E-commerce and Online Business Reference

The meaning of the term “electronic commerce” has changed over time. Originally, “electronic commerce” meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, usually using technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI, introduced in the late 1970s) to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically.

Later it came to include activities more precisely termed “Web commerce” — the purchase of goods and services over the World Wide Web via secure servers (note HTTPS, a special server protocol which encrypts confidential ordering data for customer protection) with e-shopping carts and with electronic pay services, like credit card payment authorizations.

When the Web first became well-known among the general public in 1994, many journalists and pundits forecast that e-commerce would soon become a major economic sector. However, it took about four years for security protocols (like HTTPS) to become sufficiently developed and widely deployed (during the browser wars of this period). Subsequently, between 1998 and 2000, a substantial number of businesses in the United States and Western Europe developed rudimentary Web sites.

Although a large number of “pure e-commerce” companies disappeared during the dot-com collapse in 2000 and 2001, many “brick-and-mortar” retailers recognized that such companies had identified valuable niche markets and began to add e-commerce capabilities to their Web sites. For example, after the collapse of online grocer Webvan, two traditional supermarket chains, Albertsons and Safeway, both started e-commerce subsidiaries through which consumers could order groceries online.

As of 2005, e-commerce has become well-established in major cities across much of North America, Western Europe, and certain East Asian countries like South Korea. However, e-commerce is still emerging slowly in some industrialized countries, and is practically nonexistent in many Third World countries.

Electronic commerce has unlimited potential for both developed and developing nations, offering lucrative profits in a highly unregulated environment.

Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly also known as Great Plains Dynamics, eEnterprise, is flexible and powerful platform for eCommerce B2B and B2C Shopping Cart integration. If you are ecommerce programmer, please read this introduction level publication on integrating ecommerce shopping cart into SOP Invoice or Sales Order in Dynamics GP. Being bound by article genre rules, we will try to be reasonably laconic and balance technical (for developers and programming) and functional (for IT managers) information. We will pay some attention to Microsoft Dexterity and its possible role in GP eCommerce integrations:

1. Sales Order Processing Invoice or Sales Order as ecommerce shopping cart destination. In our opinion this object is the most natural for being considered as shopping cart destination in GP. SOP Transaction has document header, where you specify customer, doc number, dates, addresses, shipping info, tax and other document level info. Plus, it has Items lines, where you add your shopping cart items and link them with the information on availability in stock, allocation (when applicable), back ordering, or you can even have your line items as services, or non inventory items, where you are not bound by Inventory tracking. If you think SOP Transaction is the right object for ecommerce shopping cart integration, you need to choose the integration tool or technology

2. Dynamics GP Dexterity proprietary technology. We do not recommend you to do Microsoft Dexterity programming and customization in order to integrate eCommerce shopping cart, because other tools could do similar job without custom programming, especially Dynamics GP Integration Manager. If you have serious reasons to try Dexterity route, we recommend you to discuss Dexterity ecommerce integration with your Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner, or with experienced Dynamics GP Dexterity programmer. Dexterity might be the way to go, when you require that Great Plains becomes your master application, from where you initiate eCommerce shopping carts pulling, and where you define your Inventory Items, Price Lists, Discounts (Trade Discounts on Sales Invoice Document level) and Sales Campaigns and push these objects to your ecommerce web application

3. GP Integration Manager. If you are representing reasonably small or mid-size ecommerce retailer (B2B or B2C ecommerce) or wholesaler (B2B ecommerce) and you are sort of OK with the option of daily ecommerce to GP integration (one time per day) and your ecommerce transaction volume is below thousand new orders per day, we recommend you to review IM in details and only consider moving to the next step is you tried IM in and out and there is something special and important to your ecommerce business processes, that Integration Manager cannot do. OK, having said that, let’s review IM. This tool is end user friendly (you may still need Dynamics GP consultant, if you feel that your organization doesn’t have IT internal support). You start with creating Data Sources – we recommend you either to export ecommerce shopping carts into text (comma or tab delimited) files or even better Create Advanced ODBC Data Source, based on SQL View, including options to create cross platform SQL View in MS SQL Server, with linking to Oracle, MySQL/PHP/Linux, Microsoft Access, Lotus Notes. Second step – you link your Sources (you will need at least two for ecommerce shopping cart, as Document Header and Lines should be integrated). In IM you can also do VBA scripting and in these scripts you can address custom tables in GP via Microsoft ADO technology, if required. Plus, as additional (but not the last tip – call us for more info) tip you can schedule IM Integration to run every, let’s say, twenty minutes to make ecommerce to GP integration behave as it is in quasi real time

