Data Interchange Improved Supply Chain Management

Cheeseman, H. R. (2010). The legal environment of business and online commerce: Business ethics, e-commerce, regulatory, and international issues. (6th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

“Modern economies are highly dependent on information systems and networks connected to “cyberspace” a virtual world with a population of several billion and growing.”

Also I looked into the regulations on e-commerce and according to Renee L Giachino, “attempts to regulate the Internet can cause national and international conflict and criticism. Individual attempts by states and countries to place burdensome restrictions on the free flow of trade over the Internet should be avoided in favor of unfettered growth of the many borderless opportunities and advantages that e-commerce

1. What are the main specific functionalities and features included in an e-commerce server (e-commerce suite)?

The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce: Business Ethics, E Commerce, Regulatory, and International Issues, Fifth Edition, by Henry R. Cheeseman. Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2008, from

This implementation will also enable you to uses your full suite of communication tools in all lines of business. EDI transactions, Bar Code reading, and decision software, such as EDSS, will enhance your senior leaders ability to make sound judgments on a stable base of information at any site. This, of course, becomes a tremendous help in streamlining inventory stock levels, purchase order generation, and vendor delivery predictability. Forecasting raw material needs will no longer be a guessing game. Financial data from each plant will be available from all sites without manual processes.

Since Wal-Mart is a mass market retailer, its primary source of value that it adds to the company is derived from its supply chain. Wal-Mart has suppliers located all over the world and it purchases goods from a wide range of different types of vendors. Many of the company's primary vendors are directly connected to Wal-Mart's IT systems through what is referred to as an electronic data interchange (EDI). An EDI can instantaneous transmit data between Wal-Mart and their vendors. Such information can consist of order information, stock supplies, demand forecasting and many other key supply chain metrics. The advantages of such a system are clear as they can greatly assist creating efficiencies in the supply chain. However, not all suppliers have developed sufficient IT technologies to participate in an EDI program with Wal-Mart. Another option for greater coordination between parties in the supply chain is web-based supplier integration. Although the web-based systems are not quite as sophisticated as an EDI, they are more accessible for many of the smaller suppliers and they have shown to improve long-term coordination, cooperation, and commitment.

ReferencesJoansson,J2008,http://bsminfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=147, accessed 15/05/2009Li, Y, Yu, J & Xu, L 2006, 3PLs in supply chain management, http://www.globrand.com/2006/18441.shtml, accessed 12/05/2009Rudnick, M 2008, Best Buy, Super-Regional See Major Gains in White Good, http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/sales-selling-sales/9341175-1.html, accessed 14/05/2009Weng, D 2006, 3PLs-The Breakthrough of Supply Chain Innovation, http://ww

E-commerce Explain what is meant by the term ‘E-commerce’. It is the conducting of business communication and transactions over networks and through computers. As most restrictively defined, electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, and the transfer of funds, through digital communications. However EC also includes all inter-company and intra-company functions (such as marketing, finance, manufacturing, selling, and negotiation) that enable commerce and use electronic mail, EDI, file transfer, fax, video conferencing, workflow, or interaction with a remote computer. Electronic commerce also includes buying and selling over the Web, electronic funds transfer, smart cards, digital cash (e.g.

Electronic commerce has been there for a long time now, and it is a practice that is practiced by peoples from Germany, France, and the US on a daily basis. Since its inception around 40 years ago, e-commerce has continued to grow as innovations, technologies and a lot of business reverting to the use of the e-commerce. The aspect of buying and selling of goods in the early 1960s was sluggish with the traditional way of mailing of documents being replaced with the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which would later pave a way to the electronic commerce. After the e-commerce, however, the practice was not more reliable as it still had many challenges (Tsolis, 2009). For instance, it was not easy for buyers to see products from the comfort of their homes and more so, the methods of accessing the information were limited.

Territorial borders in the physical world serve a useful purpose in traditional commerce. In the physical world, geographic boundaries almost always coincide with legal and cultural boundaries. The relationship between geographical boundaries and legal boundaries can be discussed in terms of four elements: power, effects, legitimacy and notice. Power, in the form of control over physical space and the people and objects that reside in that space, is a defining characteristic of statehood. Effective law enforcement requires power. The ability of a government to exert control over a person or corporation is called jurisdiction. The level of power asserted by a government is limited to that which is accepted by the culture that exists within its geographic boundaries. Laws in the physical world are rounded in the relationship between physical proximity and the effects of a person’s behavior. Government-provided trademark protection is a good example. The characteristics of laws are determined by the local culture’s acceptance of or reluctance to various kinds of effects. Most people agree that the legitimacy right to create and enforce laws derives from the mandate of those who are subject to those laws. Legitimacy is the idea that those subject to laws should have some role in formulating them. The physical boundary, when crossed, provides notice that one set of rules has been

This study will explain where e-commerce came from and try to shed light on the topic of where e-commerce will be heading.

Many organizations industriously look for the opportunity to gain the competitive advantages in their industries. One of the opportunities that frequently used by the organization is the implementation of e-commerce. Thus, the e-commerce and the online sale transaction become popular in each industry. E-commerce provides many benefits, such as the saving of shopping time, the cost savings, convenience, and free from geographical constraints.

How has the technology improved retail management, not just how technology has improved? Provide specific examples.

This is a research project aimed at four different topics within e-commerce and the dynamic landscape of logistics within this emerging field. I will first be focusing on current landscape of e-commerce. Secondly the focus will be shifted to a global perspective and the difference of markets based on region. Thirdly I will cover the future trends of e-commerce, and the differences that we may see. Finally, I will present data on select countries and how they are affected by e-commerce currently and the changes that we can expect to see in the future. While researching this broad and developing topic, I have found that there are a handful of takeaways that can be seen in the entirety of this paper: