The concept of E-Commerce is actually derived from EDI(Electronic Data Interchange) concept. EDI was developed in 1960s and has been used to do business electronically long time ago before the Internet and Information Superhighway developed. The purpose of EDI development is to make the exchange of information among businesses easy. With the evolution of personal computers and the development of Internet, EDI has merged to new concept, known as E-Commerce.
Since mid-1999, it seems like everybody is talking about E-Commerce and a whole lot of things that are supposed to make millions of dollars through the Internet. E-Commerce refers to the buying and selling of products and services through electronic means, which nowadays means the Internet. It has been widely and increasingly publicized as the most effective and productive method to transact business, especially for the profit-making organization. .
E-commerce is a business revolution that seems to be unstoppable and it is the increase in the power of communication via the personal computer and the liberalization of the telecommunications sector that gave E-commerce the added push.
In these few years, E-Commerce grew very fast. According to Kate Maddox in her book "Web CommerceBuilding a Digital Business? "corporations have been using Internet technology to set up E-Commerce and successfully conduct trade over the Internet? .
These companies are as follows:.
1. Cisco Connection online, a business-to-business commerce site, is now selling US$11 million in networking equipment a day, at an annual rate of US$4 billion, roughly 45% of Cisco Systems'total revenue.
2. Dell Computers is selling US$5 million a day, at an annual rate of $US1.8 billion, from its web Site.
3. Microsoft's Expedia travel service sells US$4 million a week, or more than $US200 million a year, in airline tickets from its site.
In US, E-Commerce is expected to be the engine for economic growth in the next century.
