How E-Commerce can reduce cycle time, improve employees’ empowerment and facilitate customer support?

Nowadays e-commerce plays a great role in reducing cycle time of business transaction, improving employees’ empowerment and facilitating customer support too.

E-Commerce can reduce the cycle time by eliminating steps in business process and take a shorter time to complete a business transaction. The process of middle man and intermediaries will be eliminated and the suppliers or producers of certain products can send products directly to customers. By this, the company can reduce unnecessary cost and gain competitive advantages towards other companies. For example, Dell Corporation which does not use any middle man to complete the transaction will definitely reduce cost incurred that to be added on price paid by customers.

Next, E-commerce can improve employees’ empowerment. It allows the decentralization of decision making and authority via collaborative commerce. It grants power to employees in dealing with process of capturing, researching and leveraging business information. Employee empowerment divided into 3 levels. The first level is encouraging. It encourages employees to play more active roles in their work. Second level is involving which gives employees responsibility for improving the way that things are done. Lastly is the enabling. It gives employees more and bigger decisions making power without referring to seniors or managers. As a result, it will benefit organization in term of getting closer to customers, improving service quality, innovating continuously, increasing productivity and gaining the competitive edge.

Lastly, E-commerce also facilitates customer support by providing a wide range of technological solutions and communication opportunity. It also provides electronic bulletin for customer in order to report fault and dissatisfaction. Customer has direct access to product information updates, and other promotion by visiting the online stores. Through online, it creates an interactive and more easier way for customer to buy the products that they need compared to the traditional stores.

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