Consider a scenario in which you have decided to start an online business. Consi
ID: 3680869 • Letter: C
Question
Consider a scenario in which you have decided to start an online business. Consider the hardware, software networks, and databases necessary for you to validate user identity, manage inventory, process requests and transactions, and log user activity that must be logged for billing and marketing services. Then, consider development of the following functionality: Website design Hosting Creation of user profiles and customer files A dynamic and updated multimedia catalog, a fast catalog search engine Shopping cart Credit card processing Shipping and tax calculations E-mail notifications Usage statistics Sales and inventory reports Customer account management Customer support (help menus, tutorials, FAQs, etc.) Servers and power Password protection Encrypted order processing Integration with back-office software Consider which elements of the required functionality listed you would develop in house and which you would outsource. Submit by Day 7 a 3- to 4-page paper that includes the following: A diagram of the hardware, software, network, and database components needed for your hypothetical ecommerce site to ensure the functionality listed in the “To Prepare” area of this Assignment A description of the hardware, software, network, and database components needed for your hypothetical e-commerce site as described in the “To Prepare” area of this Assignment An explanation of which of the functions described in the “To Prepare” area of this Assignment that you would primarily develop in-house and which you would outsource to a web development or hosting company, and why
Explanation / Answer
Hardware ->
External Hard Drive
Desktop Computer
Wireless Router
Network Server Solution
Software
Accounting software
Oracle/ SQL database system
Payment gateway
Security is the key concern for business that provide online access to their users. Certainly, security was on the minds of regulators when they created the FFIEC guidelines about multifactor authentication for depository institutions
Database security entails allowing or disallowing user actions on the database and the objects within it. Oracle uses schemas and security domains to control access to data and to restrict the use of various database resources.Oracle provides comprehensive discretionary access control. Discretionary access control regulates all user access to named objects through privileges. A privilege is permission to access a named object in a prescribed manner; for example, permission to query a table. Privileges are granted to users at the discretion of other users.
Every retailer has to do inventory management, whether on paper, in spreadsheets or using online software. Sometimes this is called inventory control.you might start with a physical store and then expand to a website, or selling on eBay or Amazon. This is another reason why you should choose your inventory management system with care:
Centralize
If the data for all your sales channels is in one place, it's much easier to analyze it.
Simplify
Multiple systems for several sales channels make it much harder to keep track of your business. If you're not careful, the extra overhead can eat into your profits. It's better to have one system for all channels.
Share
It's useful to be able to share data from different sales channels with your staff. Good inventory control software will let you do this with ease.
It only makes sense to expand into new sales channels if doing so will increase your profits. Adding a new layer of complexity for each new sales channel is not the way to go. So make sure your inventory management system can handle new sales channels.
Integrate your systems
The last thing any retailer wants to do is enter the same sales information into several different systems. Fortunately, you don't have to.It's now possible to tie many retailing systems together.
Cloud computing technology lets you join together the following systems and access them from anywhere, at any time:
Inventory management
Accounting
E-commerce
Point of sale
Analytics
Social media management.
This can save you time and money. For example, when a sale goes through your e-commerce system it could be tracked by your POS, recorded in your accounts and logged in your inventory control system. Meanwhile, analytics tools will show you where the sale came from – perhaps via your social media activity.A complete online system always has the advantage when you compare it to manual daily sales reconciliation or entering numbers into a spreadsheet. And there's less margin for error, too. People make mistakes when typing in lots of numbers – that's
less likely to happen when you integrate all your systems.
This kind of integration was much harder before the days of cloud computing, so only large retailers could afford it. Now it's accessible to small businesses too.For online business best ways to learn about your retail business is by looking at reports. Good inventory management software will incorporate analytical tools that tell you everything you need:Following task done by reports.
Get the data
Access accurate, real-time sales data across all your sales channels and outlets.
See the detail
Be able to drill down into customer groups, product types and individual orders.
Find the star products
Identify your best-selling (and worst-selling) products, so you can order more of the right items.
Set alerts
Low stock warnings can be configured at levels you specify, to reduce the risk of overselling.
Run cost comparisons
See the results of average unit cost calculations – across several suppliers.
Create reorders
Automated reordering notification will help you simplify stock control.
All this can be accessible from a laptop, tablet or other mobile device, so you can check the figures whenever you like. You’ll be able to make better and faster decisions and focus on areas of growth that offer the best returns.