E-commerce And Bottled Water
- Commerce is coming of age with millions of new customers
from internet sales for a wide variety of products. Advances in
web site design, payment mechanisms and delivery systems have
met the increased demand for online ordering.
With the advent of on-line ordering firms like Amazon and
E-Bay, what started out as a small business has morphed into a
multi-billion dollar industry. The key to success in the field
of E Commerce is the offering of high quality products coupled
with state of the art technology to ensure ease of ordering and
secure payment mechanisms.
The bottled water industry is an ideal beneficiary of
e-commerce technology because of the large number of customers
served and the frequency of transactions and purchases.
E-commerce Defined
E-commerce is similar to other forms of commerce except that
it involves the buying and selling of goods over the Internet.
E-commerce sites range from a simple web page highlighting a
single item to dynamic fully developed on-line catalogs
featuring thousands of products. The common theme and benefit
in e-commerce sites is instant purchase, instant payment (if
desired) and instant gratification for the customer.
Over the years, the e-commerce web has blossomed into a
multi-billion dollar industry yearly, with significant growth
projected over the next 5 years.
A defining characteristic is that all ecommerce web sites
accept a type of online payment, whether through a third party
or directly with a merchant account.
E-commerce: The Wave of the Future
The internet is changing world view of shoppers. Instant
gratification is a reality Utilizing e-commerce allows
customers the ability to quickly take delivery of the goods
they require and desire. In addition, the Internet is perhaps
the best sales tool ever invented as it allows customers to
browse endlessly in privacy. They can return and order again
and again without ever leaving their home.
Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before all
sales-oriented companies will have some sort of e-commerce
presence in order to remain competitive and the development of
software and tools to improve the productivity of e-commerce
sites remains strong. As more and better technology is
developed, e-commerce will greatly expand.
Secure Payment and SSL(Secure Socket Layer): The Heart of the
System
SSL(Secure Socket Layer) has been the de facto standard and
heart of the system for e-commerce transaction security, and
it's likely to remain so well into the future.
SSL is based on encryption. SSL encrypts data, like credit
cards numbers (as well other personally identifiable
information), which prevents unauthorized use. An SSL protected
page is identified when the address begins with "https" and
there is a padlock icon at the bottom of the page.
SSL Certificates
The SSL certificate resides on a secure server and is used to
encrypt the data and to identify the Web site. The SSL
certificate also helps to prove the site belongs to who it says
it belongs to and contains information about the certificate
holder, the domain that the certificate was issued to, the name
of the Certificate Authority who issued the certificate, the
root and the country it was issued in.
In general, e-commerce users are urged to avoid sites that
fail to use and display proof of SSL Certificates.
The Bottled Water Industry and E-commerce
The bottled water business is actually two lines of business:
Local delivery water and private labeled water and each is an
important subset of the total business.
Local delivery water is defined geographically and usually
comprises rental or sales of coolers and delivery of 5-gallon
and small package (12, 16.5 and 20 oz.) bottles to customers
located within a limited distance from the water source. This
business includes a customer base of consumers and businesses
in the defined geographic area who take periodic delivery of
water.
The key to success in this line of business is the production
and efficient delivery of the highest quality pure water.
Private labeled water involves the development and production
of high quality custom labels with a clear branding message.
This line of business is national in scope and includes a
strong element of branding and advertising. The key to success
in this line of business is the design and production of a
label of the highest quality with a clear branding message.
Each line of business has different requirements for
e-commerce.
For the local delivery business, establishing and meeting
delivery schedules is critical with the most advanced sites
offering delivery programs that offer the customer choice of
delivery schedules and the ability to modify deliveries as
conditions warrant.
For the private labeled line of business design flexibility in
the form of interactive tools for the development, proofing and
production of labels is critical. Another critical aspect of the
private labeled line of business is fast and cost effective
delivery through national carriers.
A Culture of Customer Service
The best e-commerce site will not produce results without
support of an effective customer service organization.
E-commerce tools and capabilities must be complemented by a
customer service culture that includes rapid customer feed
back, human (as opposed to voice mail and e-mail) interaction
and clear communication. It is presently impossible to totally
remove the human element from e-commerce and the human element
is a critical part of the customer satisfaction process.
Best and Powerful Features
There are many varieties of e-commerce sites ranging from the
simplest static site that offers very limited features to full
featured dynamic sites based upon the latest database
technology and access. No matter what the level of technology
however, the site should combine ease of use with the most
powerful features available. An effective bottled water
e-commerce site should include the following minimum features.
General Features
Multiple-Recipient Ordering (allows multiple user shipments in
a single transaction)
No Shopping Cart "Shoving" (gives the user maximum flexibility
before check-out)
Login Systems for Wholesale and Retail Customers (with
remembered billing and recipient party data)
Code Maturity (provides for reliability and stability of the
site)
Future Arrival Date Provisions (mandatory for scheduling
deliveries and shipments)
Order History and Fast Loading of Orders
Automatic Shipping for Retail and Wholesale Accounts
Private Label Features
Interactive and Customer Friendly Label Configurator (allows
user
development of labels and artwork)
Proofing Capability (allows the user to repeatedly review
label design before purchase)
from internet sales for a wide variety of products. Advances in
web site design, payment mechanisms and delivery systems have
met the increased demand for online ordering.
