E-business Systems
E-business is the business in which Internet, network technologies and information technologies are used to support commerce, enterprise communications and collaborations and business processes both inside and outside the organization. The term e-business is coined by Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM. Many companies are using cross-functional enterprise systems to improve core business processes all across the enterprise. The cross-functional enterprise systems are considered as a strategic way of using Information technology to share information and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the business processes; develop relationships with customers, suppliers and business partners. These cross-functional enterprise systems are developed with the view of supporting all the parties of the business processes of a business.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP), Customer relationship management (CRM), Supply Chain management (SCM), Knowledge management (KM) are examples of the enterprise systems. All of these enterprise systems support business processes spanning multiple functional units or departments of the organization. ERP focuses on improving efficiency of the firm’s internal production, distribution and financial processes. Customer relationship management (CRM) concentrates on acquiring and retaining loyal, profitable customers via marketing and sales processes. Supply Chain management focuses managing and maintaining relationship with most efficient and effective suppliers. Knowledge management helps to manage knowledge, information existing within the organization, employees and helps employees to work in group easily.
The cross-functional enterprise systems may be developed by different vendors or may be developed using different platform, programming languages. So, in order to make communication between different cross-functional enterprise systems, Enterprise application Integration (EAI) software will be required. EAI provides middleware for data conversion, coordination, communication and messaging services; middleware mediates two separate programs.
Transaction Processing System (TPS) helps to collect data. Transactions are events like selling products, buying products, withdrawing money, depositing money, etc. For organizations it is necessary to capture data about customers, products, services, employees. The transaction processing activities capture and process data for the continuity of the business. TPS is a vital system for supporting the operations of most companies.
Transaction Processing Cycle includes following steps
Enterprise collaboration systems (ECSs) are cross-functional systems for enhancing communications, coordination and collaboration among different members of teams and workgroups. These systems help to communicate ideas, share documents, data and coordinate tasks among different people.
Functional business systems support functions of account, finance, marketing, operations management, human resource management. Information systems can be categorized based on the business functions they support. To understand use of information system categorized according to business functions, it is necessary to understand the business functions first; then how information systems affect a particular business function.
Marketing is concerned with planning, promotion and sale of services and products in the markets; develop new products and search for new market, customers. The marketing information systems provide technologies to support major components of the marketing function. The major technologies of marketing information system are:
Manufacturing information systems (ManuFS) support and manage the functions related with the process of producing products and services. The manufacturing information system helps to plan, monitor, control inventories, purchases, and flow of the goods and services within the organization and also outside of the organization. A ManuFS is used to support computer-Integrated manufacturing (CIM). The goal of CIM and ManuFS are to create a flexible, agile manufacturing processes to produce products of the best quality. CIM emphasizes that the use of computer-based system in the manufacturing must:
Human Resource Management (HRM) function involves recruitment, placement, evaluation and development of the employees of an organization. It helps to manage human resource effectively and efficiently. The human resource information system (HRIS) supports:
Accounting systems record and report business transactions and other economic activities of the organization; it records and reports the flow of funds through the organization in time sequence and product vital financial statements such as balance sheets and income statements.
Financial management system supports managers and professionals in decision making process concerning: