E-Business System

• E-Business System is the administration of conducting business via internet. It is application of Information and communication technologies in support of all the activities of business.
• It is use of internet and other networks and information technologies to support e-commerce, enterprise communication and collaboration and web enabled business process, both within a networked enterprise and with its customer and business partners.
• E-business includes E-commerce, which includes buying, selling and marketing products over the internet. Electronic business is the administration of conducting business via internet. It is application of Information and communication technologies in support of all the activities of business.
• It is use of internet and other networks and information technologies to support e-commerce, enterprise communication and collaboration and web enabled business process, both within a networked enterprise and with its customer and business partners.
• E-business includes E-commerce, which includes buying, selling and marketing products over the internet.

E-Business System – Cross functional Enterprise Applications

• Many companies today are using information technologies to develop integrated cross functional enterprise systems that cross the boundaries of traditional business functions in order to reengineer and improve vital business process, and develop strategic relationship with customers, suppliers, and business partners.
• This typically involves installing enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, or customer relationship management software.
• Business firms are using internet technologies to help them reengineer and integrate the flow of information among their internal business process and their customers and suppliers.

E-Business System – Enterprise Application Architecture

• The enterprise application architecture of a business is a description of the structured of the application and software use across the organization.
• The system are broken down into subsystem and connected to each other based on the relationship between them.
• It provides a conceptual framework to help visualize the basic components, processes, and interfaces of these major e-business applications, and their interrelationship to each other.
• It includes CRM, ERP, SCM and KM.

E-Business System – Enterprise Application Integration

• It is the process of linking such applications within a single organization together in order to simplify and automate business process to the greatest extent possible, while at the same time avoiding having to make full changes to the existing application or data structures.
• Unrestricted sharing of data and business processes among any connected application or data sources in the enterprise.
• EAI software being used by many companies to connect their major e- business applications.
• EAI software can integrate the front office and back office applications of a business so they work together in a seamless, integrated way.
• This is a vital capability that provides real business value to business enterprise events and customer demand.
• E.g. Improvement in customer call center responsiveness and effectiveness because EAI integrates access to the entire customer and product data customer representative need to quickly serve customer.
• EAI can be used for different purpose:
• Data Integration: ensures that information in multiple systems are kept consistent.
• Vendor independence: Extracts business policies or rules from applications and implements them in EAI systems, so that even if one of the business applications is replaced with a different vendor’s application, the business rules don’t have to be re-implemented.
• Common interface: An EAI system can front-end cluster of applications, providing a single consistent access interface to these applications and shielding users from having to learn to use different software packages.

E-Business System – Transaction Processing System

• Transaction Processing System are cross- functional information systems that process data resulting the occurrence of business transactions.
• Transaction are the events that occurs as part of doing business, such as sales, purchases, deposits, withdrawals, refunds, and payments.
• Data about the customer, product, salesperson, store and so on must be captured and processed. Credit checks, customer billing, inventory changes, and increase In accounts receivable balances generate even more data.
• Transaction processing activities are needed to capture and process such data, or the operation of business would halt.

Transaction Processing Cycle

Transaction processing is of several basic activities.

• Data Entry: The first step of transaction processing cycle is the capture of business data. Transaction data may be collected by POS terminals and also captured at an e- commerce web site and internet.
  The proper recording and editing of data so they are quickly and correctly captured for processing is one of the major challenges of information systems.
• Transaction Processing: Transaction processing system processes data in two basic ways: one is batch processing, where transaction data are accumulated over a period of time and processed periodically, second is real time processing where data is processed immediately after transaction occurs.
• Database Maintenance: An organization’s databases must be updated by its transaction processing systems so that they are always correct and up to date. Databases maintenance ensures that the changes are reflected in the data records stored in company’s databases.
• Document and report generation: Transaction processing systems produce a variety of documents and reports. purchase orders, paychecks, sales receipt, invoices and customer statements are examples of transaction documents. Payroll register, edit reports are the form of transaction reports.
• Inquiry Processing: Many transaction processing system allow user to use the internet, intranets, extranets and web browser or database management query language to make inquiries and receive responses. For e.g. checking the status of sales order, balance in the account, amount of stock in inventory.

E- Business System – Enterprise Collaboration Systems

• Enterprise collaboration systems (ECS) are cross functional information systems that enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration among the members of business teams and workgroups.
• The Goal of enterprise collaboration is to enable us to work together more easily and effectively by helping to Communicate, Coordinate and Collaborate.

Tools for Enterprise Collaboration

• The capabilities and potential of the internet, as well as extranets, are driving the demand for better enterprise Collaboration tools in business.
• The enterprise collaboration tools are:
• Electronic communication tools: E-Mail, Instant messaging, voice mail, faxing, web publishing, paging.
• Enterprise Collaboration Systems: Data Conferencing, Video Conferencing, Voice Conferencing, Discussion forums, Chat systems, Electronic Meeting Systems
• Calendar and Scheduling, Task and project management, workflow systems, Document Sharing, Knowledge Management.

Functional Business System

• There are many ways to use information technology in business as there are business activities to be performed, business problems to be solved, and business opportunities to be pursued.
• It is important to have a specific understanding of how information system affect a particular business function or particular industry.
• E.g someone whose career objective is marketing in banking should have a basic understanding of how information system are used in banks and how they support the marketing activities of banks and firms.

Marketing system

• The business function of marketing is concerned with planning, promotion and sales of existing products in existing markets, and development of new products and new markets to better attract and serve present and potential customer.
• Business firms have increasingly turned to information technology to help them perform vital marketing functions in the face of the rapid changes of today’s environment.
• For e.g. Internet/ intranet web sites makes interactive marketing process possible where customer can become partners in creating marketing, purchasing and improving products and services.
• Marketing information system assists marketing managers in product planning, pricing, and other product management decisions; advertising sales, promotion, and targeted marketing strategies and market research and forecast.