4. Dynamics GP eConnect. This integration tool and SDK could be deployed in Microsoft Visual Studio C#, VB.Net or other programming language project as libraries and help with Sample Codes (it is Software Development Kit). eConnect enables real time integration, as you can include eConnect libraries into ecommerce Web Application. If you are experienced or even making progress Microsoft Visual Studio Programmer, and you are familiar with C# (Microsoft Java blend) or VB and have some exposure to SQL Stored Procedures and XML – eConnect should be open for you to experiment. Initially eConnect was dedicated to Great Plains eCommerce programmers to integrate ecommerce web applications with Dynamics GP 7.0 and 7.5 (later on eConnect was expanded and now for Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0 it covers most of the core modules: GL, SOP, POP, Inventory Control, Receivable Management, Payable Management, Payroll, General Ledger, Project Accounting, etc.)

5. Direct SQL scripting for Dynamics GP ecommerce integration. If you try it from scratch – it might be too long way to come through all the errors and bumps, so we recommend you to consider Alba Spectrum Order Connector, which gives you intuitive set of SQL Stored Procedures to call directly from eCommerce web application to integrate shopping cart as GP SOP Invoice or Sales Order. If you would like to try it on your own and you need some intro on Microsoft Dynamics GP tables structure and data flow training, we are happy to offer this service USA Nationwide and Internationally

6. eConnect Automatic Batch Posting Extension. Yes, we have Alba Spectrum Posting Server, which does just that. By Dynamics GP architecture fundamental reasons, Batch Posting is in the hands of Dynamics GP users: batch should be reviewed, modified and approved for being posted (as Dynamics GP is mid-market Corporate ERP Platform)

7. Dynamics GP ecommerce in international environment. Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0 is localized and available in English speaking countries: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK. If is also localized in French Quebec province of Canada. There are reasonable localizations for Spanish speaking Central and South America and Caribbean. If your local country ecommerce requirements include Unicode characters support (China, Japan, Korea), Dynamics GP Dexterity doesn’t support Unicode out of the box. We recommend you to call us for the options available for your specific Unicode based language. There is reasonable support for Microsoft Dynamics GP in Arabic alphabet – for Saudi Arabia and all the Persian Gulf States, plus Egypt, Syria, Lebanon. If you are in Afghanistan – Dari language is based on Arabic alphabet and could be deployed on Microsoft Dynamics GP ecommerce platform with Arabic language support extension

An acquisition occurs when one company is bought by another. The acquisition can be friendly or hostile. A friendly acquisition occurs when the target company agrees to being bought. A hostile acquisition occurs when the target company does not want to be bought and fights the other company. A friendly acquisition has many of the same attributes as a merger. A merger combines two companies, usually in the same industry, to form a bigger and better company. Mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies work together to ensure a successful combination of all parts. Mergers and acquisitions take place when one or two companies want to expand quickly without having to build new branches from the ground up or there are two companies in the same field that are struggling to stay a float. They create one large company helping the two businesses strive in the industry.

Recently, Commerce Bancorp accepted an acquisition proposal from Canada based Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Group. The proposal was made shortly after Vernon Hill, the founder of Commerce Bancorp resigned. TD Financial Group is acquiring Commerce Bancorp for $8.5 billion in a transaction that will consist of 75% stock and 25% cash. TD plans to take the best elements of both companies and combine them to make a North American powerhouse. The combination of TD and Commerce more than doubles the amount of branches TD has in the United States as they look to become a leading North American financial institution. The acquisition will bring the deposit amount to one third of a trillion dollars, making it the first bank of that size in both the U.S. and Canadian markets. TD will also be acquiring all of Commerce Bancorp shares at $42 per share. The Commerce stock has not traded over $40 per share in over a year. TD is planning on keeping most of Commerce’s employees and all of their branches. They will also be combining their names. TD Banknorth and Commerce Bancorp will now be known as “TD Commerce Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank,” this is in recognition of Commerce’s huge success and loyal customer base. This is how a friendly acquisition can look more like a merger than an acquisition. TD is acknowledging Commerce’s success in the United States and wants to expand it rather then change it.

There are many cost savings and benefits to be found in the acquisition of Commerce Bancorp by TD Bank Financial Group.

