquidity: number of transactions per time unit,
 Stage of transaction: due to process model,
 Meaning of transaction: due to industry, due to product,
 Duration of a transaction: with adjustment, without adjustment,
 Stability of a contractual relationship: long term (changes, postponements),
short term

 Transaction costs: incidental costs (…up to 50% of total costs): searching,

signingof a Contract, currency hedging, insurances; external transaction costs: by
involved third parties, e.g. credit card company; internal transaction costs (…
savings potential supposed to be up to 80%): customer, supplier,
 Profit margin: if profit margins are high, Provider will get around marketplaces; if
profit margins are low, Market already has high transparency; do we need a
marketplace?
 Market model: number of participants – automation does only make sense, if the
number of participants is high,
 Degree of concentration: on the customer side, on the supplier side,
 Degree of globalization: distribution and allocation of power, structure of market
volume: value of transaction (high/low), number of transactions (high/low),
 Transparency of market: complementary markets: support functions
(Transportation,Insurances), adjacent markets: Extension of value creation chain,
similar market structures.
Main functions of a (digital) marketplace are
 Data management (master data, transaction data, catalogue),
 Pricing (market, calling for bids, tender offer, auction, negotiations, power shopping:
Consumers build a group),

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  Buying (E-Sourcing, E-Procurement, workflow),
 Sales (ordering, order management),
 Stock exchange,
 Transport,
 Invoicing,
 Payment,
Additionally: All functions which can be offered centrally for various market actors, Interfaces
(Provider, customer, forwarding and shipping agency, other service providers, e.g. insurance
firms).
eCo Framework
There is a framework for electronic marketplaces. It has been developed between 1994
and
1999 by CommerceNet, an American industry association. Updates have been released with
respect to CORBA, Java and XML. This framework has 7 layers:
Network: aggregation of different marketplaces, is a kind of registry,
• Market: different actors, sorted by industries,
• Business: definition of a firm, can have different roles, can ask for different products
or services, can offer different products or services,
• Service: specific services which can be offered (e.g. download a catalogue, send an
order, delivery status), interaction of different companies,
• Interaction: communication between business partners, e.g. ordering, order
confirmation, exception reporting,
• Document: complete document for specific transactions, consists of different
data elements,
• Data element: basic elements, are defined according to specific patterns.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS EXCHANGE:

 Business-to-Business (B2B) exchanges are electronic marketplaces in the Internet where
suppliers and buyers interact to conduct transactions.

 B2B marketplaces can be defined as a World Wide Web site where goods and services
can be bought from a wide range of suppliers.

 Online exchanges vary according to the size and number of companies using them and
the type of commodity traded.

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  There are successful exchanges in markets as diverse as energy, textiles and logistics.
Online exchanges allow participants to trade straightforwardly with a wide variety of
buyers and sellers.

 Two of the biggest factors driving the growth of exchanges are that large businesses can
use them to reduce stock holdings while small businesses can bid collectively to earn
volume discounts or to jointly deliver a large contract.

Types of Exchanges
There are three types of e-marketplaces marketplaces based around a specific industry
sectors; marketplaces based around products and services; marketplaces focused on the
functions.2)

1. Marketplaces based around a specific industry sectors are called vertical marketplaces.
Petroleum industry is an example. Those help buyers source goods and services that are
largely specific to industries.
2. The type of marketplace which is formed around a wider supply market that cuts across
several industries is called horizontal marketplace. Examples include the marketplaces for
maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) goods such as safety and office supplies. The
value of the horizontal marketplaces is that they efficiently match the needs of the one with
the offerings of the other.
3. The marketplaces focusing on functions gain value from concentrating functional
capabilities and quality services. For example they help HR departments manage employee
benefits; help companies dispose of excess inventory and so on.

