Ecommerce Report

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com
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In the emerging world economy, e-commerce and e-business have increasingly

become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst for economic
IMK Senate Campus, Trivandrum 1

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development. The integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in

business has revolutionized relationships within organizations and those between and among
organizations and individuals. Specifically the use of ICT in business has enhanced
productivity, encouraged greater customer participation and enabled mass customization,
besides reducing costs.
With developments in the Internet and Web-based technologies, distinctions between

traditional markets and the global electronic marketplace-such as business capital size, among
others are gradually being narrowed down. The keyword of the recent times is that of
‘strategic positioning’, the ability of a company to determine emerging opportunities and
utilize the necessary human capital skills (such as intellectual resources) to make the most of
these opportunities through an e-business strategy that is simple, workable and practicable
within the context of a global information milieu and new economic environment.
With this effect of leveling the playing field, e-commerce coupled with the
appropriate strategy and policy approach enables small and medium scale enterprises to
compete with large and capital-rich businesses. On another plane, developing countries are
given increased access to the global marketplace, where they compete with and complement
the more developed economies. Most, if not all, developing countries are already
participating in e-commerce, either as sellers or buyers. However, to facilitate e-commerce
growth in these countries the relatively underdeveloped information infrastructure must be
improved.
Electronic commerce, in a broad sense, is the use of computer networks to improve

organizational performance. Increasing profitability, gaining market share, improving
customer service, and delivering products faster are some of the organizational performance
gains possible with electronic commerce. Electronic commerce is more than ordering goods
from an on-line catalogue. It involves all aspects of an organization's electronic interactions
with its stakeholders, the people who determine the future of the organization. Thus,
electronic commerce includes activities such as establishing a Web page to support investor
relations or communicating electronically with college students who are potential employees.
In brief, electronic commerce involves the use of information technology to enhance
communications and transactions with all of an organization's stakeholders. Such

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stakeholders include customers, suppliers, government regulators, financial institutions,

mangers, employees, and the public at large.
1.1 Objectives of the study
 To study in detail about the scope and meaning of e-commerce.

 To study the various fields in which e-commerce is applied.
 To have an overview of e-commerce in Hotel Industry.
 To critically evaluate the e-business activities done at www.theleela.com
 To give recommendations and suggestions if any.
1.2 Methodology
Secondary data are indispensable for the e- commerce project. Secondary data was
collected for the purpose of closely understanding various e-commerce and e-business
practices in detail. This was mainly gathered from different text books dealing with e-
commerce and e-business and also its various applications. Secondary data was also collected
from internet resources. Data regarding e-commerce in Hotel Industry and related activities
were also gathered from various texts as well as the internet. Primary information regarding
the functioning of e-business of the firm was taken from the website of The Leela. An
analysis of the site was done with the available data.
1.3 Scope of the study
The scope of the study was a very limited one. The study done here was confined to
the website of the firm. Any data collected for the purpose of evaluating the site was taken
from itself and recommendations were given according to the available practices followed.
1.4 Limitations of the study
1) Due to lack of time, study could not cover the entire time.
2) Certain technical terms were fully unaware during the study.

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CHAPTER 2
E-COMMERCE
(THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE)
2.1 E- Commerce Background
Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business

activities for products and services. It also pertains to “any form of business transaction in
which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical
contact.”
E-commerce is usually associated with buying and selling over the Internet, or
conducting any transaction involving the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or
services through a computer-mediated network.

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A more complete definition is: E-commerce is the use of electronic communications

and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform,
and redefine relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between
organizations and individuals
Electronic commerce over the Internet is a new way of conducting business.

Electronic commerce has the potential to radically alter some economic activities and the
surrounding social environment. It affects such large sectors as communications, finance and
retail trade (altogether, about 30 per cent of GDP). It holds promise in areas such as
education, health and government (about 20 per cent of GDP)
Internet e-commerce took off with the arrival of the World Wide Web and browsers in
the early 1990s and the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector and innovations that
greatly expanded the volume and capacity of communications. Earlier forms of e-commerce
were mostly custom-made, complex, expensive and the province of large firms. Today, for a
few thousand dollars, anyone can become a merchant and reach millions of consumers world-
wide. Earlier e-commerce used to be business-to-business transactions between known
parties now it has become a complex web of commercial activities which can involve vast
numbers of individuals who may never meet. Electronic commerce has been re-defined by
the dynamics of the Internet and traditional e-commerce is rapidly moving to the Internet.
With the advent of the Internet, the term e-commerce began to include:
• Electronic trading of physical goods and of intangibles such as information.
• All the steps involved in trade, such as on-line marketing, ordering payment
and support for delivery.
• The electronic provision of services such as after sales support or on-line
legal advice.
• Electronic support for collaboration between companies such as collaborative
on-line design and engineering or virtual business consultancy teams.
Electronic commerce relate to commercial transaction of goods and services

conducted between parties electronically mainly through open Internet based systems

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i.e. the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchange or contact. A
wide range of communication technologies including e-mail, EDI, Internet, Intranet
and Extranet can be used to support electronic commerce.
Electronic commerce includes commercial transactions such as electronic

trading of goods and services, on line delivery of digital content, electronic fund
transfers, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, collaborative design and
engineering, on line sourcing, public procurement, direct and consumer market.
2.2 E-commerce and E-business
E-commerce and e-business are distinct concepts.

In e-commerce, information and communications technology (ICT) is used in
inter-business or inter-organizational transactions (transactions between and among
firms/organizations) and in business-to-consumer transactions (transactions between
firms/organizations and individuals).
In e-business, on the other hand, ICT is used to enhance one’s business. It

includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit, governmental or
non-profit entity) conducts over a computer-mediated network. A more
comprehensive definition of e-business is: “The transformation of an organization’s
processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of
technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy.”
Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business:

1. Production processes, which include procurement, ordering and replenishment of
stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; and production
control processes, among others;
2. Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing efforts,
selling over the Internet, processing of customers’ purchase orders and payments, and
customer support, among others;
3. Internal management processes, which include employee services, training,
internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Electronic

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applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to

improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and electronic
publishing of internal business information are likewise made more efficient
E-business is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but
also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. E-business includes
customer service (e-service) and intra-business tasks.
E-business is the transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet
technologies. An e-business is a company that can adapt to constant and continual change.
The development of intranet and extranet is part of e-business. E-business is everything to do
with back-end systems in an organization. In practice, e-commerce and e-business are often
used interchangeably
Electronic commerce can be broadly defined as the exchange of merchandise

(whether tangible or intangible) on a large scale between different countries using an
electronic medium – namely the Internet. The implications of this are that e-commerce
incorporates a whole socio-economic, telecommunications technology and commercial
infrastructure at the macro-environmental level. All these elements interact together to
provide the fundamentals of e-commerce.
E-business, is defined as ‘a commercial enterprise as a going concern’. E-business can

broadly be defined as the processes or areas involved in the running and operation of an
organisation that are electronic or digital in nature. These include direct business activities
such as marketing, sales and human resource management but also indirect activities such as
business process re-engineering and change management, which impact on the improvement
in efficiency and integration of business processes and activities.
Figure 2(a) illustrates the major differences in e-commerce and e-business, where e-
commerce has a broader definition referring more to the macro-environment; e-business
relates more to the micro-level of the firm.

