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spoof@paypal.com
Phishing does it work?
I, (like quite a few others), get Phishing emails claiming to be from PayPal/eBay
etc.
Why
Delete Old Content?
One of the ideals of putting information online is that information can stay there
indefinitely, accessible to anyone for as long as a website operator chooses.
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| Recent
Articles |
eBay
Says You Should Wise Up
In response to user requests, eBay launched a new service giving buyers and sellers
access to listing, bidding, and pricing trends in the marketplace to help them
make more informed selling and buying decisions.
Google
is Building Yahoo 2.0
In his posting titled Reading the Google Tea Leaves, Tristan compares various
product offerings from Google against those of the "big three"
Bullish
on Blogs
Former Forbes writer Michael S. Malone: "Let me make a prediction. Five years
from now ...
Amazon’s
Own Digital Book Program
Digital book programs seem to be all the rage since a particularly large search
engine company decided to put most all books online.
Forecasts
of $26 Billion in 2005 Holiday Sales
JupiterResearch released their projections for the coming holiday season and they
look promising.
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11.14.05
Evaluating Vendors Of Ecommerce
Fulfillment Services
 By
Bruce Zhang
Once your website has secured an order, you have to fulfill it. While the fulfillment
of digital goods is usually handled online, the delivery of physical goods is
handled in a "brick-and-mortar" world.
When choosing a fulfillment
company for your ecommerce operation, you need to evaluate both fulfillment
services and ecommerce services for order processing.
Evaluating Fulfillment
Services
Fulfillment services includes receiving, inventorying, warehousing, delivery,
record-keeping and customer inquiries. You have options to outsource part of or
all of fulfillment services to a third party.
Receiving - This
is the process that fulfillment vendors acquire goods from suppliers and the accuracy
of services starts at the receiving.
Inventorying - The skills of inventory management directly impact
the quality and cost of fulfillment. If inventory is out of stock, you may lose
customers. If inventory level is too high, it may increase the cost of inventory.
Warehousing - Physical goods are stored in a warehouse and valuable
items are usually stored in secure storage. While fulfillment companies have their
warehouses and distribution centers, small businesses can store goods in their
garages or basements.
Shipping - For order fulfillment, goods
are delivered to customers in various shipping methods - ground, overnight, etc.
at fulfillment centers. Customers specify shipping methods when they place their
orders and the fulfillment companies may adjust the shipping methods of the delivery.
Return and Order Inquiry - Customer Service Reps at fulfillment companies
can handle return and refund for their clients. Most ecommerce sites allow customers
to view their orders and status of fulfillment online.
Record Keeping
and Reporting - The ability to track all information pertinent to the order
fulfillment (from inventory items, customers, orders to shipping) will help businesses
to gain insights into the behaviors of their customers. Fulfillment companies
and large organizations usually install inventory and fulfillment management software
to automate the processes. Small business owners can find shareware for less than
$100.
Evaluating Ecommerce Services
E-commerce fulfillment vendors are usually fulfillment vendors that provide ecommerce
services related to fulfillment.
Online Catalog - Ecommerce fulfillment vendors can either develop
online storefronts for you or integrate your online storefronts into their backend
fulfillment system.
Online Payment Processing - Online storefronts from ecommerce fulfillment providers
should have the ability to process payments online in credit card, electronic
check, and purchase order. Using a fulfillment company, you can accept credit
card online without a online
merchant account.
Copyright © 2005, Bruce Zhang
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