With the advent of on-line ordering firms like Amazon and
E-Bay, what started out as a small business has morphed into a
multi-billion dollar industry. The key to success in the field
of E Commerce is the offering of high quality products coupled
with state of the art technology to ensure ease of ordering and
secure payment mechanisms.
The bottled water industry is an ideal beneficiary of
e-commerce technology because of the large number of customers
served and the frequency of transactions and purchases.
E-commerce Defined
E-commerce is similar to other forms of commerce except that
it involves the buying and selling of goods over the Internet.
E-commerce sites range from a simple web page highlighting a
single item to dynamic fully developed on-line catalogs
featuring thousands of products. The common theme and benefit
in e-commerce sites is instant purchase, instant payment (if
desired) and instant gratification for the customer.
Over the years, the e-commerce web has blossomed into a
multi-billion dollar industry yearly, with significant growth
projected over the next 5 years.
A defining characteristic is that all ecommerce web sites
accept a type of online payment, whether through a third party
or directly with a merchant account.
E-commerce: The Wave of the Future
The internet is changing world view of shoppers. Instant
gratification is a reality Utilizing e-commerce allows
customers the ability to quickly take delivery of the goods
they require and desire. In addition, the Internet is perhaps
the best sales tool ever invented as it allows customers to
browse endlessly in privacy. They can return and order again
and again without ever leaving their home.
Most experts agree that it is only a matter of time before all
sales-oriented companies will have some sort of e-commerce
presence in order to remain competitive and the development of
software and tools to improve the productivity of e-commerce
sites remains strong. As more and better technology is
developed, e-commerce will greatly expand.
Secure Payment and SSL(Secure Socket Layer): The Heart of the
System
SSL(Secure Socket Layer) has been the de facto standard and
heart of the system for e-commerce transaction security, and
it's likely to remain so well into the future.
SSL is based on encryption. SSL encrypts data, like credit
cards numbers (as well other personally identifiable
information), which prevents unauthorized use. An SSL protected
page is identified when the address begins with "https" and
there is a padlock icon at the bottom of the page.
SSL Certificates
The SSL certificate resides on a secure server and is used to
encrypt the data and to identify the Web site. The SSL
certificate also helps to prove the site belongs to who it says
it belongs to and contains information about the certificate
holder, the domain that the certificate was issued to, the name
of the Certificate Authority who issued the certificate, the
root and the country it was issued in.
In general, e-commerce users are urged to avoid sites that
fail to use and display proof of SSL Certificates.
The Bottled Water Industry and E-commerce
The bottled water business is actually two lines of business:
Local delivery water and private labeled water and each is an
important subset of the total business.
Local delivery water is defined geographically and usually
comprises rental or sales of coolers and delivery of 5-gallon
and small package (12, 16.5 and 20 oz.) bottles to customers
located within a limited distance from the water source. This
business includes a customer base of consumers and businesses
in the defined geographic area who take periodic delivery of
water.
The key to success in this line of business is the production
and efficient delivery of the highest quality pure water.
Private labeled water involves the development and production
of high quality custom labels with a clear branding message.
This line of business is national in scope and includes a
strong element of branding and advertising. The key to success
in this line of business is the design and production of a
label of the highest quality with a clear branding message.
Each line of business has different requirements for
e-commerce.
For the local delivery business, establishing and meeting
delivery schedules is critical with the most advanced sites
offering delivery programs that offer the customer choice of
delivery schedules and the ability to modify deliveries as
conditions warrant.
For the private labeled line of business design flexibility in
the form of interactive tools for the development, proofing and
production of labels is critical. Another critical aspect of the
private labeled line of business is fast and cost effective
delivery through national carriers.
A Culture of Customer Service
The best e-commerce site will not produce results without
support of an effective customer service organization.
E-commerce tools and capabilities must be complemented by a
customer service culture that includes rapid customer feed
back, human (as opposed to voice mail and e-mail) interaction
and clear communication. It is presently impossible to totally
remove the human element from e-commerce and the human element
is a critical part of the customer satisfaction process.
Best and Powerful Features
There are many varieties of e-commerce sites ranging from the
simplest static site that offers very limited features to full
featured dynamic sites based upon the latest database
technology and access. No matter what the level of technology
however, the site should combine ease of use with the most
powerful features available. An effective bottled water
e-commerce site should include the following minimum features.
General Features
Multiple-Recipient Ordering (allows multiple user shipments in
a single transaction)
No Shopping Cart "Shoving" (gives the user maximum flexibility
before check-out)
Login Systems for Wholesale and Retail Customers (with
remembered billing and recipient party data)
Code Maturity (provides for reliability and stability of the
site)
Future Arrival Date Provisions (mandatory for scheduling
deliveries and shipments)
Order History and Fast Loading of Orders
Automatic Shipping for Retail and Wholesale Accounts
Private Label Features
Interactive and Customer Friendly Label Configurator (allows
user
development of labels and artwork)
Proofing Capability (allows the user to repeatedly review
label design before purchase)
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