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Figure 2(a) Electronic commerce and electronic business
2.3 Models of E-commerce
Classification of e-commerce is by identifying the partners directly involved in the

transaction. The major different types of e-commerce are: business-to-business (B2B);
business-to-consumer (B2C); business-to-government (B2G); consumer-to-consumer (C2C);
and mobile commerce (m-commerce).

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Figure 2(b) Classification of e-commerce by transaction partners
Business-to-Business (B2B):
The exchange of products, services or information between business entities. According to

market research studies published in early 2000, the money volume of B-to-B exceeds that of
B-to-C by 10 to 1.
B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-
commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-
commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B ecommerce will continue to
grow faster than the B2C segment.
The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets.
E-frastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following:
• ﾁ logistics - transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gamble);
• ﾁ application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of packaged

software from a central facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare);
• ﾁ outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as Web-hosting,

security and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing providers such as e Share,
NetSales, iXL Enterprises and Universal Access);

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• ﾁ auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real-time auctions
in the Internet (e.g., Moai Technologies and OpenSite Technologies);
• ﾁ content management software for the facilitation of Web site content management
and delivery (e.g., Interwoven and ProcureNet); and
• ﾁ Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser-based, XML

enabled purchasing automation software).
E-markets are simply defined as Web sites where buyers and sellers interact with each other
and conduct transactions.
The more common B2B examples and best practice models are IBM, Hewlett Packard (HP),
Cisco and Dell. Cisco, for instance, receives over 90% of its product orders over the Internet.
Most B2B applications are in the areas of supplier management (especially purchase order
processing), inventory management (i.e., managing order-ship-bill cycles), distribution
management (especially in the transmission of shipping documents), channel management
(i.e., information dissemination on changes in operational conditions), and payment
management (e.g., electronic payment systems or EPS).
Web-based B-to-B includes:
1. Direct selling and support to business (as in the case of Cisco where customers can
buy and also get technical support, downloads, patches online).
2. E-procurement (also known as industry portals) where a purchasing agent can shop
for supplies from vendors, request proposals, and, in some cases, bid to make a
purchase at a desired price. For example the auto parts wholesaler
(reliableautomotive.com); and the chemical B-to-B exchange (chemconnect.com).
3. Information sites provide information about a particular industry for its companies
and their employees. These include specialised search sites and trade and industry
standards organisation sites. E.g. newmarketmakers.com is a leading portal for B-to-B
news.
Many B-to-B sites may also fall into none or more than one of these groups.

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The impact of B2B markets on the economy of developing countries is evident in the
following:
• Transaction costs: There are three cost areas that are significantly reduced through
the conduct of B2B e-commerce. First is the reduction of search costs, as buyers need
not go through multiple intermediaries to search for information about suppliers,
products and prices as in a traditional supply chain. In terms of effort, time and money
spent, the Internet is a more efficient information channel than its traditional
counterpart. In B2B markets, buyers and sellers are gathered together into a single
online trading community, reducing search costs even further. Second is the reduction
in the costs of processing transactions (e.g. invoices, purchase orders and payment
schemes), as B2B allows for the automation of transaction processes and therefore,
the quick implementation of the same compared to other channels (such as the
telephone and fax). Efficiency in trading processes and transactions is also enhanced
through the B2B e-market’s ability to process sales through online auctions. Third,
online processing improves inventory management and logistics.
• Disintermediation: Through B2B e-markets, suppliers are able to interact and transact
directly with buyers, thereby eliminating intermediaries and distributors. However,
new forms of intermediaries are emerging. For instance, e-markets themselves can be
considered as intermediaries because they come between suppliers and customers in
the supply chain.
• Transparency in pricing: Among the more evident benefits of e-markets is the

increase in price transparency. The gathering of a large number of buyers and sellers
in a single e-market reveals market price information and transaction processing to
participants. The Internet allows for the publication of information on a single
purchase or transaction, making the information readily accessible and available to all
members of the e-market. Increased price transparency has the effect of pulling down
price differentials in the market. In this context, buyers are provided much more time
to compare prices and make better buying decisions.

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Moreover, B2B e-markets expand borders for dynamic and negotiated pricing
wherein multiple buyers and sellers collectively participate in price-setting and two-
way auctions. In such environments, prices can be set through automatic matching of
bids and offers. In the e-marketplace, the requirements of both buyers and sellers are
thus aggregated to reach competitive prices, which are lower than those resulting from
individual actions.
• Economies of scale and network effects: The rapid growth of B2B e-markets creates
traditional supply-side cost-based economies of scale. Furthermore, the bringing
together of a significant number of buyers and sellers provides the demand-side
economies of scale or network effects. Each additional incremental participant in the
e-market creates value for all participants in the demand side. More participants form
a critical mass, which is key in attracting more users to an e-market.
Business-to-consumer (B2C):
The exchange of products, information or services between business and consumers in

a retailing relationship. Some of the first examples of B-to-C e-commerce were amazon.com
and dell.com in the USA and lastminute.com in the UK. In this case, the ‘c’ represents either
consumer or customer.
Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers,

involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles such as
books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or
digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving
products over an electronic network.
It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be traced
to online retailing (or e-tailing). Thus, the more common B2C business models are the online
retailing companies such as Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, and Beyond.com. Other B2C
examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity.

