Integrating e-commerce standards and initiatives in a multi-layered ontology

The proliferation of different standards and joint initiatives for the classification of products and services (UNSPSC, e-cl@ss, RosettaNet, NAICS, SCTG, etc.) reveals that B2B markets have not reached a consensus on the coding systems, on the level of detail of their descriptions, on their granularity, etc. This paper shows how these standards and initiatives, which are built to cover different needs and functionalities, can be integrated in an ontology using a common multi-layered knowledge architecture. This multi-layered ontology will provide a shared understanding of the domain for applications of e-commerce, allowing the information sharing between heterogeneous systems. We will present a method for designing ontologies from these information sources by automatically transforming, integrating and enriching the existing vocabularies with the WebODE platform. As an illustration, we show an example on the computer domain, presenting the relationships between UNSPSC, e-cl@ss, RosettaNet and an electronic catalogue from an e-commerce platform

Information architecture design of mobile commerce platforms

Głównym celem dysertacji jest opracowanie autorskiej metody projektowania architektury informacji platform m-commerce. W pierwszych rozdziałach opisano charakterystykę zjawiska handlu elektronicznego oraz zestawiono czynniki determinujące jego rozwój w wymiarze tradycyjnym oraz mobilnym. W kolejnych rozdziałach przedstawiono składowe architektury informacji i metodyki projektowania systemów informatycznych oraz przeanalizowano możliwość ich wykorzystania w kontekście systemów m-commerce. Przeprowadzono i opisano dwa badania – analizę ex post systemów m-commerce oraz weryfikację wyciągniętych na jej podstawie wniosków w badaniu eksperckim, co pozwoliło na finalne sformułowanie wytycznych do propozycji autorskiej metody projektowania architektury informacji w systemach m-commerce.The main goal of the thesis is to develop the author’s method of designing information architecture of m-commerce platforms. The first chapters contains main characteristics of electronic commerce, as well as determinants of influence on its growth, both in traditional and mobile channel. The following chapters concerns main components of information architecture, methods of the information systems development and the possibilities of their implementation in m-commerce projects. Two main researches were conducted and described: ex post analysis of m-commerce systems and verification of the drawn conlusions in expert research. Both analyses allowed to formulate the group of best practices for the author’s method of designing information architecture of m-commerce systems

UTP Online Bookstore System

As the world's knowledge is increasingly being published or converted into an ecommerce form, one of the greatest challenges is designing systems that enable users to find what they need. Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Nowadays, people are getting busier and even busier and so they have limited time to go to the bookstore to find and buy the desired books. So, it will be much better to have an online bookstore in UTP to ease the users and to save time as well. Basically, Online Bookstore is purposely going to be developed because of some objectives which are to ease the users, to save time, to enable user to search the information of the books at anytime and anywhere they wish and also to make these materials more broadly, quickly and efficiently accessible Basically, to make things done, a lot of things need to be considered especially in integrating the system with the database. In order to do that, the system must be connected to the database. The methodology applied for this project is The Waterfall Development Methodology which involved 4 different steps which are Planning & Problem Definition, Information Gathering & Research, Design, Building Application, and last but not least is Testing. As a conclusion, in developing this system, a lot ofthings need to be done especially to understand the concepts of mobile application, how to connect to database and how to fix the error or any problems that occurred

Making XML Pay: Revising Existing Electronic Payments Law to Accommodate Innovation

Many businesses today are rushing to embrace e-Business technologies in a mad scramble to remain competitive. Only a few years ago, simply using email instead of faxes or phone calls, converting a purchasing system to EDI technology, or building a corporate Web site might have seemed like important advances in the use of new information technologies. Businesses are now moving beyond such electronic commerce technologies and trying to integrate their disparate information systems and business processes into a comprehensive new e-Business structure. At the heart of this new model for business organization is the idea that information and resources should be able to flow to where they are most needed at a moment\u27s notice. Such fluidity in access and control over information and resources is very difficult to achieve in traditional hierarchical corporate organizations. By adopting new technologies, including XML, businesses can set up a more flexible, decentralized form of organization that can be more nimble in recognizing and responding to changing market conditions. The assimilation of these and other electronic commerce technologies into established businesses permits those businesses to provide goods and services to existing customers more efficiently. For example, General Electric, one of the world\u27s largest diversified manufacturing companies, has used electronic commerce technologies to reduce the amount of time required to process purchase orders and to reduce the cost paid for materials by using a secure Internet site to link customers and suppliers to manufacturing resource planning software. Efficiencies of this type are generally referred to as a function of supply chain reengineering when they take place in traditional manufacturing industries between purchasers and vendors, or value chain reengineering when the same type of efficiencies are sought more generally throughout more diverse types of organization and industries. eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a new standard that governs the way information is organized and exchanged. Use of the XML standard in organizing the information businesses need to conduct business would permit greater use of electronic searching technologies to identify potential trading partners, greater use of automated processes in negotiating the terms of transactions, and greater automation in tracking the execution and fulfillment of transactions after deals are struck. A major stumbling block on the path to realizing the e-Business model is the difficulty most businesses face when trying to integrate electronic payment processes into other business processes. Financial transactions normally need to be controlled with more rigorous security procedures than other transactions. Financial markets were early adopters of electronic communications technologies, and as a result have a huge installed base of older technologies that are very reliable and stable. These legacy computer systems, however, integrate poorly with newer Internet based systems developed for other business processes. As a result, most businesses in the United States still rely heavily on paper checks as their primary payment device, even for transactions entered into electronically. The adoption of XML standards by retail merchants and financial service providers will create new risks and opportunities for consumers using electronic funds transfers. In consumer markets, one challenge posed by the adoption of new technologies such as XML is designing appropriate human-computer interfaces rather than achieving interoperability among existing computer systems. In addition, new technologies will facilitate greater reliance by consumers on new automated contracting processes such as electronic agent software. Unlike the law that governs business-to-business electronic funds transfers, the law and regulations governing consumer electronic funds transfers often reflect anachronistic models of technology and consumer protection. Since the mid-1990s, federal regulations governing consumer electronic funds transfers have been under review and are in the process of being updated. It is possible that even very recent revisions may soon appear anachronistic in light of the rapid pace of innovation in business processes. Regulators should not focus on preserving the form of existing consumer protection regulations, but on advancing their underlying objective of consumer empowerment in new environments. The development of new user interfaces for payments products should include information that helps consumers understand the functional differences between different forms of electronic payments, and the different risks that may be associated with each. Consumers, consumer advocates, and regulators will need to contribute to the standard-setting processes to make sure that the concerns and preferences of consumers are reflected in standards that gain widespread acceptance

