IT & E-COMMERCE

IT & E-Commerce

Information Technology & E-commerce

Introduction

The importance of IT in any given field is of immense importance these days. Studies have revealed that there are a significant number of changes that have occurred in the tourism industry with the integration of IT which have made the business more effectual and speedy. However, those working in the hospitability industry are not making use of the IT system to their full potential has every chance to suffer as they cannot meet the growing competition. E-commerce can be viewed as a complex of measures on realization of goods and services with the help of modern electronic communications. Numerous electronic means of communication such as telegraph, telephone, radio, television and computer networks, has long found use in commercial relations. All these and many other solutions did not lead to the concept of e- commerce; they were only commercial offers scientific and technical progress (Quayle, 2002, pp.1148-1161. Modern commerce differs from traditional commerce that is not a simple resource exchange, performed to meet the current needs of the production or consumption. This is a solid and unbroken set of activities carried out at different stages of the sales process:

Research of the market for goods and services (marketing)

Management of the properties of goods and services (production management)

Notification of the market on the properties of goods and services (advertising)

Preparing the market for use on properties of goods and services (advocacy)

Reception, processing and execution of orders for goods and services (sales management)

Optimization of product flows and inventory (logistics)

Settlements with customers and suppliers (financial management)

After-sales service (maintenance)

The importance of IT in any given field is of immense importance these days. Studies have revealed that there are a significant number of changes that have occurred in the tourism industry with the integration of IT which have made the business more effectual and speedy. However, those working in the hospitability industry are not making use of the IT system to their full potential has every chance to suffer as they cannot meet the growing competition. It is estimated that only about 15-20 percent of people are utilizing the true capability of their systems and incorporating information technology for better execution of the tasks (Melville, 2004, pp.283-322). For instance, the supplier's gets frustrated over the fact that there are sophisticated features available to make things easier and speeding up the processes involved in the tourism and hospitability industry, however people associated with the said industry often take things lightly. For instance, if tourism related website is not using the software, they are missing out a lot of sales and lost profits. The use of hand-held technology in cafés, restaurants and hotels can pave way for better opportunities for a quicker table turn and faster service, etc.

Discussion

E-commerce - it's trading activity, which has the main purpose of making a profit, and is based on the integrated automation of the sales cycle through the use of computer technology. In the "ideal" case of e-commerce allows you to exclude a person from the ...