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The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of
purchasing products and information, and personal finance management, which pertain to the
management of personal investments and finances with the use of online banking tools (e.g.,
Quicken).
B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing

consumer access to information and allowing consumers to find the most competitive price
for a product or service. B2C e-commerce also reduces market entry barriers since the cost of
putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than installing a “brick-and-mortar”
structure for a firm. In the case of information goods, B2C e-commerce is even more
attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution
network. Moreover, for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering
information goods becomes increasingly feasible.
Business-to-Government (B2G):
The exchange of information, services and products between business organisations

and government agencies on-line.
This may include,
• E-procurement services, in which businesses learn about the purchasing needs of
agencies and provide services.
• A virtual workplace in which a business and a government agency could coordinate
the work on a contracted project by collaborating on-line to coordinate on-line
meetings, review plans and manage progress.
• Rental of on-line applications and databases designed especially for use by
government agencies.
Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce

between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public
procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. This kind of e-
commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing
e-commerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making
its procurement system more effective.

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Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process

(and reduce the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G ecommerce
market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement
systems remain undeveloped.
Business-to-Peer Networks (B2P)
This would be the provision of hardware, software or other services to the peer
networks. An example here would be Napster who provided the software and facilities to
enable peer networking
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C):
In this category consumers interact directly with other consumers. They exchange
information such as:
• Expert knowledge where one person asks a question about anything and gets an e-mail
reply from the community of other individuals, as in the case of the New York Times-
affiliated abuzz.com website.
• Opinions about companies and products, for example epinions.com. There is also an
exchange of goods between people both with consumer auction sites such as e-bay
and with more novel bartering sites such as swapitshop.com, where individuals swap
goods with each other without the exchange of money.
Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private

individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of
electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where
firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has
the greatest potential for developing new markets.
This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:

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● Auctions facilitated at a portal, such as eBay, which allows online real-time bidding
on items being sold in the Web;
● peer-to-peer systems, such as the Napster model (a protocol for sharing files
between users used by chat forums similar to IRC) and other file exchange and later
money exchange models; and
● Classified ads at portal sites such as Excite Classifieds and ewanted.com (an
interactive, online marketplace where buyers and sellers can negotiate and which
features “Buyer Leads & Want Ads”).
Consumer-to-Business (C2B):
This is the exchange of products, information or services from individuals to business. A

classic example of this would be individuals selling their services to businesses.
Consumer-to-business (C2B) transactions involve reverse auctions, which empower the
consumer to drive transactions. A concrete example of this when competing airlines gives a
traveller best travel and ticket offers in response to the traveller’s post that she wants to fly
from New York to San Francisco.
Consumer-to-Government (C2G): Examples where consumers provide services to

government have yet to be implemented.
Consumer-to-Peer Networks (C2P): This is exactly part of what peer-to-peer networking

is and so is a slightly redundant distinction since consumers offer their computing facilities
once they are on the peer network.
Government-to-Business (G2B):
It is the online non-commercial interaction between local and central government and the
commercial business sector, rather than private individuals. The exchange of information,
services and products between government agencies and business organisations. Government
sites now enable the exchange between government and business of:
• Information, guidance and advice for business on international trading, sources of
funding and support (UK Information Society Help (ukishelp)), facilities (e.g.
www.dti.org.uk).

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• A database of laws, regulations and government policy for industry sectors.

• On-line application and submission of official forms (such as company and value
added tax).
• On-line payment facilities.
This improves accuracy, increases speed and reduces costs, so businesses are given financial
incentives to use electronic-form submission and payment facilities.
Government-to-Consumer (G2C):
It is the communication link between a government and private individuals or

residents. Such G2C communication most often refers to that which takes place through
Information Communication Technologies (or ICTs), but can also include direct mail and
media campaigns. G2C can take place at the federal, state, and local levels. G2C stands in
contrast to G2B networks. Government sites offering information, forms and facilities to
conduct transactions for individuals, including paying bills and submitting official forms on-
line such as tax returns.
Government-to-Government (G2G):
It is the online non-commercial interaction between Government organizations,

departments, and authorities and other Government organizations, departments, and
authorities. Its use is common in the UK, along with G2C and G2B.Government-to-
government transactions within countries linking local governments together and also
international governments, especially within the European Union, which is in the early
stages of developing coordinated strategies to link up different national systems.
Government-to-Peer Network (G2P) / (G2E)
It is the online interactions through instantaneous communication tools

between government units and their employees. G2E is one out of the four primary delivery
models of e-Government.
G2E is an effective way to provide E-learning to the employees, bring them together
and to promote knowledge sharing among them. It also gives employees the possibility of
accessing information in regard to compensation and benefit policies, training and learning

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opportunities and civil rights laws. G2E services also include software for maintaining
personnel information and records of employees.
G2E is adopted in many countries including the United States, Hong Kong and New Zealand
Peer–to-Peer Network (P2P):
This is the communications model in which each party has the same capabilities and
either party can initiate a communication session. In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to
describe applications in which users can use the Internet to exchange files with each other
directly or through a mediating server.
Peer Network-to-Consumer (P2C):
This is in effect peer-to-peer networking, offering services to consumers who are an

integral part of the peer network.
Peer Network-to-Business (P-to-B):
Peer-to- Business networking provides resources to business. For example, using

peer network resources such as the spare processing capacity of individual machines on the
network to solve mathematical problems or intensive and repetitive DNA analyses which
requires very high capacity processing power. This framework can be used by organisations
to segment their customers and distinguish the different needs, requirements, business
processes, products and services that are needed for each.
M-commerce
M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services
through wireless technology-i.e., handheld devices such as cellular telephones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs). Japan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce.
Industries affected by m-commerce include:
• Financial services, including mobile banking (when customers use their handheld
devices to access their accounts and pay their bills), as well as brokerage services (in

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which stock quotes can be displayed and trading conducted from the same handheld
device);
• Telecommunications, in which service changes, bill payment and account reviews can
all be conducted from the same handheld device;
• Service/retail, as consumers are given the ability to place and pay for orders on-the-
fly; and
• Information services, which include the delivery of entertainment, financial news,
sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device.
2.4 Forces fueling e-commerce
There are at least three major forces fuelling e-commerce: economic forces, marketing
and customer interaction forces, and technology, particularly multimedia convergence.
Economic forces
One of the most evident benefits of e-commerce is economic efficiency resulting

from the reduction in communications costs, low-cost technological infrastructure, speedier
and more economic electronic transactions with suppliers, lower global information sharing
and advertising costs, and cheaper customer service alternatives. Economic integration is
either external or internal. External integration refers to the electronic networking of
corporations, suppliers, customers/clients, and independent contractors into one community
communicating in a virtual environment (with the Internet as medium). Internal integration,
on the other hand, is the networking of the various departments within a corporation, and of
business operations and processes. This allows critical business information to be stored in a
digital for that can be retrieved instantly and transmitted electronically. Internal integration is
best exemplified by corporate intranets. Among the companies with efficient corporate
intranets are Procter and Gamble, IBM, Nestle and Intel.
Market forces

