《计算机专业英语》Unit 15 What is E-Commerce

Unit15WhatisE-Commerce?ContentsLearningObjectives1Words&Expressions2Text3Exercises4Learning

ObjectivesAfteryouhavereadthisunit,youshouldbefamiliarwith:1.Whatise-commerce？2.Thechangeandadvantagethate-commercebringsaboutinpeople’slives

Words&Expressionscommercen.贸易，商业extraordinarilyadv.非常；格外地；非凡地spurn.山坡;马刺vi.骑马疾驰;给予刺激;originallyadv.最初，起初；本来itemn.条款，项目；一则e-tailer网络零售商；线上零售generallyadv.通常；普遍地，一般地onlineshop网上商店；购物网站；线上购物warehousingn.仓储website网址；网站fulfillvt.履行；满足；实现；使结束slowdown减速，放慢速度；使……慢下来HaveyouboughtanythingovertheInternet?Ifyouhavenot,thereisaverygoodchancethatyouwillwithinthenextyearortwo.ShoppingontheInternetisgrowingrapidlyandthereseemstobenoendinsight.

Electroniccommerce,commonlyknownas(electronicmarketing)e-commerceorecommerce,consistsofthebuyingandsellingofproductsorservicesoverelectronicsystemssuchastheInternetandothercomputernetworks.TheamountoftradeconductedelectronicallyhasgrownextraordinarilywithwidespreadInternetusage.Theuseofcommerceisconductedinthisway,spurringanddrawingoninnovationsinelectronicfundstransfer,supplychainmanagement,Internetmarketing,onlinetransactionprocessing,electronicdatainterchange(EDI),inventorymanagementsystems,andautomateddatacollectionsystems.ModernelectroniccommercetypicallyusestheWorldWideWebatleastatsomepointinthetransaction'slifecycle,althoughitcanencompassawiderrangeoftechnologiessuchase-mailaswell.Text

Alargepercentageofelectroniccommerceisconductedentirelyelectronicallyforvirtualitemssuchasaccesstopremiumcontentonawebsite,butmostelectroniccommerceinvolvesthetransportationofphysicalitemsinsomeway.Onlineretailersaresometimesknownase-tailersandonlineretailissometimesknownase-tail.AlmostallbigretailershaveelectroniccommercepresenceontheWorldWideWeb.Electroniccommerceisgenerallyconsideredtobethesalesaspectofe-business.Italsoconsistsoftheexchangeofdatatofacilitatethefinancingandpaymentaspectsofthebusinesstransactions.EarlydevelopmentThemeaningofelectroniccommercehaschangedoverthelast30years.Originally,electroniccommercemeantthefacilitationofcommercialtransactionselectronically,usingtechnologysuchasElectronicDataInterchange(EDI)andElectronicFundsTransfer(EFT).Thesewerebothintroducedinthelate1970s,allowingbusinessestosendcommercialdocumentslikepurchaseordersorinvoiceselectronically.Thegrowthandacceptanceofcreditcards,automatedtellermachines(ATM)andtelephonebankinginthe1980swerealsoformsofelectroniccommerce.Anotherformofe-commercewastheairlinereservationsystemtypifiedbySabreintheUSAandTravicomintheUK.Onlineshopping,animportantcomponentofelectroniccommerce,wasinventedbyMichaelAldrichintheUKin1979.Theworld'sfirstrecordedB2BwasThomsonHolidaysin1981.ThefirstrecordedB2CwasGatesheadSIS/Tescoin1984.Theworld'sfirstrecordedonlineshopperwasMrs.JaneSnowballofGateshead,England.Duringthe1980s,onlineshoppingwasalsousedextensivelyintheUKbyautomanufacturerssuchasFord,Peugeot-Talbot,GeneralMotorsandNissan.AlltheseorganizationsandothersusedtheAldrichsystems.Thesystemsusedtheswitchedpublictelephonenetworkindial-upandleasedlinemodes.Therewasnobroadbandcapability.Fromthe1990sonwards,electroniccommercewouldadditionallyincludeenterpriseresourceplanningsystems(ERP),datamininganddatawarehousing.Anearlyexampleofmany-to-manyelectroniccommerceinphysicalgoodswastheBostonComputerExchange,amarketplaceforusedcomputerslaunchedin1982.Anearlyonlineinformationmarketplace,includingonlineconsulting,wastheAmericanInformationExchange,anotherpreInternet[clarificationneeded]onlinesystemintroducedin1991.