Cost Savings for TD Bank Financial Group:

• TD acquired about 450 branches already built. Bringing the total number of branches to 2,100; making TD Commerce Bank the seventh largest bank by number of branches in North America.

• TD increases the amount of their deposits by about $46 billion without having to do any lobbying or marketing.

• TD gains about 16,000 Commerce employees. All of them are already trained and have experience working in the banking industry.

• TD also gains all of Commerce’s three million current customers without having to put forth money for advertising. This brings their total number of customers to about seventeen million.

• TD customers gain access to more then 450 ATMs and have easier access to their money if they are in the United States.

Cost Benefits for Commerce Bancorp:

• Commerce increases their number of branches by about 1,650. Automatically making them North America’s seventh largest bank by number of branches, without having to spend a dime.

• Commerce also increases the number of employees and customers they have without having to put any money out.

• Commerce customers get a new line of accounts to chose from. They also gain access to more then 750 ATMs and will have easier access to their money if they are in Canada.

• Commerce receives $8.5 billion in cash and stocks.

• Commerce’s Financial Markets sector will become part of TD’s, which is known worldwide for providing superior financial products and services.

Through this acquisition TD Financial Group is planning for the future. They are investing in an established and accomplished bank, which they believe is key to achieving long-term growth. It will also help Commerce reach its goals faster and benefit both TD Bank Financial Group and Commerce Bancorp. Both financial institutions have similar values and both believe the customer comes first, which is why the combination of the two will bring about undeniable success. Commerce will continue to WOW! their customers and now TD customers will be able to experience the same service that made Commerce Bancorp a success story.

Amanda Taylor

West Chester University

In today’s global marketplace, the internet has become a crucial medium. In fact, the internet itself has become a virtual worldwide marketplace with websites standing as storefronts, showrooms and virtual offices where companies and individuals can display and explain the goods and services they are offering.

Website development and web design have replaced the interior and exterior design and industrial engineering of brick-and-mortar business sites, ensuring attractiveness and ease of client navigation. Search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media marketing have become the virtual counterparts of traditional advertising and marketing campaigns.

E-commerce solutions, including online store applications for online shopping and online payment, have enabled companies and individuals to transact business safely through the internet.

It has become practically a requirement for any company or individual offering goods and services to have a presence online through a website in order to maximize business potentials. Ignoring this vast and almost limitless marketplace would mean losing out on immeasurable opportunities.

In this increasingly internet-based global economy, it was a natural progression for companies around the world to discover business process outsourcing (BPO). By seeking offshore partners to take care of back office data and business processes, companies are able to streamline costs and focus their efforts on their core business. Many first world companies have, for example, been successfully outsourcing in the Philippines, where there is a large workforce of highly qualified and motivated talent.

Web Dot Com Solutions

Web Dot Com is a company that is at the fulcrum of this virtual world order, providing full website development services, including e-commerce solutions and internet marketing, as well as business process outsourcing. Based in the Philippines, it has acquired in-house the best professionals with world-class skills and talent to serve a global clientele.

In the past ten years, Web Dot Com has met, and even surpassed, the high expectations of clients from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Korea, the British Virgin Islands and the Philippines, forming lasting partnerships and earning further referrals.

Web Dot Com provides basic and advanced website development, web design, graphic design and multimedia components, content management systems, e-commerce solutions, website maintenance and support, advanced portal development and other custom programming, search engine optimization, and comprehensive internet marketing, including search engine marketing and social media marketing. It also provides web based database programming and contact center solutions.

Web Dot Com’s website development process is founded on client feedback all the way, from assessment to proposal, detailing, creative design, development, quality assurance and launch. Web design includes art and creative direction, with each design rationale reflecting the client’s business goals. Multimedia audio-visual functions may be used for both aesthetic and marketing purposes.

Search engine optimization is provided, ensuring that the client’s website ranks well in search engines and attracts visits from its target audience. This integrates well with other internet marketing strategies to provide a wide-ranging and synergistic approach toward surpassing the client’s sales goals.

Clients can take this a step further with business process outsourcing. Web Dot Com provides software development and maintenance, animation and graphic design, back office processes and inbound and outbound call center services. The contact center can acquire new customers, maintain customer relations, manage leads and sales and provide technical support.

In all its endeavors, Web Dot Com guarantees quality in methodology and output. Effective and efficient communication is maintained with clients, ensuring timely and on-target solutions. All these are provided in cost-effective packages, in line with the client’s business mindset. Indeed, Web Dot Com aims to be the perfect partner for any business or individual around the globe.