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Corporations are encouraged to use e-commerce in marketing and promotion to

capture international markets, both big and small. The Internet is likewise used as a medium
for enhanced customer service and support. It is a lot easier for companies to provide their
target consumers with more detailed product and service information using the Internet.
Brazil’s Submarino is a classic example of successful use of the Internet for
improved customer service and support.
Technology forces
The development of ICT is a key factor in the growth of ecommerce. For instance,
technological advances in digitizing content, compression and the promotion of open systems
technology has paved the way for the convergence of communication services into one single
platform. This in turn has made communication more efficient, faster, easier, and more
economical as the need to set up separate networks for telephone services, television
broadcast, cable television, and Internet access is eliminated. From the standpoint of
firms/businesses and consumers, having only one information provider means lower
communications costs.
2.5 Components of a successful e-commerce transaction loop

A typical e-commerce transaction loop involves the following major players and
corresponding requisites:
The seller should have the following components:
 A corporate Web site with e-commerce capabilities (e.g., a secure transaction server)
 A corporate intranet so that orders are processed in efficient manner
 IT-literate employees to manage the information flows and maintain the e-commerce
system.
Transaction partners include:

 Banking institutions that offer transaction clearing services (e.g., processing credit
card payments and electronic fund transfers)
 National and international freight companies to enable the movement of physical
goods within, around and out of the country. For business-to-consumer transactions,

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the system must offer a means for cost-efficient transport of small packages (such that
purchasing books over the Internet, for example, is not prohibitively more expensive
than buying from a local store);
 Authentication authority that serves as a trusted third party to ensure the integrity and
security of transactions.
Consumers (in a business-to-consumer

transaction) who:
 Form a critical mass of the population with access to the Internet and disposable
income enabling widespread use of credit cards
 Possess a mindset for purchasing goods over the Internet rather than by physically
inspecting items.
Firms/Businesses (in a business-to-business transaction) that together form a critical

mass of companies (especially within supply chains) with Internet access and the capability
to place and take orders over the Internet
Government, to establish:
 A legal framework governing e-commerce transactions (including electronic
documents signatures, and the like)
 Legal institutions that would enforce the legal framework (i.e., laws and regulations)
and protect consumers and businesses from fraud, among others.
And finally, the Internet, the successful use of which depends on the following:
 A robust and reliable Internet infrastructure
 A pricing structure that doesn’t penalize consumers for spending time on and buying
goods over the Internet (e.g., a flat monthly charge for both ISP access and local
phone calls).
For e-commerce to grow, the above requisites and factors have to be in place.
2.6 Relevance of internet to e-commerce

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The Internet allows people from all over the world to get connected inexpensively and
reliably. As a technical infrastructure, it is a global collection of networks, connected to share
information using a common set of protocols. Also, as a vast network of people and
information the Internet is an enabler for e-commerce as it allows businesses to showcase and
sell their products and services online and gives potential customers, prospects, and business
partners access to information about these businesses and their products and services that
would lead to purchase.
Before the Internet was utilized for commercial purposes, companies used private
networks-such as the EDI or Electronic Data Interchange-to transact business with each
other. That was the early form of e-commerce. However, installing and maintaining private
networks was very expensive. With the Internet, e-commerce spread rapidly because of the
lower costs involved and because the Internet is based on open standards.
An intranet aids in the management of internal corporate information that may be

interconnected with a company’s e-commerce transactions (or transactions conducted outside
the intranet). The intranet allows the instantaneous flow of internal information; vital
information is simultaneously processed and matched with data flowing from external e-
commerce transactions, allowing for the efficient and effective integration of the
corporation’s organizational processes. In this context, corporate functions, decisions and
processes involving e-commerce activities are more coherent and organized. The
proliferation of intranets has caused a shift from a hierarchical command and control
organization to an information-based organization. This shift has implications for managerial
responsibilities, communication and information flows, and workgroup structures.
2.7 Advantages of e-commerce
 Reduces the cost of doing business

 E-commerce serves as an “equalizer”. It enables start-up and small- and
medium-sized enterprises to reach the global market.
 E-commerce makes “mass customization” possible. E-commerce applications
in this area include easy-to-use ordering systems that allow customers to

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choose and order products according to their personal and unique

specifications. For instance, a car manufacturing company with an e-
commerce strategy allowing for online orders can have new cars built within a
few days (instead of the several weeks it currently takes to build a new
vehicle) based on customer’s specifications. This can work more effectively if
a company’s manufacturing process is advanced and integrated into the
ordering system
 E-commerce allows “network production.” This refers to the parceling out of
the production process to contractors who are geographically dispersed but
who are connected to each other via computer networks. The benefits of
network production include: reduction in costs, more strategic target
marketing, and the facilitation of selling add-on products, services, and new
systems when they are needed. With network production, a company can
assign tasks within its non-core competencies to factories all over the world
that specialize in such tasks (e.g., the assembly of specific components).
 Customers/consumers are given more influence over what and how products
are made and how services are delivered, thereby broadening consumer
choices.
 E-commerce allows for a faster and more open process, with customers having
greater control.
 E-commerce makes information on products and the market as a whole readily
available and accessible, and increases price transparency, which enable
customers to make more appropriate purchasing decisions.
 E-commerce transforms old economy relationships (vertical/linear
relationships) to new economy relationships characterized by end-to-end
relationship management solutions (integrated or extended relationships).
 E-commerce facilitates organization networks, wherein small firms depend on
“partner” firms for supplies and product distribution to address customer
demands more effectively.
Traditional Payment Modes
Cash-on-delivery

www.the leela.com
Many online transactions only involve submitting purchase orders online.

