chapter 6 intra-business e-commerce copyright © 2003, addison-wesley internal communication...

Chapter 6

Intra-Business E-Commerce

Copyright © 2003, Addison-Wesley

Internal Communication

Historically, paper Updating a paper procedures manual

Outdated material Numerous misunderstandings Some legal actions

B2E e-commerce Maintain online – Web site

Intra-business e-commerce more general (commonly known as an Intranet)


Figure 6.1 Miami University’s online publications and policies.


B2C vs. Intra-business E-commerce

Consumer oriented B2C Revolutionary Aggressive and risky First movers

Intra-business and B2B Evolutionary Methodical In business context


Figure 6.3 The value chain.

Inboundlogistics

Productionprocesses

Outboundlogistics

Sales andmarketing

Customerservice

Information technology infrastructure

Upstream Downstream

The key to intra-business e-commerce is improving value chain efficiency.


Efficiency and Effectiveness

Objective: reduce operating costs Efficiency gains

Within individual processes Across the value chain

Efficiency-based competitive advantage Hidden from public view Relatively easy to sustain


Figure 6.6 The organizational pyramid.

Before computers, companies organized along functional lines.

Functional groups exchanged paperwork.

Early computer applications supported a single function.

CEO

OperationsMarketing &

SalesCFO CIO

Production

Purchasing

Warehouse

Distribution

Productdevelopment

Sales

Advertising

Marketresearch

Accounting

Payroll

Auditing

Finance

Personnel

Operations

Databaseadministrator

Systems &programming


Figure 6.7 A manual payroll system.

Payroll was done manually until at least the late 1950s.

Collecttimesheets

Recordtimesheets

Compilepayroll

Preparechecks

Deliverchecks


Figure 6.8 Automating selected processes made payroll more efficient.

Automate expensive processes first Compile payroll Prepare (print) paychecks

Automate remaining manual processes next

Record timesheets Objective—process optimization.

Recordtimesheets

Compilepayroll

Printchecks


Figure 6.9 Islands of automation.

Other functional groups

Sales Accounting Purchasing Inventory Production

Independent fiefdoms

Office political base Sub-optimization

Island ASales

Island BPayroll

Island CInventory

Island DAccountsrecievable

Island EBilling

Sales report

A/R report

Sales report

Sales report

Bills


Incompatibilities

Hardware, software, and data Data redundancy was a major

problem Same data stored in multiple files Independently maintained Values differed Data formats differed

Solution – central database


New Approaches to System Development

Information system planning Elevated to strategic level

Information technology infrastructure Basic blueprint for technology integration Enterprise data model (EDM)

Business process reengineering Process improvements in context

Problem – legacy applications


Figure 6.13 The three types of web information system logic.

What is the best computer for each logical step? The client The server

Presentation logic

Business logic

Information logic

Format and display dataAccept user input

Enforce business rulesControl application

Store and retrieve data


Figure 6.14 Options for partitioning client/server application logic.

An application can be partitioned in any of these ways.

Business Business Business

Business Business Business

Presentation

Data Data Data Data Data

Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentation

Data


Figure 6.15 The logic necessary to perform two different tasks.

Data/information Retrieve and return desired pageRecord orderRead quantity on handAccess accounts receivable

Business None Error-check form dataValidate product stockCalculate taxes and totalCheck customer credit

Presentation Identify desired pageDisplay page

Display online order formDisplay order acknowledgement

Logic Surf the Web Order Entry


Partitioning Order Entry


Partitioning Order Entry

Client Display online

order form Display order

acknowledgement Error-check form

data

Server Record order Read quantity on

hand Access A/R Validate stock Check credit

Either – Calculate taxes and total


Fat and Thin Clients

Thin client application Server does most of the work Web surfing

Fat client application Client does more of the work

Administrative costs Fat clients mean multiple copies Fat clients mean multiple versions


Figure 6.16 A comparison of fat and thin clients.

Issue Fat clients Thin clientsClient size Large (to handle

workload).Smaller. Often, browser only.

Server size Small. Limited workload.Must be flexible for two-tier.

Larger. Bulk of workload.Specialized servers in N-tier.

Network traffic Heavy. Pass information to support business logic.

Light. Pass results of business logic.

Application complexity

Light. Canned middleware.

Complex because of additional middleware.

Application maintenance

Heavy. Code installed and maintained on each client.

Limited software on client.Most application code on server.

Ease of use Difficult. Each application has own user interface.

Better. Common user interface.


Figure 6.17 A two-tier client/server application.

Maintenance problem Multiple copies of

software on multiple clients

Development problem Multiple client platforms

Middleware

ServerData/information logic

Fat clientsPresentation logicBusiness logic


Figure 6.19 Enterprise application integration.

Objective: coordinate all applications, databases, and info technologies.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Means of implementing the EAI principle

Purchasedapplications

New and oldclient/serverapplications

EAI Web basedapplications

Legacyapplications


Web Information System Services

Application server software A server for middleware Scalable platform

Application service provider (ASP) Intermediary that supplies applications Including mission-critical applications

Management service provider (MSP) Intermediary that manages IT services


Corporate Intranets Private corporate network Uses standard Internet protocols

TCP/IP HTML and HTTP Browser and Web server

Internet and intranet differences Intranet is smaller in scope Intranet limited to organization’s

employees


Figure 6.20 A first generation intranet.

First generation—static content

Policy and procedure manuals

Corporate phone directories Benefits information Corporate newsletters Job postings Product information Corporate expertise Meeting minutes Project status

Content management Centralized

Technical expert Decentralized

Content expert Hybrid approach

Software available


Figure 6.21 A second generation intranet.

Second generation—interactive applications

Benefits selection Expense reporting Project administration Inventory levels Production scheduling Online training Groupware (collaborative

support) Legacy front ends Database access Customer support Web information systems

Web information systems

Thin client, N-tier applications

Legacy systems linked via middleware

Mission critical apps Intranet is mission critical

Groupware Platform for enterprise

application integration


Figure 6.22 Encasing a legacy message in a TCP/IP wrapper allows a legacy application to communicate with the intranet.

Legacy message

Legacy application

TCP/IPwrapper

Legacy message

Company intranet

Middleware

Company intranet


Figure 6.23 Some examples of groupware.

E-mail Scheduling and calendars Whiteboarding Chat rooms and bulletin boards Video conferencing Electronic meetings Document management Workflow management Collaborative writing Group decision support systems


Security and Recovery Services

Intranet access control essential Mission-critical applications Confidential information Security a necessary element

Disaster recovery Backup Database replication Workload distribution


Geographically Dispersed Value Chains

Value chain more complex Options

Secure private network Value added network Public network (e.g., Internet) Virtual private network

Security Firewalls User identification Authentication

chapter 6 intra-business e-commerce copyright © 2003, addison-wesley internal communication...

Documents

business context figure

results of business

manual payroll system

logic necessary

multiple copiesfat clients

value chain efficiency

multiple versionsfigure

value chainefficiency