Financial Implications of an e-Commerce Solution

Financial Implications of an e-Commerce SolutionFinancial Implications of an e-Commerce answerassociated to information processing system Bits LtdDesigning a websiteWhen looking to build an e-Commerce project, the primary focus is on developing an aesthetically pleasing and interactive for the consumer. Developing a website apprise be considered ane of the main upfront be that you volition need to consider as part of the project. Other costs may not necessarily need to be paid upfront and evoke be considered as on going.There are several(a) chooseions when it comes to developing themes for your website. You have the option of a pre-made one or a custom highly-developed one. Benefits understructure be mentioned for both optionsPre-developed templates- For a argument that is on a tight budget, this forget be the way to go as it is considered for cost effective. Usually, the maximal one would pay for this would be around 100. Furthermore, if time is of the essence, then th is option pass on allow you to get online quickly and start selling faster.Custom- This is considered costlier as the graphics needs to be developed and designed from scratch. Also, it can take longer to develop as more work is needed to be done. However, benefits include universe able to add newfangled features and it can be more tailored for your business and visually more appealing and interactive. Furthermore, it will allow you to create your hold brand. This can be difficult when you have the same theme as lots of other businesses.The costs incurred from both options will now be discussed for you to analyze. Shopify, a hosted platform, sells off the shelf pre-made themes for approximately 100-120. An influence could set up the depot on your behalf, this would typically cost approximately 1000 for a full store setup. For a more tailored and bespoke theme, you can expect to pay around 3000.Magneto, a self-hosted platform, would as well as be able to cater for such a projec t, however, costs would soar to between 10,000 to in excess of 50,000 for complex sites. There are benefits to both and it all really depends on your personal circumstances. In my opinion, I would suggest the off-the-shelf them and a hosted platform.Financial transactionsYou will also need to factor in the costs of transactions via this speciality. There are various gateways that facilitate financial transactions over an e-Commerce platform, but more often they will charge a small percentage of the total order value. Paypal will usually charge a fee of around 1.8%.Hosting and SecurityThis, like the financial transactions costs, can be considered as a recurring cost. Typically, you can expect to pay a monthly fee and the proves vary from host to host. In many cases, security is included as part of the package. Shopify packages range between 10-115 and you can expect to get between 1GB-unlimited storage. 34SP provide between 15GB to 82GB of storage space and you can expect to pay fro m 15 to 60. If you opt for an agency to provide this facility and support, then you can be expected to be around 300 per month and this can rise drastically to around 2500 a month for complex sites like Magneto.MarketingWithout a strong grocerying campaign and strategy, it will be difficult to make a success of the e-Commerce solution. In order to increase sales, you need people to visit your website. You will need generate traffic further via a successful marketing campaign. One order of marketing is to use Search Engine Optimization- Google AdWords and these will appear when someone searches for computer related words on Google search. You will only pay per clack and you can normally expect to pay around 370 per month. It is a fantastic way of generating traffic and a highly recommended one.Advertising on social media is also a must, if you are to have a successful e-Commerce journey. Technically this is free, however, in most cases you will need to employ someone who can do this competently. The only other option would be to do it yourself or get a family member to do it on your behalf such as your son or daughter. If you opt to outsource this task to an agency, expect to pay between 1100-2500 per month for Twitter and between 1400-3000 for Facebook.Another way you can promote your business is via Affiliate marketing. This method works by allowing other companies advertise your products and in return you give them a small percentage of the sales that you get as a solution of their marketing for you.LogisticsUpon implementation of the e-Commerce solution, you will start to generate sales from consumers who live fieldly and internationally. Be able to fulfil these sales will stiff that you brand around various parcel delivery companies and means you will have to start paying large amounts of postage fees. The fees will depend on the location, size of it and weight of the parcel.Cost of re-training staffStaff will need to be re-trained as to how to p rocess orders via the website, via 3rd party sites such as Amazon and Ebay. In addition, you will need to train them to be able to deal will queries via e-mail and on line support. Staff will need to know of the new process and the restructuring could cost time and money.Cost of a mobile appThere is also an option of developing a mobile app for Computer Bits Ltd. Selling via this medium can be beneficial, however, I feel as the cost of this would range between 15,000-40,000, it is best not to pursue this for the time being.ConclusionIn concluding, I feel there e-Commerce will bring for Computer Bits Ltd. With an increase in exposure, the company will see and increase in custom and sales. This will mean that there is more profit and consequently more market share. Your business will be able to source cheaper declivity, better products, trade on a platform that looks to be the future of shopping, open 24 hours for trading, and be able trade globally via an array of platforms. The cos ts mentioned in this report simply precis the things that need to be considered, but in no means, should deter you from pushing ahead with a e-Commerce solution.e-Commerce solution for Computer Bits LtdReport by Umar Usman ArifWritten for Mr Lukase-Commerce solution for Computer Bits LtdObjectiveThe objective of the e-Commerce solution is to increase sales, profit and market share of Computer Bits Ltd. The primary focus of the solution would be from a business to consumer market and the domain name that the website can be accessed on will be www.computer-bits.co.ukMarket ResearchAll of the research conducted is secondary in nature, as conducting primary will be baseless, expensive and time consuming. All of the competition will be online based and Computer Bits will need to compete against national and international companies.Target MarketThe market segment for Computer Bits Ltd is to target the average consumer and sell them computer components and peripherals. The products will b e sourced from manufacturers and we will aim to resell these at discounted prices. Our competition will be other resellers who have an online presence. We plan to target everyday PC users and small business that fix and upgrade systems. Computer Bits market share will be less than 1% as the worldwide industry is huge and just the PC gaming hardware market was worth more an 30 billion, let alone the total worth of the components industry.Key ProcessesIn order to maintain a successful e-Commerce solution, Computer Bits Ltd will need at least 3 different decent spec computer systems that will allow your employees to update stock, view orders, order more stock and send out correspondence to customers, suppliers and hosts. The systems will need to have good processors, 8gb RAM, SSD so the systems are fast and have a cloud account where you can save all your data and information. Anti-virus, spyware and malware software will be required to keep the systems secure from viruses and theft. S tock from manufacturers and suppliers will need to be kept up to date and distribution of orders can be done via Royal Mail, Hermes and DHL for international orders. The website and Ebay channel will need to maintained by staff.e-Commerce and SecurityThe website will be hosted by Shopify and will used one of the off-the-shelf templates. I think it will be waste of money if we were to develop a custom one as this not really our aim. Our aim is to sell online, not to create a brand. Branding is more suited to companies that actually produce and manufacture their cause products as opposed to resellers like Computer Bits Ltd. Payments from customers will be made via PayPal and Shopify, both debit and credit cards will be accepted methods of payment. 34SP will host the website and provide security as their packages offer better value for money in my opinion. They provide the website and our systems with security software that prevent hackers, viruses and allows payments to be interprete d via secure HTTPS. Only the website will be start-up costs, the rest will be working so capital to fund the system will be interpreted from the company accounts. Marketing will be done via Search Engine Optimisation and social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook. Furthermore, we will stimulate out to Affiliate partners such as Amazon, CostcCo and BestBuy.LegislationThe company will need to get trained on and stay to many legislations that relate to withdrawnness selling. Customers data will need to kept secure and confidential and Computer Bits will need to be aware of Data Protection Act 1998. The Consumer belief Act 1974 and Trading Standards mean that consumers have a right to returns and refunds if they are not satisfied with their products. Also, all content on the website will need to adhere to copyright laws and all staff will need to be retrained.