Integration - Internal Integration

Successful e-commerce companies also make sure the many different systems they use within their enterprises are integrated. Known as internal integration, this allows many different pieces of relevant information about transactions and other business activities to be shared with appropriate divisions or departments. For example, in business-to-consumer commerce, when a customer orders a product online via an order form on a company's Web site, data about the order is instantly sent to the accounting department for billing and financial reporting purposes; to the warehouse for packing and shipping purposes; and to customer service in the event of questions or concerns regarding the status of the order.

When e-commerce exploded in popularity, many companies rushed into the game by putting up Web sites and accepting online orders. However, these front-end elements represented only half of the equation. Many organizations failed to think through processes and systems on the back end, namely how they would connect systems together. When companies take this approach, bottlenecks arise in what otherwise would be a seamless process. Orders that come in via the Web might be billed quickly to a customer's credit card, but are then printed out on paper and held for days or weeks in the warehouse before being filled. Practices like these hinder what e-commerce is all about.

As explained in InfoWorld, "Retail success hinges on what happens behind that fabulous Web site: logistics and fulfillment, payment systems, systems and policies to handle returns, customer service, and, running through it all, integration. Without these the site won't scale, and customers who once loved the Web store will quickly turn fickle and point their browsers elsewhere."