In1990TimBerners-LeeinventedtheWorldWideWebandtransformedanacademictelecommunicationnetworkintoaworldwideeverymaneverydaycommunicationsystemcalledinternet/www.CommercialenterpriseontheInternetwasstrictlyprohibiteduntil1991.AlthoughtheInternetbecamepopularworldwidearound1994whenthefirstinternetonlineshoppingstarted,ittookaboutfiveyearstointroducesecurityprotocolsandDSLallowingcontinualconnectiontotheInternet.Bytheendof2000,manyEuropeanandAmericanbusinesscompaniesofferedtheirservicesthroughtheWorldWideWeb.Sincethenpeoplebegantoassociateaword"ecommerce"withtheabilityofpurchasingvariousgoodsthroughtheInternetusingsecureprotocolsandelectronicpaymentservices.Justlikeanyothertypesofcommerce,electroniccommerceinvolvestwoparties:businessesandconsumers.Therearethreebasictypesofelectroniccommerce:•Business-to-consumer(B2C)involvesthesaleofaproductorservicetothegeneralpublicorendusers.Oftentimes,thisarrangementeliminatesthemiddlemanbyprovidingmanufacturesdirectsalestocustomers.Othertimes,retailstorescreateapresenceontheWebasanotherwaytoreachcustomers.•Consumer-to-consumer(C2C)involvesindividualssellingtoindividuals.Thisoftentakestheformofanelectronicversionoftheclassifiedadsoranauction.Goodsaredescribedandinterestedbuyerscontactsellerstonegotiateprices.Unliketraditionalsalesviaclassifiedadsandauctions,buyersandsellerstypicallynevermeetface-to-face.•Business-to-business(B2B)involvesthesaleofaproductorservicefromonebusinesstoanother.Thisistypicallyamanufacturer-supplierrelationship.Forexample,afurnituremanufacturerrequiresrawmaterialssuchaswood,paint,andvarnish.InB2Belectroniccommerce,manufactureselectronicallyplaceorderswithsuppliersandmanytimespaymentismadeelectronically.Withtheageofpaperlesstradecoming,electroniccommerce,ore-commerce,nowattachesmuchimportancetopeople’sdailylives.Manyfirmsbegintofocustheirattentiononelectroniccommerce.E-CommerceWebSitesE-commerceisthemainreasonalargenumberofwebsitesexistontheweb.Ithasopenedawholenewworldforretailers,wholesalersandothertypesofmarketers.Thosevendorsrangefromthebigguys(i.e.,K-Mart,Wal-Mart)tothesmaller,lesser-knownones(i.e.,individuals).Insomecases,ithasevenmadeafewpeopleverywealthy.But,forthemostpart,ithasbecomeanothermethodofcreatingincome,whetheritistomakealivingorjustalittlepocketchange.ElectroniccommerceoffersmuchpromisetoU.S.firmsinterestedinusingtheInternetasanothervehicleforexporting.However,themarketingexecutiveshouldbefamiliarwiththestepsnecessarytomakethefirm'swebsitee-exportcapable.ManyU.S.companieshaveawebsitethatfulfillsoneormoremarketingfunctionstailoredtotheirbusinessspecialties.

E-commerceSoftware

ManycompaniesinterestedinsellingproductsandservicesthroughtheInternetchoosetocontracttheconstructionandoperationoftheire-commerceplatformstothird-partyvendors.Someofthesecompanies,suchasGSICommerce(GSIC)andDigitalRiver(DRIV)offercomprehensive,integratedpackagesthatincludesoftware,web-hosting,orderfulfillmentanddistributionandonlinemarketing.OtherfirmsoffermorelimitedservicessuchasAriba(ARBA)andAkamaiTechnologies(AKAM).Thesetwocompaniesaree-commercesoftwarevendorsthatmakemoneysellingsoftwarefore-commerceapplications.Allofthesee-commerceserviceprovidersstandtogainase-commercetrafficaccelerates.

E-commerceisanemergingmodelofsellingandmerchandisingtoolsinwhichbuyersareabletoparticipateinallphaseofapurchasedecision.Theystepthroughtheirbusinessprocesseselectronicallyratherthaninaphysicalstoreorbyphone.Theprocessesine-commerceincludeenablingacustomertoaccessproductinformation,selectitemstheyneedandcompletethefinancingsettlement.

