Unit 29 E-Commerce Strategy

·       Aim

To enable learners to understand how businesses and organisations develop e-Commerce strategies to remain competitive in the global market.

·       Unit abstract

Unit 29 E-Commerce Strategy starts by considering customers’ expectations of e-Commerce, because these will dictate implementation priorities.

When planning an e-Commerce strategy, it is necessary to assess the current status of the business information and logistics systems because these will provide the foundation for e- Commerce. Preparations will also be necessary to meet the standards of support that e- customers expect. Marketing, promotion and supply chain management must all be considered, alongside the website, when developing an implementation strategy.

In managing an e-Commerce strategy, considerations include protecting the intellectual property of the business and maintaining the integrity of its website. This will require considerations of risk and the implementation of appropriate security precautions.

Finally in this unit learners will critically evaluate current developments in e-Commerce.

·       Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit a learner will:

1. Understand the impact of e-Commerce on business
2. Be able to plan an e-Commerce strategy
3. Be able to manage an e-Commerce strategy.

Unit content

1         Understand the impact of e-Commerce on business

Customer expectations: raised expectations for a quick and efficient service eg timely responses to customer communications, quick delivery of the product or service, accurate information

Common applications: types eg payment systems, online shopping, shopping cart software, newsgroups, email

2         Be able to plan an e-Commerce strategy

Strategy: general eg marketing, supply chain, electronic payment

Internet strategy: hosting eg internal, sub-contracted; designing the website; maintaining 24/7 access

Marketing strategy: methods eg targeting market segments and interest groups, developing electronic ‘web-communities’, promotion strategies to target specific market segments, search engine optimisation, e-marketing software

Supply chain strategy: methods eg satisfying customer demand, responsive supply chain, managed in house or sub-contracted, developing ‘partnership’ relationships with suppliers

Electronic payment: methods eg online transaction processing, Commercial Off the Shelf Software (COTS), security; other payment systems eg PayPal, WorldPay

3         Be able to manage an e-Commerce strategy

Intellectual property: ownership eg domain name, company name, trade marks

Assessment of security risks: risks eg risk of linking business systems to the Internet

Security measures: propose security measures to minimise risks eg firewalls and use of intranets or extranets

Current developments: areas eg marketing, supply chain management, electronic payment

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria

Learning outcomes   On successful completion of this unit a learner will:	Assessment criteria for pass   The learner can:
LO1 Understand the impact of e- Commerce on business	critically discuss the expectations of internet customerscritically assess the potential impact of common applications on an e-Commerce business
LO2 Be able to plan an e-Commerce strategy	2.1 plan an e-Commerce implementation strategy for an e- Commerce business
LO3 Be able to manage an e- Commerce strategy	critically assess the risks of linking business systems to the internetexplain the importance of protecting the intellectual property of an organisationcritically discuss security measures to protect an e- Commerce solution.critically evaluate current e-Commerce developments and assess their incorporation into an e-Commerce strategy.

Guidance

Links to National Occupational Standards, other BTEC units, other BTEC qualifications and other relevant units and qualifications

The learning outcomes associated with this unit are closely linked with:

Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Unit 3: Information Systems	Unit 1: Business Skills for e- Commerce	Unit 30: Information Systems in Organisations
Unit 8: e-Commerce	Unit 16: e-Commerce Technologies	Unit 2 Computer systems
Unit 33: Exploring Business Activity		Unit 8 Management of projects
Unit 34: Business Resources		Unit 24 Networking Technologies

This unit has links to the Level 4 and Level 5 National Occupational Standards for IT and Telecoms Professionals, particularly the areas of competence of:

• Systems Analysis
  • Systems Design
  • Systems Development
  • Change and Release Management
  • Supplier Management.