Benefits and effects of Exchanges

 Expand everyone’s market reach
 generate lower prices for buyers
 cut the costs of buyers’ operations
 higher potential profits for manufacturers with lower procurement costs
 Increase extent and liquidity in the market
 Lower inventory requirements
 Greater transparency and more orderly markets
 Elimination of geographical and time zone barriers
 Removal of distribution channel blockages such as agents and brokers

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 Barriers in Usage
Trust is an important issue for B2B e-marketplaces. The most important trust issues for
participation in B2B e-marketplaces are the following:

 Transparency, in particular of the terms and conditions of the contract and the transaction
procedure.
 Security, Confidentiality

Trading modells for B2B exchanges

1. Catalogue aggregators – must be neutral, independent sites that are operated by a third
party if they are to bring many competing sellers together to earn buyers trust in the
information on the site.
2. Post an browse (one–on–one negotiation) – just like a private members room, apost and
browse function creates a virtual community, a group of people interested in buying or
selling a particular productthat make a connection through a web based bulletin board.
3. Auction markets – the ability of multiple buyers and sellers to collectively set price for a
wide range of people and services represents a radical departure from the older, fixed price
model in industrial age. Buyers and sellers driven auctions will became popular because of
the scale, reach, interactive and real time attributes afforded by the internet.
4. Continuous auto execution systems – work only for the same standardize products with
high liquidity

BUSINESS TO CONSUMER [B2C]:

Business – Consumer Model

 Business – to Consumer [B2C] e‐commerce consists of the sale of products or

services from a business to the general public.
 Products can be anything from clothing to flowers and the products can also be
intangible products such as online banking, stock trading, and airline reservations.
 Sellers that use B2C business model can increase their benefits by eliminating the
middlemen. This is called disintermediation because businesses sell products
directly to consumers without using traditional retail channels.
 Business – to Consumer [B2C] is basically a concept of online marketing and
distributing of products and services over the internet.

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  It is a natural progression for many retailers or marketer who sells directly to the
consumer.
 The general idea is, if you could reach more customers, service them better, make
more sales while spending less to do it that would the formula of success for
implementing a B2C e‐commerce infrastructure.

In B2C model, a business website is a place where all the transactions take place directly
between a business organization and a consumer.

In the B2C model, a consumer goes to the website, selects a catalog, orders the catalog, and an
email is sent to the business organization. After receiving the order, goods are dispatched to the
customer. Following are the key features of the B2C model −

 Heavy advertising required to attract customers.

 High investments in terms of hardware/software.
 Support or good customer care service.

Consumer Shopping Procedure

Following are the steps used in B2C e-commerce −

A consumer −

 determines the requirement.

 searches available items on the website meeting the requirement.

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  compares similar items for price, delivery date or any other terms.
 places the order.
 pays the bill.
 receives the delivered item and review/inspect them.
 consults the vendor to get after service support or returns the product if not satisfied with
the delivered product.
Disintermediation and Re-intermediation

In traditional commerce, there are intermediating agents like wholesalers, distributors, and
retailers between the manufacturer and the consumer. In B2C websites, a manufacturer can sell
its products directly to potential consumers. This process of removal of business layers
responsible for intermediary functions is called disintermediation.

Nowadays, new electronic intermediary breeds such as e-mall and product selection agents are
emerging. This process of shifting of business layers responsible for intermediary functions from
traditional to electronic mediums is called re-intermediation.

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Characteristics
The B2C model focuses on direct selling and marketing between a business and a consumer via
an e-commerce website. A lower purchase volume of higher priced products typically
characterizes B2C companies. Since the model depends on individual transactions and eliminates
the wholesale purchaser, the company can make a higher profit while the consumer spends the
same amount of money or sometimes less. B2C is effective for smaller companies since
individual consumers are not as concerned with company recognition as they are with getting the
product for the best price.

Types
B2C companies divide into five major categories: direct sellers, online intermediaries,
advertising-based models, community-based models and fee-based models. Each type is so
different from the others that they are not directly comparable. In fact, some B2C businesses
utilize more than one type to reach different audiences.

Direct Sellers
 Direct sellers, such as online retailers, sell a product or service directly to the customer
via a website. You can further divide direct sellers into e-tailers and manufacturers.

 E-tailers are electronic retailers that either ship products from their own warehouses or
trigger deliveries from other companies’ stocks. Product manufacturers use the Internet
as a catalog and sales channel to eliminate intermediaries.