Payment is by cash upon the delivery of the physical goods.
Bank payments
After ordering goods online, payment is made by depositing cash into the
bank account of the company from which the goods were ordered. Delivery is
likewise done the conventional way.
Electronic Payment Modes
Innovations affecting consumers
These include credit and debit cards, automated teller machines (ATMs),
stored value cards, and e-banking.
Innovations enabling online commerce
These are e-cash, e-checks, smart cards, and encrypted credit cards. These
payment methods are not too popular in developing countries. They are employed by
a few large companies in specific secured channels on a transaction basis.
Innovations affecting companies

These pertain to payment mechanisms that banks provide their clients,
including inter-bank transfers through automated clearing houses allowing payment
by direct deposit.
Electronic payment system

An electronic payment system (EPS) is a system of financial exchange
between buyers and sellers in the online environment that is facilitated by a digital
financial instrument (such as encrypted credit card numbers, electronic checks, or
digital cash) backed by a bank, an intermediary, or by legal tender. EPS plays an
important role in e-commerce because it closes the e-commerce loop
E-banking

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E-banking includes familiar and relatively mature electronically-based

products in developing markets, such as telephone banking, credit cards, ATMs, and
direct deposit. It also includes electronic bill payments and products mostly in the
developing stage, including stored-value cards (e.g., smart cards/smart money) and
Internet based stored value products.
Online publishing
Online publishing is the process of using computer and specific types of
software to combine text and graphics to produce Web-based documents such as
newsletters, online magazines and databases, brochures and other promotional
materials, books, and the like, with the Internet as a medium for publication.
Among the benefits of using online media are low-cost universal accesses, the
independence of time and place, and ease of distribution. These are the reasons why
the Internet is regarded as an effective marketing outreach medium and is often used
to enhance information service.
2.8 Usefulness of e-commerce to entrepreneurs in developing countries
 It facilitates the access of artisans and SMEs to world markets.

 It facilitates the promotion and development of tourism of developing countries in
a global scale.
 It facilitates the marketing of agricultural and tropical products in the global
market.
 It provides avenues for firms in poorer countries to enter into B2B and B2G
supply chains.
 It assists service-providing enterprises in developing countries by allowing them
to operate more efficiently and directly provide specific services to customers
globally.

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CHAPTER 3
E-COMMERCE
IN
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

www.the leela.com
3.1 Introduction to hospitality industry
The hospitality industry includes any business that serves guests. This includes
restaurants, hotels, travel, salons and spas, conventions, and tours. There are many
associations and organizations catering to the hospitality industry. Hospitality means catering
to need and meeting every expectation of a guest.
People who work in the hospitality industry help people enjoy their time away from
work. They help people to have fun and cater to them to make their time as enjoyable as
possible. Those who work in this industry might work for a golf course, a restaurant, a resort,
a hotel, or another tourist- or guest-driven business. Duties of people who work in hospitality
industry are servicing customers, overseeing business operations, managing people, or
managing products needed to serve customers.
In the modern business world, the IT advances accelerate the world’s commercial
development with the help of Internet technology in supporting variety of activities. As a
result, e-commerce plays a significant role in almost every industry. Hotel industry is one of
those which are fully beneficial from the e-commerce, which fulfils the customer’s needs.
E-Commerce can be applied to the hospitality industry in many ways. Primarily e-

commerce is used to seek and register new business. Hospitality businesses are setting up
shop online, allowing potential customers to see what they have to offer, view photos of their
amenities and services, and even to make reservations and purchase services. The primary
goal of hospitality businesses in terms of e-commerce is to drive revenue while showing
customers first-hand and realistically what they can expect to experience.

www.the leela.com
Effective hospitality web sites will offer itemized lists of exactly how much each
service is, photos of the facility, wording that is straight-forward and doesn't make
something sound better or worse than the services or products that are actually offered, and
ways the customer can purchase the goods or services.
Many of the larger hospitality businesses already offer ways that customers can
make purchases on their e-commerce sites. They have found value in showcasing what they
offer and making purchases. They are making money by allowing visitors to their e-
commerce sites to make reservations and spend money.
For example, hotels can create e-commerce sites that allow visitors to find out
whether rooms are available for rent for particular dates. These sites can then take credit card
information and other payment types, so customers can reserve rooms.
Restaurants can create e-commerce sites that allow visitors to view menus, view
photos of the foods offered, and even place orders or make reservations online.
3.2 E-commerce and The Hotel/Resort Industry
The Hotel and Resort Industry (HRI) can potentially use E-Commerce to enhance
its primary and support activities by leveraging this new technology in the value chain.
The typical HRI organization has many facets of its operation to be considered, such as: an
internal organizational fit, a business to multicustomer fit, and a business to business fit with
both external suppliers and networked businesses as part of the actual firm's business
processes. E-Commerce can enhance and extend this complex web of interactions and
business processes.
Most of the HRI organization's business processes lend themselves to use of

information systems and E-Commerce technology. Timesharing is an example of how E-
Commerce technology can be used. Timesharing fills the gap between the one room / one
customer concept and can be leveraged through the use of E-Commerce to establish a virtual
connection between customers and rooms.

www.the leela.com
A primary reason that E-Commerce has such great potential for the HRI is because
the hotel business is basically a one room / one customer business. Everything in between the
customer and the room is marketing, support, and profit centres. The current high cost of
finding that one customer who needs that one room and the supply chain required to support
the customer provides unlimited opportunity to integrate information systems to reduce costs
along the value chain.
An Internal and External Fit
The Internet provides a means to internally network the hotel's business processes
together from bookings, food service, and housekeeping to car rental, tours and even kennel
services for dogs and cats. Centralized, Internet-based property management systems will
eliminate the need for expensive on-site computer hardware and software. The Internet may
also control such routine hotel processes as credit card authorization, travel agent
commissions and point of sale transactions. The Internet also provides a way for hotels to
integrate external businesses into their supply chain as when hotels upgraded its reservations
system to a seamless environment for agents both within and outside the company.
A Business to Multi-Customer Fit
The Internet facilitates the hotel's interaction and helps to transform relationships
with three distinct customer groups: individuals as tourists; individuals on business, and
businesses looking for support facilities
The Internet thus makes it easier for people to book rooms and meeting facilities.
People who visit web site stay on the site for five or six minutes want to know more about the
hotel, destination, services and rooms. The online environment is less structured, [than the
telephone] and people will spend the time they think they need to spend at the web site they
go at their own pace; they feel comfortable asking questions, digging deeper and have no
pressure to make up their mind.

