E-commerce as an innovative form of trade contributes to its development, forming independent channels of commodity circulation through the implementation of trade and technological processes, which ensures the functioning of the sphere of circulation and delivery of goods to end consumers, significantly different from traditional trade.
E-commerce, as part of domestic retail trade, has similar elements of trade and technology processes; however, it is important to note that e-commerce processes have so-called “gaps” associated with the virtual environment in which it operates.
In traditional retail, trade and technology processes are unified, involving both trade and technology processes in a single property complex, while e-commerce has gaps in both trade and technology processes.
It is also worth emphasizing that in electronic commerce there is a variability in the organization of trade and technological processes, due, firstly, to the ways of organizing business processes of electronic commerce, and secondly, to the need to ensure the socio-economic efficiency of e-commerce organizations.
The formation of “gaps” in the trade and technological processes of electronic commerce is due to the presence of “temporary”, “geographical” and “digital” gaps, which, in turn, is a hallmark of the trade and technological processes of electronic and traditional commerce.
The time gap is associated with a time gap between buying and receiving goods, as opposed to traditional retail, where these processes coincide. The geographical gap is due to the absence of restrictions on the composition of buyers, as opposed to traditional retail, where the location of the retailer is clearly defined. The digital divide is one of the factors holding back the development of e-commerce, and has several levels. The first level of the digital divide determines the availability of consumers to e-commerce organizations and indicates access restrictions.
In our view, the existence of these gaps in e-commerce leads to business processes other than traditional commerce. The business processes that shape e-commerce processes are organized through the creation of an online store on a website or registration on an electronic trading platform. Although these business processes ensure the functioning of the sphere of circulation and the organization of commercial processes, including interaction with consumers, they have significant differences in the organization of trade and technological processes.
According to P. Agley and E. Langeard’s model of service quality, business processes in a trading enterprise can be divided into “visible” and “invisible”. In e-commerce organizations, this division is more obvious, since the visible part of trade and technology processes includes a mobile application and a virtual storefront, which is strategically important for marketing. Technological processes for delivering goods and organizing the logistics warehouse for the end user are the “invisible” part.
Management of resources, warehouse, personnel, orders and electronic database of customers determines the effectiveness of e-commerce organizations, both social and economic. It is important that poor management of at least one of the elements of the “invisible” part of trade and technological processes leads to a negative perception of the entire complex of “visible” and “invisible” business processes.
In our opinion, the division of trade and technology processes into “visible” and “invisible” causes “temporary” and “geographical” gaps in e-commerce organizations. Effective management of these gaps will allow them to be used to improve the competitiveness of e-commerce organizations. Work on the Internet platform includes both traditional distribution channels “wholesale-retail” and direct sales of goods to the public, bypassing the wholesale link, which allows manufacturers to interact directly with end consumers, taking advantage of the “geographical” gap and expanding the range of potential buyers.
Registration of electronic storefronts takes place in accordance with the established rules of a particular Internet site, however, the supplier / manufacturer independently determines the aspects of interaction with consumers depending on their demand for related services.
Technological processes (management of warehouse, resources, personnel) are also organized in accordance with the regulations of the Internet platform. A distinctive feature of the trading and technological processes on the Internet platform is the presence of a large number of suppliers / manufacturers and various conditions for organizing business processes, which allows suppliers / manufacturers to choose the appropriate Internet platform for organizing trading activities.
Thus, in Russia in 2018, the organization of business processes through the Internet platform accounted for only 3-5% in the structure of electronic trade turnover, and by 2021 this figure reached 45%. There is a tendency to increase the number of business processes of specific suppliers / manufacturers representing different categories of goods on various Internet platforms.
Trade and technological processes in the online store are organized without the participation of a “third party” (the organizer of the Internet platform). The set of trade and technological processes in the online store can be divided into: the main — trading processes, ensuring — technological processes, managing — evaluation and control of the effectiveness of trade and technological processes.
