Andrea M. Smith
University of Phoenix- Online
EBUS 400 – E-Business
John Bennett
October 27, 2008
Supply Chain Analysis Paper Traditionally, brick and mortar buildings have been the usual setting for a company to conduct business. Today, technological advances have made a way for companies to conduct their business through another media, the internet. This type of business is known as e-business or electronic business. Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor (2002) define an e-business as “the organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the products and services that satisfy society’s needs through the facilities available on the internet” (p. 104). Businesses now have the opportunity to service business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C). With the buying and selling activities taking place online, the supply chain plays an important role in businesses. This paper will explain how the supply chain differs from a B2B site compared to a B2C site with specific examples. The two main business models are B2B and B2C. Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2002) describe a B2B as business to business and a B2C as a business that focus more on individual customers. A B2B web site is designed so businesses can do business quickly and efficiently with another business. An example of a B2B would be the auto industry. The car manufacturer, Ford, will need to supply parts for vehicles to be repaired. Ford can link dealerships with auto supply parts with businesses that support e-business. This can create a savings due to transaction costs, materials, and inventory (Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor, 2002). Each of these business models use a supply chain in conducting business. Schneider (2004) describes a supply chain as “all the activities undertaken by every predecessor in the value chain to design, produce, promote, market, deliver, and support each individual component of that product or service” (p. 207). Since each business
References: Hameed, S. (2006, May). Marketing Profs. Retrieved October 26, 2008 from http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstid=1141 Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., and Kapoor, J. R. (2002). Business. (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company Schneider, G. (2004). Electronic commerce: The second wave. Retrieved October 26, 2008 from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary/content/eReader.h