Online Intermediaries
 Online intermediaries perform the same function as any other broker.

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  The business allows non-B2C companies to reap some of the benefits. Brokers offer
buyers a service and help sellers by altering the price-setting processes, according to
economics professors Thierry Pénard of the University of Delaware and Michael A.
Arnold of the University of Rennes in Rennes, France.

Advertising-Based Models
 Popular websites rely on advertising-based models. These websites offer a free service to
consumers and use advertising revenue to cover costs.

 They draw a large number of visitors, making them ideal advertising streams for other
companies. Advertisers will pay a premium to sites that deliver high traffic numbers.

Community-Based Models
 Community-based models combine the advertising method that relies on traffic at sites
that focus on specialized groups to create communities.

 Community sales and advertising take advantage of social and network marketing by
focusing on specific groups that want specific products. For example, sites used by
computer programmers are perfectly placed to advertise computer hardware and software
products. At least one social media website uses member information to target
advertisements to interests and locations.

Fee-Based Models
 Pay-as-you-buy or paid subscription services fall under fee-based models.

 The most common of these are online subscriptions to journals or movie sites such as
NetFlix. These companies rely on the quality of their content to convince consumers to
pay a usually nominal fee.

Case Study- B2C

HEBEL
How CSR Hebel successfully changed a trade brand into a consumer one

The Challenge
For over 20 years, CSR, Australia’s largest building products company (and the second
oldest ASX listed company still in operation) had marketed Hebel AAC blocks and Aerated
Autoclaved Concrete (AAC) panels to the Australian building industry.

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 Hebel Panels and blocks had many attributes that were becoming increasingly attractive
to both builders and consumers.
With the changing emphasis and awareness on the environment, sustainability and rising
building costs, BrandQuest was commissioned by CSR Hebel to undertake a brand marketing
strategy to grow consumer demand for Hebel, whilst also integrating the existing trade brands.

The Solution
Working inclusively with the CSR Hebel Management Team, BrandQuest created a
consumer-driven brand marketing strategy designed to create consumer awareness of the Hebel
product and for the broader residential building trade to adapt to the demand of their customers
and become Hebel qualified builders.
Collaborating and engaging with management and staff the brand marketing strategy
defined a customer driven motivational segmentation that was proven through a consumer
research study.
A newly defined brand positioning and differentiation was created to ensure consistency and
discipline across all communication touch-points for the Hebel business. In addition the
introduction of a newly defined Hebel ‘brand essence’ was contained within the strategy for
inclusion internally and externally for the Hebel brand.

The Results
As an outcome of the brand marketing strategy a brand audit determined the need for a
fresher, more contemporary Hebel logo to reinforce the appeal of the Hebel product to its
broader and more diverse consumer audience. In addition the brand marketing strategy informed
the simplification of the previous brand architecture/hierarchy and simplied the range of sub
brands.
New Brand Guidelines provided the creative ‘look and feel’ for the development of the
new consumer driven marketing campaign that was underpinned with the theme; ‘You’ll love
coming home to Hebel’.
A dedicated Consumer website was created that delivered directly to the needs and
aspirations of this audience and the current Trade website was significantly updated to reflect the
newly developed branding. Importantly, all previous trade design and installation guides and
product brochures were created in line with the new Hebel Brand Guidelines.

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A Consumer magazine and radio campaign was test-marketed in two states as a precursor to a
broader national campaign. Following the success of the test market a television commercial was
produced to take the Consumer brand to a national audience.
In addition BrandQuest helped refresh/rewrite and reconstruct the trade side of the business. This
included developing and upgrading Product and Range guides along with Design and Installation
guides which had many intrinsic components.
Following the development of a television commercial the awareness of the new branding
showed a 30%+ increase.
Importantly in a struggling national building and construction category Hebel increased both its
market share and revenues in the immediate two years following the brand change project.

CONSUMER - TO – CONSUMER [C2C]

 Consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce is a growing area of e-commerce.