www.the leela.com
Individuals on business provide another opportunity for integration of web

technology to attract and provide service to this unique client base. Hotels add Internet based
services to the guest rooms. This will allow guests to access the s web-based hotel directory,
reservations service and E-Commerce sites.
The third opportunity for web business is with external businesses looking for
support facilities. Here the HRI becomes part of other external companies' support activity
when they supply meeting and function rooms and function planning. They can also supply
business services including access to information systems and the Net.
A Business to Business Fit
The Internet provides the ability for the HRI to engage in two types of business to
business E-Commerce: back office integration with external suppliers and network
integration with external businesses. The functionality of a web- based hotel purchasing
system lies in its ability to provide substantial savings to hotels, both in decreased product
costs and increased departmental efficiency. Increased functionality, efficiency and savings
can only come about through back office integration.
Back office integration allows suppliers direct access to the operation centre of the
hotel which reduces ordering time and inventory storage, thus reducing transaction cost. The
Internet gives small suppliers an equal footing with larger suppliers and allows the hotel to
find the best possible fit.
In addition to allowing two-way access to suppliers, the Internet makes possible the
networking of suppliers and support companies directly into the value chain allowing them to
replace functions normally carried on by an organization. It even provides a platform to
permit competitors to share individual core competencies, thus increasing the worth of both
companies.
3.3 Different Internet Communication Platforms

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Applications of Internet communication include internal communication inside a

business (Intranets), B2B online and through VPN (virtual private network) and B2C online.
The purpose of Internet communication can be summarised as follows:
• Sales and marketing

• Human resource management (online manuals. Forms and directories, and
recruitment and application)
• Manufacturing and operations
• Customer service and support
• Finance and accounting
• Customer service
• Customer relationship management(CRM)
• Public relations and information distribution
• Employee knowledge sharing and dissemination
• Employer-employee communication

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Table 3(a): Classification of internet communication

Classification Example of Application
Intranet Pulling forms on the intranet:
(communication Paper forms, reports, documents, company phone book, new pay scale
within business) information, and organization chart and online polls and surveys
Web-based discussion forum.
Live chat:
Chat rooms that provide instant interactive communications.
Extranet and Information sharing:

Internet (B2B Share product catalogues exclusively with wholesalers or those in the trade,
communication share news of common interest exclusively with partner companies
B2Bonline and Collaboration:
or through Joint development efforts; jointly develop and use training programs.
VPN) Customer service:
Allow customer to access selected business information as well as their own
account information, allow customers real-time business transaction, and provide
instant customer service.
B2B transaction:
Real-time business transactions over the web- the core of the e-commerce.
Internet and Communication:

Extranet E-mail, e-newsletters, discussion forums, newsgroups, mailing lists and instant
(B2C online, chat.
C2B and C2C) e-commerce:
Online access of customer information, online payment, marketing goods and
services, selling directly to the customers.
Intranet: Enabling Communications inside a Business

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An Intranet is basically an Internet within the business corporation. Some business

organizations set up Web servers on their own internal networks so that employees have
access to the organization's Web documents. Technically, an Intranet is a local area network
that may not be connected to the Internet but that has some similar functions. An Intranet
becomes an Extranet when it allows selected customers, suppliers, and mobile workers to
access the company's private data and applications available on its servers. This is in contrast
to, and usually in addition to, the company's public Web site, which is accessible to everyone.
Extranet: B2B and B2C Communications

An Extranet is a private network that not only connects to the Internet but also uses
the same special set of rules (protocol) for communication. It can be considered part of a
company's Intranet that is extended to users outside the company. While the Internet is public
and no one really owns it, an Extranet is privately owned and managed. With the Internet,
you have no control over either its contents or its access. With an Extranet, both contents and
access must be controlled and managed. In fact, security is an overriding issue in the
development of an Extranet.
The purpose of an Extranet is to securely share part of a business's information or

operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. It tries to capture
the capability of the Internet and to use it to do business with other companies and to sell
products to customers. Like the Intranet, an Extranet reaps the benefits of all functions
available to the Internet. Some of these benefits include HTML, Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and other Internet technologies.
Internet Communication Tools

Customer service is at the core of any business success. Internet technology can
help a company accomplish the following:
* Reduce call centre loads and e-mail backlogs
* Empower customers to find their own answers and share information across the
organization
* Reduce service response time
* Cut employee training time and costs

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* Create on-going customer dialogue

* Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty
Many companies specialize in this type of e-service. The following tools are used by the
company for customer service:
* E-mail
E-mail likely is the most frequently used tool for electronic communication in the
Internet. An advantage of e-mail is that it allows you to personalize your message to your
customers. The personalization can apply to either a group or an individual. To personalize
your message to a group, you can create an e-mail mailing list.
* E-newsletters
An e-newsletter is a powerful way to bring your company's latest news about
products and services to your customers. With an e-newsletter, company can send targeted
HTML and text e-mail information to their customers. Advantages of the e-newsletter are
• The readers have voluntarily consented to receive them based on their particular areas
of interest. It helps ensure that the content of the e-newsletter is of interest to the
reader and that it is more likely to be read.
• The newsletters are sent on a predetermined schedule, providing a high degree of
consistency in terms of content and format.
* Mailing Lists
A Mailing List is a list of e-mail addresses that is used to send certain messages or
announcements to many people at once. These are usually subscribers of the list and are
expected to share a common interest in the contents of the message. It is a popular way to
communicate and share information with customers and business partners. A mailing list
contains e-mail addresses of the people who typically share the same interests and who
subscribe voluntarily to the list, companies have a great way to create a virtual community--
to reach them with upcoming sales, promotions, and hot deals as well as customer relations
announcements and updates. It is important to know that a Mailing List allows all subscribers
to send e-mail messages to the list

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* E-mail mailing lists

An e-mail mailing list is like a traditional mailing list that is used to send messages
and information to everyone on the list at the same time. The difference is that, instead of
postal mailing addresses, the mailing list contains e-mail addresses. This is a one-way
communication tool. Typically, people who are on a mailing list share some common interest
or characteristics. For this reason, companies can use an e-mail mailing list to target a
desirable group or groups of consumers.
3.4 E-marketing
Marketing is a continuous process of matching products and services to the needs
and wants of consumers by planning, research, implementation, control, and evaluation in
order to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization.
Internet marketing, or e-marketing, like its traditional counterpart, requires a solid

marketing plan with strategies based on both research and common sense. For a hospitality
and tourism company, e-marketing should be placed in the context of total marketing
communication (TMC). TMC proposes that all marketing activities for a company should be
complementary to each other and their total sum of effect should be consistent with the
company's present marketing goals and objectives. With this view, traditional means of
marketing and e-marketing, though different, should be utilized to serve a common and
unified marketing objective for a company.

