JWH Rapid Response Information Technology Resources

OnLine Store Business Processes: Order Cycle

OnLine Store Business Processes: Shipment Cycle

OnLine Store Business Processes: Invoice/Payment Cycle

I have laid out three charts showing a common scenario for an On-Line store (or for an OnLine branch of a “brick & mortar”). The slides are broken down by process: ORDER CYCLE, SHIPMENT CYCLE, INVOICE/PAYMENT CYCLE. These charts are intentionally not overly technical. Implementer will still need an EDI analyst to populate the required segments. Feeds will also be required into internal systems (accounting, CRM and, maybe, ERP).

What is EDI? Electronic link between the buyer andthe seller

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

AS2

B2B WebSites

EDI Glossary
In the eyes of the US Government

Financial EDI

EDI Mapping

Basic Transportation EDI

See our EDI Toolbox editor
on on EC-BP.COM
Check out our latest BLOGS on EC-BP.ORG.

Electronic Data Interchange: (EDI) Customer tells you that he only orders over EDI??? What do you do now??? We have been there and can help. Click here or on the calculator to find out what EDI and electronic commerce are all about.

Ecommerce as defined by the United States Government
Electronic Commerce [EC] is the paperless exchange of business information, using Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, electronic funds transfer and other similar technologies.

Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], a major part of Electronic Commerce [EC], is the computer-to-computer exchange of business data in a standardized format.

What is XML?
XML is an acronym which stands for Extensible Markup Language. XML is a markup language for documents containing structured information. Both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role the content plays are contained in structured information. Almost all documents have some structure. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. XML defines a standard way to ad markup to documents.
XML was created for richly structured documents and stored data to be used over the web within a structure common to all viewing parties. The only viable alternatives, HTML and SGML, are not practical for this purpose. The use of XML is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, just as the popularity and use of HTML has grown over the last five years.
HTML stands for "Hypertext Markup Language". HTML is the language which allows developers to present electronic media (i.e. web pages, email) in color, bold, and different size text. It allows the OTC Journal to look like a magazine, but definitely has limitations. XML opens a whole new door to the Internet and its capabilities which HTML is incapable of filling.
XML is a standardized simplified language, which allows richly structured documents and legacy data of all kinds to easily understand each other. Two examples of the use of XML are the NASDAQ quote feed and the SEC's EDGAR System.
Dozens of commercial stock quote providers pull their data from the NASDAQ quote feed. The information comes to them in XML. The same is true of EDGAR- all the EDGAR pages are written in XML. This universal language makes it easy for public companies to file their documents in the SEC Electronic Filing System, and thus provide all viewers the ability to review the documentation in a common format.
The development of XML was completed in 1998 by the non-profit World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3c.org/). Software developers are introducing commercial products, and sales of XML based technologies are beginning to ramp up now.

Find out about EDI Global Identifiers and EDI Directories

EDI System Tune Up
Just like your car, your EDI system requires a periodic “tune up”. You need to step back and see if your system is giving you the “best mileage for your dollar”. Remember, things change over time and something that worked well last year might not now because of external changes in your business process or internal changes in the interfacing systems. Here is what I would recommend:

Evolution of Ecommerce
Many analysts consider e-commerce a logical development with roots tracing to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). In existence since the 1970s, EDI provided a means for enterprises to incorporate electronic communications into supply chain management.
Although EDI improved just-in-time manufacturing and reduced supply chain costs, it also was very expensive and difficult to implement. This was primarily because EDI systems run over private Value Added Networks, the cost of which was borne by participants. Additionally, organizations participating in this buy/sell network had to install proprietary software to ensure compatibility of documents being sent over the network-adding further cost and complication.
Internet-based electronic commerce differs from EDI in two basic ways, both of which address the problems inherent in EDI:
1. Based on Internet technologies, electronic commerce uses a public communications medium-open to anyone with Internet access.
2. Because it is based on Internet technologies, electronic commerce is accessible through common Web browsers-and this is all a user needs for compatibility with virtually all electronic commerce sites. This dramatically drives down costs: An Internet server and public network access are much less expensive than virtual private networks, and everyone can use whichever computer platform they choose without having to be concerned with compatibility issues.
B2B and B2C Internet-based electronic commerce has evolved into two major segments: business to consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). B2B and B2C users have different buying needs. In B2B e-commerce, time is essential. Real-time inventory status, accurate pricing, and current delivery information are among the factors that allow business buyers to respond instantly to customer demand, increasing their efficiency and profitability.
Consumers look for an experience that more closely approximates shopping-the ability to browse at their leisure (through a catalog), put selected items into their cart, then charge their purchase to a credit card.
B2B and B2C consider change differently. In business, where success is often based on leveraging new technologies or processes, there is an imperative to embrace change that drives the investigation and implementation of new technologies.