电子商务英语

What is Electronic Commerce?Electronic Commerce: 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 out-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, and all other ways of doing.Five blind men were asked to touch an elephant. One grabbed his fanlike ear, another his postlike leg, another a tusk, the fourth his broad and flat side, and the last one his ropelike tail. They returned a description of the monster, which, of course, were completely different. Electronic commerce, too, is a different thing in different eyes. Broadly speaking, electronic commerce is the production, advertising, sale and distribution of products via telecommunications networks. Modern business is characterized by ever-increasing supply capabilities, ever-increasing global competition, and ever-increasing customer expectations. In response, business throughout the world are changing both their organization and their operations. Electronic commerce is a means of enabling and supporting such changes on a global scale. It enable companies to be more efficient and flexible in their internal operations, to work more closely with their suppliers, and to be more responsive to the needs and expectations of their customers. It allows companies to select the best suppliers regardless of their geographical location and to sell to a global market.In the near future it is possible that no paper forms of money will change hands, but rather nearly all business transactions will be accomplished electronically. The most common products distributed electronically are books, music and videos transmitted down telephone lines or through the Internet. The definition of electronic commerce will continue to evolve and expand.What is B2B?“B2B”is contemporary shorthand for a longtime sales practice called business-to-business. B2B transactions primarily target companies and other wholesale buyers, while transactions targeting individuals are called B2C, or business-to-customer. Many organizations have both B2B and B2C components, but it’s not unusual for a company to specialize in B2B services or sales. In fact, the vast majority of products and services sold are considered to be B2B in nature.One major reason for the popularity of B2B sales and services is sheer volume. An individual customer may visit a clothing manufacturer’s website catalog and order two pairs of shoes or a sweater. The buyer for a national chain of clothing stores, however, may order 5000 pairs of shoes and 2000 sweaters. Without a B2B component, the manufacturer would have lost out on a very lucrative sale. This is why many companies provide B2B options alongside the B2C offerings at their websites and other outlets.B2B sales are also generated by providing a specialized product line or service not available to the general public. This form of B2B transaction is very common in the manufacturing world. A company that produces shaving cream in cans, for example, may need a specific plastic nozzle. Several plastic injection molding companies would send sales representatives to pitch their particular designs. These nozzles would be useless for individual customers, but a manufacturer may order thousands of them.With the growth in electronic communications, B2B has taken on even more importance.Instead of simply focusing on business-to-business sales, modern corporations are conducting other financial transactions online. B2B communications are now being used to promote investment, trade stocks and form financial alliances. Because the price of these transactions is far beyond the reach of most individuals, there is no equivalent business-to-customer option available. Some B2B transactions handled electronically can literally run into the billions of dollars.Cyber BankWith the development of E-Commerce, cyber bank is welcomed by more and more customers. Cyber bank, also known as electronic bank, virtual bank, home bank, and online bank, includes various banking activities conducted from home, business, or on the road, instead of at a physical bank location. And it has capabilities ranging from paying bills to securing a loan electronically. Nowadays, cyber bank does not require proprietary software or access to a private network. Any customer who has arranged his or her own Internet access facilities can participate. One effect of the trend towards cyber bank is to level the playing field so that even smaller financial institutions can offer the type of sophisticated services customers would normally expect only from a large bank.What’s more, cyber bank isn’t just restricted to some of the country’s largest financial institutions. Some of the more regional players, such as credit unions, are also making their mark. In some cases, the smaller size of these institutions has allowed them to out-manoeuvre some of their larger competitions. HEPCOE Credit Union, for example, the eighth largest credit union in Canada launched its cyber banking service on April 30, 1997.For those financial institutions whose “members” are not located near branches, cyber banking services can be especially appealing. In HEPCOE’s case, over 15000 of their 65000 members do not live near one of HEPCOE’s 18 branches.In addition to providing existing customers with access to banking services, cyber bank also tries to solicit new customers. For instance, Bank of Montreal’s website invites visitors to apply on-line for one of the Bank’s credit card products. In some cases, a decision can be provided within minutes. Some US banks have gone one step further and allow new customers to open a checking or savings account on-line.The Definitions of Logistics and Its EvolutionLogistics is defined as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption, for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.More simply, it is the science of ensuring that the right products reach the right place in the right quantity at the right time to satisfy customer demand. The UK Institute of Logistics and Transport defines it even more succinctly as: “the time-related positioning of resource”. It has also been defined as “the management of inventory in motion and rest”.The marking discipline encompasses warehousing, transport & distribution and IT solutions. It also includes international supply chain management and added-value/pre-retailing services.In military and business, logistics experts manage how and when to move resources to the places they are needed. In military strategy, and some would say the most crucial element of military strategy.There are two basically different forms of logistics. One optimizes a steady flow of material through a network of transportation links and storage nodes. The other coordinates a sequence ofresources to carry out some project.However, it was as early as in World War II that the term “logistics” came into use. Centering on war supplies, the United States military established “logistics” theory as a prototype. At that time, procurement, transportation, distribution and other activities as a unified whole layout to lower the cost of strategic commodities supply, faster and better services. Subsequently, the “logistics” system was transplanted to the modern system of economic life and gradually evolved into today’s logistics.E-Government & Its Beneficial EffectsElectronic government refers to government activities that take place by digital processes over a computer network, usually the Internet, between the government and members of the public and entities in the private sector, especially regulated entities. These activities generally involve the electronic exchange of information to acquire or provide products or services, to place or receive orders, to provide or obtain information, or to complete financial transactions. The anticipated benefits of E-Government provides direct communications between legislators and their constituents via e-mail.Absolutely, E-Government is fundamentally about visibility, accessibility and extensibility, and these are the core ingredients for transparency in government. However, E-Government is just a tool, and transparency depends as much on how that tool is used as it does upon its mere existence. Government agencies have to be motivated to distribute information online, and automate processes that are otherwise subject to corrosive, corruptive influences. I am familiar with many government agencies, both in US and abroad, who adopt E-Government programs with a lot of fanfare, but due to the restriction of information provided to the portal or due to the lack of back-end integration of electronic processes into the front-end portal, little actually changes in terms of the citizen’s visibility into the bureaucracy. Moreover, accountability is not an issue for E-Government. No one ever got indicted by the Internet, a friend of mine is fond of saying. But a lot of people have been indicted based on what was made available by or distributed through the Internet. The point is that the democratic institutions in question need to hold government actors accountable, and E-Government can help that to happen more easily.Too little attention is paid to the beneficial effects (in terms of transparency in particular) of electronifying processes as opposed to information. It is easy to conceptualize the beneficial dynamic of civil society and the media being able to access government information online (about bidding processes for public works projects, for example, or the names of people and institutions with certain types of business licenses) , but it’s not as obvious what happens when you put the actual public works project procurement bidding online, or automate the process of obtaining a business license. This is when the magic really occurs. By diminishing the one-on-one human interaction and subjective dec ision-making that can induce corruption, the process itself is made transparent and the field is leveled.。