 However, according to Meta analysis of critical themes of e-commerce, C2C e-commerce
was only represented in the area of online auctions.
 C2C transactions generally involve products sold through a classified or auction system.
Products sold are often used or second hand.
 C2C is projected to grow in the future because of its cost effective; this means it
minimizes the cost of using third parties.
 Retailers see it as very important, given the growing use of social media channels by
consumers to share their option about specific stock, which often drives increased traffic
to stores .
 C2C is the oldest form of e-commerce we know, used well before internet appeared,
although they can and are supported by large websites nowadays.
 They are a way of helping people to deal directly with each other or to buy more
conveniently from companies. T
 he goal of C2C is to enable buyers and sellers to find each other easily. They benefit in
two crucial commerce areas.
 Firstly, they benefit from competition for product and second they can easily find
products that are otherwise difficult to locate .

C2C e-commerce differs from a business-to-business model or business-to-consumer model

because consumers interact directly with each other. However, a business does operate the online

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platform on which C2C transaction takes place. Buyer can shop for free, but sellers sometimes
have to pay a fee to list their products. Consumers often play an active role in monitoring e-
commerce sites for scam and other inappropriate content .

In most cases, C2C e-commerce is helped along by a third party who officiate the
transaction to make sure goods are received and payments are made. This offers some
protection for consumers taking part in C2C e-commerce, allowing the chance to take
advantage of the prices offered by motivated seller. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the
origin, definition, business model, statistics, advantages and disadvantages of C2C e-
commerce.The paper will further look at some features of C2C e-commerce website.
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.
This is a business model where two individuals or consumers transact or conduct
business with each other directly. Generally, an intermediary/third party maybe involved, but
the purpose of the intermediary is only to facilitate the transaction and provide a platform for
the people to connect to each other. The intermediary would receive a fee or commission, but is
not responsible for the product exchange. C2C normally takes the form of an auction where the
bidding is done online.
The C2C model involves transactions between consumers. Here a consumer sells directly
to another consumer. EBay and www.bazee.com are common examples of online auction
websites that provide a consumer to advertise and sell their product online to another consumer.
However, it is important that both the seller and the buyer register with the auction site. While
the seller needs to pay a fixed fee to the online auction house to sell their products, the buyer can
bid without paying any fee. The site brings the buyer and seller together to conduct deals.

Two customers (customer 1 and customer 2) and a website providing the space for
advertisement. Customer 1 places advert on the website about products he wants to sell and
customer 2 visits the website to search for products he wants to buy. The transaction between
the customers goes on until payment and delivery of product is done.

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 Some Important Features or Functionalities of C2C Web Application

 The buyer can purchase products from multiple sellers

 The same customer can act as both buyer as well as seller
 The online market place will allow buyer to browse products by using different criteria
such as; best seller, most popular product, from your city and many more
  Different sellers can bid on the products wish list item listed by the buyer, what they
are looking for so that the buyer can get different best prices and offers from sellers
 The social media linking functionalities include, community or forum discussion and
blog and other social media website link interface.
  The back end interface includes features for administration to manage buyer and seller
accounts, payment settings, gallery setting, etc.

 Advantages of C2C E-Commerce

 It is always available so that consumers can have access to whenever they feel like
shopping
 There is regular updating of the website
 Consumers selling products to other consumers benefit from the higher profitability
that result from selling directly to one another
 There is a low transaction cost; sellers can post their goods over the internet at a
cheaper rate far better than higher price of renting a space in a store
 Customer can directly contact sellers and do without an intermediary.

Disadvantages of C2C E-Commerce

 Payment made has no guarantee

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  There could be theft as scammers might try to create their website with names of some
famous C2C websites such as eBay to attract customers.
 There is lack of controlling quality of the products.

