PSEB SS Fundamentals of E-Business key terms

The conduct of business processes, transactions, and relationships over computer networks, including selling, procurement, servicing, and internal operations, not just the exchange of money for goods.

Buying and selling of goods, services, or information through electronic networks, typically the internet, covering ordering, payment, and delivery arrangements between parties.

A description of how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value, showing its customers, offerings, revenue sources, cost structure, and the logic that makes the venture viable.

The specific mechanism by which a firm converts its offerings into income, such as subscription fees, advertising, transaction commissions, licensing, or direct product sales.

The bundle of benefits a firm promises to deliver to a chosen customer segment, explaining why buyers should choose it over available alternatives.

Business-to-consumer trading, in which firms sell products or services directly to individual end users, usually through web stores or mobile applications.

Business-to-business trading, where organisations buy from and sell to other organisations, often involving larger order values, negotiated contracts, and integration of purchasing systems.

Consumer-to-consumer trading, where individuals sell to one another on a platform that provides listings, messaging, and often payment protection, as with online auction sites.

Business-to-government activity, covering sales of goods and services to public bodies and participation in public procurement, tenders, and e-government supply arrangements.

A platform that brings many independent sellers and buyers together in one venue, handling discovery, transactions, and sometimes logistics or dispute resolution.

Removal of intermediaries such as wholesalers or agents from a supply chain when producers sell directly to buyers over digital channels, often lowering prices but shifting logistics burdens.

The emergence of new digital intermediaries, such as aggregators, comparison sites, or fulfilment specialists, that take on roles previously performed by traditional middlemen.

Use of networked systems to source, requisition, order, and pay for goods and services, typically linking buyers with approved suppliers and catalogs.

Electronic data interchange: structured, standards-based exchange of business documents such as purchase orders and invoices between computer systems, with little or no manual re-keying.

A service that securely transmits payment details from a merchant's checkout to acquiring banks and card networks, returning authorisation results and helping with settlement.

A bank account held by a business that allows it to accept card and online payments, settle funds, and process refunds and chargebacks under an acquiring agreement.

A reversal of a card payment initiated by the cardholder's bank after a dispute, forcing the merchant to justify the transaction or refund it, often with fees.

Software or a device feature that stores payment credentials and lets a user pay online or in person, sometimes holding balances and loyalty value as well.

Commercial activity conducted through smartphones and tablets, including shopping, banking, ticketing, and in-app purchases, shaped by small screens and location awareness.

The network of organisations, people, activities, and resources involved in moving a product or service from raw materials through production to the final customer.

Planning and managing the movement and storage of goods, including transport, warehousing, inventory placement, and last-mile delivery to customers.

The set of steps that turns a confirmed order into a delivered parcel, covering picking, packing, labelling, shipping, tracking, and handling returns.

Managing the flow of goods backwards from customers, including returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal, with implications for cost, service, and environmental responsibility.

Customer relationship management: the practices and systems used to record customer interactions, segment audiences, personalise service, and manage sales pipelines and retention.

The expected net profit a business earns from a customer over the whole relationship, used to judge how much can be spent on acquisition and retention.

The average amount spent on marketing and sales to win one new customer, calculated over a period and compared with the value that customer generates.

The proportion of visitors or users who complete a desired action, such as a purchase or sign-up, expressed as a percentage of the total audience measured.

Collection and analysis of data about website and app usage, including traffic sources, page behaviour, and goal completion, to guide marketing and design decisions.

A small text file placed on a user's device by a website to remember settings, sessions, or tracking identifiers, subject to consent and privacy rules.

Tailoring content, offers, or recommendations to an individual using known preferences and behaviour, aiming to improve relevance and response.

A system that suggests products or content by analysing patterns such as past purchases, browsing, and similarities between users or items.

The commercial pattern in which many low-demand niche items collectively generate substantial revenue alongside a few bestsellers, enabled by low digital storage and distribution costs.

A pricing arrangement in which customers pay a recurring fee, monthly or annually, for continued access to a product or service rather than a one-off purchase.

An offering where a basic version is free and users pay for advanced features, higher limits, or support, relying on converting a fraction of free users.

Promotion of products and services through online channels such as search, email, social media, and display advertising, usually measured by response and cost per result.

Search engine optimisation: improving a site's content, structure, and technical quality so it ranks well in unpaid search results for relevant queries.

Electronic customer relationship management, where digital channels and data systems support customer service, campaign targeting, and relationship history across touchpoints.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard: rules for protecting cardholder data, covering encryption, access control, network security, and regular testing for organisations handling card payments.

Encoding information so that only parties holding the right key can read it, protecting data in transit and at rest from interception or unauthorised access.

An electronically issued credential binding a public key to an identified owner, used to authenticate websites and enable encrypted connections such as HTTPS.

Security protocols that encrypt traffic between a browser and a server, underpinning HTTPS and helping protect login details, payment data, and page integrity.

A deception in which attackers impersonate a trusted party by email, message, or fake site to trick people into revealing credentials or making payments.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, setting rules on lawful basis, consent, data subject rights, breach notification, and transfers of personal data.

A published statement explaining what personal data an organisation collects, why, how it is used and shared, how long it is kept, and what rights users have.

A business landscape in which digital platforms match supply and demand, create network effects, and often own the infrastructure rather than the goods exchanged.

A condition where a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it, which can drive rapid growth and make markets concentrate around a few platforms.

A web design approach that adapts layout and content to different screen sizes and devices, supporting usability and conversion on mobile as well as desktop.

A defined set of linked activities that produces a result for a customer, such as order handling or invoicing, which e-business systems aim to automate or streamline.