The Design And Implementation Of An Online Virtual Marketplace (PDF/DOC)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Insight to Online Marketplace
Online Market, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction’s lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.
A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.
1.2 Historical Overview of Online Marketplace
Over the past decade, there has been an extreme jump in internet sales. For example, in 2006, from November 1st to December 26th online shopping soared to $23.1 billion dollars, increasing by 26% from the previous year. Creating a competitive battle with retail stores, online shopping presents a more convenient method of shopping without the lines and the crowds, however, buying online takes away from the social aspect of shopping. Having recognized the lack of social appeal that e-commerce presents, new navigating tools to ease decision- making are being implemented as a result, people are becoming more comfortable with shopping online. As the pressure from online shopping sites increases, retailers have to focus on better marketing strategies to promote products and influence customers to shop in their stores instead of online. In fact, many retailers are now making their products available online. Thus, a new influx of “click and mortar” retailers are surfacing. The “click and mortar” retailers that provide online shoppers with easy to use features are increasing their online profits and becoming strict competitors to the top online-only companies (ie Amazon and Netflix.
1.3 Statement of Problem
In human endeavor, there is a lot of development which helps to maximize production, income and operation of businesses at Ogbete main market. These have brought increase in complexity of marketing system like B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumers) and its operations.
Based on these, a number of problems are facing the Ogbete main market system which include
Day-to-Day pressures of selling
Coping with customers
Solving basic business problems
Competitions (a new player enters, market conditions changes, sales drops, the company introduces a new products or services).
Most of the leads came from the sales staff.
Unable to recognize previously visited customers
Availability of market (sales and services) to the whole parts of Nigeria
Unstable fixed price
1.4 Objective of the Study
The aim of this study is to design and implement a database driven online virtual marketplace with a particular reference to Ogbete main market. The web based program developed in this research essentially provides all the necessary marketing services and operations done at Ogbete main market which will help increase their operations based on sales and services.
These operations include general sales and marketing management.
In this study therefore, the researchers hope to accomplish the following objective:
To design a better pricing mechanism in the market
To solve the problem of geographical location
To maximize sales
To help improve customer relationship
Increases social interaction activities
Reduces pressures mounted on sellers
Increases management of stock items
Easy shopping
Introduces bidding system
Accommodates more marketers
To improve quality delivery system
1.5 Significances of the Study
Buying and selling is very important to our everyday life, its very important that we humans have to market what we have like goods and services to other people that needs it, also purchase what we are lacking. Marketing is highly regarded everywhere in the whole parts of the world. The following are some significance of this study:
The secured site for electronic commerce will help the populace people of Nigeria to get rid of risk in carrying cash around and the convenience of shopping anytime of the day.
It will reduce the risk of transportation, since the customer does not have to travel far to shop for any items or goods.
It will reduce the risk of authentication of the product and improved business transaction as customers are now sure of the originality of the product they purchased.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This project looks into the processes involved in marketing of goods and services in the marketplace. The researchers concentrated on the operation going on the general marketing activities like sales, management of stocks, pricing and registering of customers, security and policy guiding sales.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
Some of the constraints that my have in one-way or another affected the outcome of this work include:
a) Resources:
Due to the complex and insecurity associated with human factors during this research work, personnel who are used to the manual system perhaps for fear of losing their jobs have been reserved in relinquishing all necessary information to make this project an enticingly extensive one.
b) Time:
Due to time allowed for this project work, as a student was limited to come up with a reasonable work within the stipulated time.
c) Power:
Availability of stable, efficient and reliable power supply was also a major limitation of this project as it had to be suspended several times during design and testing stages.
1.8 The Organisation and Her Environment
Fig 1.0 Organizational structure
1.9 Definition of Terms
E-commerce:
Generally refers to exchange of goods or services over electronic system such as internet.
B2B:
Refers to selling of products or services to other businesses.
B2C:
Refers to selling of product or services to end consumers.
Credit Card:
It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and service from certain establishment.
Merchant:
Refers to as organization (such as an MIT department) accepting credit card payments for the goods or services they provides.
Order:
A record of a request for goods or services initiated by a customer.
Order ID:
A unique identifier assigned to a customer order in clear commerce.
Banner:
An advertisement or image displayed on one or more websites to attract visitors to your site.
Shopping Cart:
A wheeled cart for purchase of goods in a store or supermarket.
5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Summary
As business activities increasingly adopt information technology into their operations, it has become important for them to move their operations and services to a new paradigm by wholly embracing the use of (electronic commerce e-commerce) for handling and processing their transactions. The benefits of such move is substantial and significant in terms of convenience, transaction speed, effectiveness, flexibility, reliability, cost reduction, security among a host of others. Also, since virtual world operations where e-commerce falls are in a continuum, it provides unlimited opportunity for business interaction and helps create instant response by satisfying the unlimited demand of customers for information and services. The deployment of e-commerce solutions to business organizations makes the services offered by staffs very effective and enables customers obtain information in conducive atmosphere without hustle and bustle.
5.2 Conclusion
In Nigeria, electronic commerce (e-commerce) which is a part of information technology is just being embraced and not yet fully utilized. Most business organizations or set-ups of the art equipments need to send their work force on training in order to sati factoring utilize the solutions equipments they have.
The need to have a winning tool to maintain leadership in this current harsh and very competitive business climate can over emphasized, neither can it be undermined. In the past, the possession of appropriate technology was sufficient to confer competitive advantage on business organizations that have them over those that did not, even for normal operations.
Today, however, with the continuing technology breakthrough, coupled with the decline in the longer confers any special advantage any more. What distinguishes a leading business organization from a lagging one is the way and speed with which technology is applied to deliver superior customer services and until e-commerce becomes a natural business partner serving as a twin deliver of value and satisfaction to customers, a business organization will not be able to derive optimum benefits from it. Business organizations need to employ a lot of creativity, right complements of strategies and business processes, people and technology in a sufficiently elastic manner in order to increase profitability and reduce cost while pursuing real growth and this is what e-commerce has come to offer but because many business organization in Nigeria fails short of utilizing his dynamic tool of e-commerce their avenues for profitability and service delivery is underutilized. The time for business in Nigeria to evaluate alternative choices with a special focus one-commerce satisfactions cost reduction, profitability and real growth is now that they faced with the challenge of corporate survival and recognition or never.
5.3 Recommendations
Electronic commerce lets people goods and exchange information on business transaction online. The most popular e-commerce channel is the internet, although the internet’s role as business channel is fairly re cent phenomenon, its impact, financial are otherwise has been substantially greater than that of business channel in existence for several decades. The challenges therefore, is for Nigeria business environment is embrace the business to consumer (B2C) business model where payee can make use of electronic means of communication to sell products or services to consumers, typically using credit cards. This will usher in the use of credit card based purchased in the business scene.
The question is how many Nigerian organizations or individuals have access to internet? The percentage must be low; this could be pragmatic approach to minimize our cash based payment system. Government must create the enabling environment to support e-commerce so that organizations or individuals can afford to have access to the internet. We hope that as Nigeria moves from Government to private driven economy, we shall experience a dramatic change in terms of the provision and access to internet.
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