Roles of E-business and E-commerce in Today’s World of Business

Running head: E-BUSINESS 1
E-Business
Name
Institution

E-BUSINESS 2
E-BUSINESS
Introduction
E-commerce is a component of e-business and it refers to a platform that facilitates
transaction over the internet. Such transactions comprise of buying or selling of goods and
services, as well as conducting auctions. Using a website, e-commerce can easily be set, thus
providing the sellers with a platform to interact with their target market. E-Commerce is based
on a business-to-business concept whereby there exists a direct interaction with the customers.
On the other hand, e-business is a platform that is used to carry out every type of business-related
process on the internet. The electronic business comprises all the information transfer,
transaction, technical support, along with the exchange of all aspects associated with commerce
that include services, information, products, and money. E-business entails the use of Website,
ERP’s, as well as CRM’s in bridging different businesses and establishing connectivity, covering
all processes such as manufacturing, management, and marketing. E-business is based on
business-to-business and business-to-consumer. E-businesses’ main element is e-commerce
which provides the scope of conducting businesses-related processes. Amazon, eBay, and
Alibaba are among organizations that have dominated in the e-commerce business. Drawing on
Alibaba as a case study, the report addresses the roles that e-business and e-commerce play in
today’s business world.
Personal Opinion on E-commerce and E-business
There is an influx of the number of internet users who shop online on a weekly basis.
Most of us spend most of our time browsing the internet either for study, business, work,
learning, marketing, and entertainment. All the above commercial and social activities are linked

E-BUSINESS 3
to the internet, and with the absence of e-commerce, the world around interned is difficult and it
would scare businesses to imagine. That is the main reason why e-business is essential in our
life.
There are many reasons as to why I believe e-commerce has been effective in improving
our daily life. First, electronic commerce provides a wide variety of products. In the case of
small cities or even villages, individuals get compromised due to the limited number of shops
and a variety of products as well as services that are available locally (Chaffey, 2015). The
traditional brick and mortar shops along with conventional commerce are incapable of satisfying
customers’ needs in terms of variety. E-commerce brings in a wide variety of products, hence
expanding traditional commerce’s boundaries. With e-commerce, people are able to visit several
websites and compare products within a short period, making it fast and convenient unlike when
visiting different shops to purchase goods (Awais & Samin, 2012). Deciding on the product to
purchase and from which website takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes unlike in traditional
retail method whereby a person likely spends an entire day before deciding what to purchase and
from which shop. That is the main reason why I believe that e-commerce is essential in
providing a variety of goods with speed.
Additionally, e-commerce also offers reduced prices compared to traditional shopping
and selling. Compared to the traditional methods, selling goods and services via the online
platform is less expensive. In offline commerce, several high overhead costs are incurred and
they include recurring expenses that include counter cost, security cost, store management cost,
transportation cost, inventory cost, salary, including shop rent among others. Hence, this makes it
difficult for retailers to sell goods at reduced prices (Sila, 2013). That is the reason why I believe