Making XML Pay: Revising Existing Electronic Payments Law to Accommodate Innovation

Many businesses today are rushing to embrace e-Business technologies in a mad scramble to remain competitive. Only a few years ago, simply using email instead of faxes or phone calls, converting a purchasing system to EDI technology, or building a corporate Web site might have seemed like important advances in the use of new information technologies. Businesses are now moving beyond such electronic commerce technologies and trying to integrate their disparate information systems and business processes into a comprehensive new e-Business structure. At the heart of this new model for business organization is the idea that information and resources should be able to flow to where they are most needed at a moment\u27s notice. Such fluidity in access and control over information and resources is very difficult to achieve in traditional hierarchical corporate organizations. By adopting new technologies, including XML, businesses can set up a more flexible, decentralized form of organization that can be more nimble in recognizing and responding to changing market conditions. The assimilation of these and other electronic commerce technologies into established businesses permits those businesses to provide goods and services to existing customers more efficiently. For example, General Electric, one of the world\u27s largest diversified manufacturing companies, has used electronic commerce technologies to reduce the amount of time required to process purchase orders and to reduce the cost paid for materials by using a secure Internet site to link customers and suppliers to manufacturing resource planning software. Efficiencies of this type are generally referred to as a function of supply chain reengineering when they take place in traditional manufacturing industries between purchasers and vendors, or value chain reengineering when the same type of efficiencies are sought more generally throughout more diverse types of organization and industries. eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a new standard that governs the way information is organized and exchanged. Use of the XML standard in organizing the information businesses need to conduct business would permit greater use of electronic searching technologies to identify potential trading partners, greater use of automated processes in negotiating the terms of transactions, and greater automation in tracking the execution and fulfillment of transactions after deals are struck. A major stumbling block on the path to realizing the e-Business model is the difficulty most businesses face when trying to integrate electronic payment processes into other business processes. Financial transactions normally need to be controlled with more rigorous security procedures than other transactions. Financial markets were early adopters of electronic communications technologies, and as a result have a huge installed base of older technologies that are very reliable and stable. These legacy computer systems, however, integrate poorly with newer Internet based systems developed for other business processes. As a result, most businesses in the United States still rely heavily on paper checks as their primary payment device, even for transactions entered into electronically. The adoption of XML standards by retail merchants and financial service providers will create new risks and opportunities for consumers using electronic funds transfers. In consumer markets, one challenge posed by the adoption of new technologies such as XML is designing appropriate human-computer interfaces rather than achieving interoperability among existing computer systems. In addition, new technologies will facilitate greater reliance by consumers on new automated contracting processes such as electronic agent software. Unlike the law that governs business-to-business electronic funds transfers, the law and regulations governing consumer electronic funds transfers often reflect anachronistic models of technology and consumer protection. Since the mid-1990s, federal regulations governing consumer electronic funds transfers have been under review and are in the process of being updated. It is possible that even very recent revisions may soon appear anachronistic in light of the rapid pace of innovation in business processes. Regulators should not focus on preserving the form of existing consumer protection regulations, but on advancing their underlying objective of consumer empowerment in new environments. The development of new user interfaces for payments products should include information that helps consumers understand the functional differences between different forms of electronic payments, and the different risks that may be associated with each. Consumers, consumer advocates, and regulators will need to contribute to the standard-setting processes to make sure that the concerns and preferences of consumers are reflected in standards that gain widespread acceptance

The display of electronic commerce within virtual environments

In today’s competitive business environment, the majority of companies are expected to be represented on the Internet in the form of an electronic commerce site. In an effort to keep up with current business trends, certain aspects of interface design such as those related to navigation and perception may be overlooked. For instance, the manner in which a visitor to the site might perceive the information displayed or the ease with which they navigate through the site may not be taken into consideration. This paper reports on the evaluation of the electronic commerce sites of three different companies, focusing specifically on the human factors issues such as perception and navigation. Heuristic evaluation, the most popular method for investigating user interface design, is the technique employed to assess each of these sites. In light of the results from the analysis of the evaluation data, virtual environments are suggested as a way of improving the navigation and perception display constraints