A Conceptual Model of E-Commerce Sale Service for Manufacturing Industry

The Internet has become more and more important in connecting companies and customers. In this paper, we will analyze the e-commerce in manufacturing industry as an example to form a conceptual model of e-commerce sale service. E-commerce based on Internet offers manufacturers a new way to market their products and interact with end-consumers. For the first time, manufacturers can, through the Internet, intermediate traditional players in the distribution chain and in addition to selling products, provide services to online customers. This paper analyses two aspects of B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce from a manufacturer's perspective. First, it presents the manufacturer's traditional value chain and how the Internet permeates its activities. With the comparison of the past, present and future manufacturer's value chain, we found the e-commerce in manufactures become a strategic tool for the future growth of a manufacturer's business. Second, we propose a conceptual model of e-commerce sale service which based on information lifecycle management (ILM) for manufacturing companies and discuss related business and management issues. The model comprise of pre-sales service (made of information, product development and offer comparison), transactions (commercial and financial), physical order fulfillment and after-sales service.