BUSINESS TO GOVERNMENT [B2G]:

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.
 Business-to-government (B2G) is a derivative of B2B marketing and often referred to as
a market definition of "public sector marketing" which encompasses marketing products
and services to various government levels through integrated marketing communications
techniques such as strategic public relations, branding, marketing communications
(marcom), advertising, and web-based communications
 B2G networks provide a platform for businesses to bid on government opportunities
which are presented as solicitations in the form of request for proposals (RFPs) in a
reverse auction fashion.[citation needed] Public sector organizations (PSOs) generally
post tenders in the form of RFPs, request for information (RFI), request for quotations
(RFQs), Sources Sought and suppliers respond to them.
 Government agencies typically have pre-negotiated standing contracts vetting the
vendors/suppliers and their products and services for set prices.[citation needed] These
can be local or national contracts and some may be grandfathered in by other entities
(i.e. California's MAS Multiple Award Schedule will recognize the federal government
contract holder's prices on a General Services Administration Schedule).

Government - to - Business
 Governments use B2G model websites to approach business organizations.

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  Such websites support auctions, tenders, and application submission functionalities.
 G2B (Government to Business) is a term that refers to the relationships between
organizations (subjects) of public administration and enterprises (businesses).
 The designation can be used for any relationship between the subject of public
administration and the enterprises as one of the basic e-Government models (other
model are G2E, G2C or G2G).
 In G2B model the initiative comes from a government organization and businesses are
the target group.
 Some sources distinguish also B2G (Business to Government) where the initiative
comes from businesses, while other sources consider both G2B and B2G as equal
without important no significant difference, ie. with the same meaning.
How looks G2B / G2B model in practice?
 The model covers an electronic exchange of any information between businesses and the
government, usually using internet so the cooperation or communication is more
efficient than is usually off the internet.
 In G2B, government agencies and business use websites, procurement marketplaces,
applications, web services.
 The relationship may refer the demand for information from the enterprises in any life
situation or a transfer of an official document to the statutory body.
 The model is usually used to refer to the ICT solution that converts such communication
to the electronic form or to describe a solution that simplifies the communication
between public administration and enterprises (e.g. internet portal of the procurement
authority or electronic solutions for purchasing).
Examples of G2B / B2G services are:
 government procurement
 electronic procurement marketplaces
 electronic auctions
 e-learning
 electronic incorporation forms
 updating corporate information
 sending filled-out electronic forms (eg tax forms, social insurance forms)
 sending electronic payments
 sending / receiving answers electronically

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  on-line meetings
 project management cooperation
 data centers, SaaS, PaaS or IaaS for e-government use

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.
 G2C (Government to Citizen) is a term that refers to the relationships between
organizations (subjects) of public administration and a citizen(s).
 The designation can be used for any relationship between the subject of public
administration and the citizen, most often it is used as one of the basic relationship
within e-Government models.
 The initiative comes from a federal organization (public administration) and citizens are
the target group.

What is concept G2C in practice for?

 G2C concept is used for expressing the relationship between public administration and
citizens.
 The relationship may refer the demand for information from the citizen in any life
situation or a transfer of an official document to the citizen.
 The abbreviation is usually used to refer to the ICT solution that converts such
communication to the electronic form or to describe a solution that simplifies the
communication between public administration and citizens (e.g. office website or public
service catalog).

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GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT [G2G]

 Government to government (G2G) is the electronic sharing of data and/or information

systems between government agencies, departments or organizations.

 The goal of G2G is to support e-government initiatives by improving communication,

data access and data sharing.

 Several factors are driving local and federal governments to institute G2G initiatives.

 One of theme is federal government legislation such as the Open Government Directive.

G2G initiatives are also being driven by budgets and funding.

 By sharing information and systems, governments are able to reduce IT costs government
offices can be more efficient and streamline procedures, allowing citizens to access
information over the Internet.  

 They may also qualify for grant funding, depending on the project. An example of a
successful G2G project is the Northeast Gang Information System (NEGIS).

 NEGIS is used by states in the northeast to share information about street gangs,
including gang-related activities and gang intelligence.

 The system connects all the state police departments of the participating states, and the
police departments transmit the collected information to their states’ other law
enforcement and public service agencies.

University Questions 2017-2018

1. Explain the difference business models of e-commerce with respect to the customers
and vendors? (11)

2. Discuss on business to consumer and consumer to consumer e-commerce? (11)

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