Some of the marketing applications are:

Interactive Marketing

• A customer focused marketing process that is based on using the internet, Intranets, and extranets to establish two- way transaction between a business and its customer or potential customers.
• Interactive marketing encourages customers to become involved in product development, delivery and service issues. It is enabled by various internet technologies, including chat, discussion groups, web forums, instant messaging and email correspondence.
• The expected outcomes of interactive marketing are the rich mixture of vital marketing data, new product ideas, volume sales and strong customer relationship.

Targeted Marketing

• Targeted marketing has become an important tool in developing advertising and promotion strategies to strengthen a company’s e- commerce initiatives, as well as traditional business venues. It includes five targeting components:
• Community
• Content
• Context
• Demographic/ Psychographic
• Online Behaviour

Sales Force Automation

• Computers and the internets are providing the basis for sales force automation.
• IN many companies sales force are being outfitted with notebook computer, web browser and sales contact management software that connects them to marketing.
• It increases the personal productivity f sales person as well as speeds up the capture data from the field to marketing managers at company headquarters.
• Many companies are viewing sales force automation as a way to gain a strategic advantage in sales productivity and marketing responsiveness.

Manufacturing Systems

• Manufacturing information system supports the production/operation function that includes all activities concerned with the planning and production of goods or services.
• Information systems used for operations management and transaction processing supports all firms that must plan, monitor and control inventories, purchases and the flow of goods and services.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing

• CIM is an overall concept that emphasize that the objectives of computer-based systems in manufacturing must be to:
• Simplify (reengineer) production processes, product designs, and factory organization as a vital foundation to automate and integration.
• Automate production processes and the business functions that support them with computers, machines and robots.
• Integrate all production and support processes using computer networks, cross functional business software and other information technologies.
• The overall aim of CIM and such manufacturing information systems is to create flexible, agile manufacturing processes that efficiently produce product of highest quality.
• Computers are used to help engineers design better products using both computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer aided design (CAD) systems, and better production processes with computer aided process planning.

Computer Aided Manufacturing

Those system that automates the production process. E.g. monitoring and controlling the production process in a factory or by directly controlling the a physical process, a machine tool or machine with some human like capabilities.

Manufacturing Execution System

• Performance monitoring information systems for factory floor operations.
• They monitor and control the five essential components involved in a production process: materials, equipment, personnel, instructions and specifications, and production facilities.
• MES includes shop floor scheduling and control, machine control, robotis control and process control system.

Process Control

• Use of computer to control an ongoing physical process. Process control computer control physical processes in petroleum refineries, cement plants, steel mills, chemical plants, food product manufacturing plants and so on.
• The continuous physical measurement are converted to digital form by analog- to- digital converters and relayed to computer for processing.

Machine Control

• Use of computers to control the actions of machines. This is also popularly called numerical control.
• The computer based control of machine tools to manufacture products of all kinds is typical numerical control application used by many factories throughout the world.

Human Resource System

• The Human Resource Management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation , and development of the employees of an organization.
• The human resource information system are designed to support
• Planning to meet the personnel needs of the business
• Development of the employees to their full potential
• Control of all personnel policies and programs

HRM and Internet

• The internet has become a major force to change in human resource management. E.g. online HRM system may involve recruiting for employees through recruiting for employees through recruitment sections of corporate web sites.
• The web sites are full of reports, statistics, and other useful HRM information such as job reports by industry, or listings of the top recruiting markets by industry and professionals.

HRM and Corporate Intranets

• HRM and corporate intranet technologies allow companies to process most common HRM applications over their corporate intranets.
• Intranets can collect information online from employees for input to their HRM files, and they can enable managers and other employees to perform HRM task with little intervention by HRM department.
• E.g. Employee self- service (ESS) intranet application allows employees to view benefits, enter travel expense reports, verify employment and salary information, access and update their personal personal information, and enter time- sensitive data.

Accounting System

• Accounting information systems are the oldest and most widely used information systems in business and records business transaction and other economic events.
• Computer based accounting systems record and report the flow of funds through an organization on a historical basis and produce important financial statements such as balance sheets and income statements.
• Many accounting software packages are available for these applications:

Online Accounting System

• Using the internet and other networks changes how accounting information system monitors and track business activity.
• Online accounting system particularly applies to systems like order processing, inventory control, accounts receivable, and account payable.
• These system are directly involved for processing of transaction between a business and its customers and suppliers.
• Naturally, many companies are using internet and other network links to these trading partners for such Online TPS.

Common Business Accounting Systems

• It is a system that every organization has maintained day to day to know and run the organization smoothly. It is summarized as:
• Order Processing: Captures and processes customer orders and produce data for inventory control and accounts receivable.
• Inventory control: processes data reflecting changes in inventory and provide shipping and reorder information.
• Accounts Receivable: Records amounts owed by customers and produce customer invoices, monthly customer statements, and credit management reports.
• Accounts payable: records purchases from, amounts owed to and payments to suppliers and produce cash management reports.
• Payroll: Records employee work and compensation data and produce paychecks and other payroll documents and reports.
• General Ledger: Consolidates data from other accounting systems and produce the periodic financial statements and reports of the business.

Financial Management Systems

• Computer based financial management system supports business managers and professionals in decision concerning the financing of a business and allocation and control of financial resources within a business.
• Major financial management systems includes cash and investment management, capital budgeting, financial forecasting, and financial planning.
• Financial analyst typically use electronic spreadsheets and other financial planning software to evaluate the present and projected financial performance of a business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Related Contents

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Decision Support System