E- COMMERCE

CHAPTER- 5

EC IN SERVICE INDUSTARY

DEFINITION
Agent Based Service
These are the services that are provided by someone (may this be an electronic or
human element) as an intermediate/ agent that operates / works in an agency.

MAJOR EC ONLINE SERVICES

1. Product & Services. It includes both hard & software items. In case of the
hardware , the services/products are booked/purchased online and later physically
delivered at the destination, while software services, the things can be sent
immediately on the computer ie, Amazon (digitalized services as publications).
2. Job Employment. It serves to both, the employee & the employers through
intelligent agent. Employees can forward & offer their profile on dedicated job
seeking web sites ie www.jobslu.com, while the employer can find the desired
candidates through special engine web sites ie, www.resumix.com.
3. Traveling & Tourism. Internet is an ideal place to plan, explore and arrange
almost any trip consonant to traveling & tourism. By clicking travel on the main
menu of AOL Web page, one view various services provided ie, information,
reservation of accommodations & entertainment including purchase & payments.
4. Cyber Banking. It offers, (1) Virtual, home & online banking, even at road side,
without physically presence at the bank & (2) Off time services for cash receipt,
money transfer & payment, utility bills deposits through ATM / debut card &
credit/smart card etc
5. Publishing. It includes the receipt or view of desired publications i.e, Amazon
6. Trading Stock. It is referred to trading financial transactions such as stock
exchanges marketing etc
7. Edutainment. It is the combination of two words i.e, the education & the
entertainment (games, movies etc) .
 TRAVEL & TOURISM SERVICES

1. Preface. The travel industry is expanding rapidly around the globe.

According to a research by initial half of 2000, all B2C Internet commerce will be
related to tourism. The Internet is an ideal place to plan, explore, and arrange
almost any trip.
2. Services Provided. By clicking travel on the main menu of AOL Web page,
one can get some idea about various services provided. Virtual travel agencies
offers almost all the services, one can find in a conventional travel agency. Few of
the services includes:-
a. Seeking information
b. Getting reservation of accommodations & entertainment
c. Purchasing tickets for trips
a. Auctions, Bids, & Special Sales Certain airlines conducts online
auctions
in which passengers bid for tickets. Airlines auctions tickets:-
(1) American Airline. To certain destinations at low-volume seasons.
(2) Cathy Pacific. For competitive routes.
(3) Aer Lingus. That expires in a week or so.
3. Benefits & Limitations
a. Benefits
(1) Tremendous amount of free information.
(2) Accessible anytime from any place.
(3) Substantial discounts, especially, one has time & patience.
(4) One can take fantasy trips.
(5) One can enjoy virtual trips
(6) Need not to go to travel agency.
b. Limitation
(1) Many people do not use the Internet.
(2) Web sites want to sell, not to provide information
(3) Amount of time & difficulty to use virtual travel agencies.
(4) Use virtual travel agencies is not petty.
(4) Complex trips require specialized knowledge and arrangements,
3. Corporate Travel. Many large corporations have additional special discounts
arranged with travel agencies. To further reduce the costs, companies can make
arrangements that enable their employees to plan and book their own trips.
4. Impact of EC on the Travel Industry. Bloch analyzed this industry from a
supply chain point of view and identified five forces that impact competitor in any
industry along with his views as below:-
a. Forces
(1) New entrants
(2) Substitute product
(3) Bargaining power of buyers
(4) Bargaining power of suppliers
(5) Rivalry of the competing companies.
b. Impacts
(1) Offering the lower-cost trips.
(2) Providing a more personalized service.
(3) Helping customers understand the products by using multimedia.
(4) Saving money in a paperless environment.
(5) Increasing the convenience of getting information at home.
(6) Supporting a customer-focused strategy
.Product Suppliers
(Airlines, hotels)

Distributors Process Facilitators

(Travel agencies) (insurances, congress
organizers)

Customers
(Corporations, individuals)
5. The Future. There is no doubt that EC will play an even greater role in the
travel industry. One area that is very promising is that of intelligent agents that
could be involved in buyer-seller negotiations.
 CYBER BANKING & PERSONAL FINANCE

CYBER BANKING

1. Definition. Electronic banking also known as cyber banking that renders

virtual, home & online banking & enables customer to conduct of various
banking activities from home, business or on the road side rather than at physical
bank location.
2. It saves time, effort & money of the user
3. Its capabilities range from paying bills to securing a loan electronically.
4. Many banks begin to use home banking & some use EC as a major competitive
strategy.
5. Some of the advantages of home banking:-
a. Get current account balance at any time.
b. Transfer money between accounts
c. Pay bills
d. Balance your accounts
e. Download account transactions
f. Send e-mail to your bank
g. Handle your finance when traveling
h. A new meaning for banker hour
i. Obtain charge & credit card statements
j Additional services

PERSONAL FINANCE

1. Definition. It is the application of the principles of financial economics to an

individual's (or a family's) financial decisions. In other words it is a detailed
electronic analysis of financial flows at various points in time.
2. Individuals often combine home banking with:-
a. Portfolio management
b. Personal finance
3. In case of specialized personal finance, vender offer diversified services .i.e, both
Quicken and Money software.
4. Quicken is the most popular personal finance software.
5. Quicken and Money offer many following capabilities:-
a. Bill paying & electronic check writing
b. Tracking bank accounts, expenditures & credit cards
c. Tracking & monitoring of securities

d. Portfolio management
e. Budget organizations
f. Tax computation & preparations

g. Record keeping cash flow, profits & losses

h. Retirement goal, planning & budgeting

i. Quotes & trade line historical & current prices