Simplyput,e-commerceistheonlinetransactionofbusiness,featuringlinkedcomputersystemsofthevendor,host,andbuyer.Electronictransactionsinvolvethetransferofownershiporrightstouseagoodorservice.Mostpeoplearefamiliarwithbusiness-to-consumerelectronicbusiness(B2C).CommonillustrationsincludeA,,CompUSA.com,,and.Sinceitisdifferentfromthetraditionaltypeofcommercemostofusareusedto,ittakesanewwayofthinkingtobesuccessful.Inthenearfuture,e-commercewillnotslowdown.Onthecontrary,itwillrapidlygrowaroundtheworld,makingforatrueglobaleconomy.Exercises1.Answerthefollowingquestionaccordingtothetext.(1)Whatistheconceptofe-commerce?

(2)Whatwayise-commerceconcuctedin?(3)Whoinventedonlineshopping?(4)Whatarethebasictypesofe-commerce?(5)Whatisthemainreasonthatalargenumberofwebsitesexistontheweb?

2.TranslatethefollowingtermsorphrasesfromEnglishintoChineseandviceversa:(1)B2C(6)电子资金(2)C2C(7)信用卡(3)B2B(8)网上购物(4)e-commerce(9)零售商(5)WorldWideWeb(10)交易key3.Fillintheblankswiththeinformationgiveninthetext:

(1) ModernelectroniccommercetypicallyusestheWorldWideWebatleastatsomepointinthetransaction'slifecycle,althoughitcan

awiderrangeoftechnologiessuchase-mailaswell.(2) Italsoconsistsoftheexchangeofdatatofacilitatethefinancingandpaymentaspectsofthebusiness

.(3) Onlineshopping,an

componentofelectroniccommerce,wasinventedbyMichaelAldrichintheUK1979.(4) Unliketraditionalsalesin

classifiedadsandauctions,buyersandsellerstypicallynevermeet

.(5) ManycompaniesinterestedinsellingproductsandservicesthroughtheInternetchoosetocontracttheconstructionandoperationoftheire-commerceplatformsto

vendors.key4.Choosethebestonefromtheitemsgivenbelowtocompletethefollowingpassage.

On-linecustomerresearchhasbeen(1)forEuropeanandAmericanmarketsbymarketersandacademics.Whilste-CommerceandtourismdeveloprapidlyinChina,understandingofChineseInternettravellersis(2).Thisarticleinvestigatesfeaturesofthison-linesegment(3)asurveywith634responses.ItaimstoestablishsegmentalinformationandidentifyinfluentialfactorsofeShoppingadoption(4)InternettravellersinChina.Thekeyfindingsincludethatsurveyedlookerswhoareintheagegroupof31–40andthosewholiveinthePearlRiverDeltaare(5)likelytobooktravelon-line.(1)A.conducted B.contracted C.contrasted D.constructed(2)A.demanded B.needed C.orderedD.required(3)A.from B.through C.on D.about(4)A.through B.on C.by D.about(5)A.best B.most C.furtherest D.muchkey5.MarkthefollowingstatementswithT(true)orF(false)accordingtothetext.(1)Mostelectroniccommerceinvolvesthetransportationofphysicalitemsinsomeway.(2)Onlineshopping,wasinventedbymanyEuropeanandAmericanbusinesscompaniesintheendof2000.(3)C2C,B2BandB2Barethethreebasictypesofelectroniccommerce.(4)ManycompaniesinterestedinsellingproductsandservicesthroughtheInternetchoosetocontracttheconstructionandoperationoftheire-commerceplatformstothird-partyvendors.(5)Inthenearfuture,e-commercewillmaybeslowdown.key6.Selecttheoneanswertoeachquestion.(1)Electroniccommerce,isoftenreferredtoas

A.electronicmarketingB.e-commerceC.ecommerceD.alltheabove(2)Onlineshoppingwasinventedin

A.1970s B.1980s C.1990s D.theendof2000(3)Electroniccommerceinvolvestwoparties:businessesand.A.softwareB.consumersC.networkD.Noneoftheabove

(4)

Consumer-to-consumer(C2C)oftentakestheformofanelectronicversionoftheclassifiedadsoran

.A.notice B.messageC.auction D.email(5)E-commercehasopenedawholenewworldtosomekindofperson,excluding

.A.retailersB.wholesalersC.after-salespersonnelD.productdevelopment(6)Theprocessesine-commerceinclude.A.enablingacustomertoaccessproductinformationB.selectitemst