www.the leela.com
CHAPTER 4
E-COMMERCE
AT
www.theleela.com

www.the leela.com
The Leela is one of the pioneers in the Hotel industry in today’s world. They have a
fully fledged and updated e-commerce website for having their businesses to be done over the
internet. The site is named www.theleela.com
4.1. E-commerce model
The e-commerce model followed by the website is online B2C model because
in this website the visitors of the website portal is gathering information about the
services provided by the various hotels of The Leela Group and also they can make
online reservation for accommodation in any of the hotels of The Leela Group.
4.2. Functioning of the Site
The site contents are given below
• Information on various Leela Hotels in India
o Information on accommodation facilities available
o Information on special luxurious accommodation features
o Information on dining options available
o Any special offers
o Details on rates
o Facilities to organize meetings and events
o Special services and facilities available
o Photo gallery
o Contact details
o Directions to reach

www.the leela.com
o About the location where hotel is situated
• Business services provided
• Relaxation and rejuvenation services
• About life in Leela
• Facilities to make online reservation
• Corporate information
o Chairman’s message
o Explaining group philosophy
o Company information
o Alliance and tie ups
o Investor relationships
o Awards and accolades
o Careers
• News room
o Press releases
o Press clippings
o Archives
• Privacy statement
• Terms and conditions on using the site
Information on various Leela Hotels in India

www.the leela.com
The Leela has various hotel properties in India. Detailed information on each of the hotel
premises is available in the web portal theleela.com.
According to the portal the hotel has properties in
1. Mumbai
2. Kovalam
3. Bangalore
4. Goa
5. Gurgaon
6. Udaipur
Accommodation options
Each hotel has various accommodation options suiting various categories of customers. This
include
1. Premier city view rooms
2. Royal club:
3. Royal club parlour
4. Executive suite
5. Presidential suite
6. Deluxe suite
7. Junior presidential suite
Visitors to the website can also download colour full e-brochures with details of features
available with various types of accommodation.
Dining options
The Leela offers different dining options to suit the needs and tastes of various customers.
Common categories are citrus, jamavar, The great wall, Stella, the lobby lounge, Amnesia, Six
degrees.

www.the leela.com
Special offers
The hotel offers various attractive offers to attract customer. Each hotel will have a set of
offers at any point of time. Some offers are extended stay offer, offer to commemorate specific
events, Early bird offer, offers to attract business gatherings and so on.
Rates
Visitors of web portal can get information on prevailing rates for various accommodation
options as well as that of other tour packages.
Meetings and events

Each hotel offers facilities like conference rooms to organize meetings and events like parties
and public functions.
Online photo gallery

The site contains a database of colourful photos of all The Leela properties. The
visitors to the site can take look at the rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants and various
facilities available at each hotel premises. The scenic environment where each hotel is
situated is highlighted so that visitors will get a feeling of having visited the hotel itself after
seeing the photo gallery. The gallery is easy of browse with a large collection of photos.
Figure 4(a): online photo gallery

www.the leela.com
Online reservation feature

User can select online reservation menu as shown below
Figure 4(b): online reservation menu
The users need to select the hotel where he would like stay and also enter the details of stay as in
prompt above. Once the details are entered the availability of rooms can be checked online by
clicking button.
Figure 4(c): Room’s availability and choice of rooms

www.the leela.com
The availability page gives the various options available that meets the users search criteria. The user
can customize the results based on rates. Short description of various accommodation options is
available at this stage. The user needs to select the room of his choice for making reservation.
Figure 4(d): travel details
At this prompt the user will be asked to fill in the details of his travel so that proper pick up could be
arranged if needed.
Figure 4(e): Fill personal information

www.the leela.com
The user needs to enter his personal information to make the booking through the form as shown
above. At this prompt users can also choose to receive any future offers from The Leela via his
email.
Figure 4(f): Payment options
The form above instructs to make the payment by choosing the appropriate options. This page would
be followed by review and confirmations page. Once booking is made user will get confirmation of
booking by email and in hand.
Contact details

www.the leela.com
Visitors to site can get directions on how to reach any Leela hotel through this feature.
The Google map view of hotel is provided. The user coming by car can get enough details to
enter the navigation system of car. Details on nearest landmarks are also provided here. There
is also information on the important places of visit around the hotel location and also how to
reach them. The hotel contact numbers and physical address is provided here.
Corporate information
This section gives an overview of
The Leela Group

Here visitors can get information on history as well as functioning of the group. The
site serves as an online notice board and conveys the message of groups chairman to
the world. The group’s mission, vision and the principles by which the group standby
is also conveyed in this section. Information on the company, its management,
subsidiaries, code of conduct and corporate videos is available here.
Alliances and tie ups

Leela hotel has tie up with international hotels and alliances to serve the
international customers in a better way. This section provides all necessary
information associated with this. The hotel has alliance with
1. Kempinski hotels
2. Global hotel alliance
3. Preferred hotel group
The hotel also has tie up with various airlines. With this information the users can
even plan their travel with help of The Leela airline partners.
Investor relations
The corporate governance principles by which the group standby is given here.
The Leela is listed company in Indian stock exchanges. The investors in the
company can download copies of annual financial reports from the site. Archives
of annual reports are also available here. The shareholding patterns of the

www.the leela.com
company during each year are available for users to take a look. There is also an
investor information kit available at the website. The company presentation to
investors available here serves as a company’s message to present and prospective
investors. The site serves as a one stop location to gather all the information of
interest to investors.
Careers
All the present job listings are provided here.
E-newsletter
E-newsletter is one of the major e-marketing strategies of The Leela Palaces Hotels
& Resorts. If the People visiting the website is interested in knowing about the upcoming
offers the easiest way is that they can sign up for receiving e-Newsletter to know about the
latest offers provided by the Hotel. This helps in attracting more customers to the hotel. By
filling the form shown below with all the necessary details the concerned person will be
x Close
getting monthly e-newsletter he/she will in touch with whatever’s is currently happening at
The Leela Hotels, offers and promotional packages offered by The Leela Group of Hotels and
Title a part of the Leela family.
also he/she become
Last name *
First name *
Job Title * Company name *
Address *
The e-Newsletter signup form is shown below:

