EVALUATING USE OF E-COMMERCE IN A BRICK AND CLICK ORGANIZATION THAT Essay

EVALUATING USE OF E-COMMERCE IN A BRICK AND CLICK ORGANIZATION THAT BALANCES ECOMMERCE WITH A CONTINUED HIGH STREET PRESENCE - Essay Example Virtual organizations conduct all their business operations on the internet. On the other hand, brick and click organizations rely on e-commerce to carry out some business activities although this is only adopted as an additional marketing channel. As more and more businesses target at increasing their potential buyers and sales bases, they are making migration from brick-to-click technology. According to Hensman et al., (2001, p. 237), the most important development that has occurred recently in the business world is the adoption of e-commerce. E-commerce refers to a process of selling, buying, exchanging or transferring products and services through computer networks. E-commerce has revolutionized the way organizations conduct business and opened up new opportunities. E-commerce is used by businesses for electronically processing orders, dealing with customer service and enhancing the relationship with distributors and suppliers. Businesses that are not seeking to adopt e-commerce risk of being overtaken by competitors that utilize such technology (Hensman et al., 2001, p. 237). E-commerce is conducted using intranets, internet or extranets and other support technologies. Nevertheless, e-commerce comes with security risks which organizations should understand and manage them. The paper will evaluate the use of e-commerce by Tesco Company which is an example of a brick and click organization to improve business operations. ... Some of the nonfood products sold by the Tesco Company include clothing and electronics (De Toni and Tonchia, 2003, p. 947). The retail also offers various services such as entertainment and insurance. Tesco also has branches in other different countries such as China, Hungary, US and Thailand and employs more than 440,000 people globally. The company has been able to remain ahead of its competitors by employing different strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, expansion and reliance on technology. The success of the company may also be attributable to strong leadership and innovation (De Toni and Tonchia, 2003, p. 950). One of the most notable developments by Tesco happened in 2000 when Tesco.com was launched. In 2001, the Chief Executive of the Tesco acknowledged that e-commerce is a major development to the company which helped change the relationship between the company and its customers. Tesco.com is among the best online shopping systems globally as the website is able to tak e more than 70, 000 orders weekly. The websites helped change the purchasing behaviors of customers as they do not have to physically get to the stores to buy their groceries. The website essentially offers customers the benefit of shopping from the convenience of their homes and to have their products delivered there (Palmer, 2004, p. 1075). When ordering online, customers can have their products delivered the next day or they can even order 28 days prior to the delivery. Tesco has further developed an online system to allow customers to make purchase from their Smart-phones. This is a form of e-commerce known referred as the mobile commerce