Privacy is a central element of the FTC's consumer protection mission. In recent years, advances in computer technology have made it possible for detailed information about people to be compiled and shared more easily and cheaply than ever. That has produced many benefits for society as a whole and individual consumers. For example, it is easier for law enforcement to track down criminals, for banks to prevent fraud, and for consumers to learn about new products and services, allowing them to make better-informed purchasing decisions. At the same time, as personal information becomes more accessible, each of us - companies, associations, government agencies, and consumers - must take precautions to protect against the misuse of our information.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inee-ef.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/ee00455e.html.
Businesses are under tremendous pressure to make tangible productivity gains and to hold costs in check, just to stay even with their competition. The evolution of a variety of hardware and software technologies is fundamentally changing the economics for technology investment. A large number of firms are re-engineering their core business processes, and enabling these processes with packaged software and other emerging/rapidly evolving technology. These pressures are driving the application of e-commerce, whether it is B2C or B2B.
The participating general merchandise firms have embraced e-commerce for their B2B operations for both EDI and Internet technologies. Each organization began its e-commerce system based on proprietary EDI technology and to some extent is migrating to Internet-based systems. These players are using the Internet to exchange critical product information between suppliers and/or consumers. Suppliers and retailers are able to collaborate on product forecasts and product flow decisions.
The pharmaceutical retailing industry is largely using proprietary EDI technologies to receive and to order supplies, with the exception of the British Columbia cooperative that uses the Internet exclusively to receive orders from its associate stores.
