Shopping cart specifications II

Differentiate between software systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, Business-to-Business e-commerce programs and Supply-Chain Management (SCM) software.

CRM is a software system which is utilised by an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team (Williams 2009). Most likely, CRM would be accessed by the internal users including management, sales team and marketing department.

SCM software is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. The ultimate goal of an effective supply chain management system is to maintain inventory tothe "Just-fit" level (TechTarget 2009). Since the whole supply-chain process is involved a few parties, SCM software will need to be accessed by those parties as well.

B2B e-commerce model is highly adopted in SCM system. This is because it requires every company in the supply chain to move quickly to process an order from a company which follows it in the chain and the old practices could no longer cope with the demands of the supply chain process. The stakeholders of the supply chain understand that they need to drop the old practices, (i.e. elimination of waste bureaucracy and indirect connections between companies). Instead, they require to get the online information and place orders within minutes. The volume of transactions is growing exponentially. The ideal here is for a company higher up in the supply chain to share its data with companies further down the chain (Ince 2004). The internet will be the platform for them to trade with one another and exchange the information. CRM is an internal system for an enteprise. Very unlikey, the client information will be shared with other companies and no direct trade will occur with other companies as well via the CRM system.

References

Ince, D 2004, Developing distributed and e-commerce applications, 2nd edn, Harlow, Essex, UK: Addison – Wesley, pp. 6-8.

TechTarget 2009, Supply chain Management, last updated 24 Feb, TechTarget, viewed 20 June 2009, <http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci214546,00.html#>.

Williams, E 2009, Customer Relationship Management, lasted updated 23 Sep 2008, TechTarget, viewed 20 June 2009, <http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci213567,00.html>.