Figure 4(g): E-newsletter signup form
City * State/Province *
Zip/ Postal code *

Country *
Fax number
Phone number
Friends e-mail
Email Address *
Submit
www.the leela.com
E-brochures
Another online marketing tool of The Leela is the e-brochure the site contains e-
brochures of all the hotels of The Leela Group. The people who visit website portal want to
know about the Hotels or they want to show the information about the facilities and services
to someone they can download the e-brochures and can access the information even if the

www.the leela.com
person is offline. The brochures mainly contains about the facilities and services provided by
the hotels like the accommodation, dining, meeting and facilities.
Corporate Video
In addition to the e-brochure the people who visit the website can also download the
corporate video which explains the important aspect of staying at a Leela Hotel and the
experience they are going to get when they spend their time in The Leela Palaces Hotels &
Resorts. The corporate video provide the customers a beautiful memory about the magical
time they have spent at The Leela hotel which will persuade the customer to visit the hotel
again.
4.3. Advantages
1. Site is user friendly
2. The online reservation is a very good feature.
3. The photo gallery is very extensive and striking
4. The virtual gallery is a handy feature
5. The site loads very fast
4.4. Limitations
1. The careers section does not provide detailed information on job positions available
and how to apply.
2. The contact section should be improved
3. The photo gallery does not give image of cuisine
4. The cuisine at the hotel could be provided online
5. The site could be offered in other languages
6. There could be a site version which takes low bandwidth as well
7. Coming soon, upcoming sections can be separated from existing hotels tab
8. There is no feature to contact hotel directly from portal
9. The site seems to have around 1500 views a day which seems less. .

www.the leela.com

www.the leela.com
CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS
&
CONCLUSION
5.1 . Findings
1. The site is a one stop location to access information on all hotel properties of “The
Leela”
2. Visitors can search room availability and also make online reservation through the
portal
3. The virtual tour feature gives a 3D view of hotel premises and also provide actual
snapshots through photo gallery
4. The site has on an average 1500 visitors each day
5. The site contain information needed by investors in the company

www.the leela.com
6. The site also provides the visitors an idea about what all experiences they will get if
they visit The Leela group of hotels and also about the facilities and services provided
by them with the help of corporate video and e-brochure.
7. If the visitors of the website are interested in knowing the upcoming events in The
Leela family and about the latest offers they can sign up for the monthly e-newsletter.
8. The site also contains information about the special offers available at various hotels
of The Leela Group and it also provide information regarding rates of the offers,
terms and conditions applicable to the offers and validity of the offers.
5.2 . Suggestions
1. Career section should be done in a form based fashion so that prospective employees
can search and apply jobs through portal
2. The contacts section can also include driving directions to reach the hotel
3. The various delicacies on offer to hotel visitor could be detailed in website with
mouth watering images and cuisine menu for each day.
4. The international visitors from Europe, Japan etc would like to have option to view
the site in their local language as well.
5. For those users who would like to access site from mobile or a low bandwidth
location should have a stripped down version of site to access.
6. The site hit rate is less as of now; the reason for the same needs to be analyzed and
monitored frequently and actions to improve is to be identified.
7. For users with specific requests there should be an option to contact hotel directly
from portal like chat feature / form based access to helpdesk.
8. Benchmark the portal against similar portals and identify areas to improve.
5.3 . Conclusion
The Leela is one of the pioneers in the Hotel industry in today’s world. They have
a fully fledged and updated e-commerce website for having their businesses to be
done over the internet. The site is named www.theleela.com.The ecommerce project
helped to study in detail the scope and meaning of e-commerce, the various fields in
which e-commerce is applied, the relevance of various models in the hotel industry
and to evaluate the e-business activities done at www.theleela.com.The study covers

www.the leela.com
the functioning of the site and the alternative options of the site for the potential
customers and how it is advantageous for them.
5.4. Bibliography
A) Books
1) Zongqing Zhou, “ E- Commerce and information technology in hospitality and
tourism”
2) Gary P Schneider, “Electronic Commerce”, Thomson Course Technology, Fourth

Annual Edition.
3) Turban, Efrain, Lee, Lac and King, David, “Electronic Commerce-Managerial

Perspective”, Pearson Education Asia, Singapore, 2001.
4) Kalakota, Dr Ravi, and Robinson, Marcia, “E- Business:Roadmap forSuccess”,

Pearson Education Asia, Singapore, 1999.

www.the leela.com
5) David Ferris, Larry Whipple, Building an Intelligent E- Business, Prentice Hall of

India, 2001.
B) Web Reference
1) www.theleela.com
2) www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-185654612.html
3) En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_ commerce
4) www.apdip.net/applications/iespprimers/eprimer-ecom.pdf
5) www.ecommercetimes.com
6) www.hospitalityebusiness.com

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www.the leela.

In the emerging world economy, e-commerce and e-business have increasingly

IMK Senate Campus, Trivandrum 1

development. The integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in

With developments in the Internet and Web-based technologies, distinctions between

Electronic commerce, in a broad sense, is the use of computer networks to improve

IMK Senate Campus, Trivandrum 2

stakeholders include customers, suppliers, government regulators, financial institutions,

1.1 Objectives of the study

 To study in detail about the scope and meaning of e-commerce.

1.3 Scope of the study

1.4 Limitations of the study

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2.1 E- Commerce Background

Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business

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A more complete definition is: E-commerce is the use of electronic communications

Electronic commerce over the Internet is a new way of conducting business.

Electronic commerce relate to commercial transaction of goods and services

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Electronic commerce includes commercial transactions such as electronic

2.2 E-commerce and E-business

E-commerce and e-business are distinct concepts.

In e-business, on the other hand, ICT is used to enhance one’s business. It

Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business:

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applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to

Electronic commerce can be broadly defined as the exchange of merchandise

E-business, is defined as ‘a commercial enterprise as a going concern’. E-business can

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Figure 2(a) Electronic commerce and electronic business

2.3 Models of E-commerce

Classification of e-commerce is by identifying the partners directly involved in the

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Figure 2(b) Classification of e-commerce by transaction partners

The exchange of products, services or information between business entities. According to

E-frastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following:

• ﾁ logistics - transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gamble);

• ﾁ application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of packaged

• ﾁ outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as Web-hosting,

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• ﾁ Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser-based, XML

Web-based B-to-B includes:

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• Transparency in pricing: Among the more evident benefits of e-markets is the

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The exchange of products, information or services between business and consumers in

Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers,

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B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing

The exchange of information, services and products between business organisations

Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce

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Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process

Business-to-Peer Networks (B2P)

Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private

This type of e-commerce comes in at least three forms:

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This is the exchange of products, information or services from individuals to business. A

Consumer-to-Government (C2G): Examples where consumers provide services to

Consumer-to-Peer Networks (C2P): This is exactly part of what peer-to-peer networking