About the company One97's flagship brand, is India's largest digital goods and mobile commerce platform - inspired and driven by a commitment to great consum consumer er experi experienc ence. e. aytm aytm is also also a leadin leading g payme payment nt soluti solutions ons provider to ecommerce ecommerce merchants using using its !"I approved semi-closed semi-closed #allet. One97 delivers mobile content and commerce services to millions of mobile mob ile consum consumers ers throug through h India India$$s mo most st #idel #idely y deplo deployed yed teleco telecom m applications cloud platform. %ead&uartered in e# (elhi, One97 is more than )*++ people strong #ith #ith regi region onal al offi office cess in u umb mbai ai,, une une,, hen henna nai, i, "ang "anglo lore re and and ol/ata #ith global presence in Africa, 0urope, iddle 0ast and 1out 1outhe heast ast Asia. sia. 2e are are bac/ bac/ed ed by mar& mar&ue ueee inve invest stor orss li/e li/e 1AI3 1AI3 art artne ners rs,, Inte Intell api apita tal, l, 1app 1apphi hire re 4entur ntures es and and 1ili 1ilico con n 4alley lley "an/. One97 also invests in early stage mobile companies through the One97 obility 3und 5O36. A timeline timeline of One97's gro#th *+++-+)
One97 is launched
*++)-+* *++)-+* (elhi.
1tarts 1tarts live astrolog astrology y services services for a 1 operator operator in
*++*-+8 *++*-+ 8 mobiles in India
"ecom "ecomes es the first first to launch launch mu music sic messag messaging ing on
aunches the astrology across India 3irst to introduce 4A1 on landline net#or/s aunches 11 based applications: businesses *++8-+; *++8-+ ; 1
2ins 2ins manda mandate te to deli deliver ver panpan-Ind India ia 4o 4oice port portal al for for large largest st operator
aunched India's first voice based gaming. *++;--+< au *++; aunch nched Ind ndia ia's 's firs firstt inte interracti active ve out-d ut-dia ialler for 4A1 upselling aun
enerated enerated highest highest one-day one-day 4A1 revenues revenues by launchin launching g "anega a/hpati on mobile.
aunched a gaming, contest : content portal on an all India basis for a 1 operator on the 8+8+ short code 2on another 1 operator's 4A1 business for the (elhi circle *++<--+= au *++< aunch nches high highlly su succcess cessfu full !in !ington gtonee /a ahar ahara> a>aa on voice portal aunch of enterprise services on the 8+8+ short code 2ins Afghanistan.
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aunches the first universal ringtone card in partnership leading retail chain. 2on a 1 1 op oper erat ator or's 's manda andate te for for 2A and and vo voic icee
services. 0xpands to A India operations across various service providers. *++7 *+ +7-+ -+? ?
!ais !aises es fund fundin ing g fro from m 1AI 1AI3 3 and and 14" 14"
and 8
artners #ith a leading I@ company for enhanced voice applications.
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2ins a leading 1 and a (A operator for national service roll out on voice portals.
2ins another 1 operator's 4A1 business for selected circles aunches !"@ for a 1 operator 2ins a 1 operator for a pan India service rollout *++?-+9
!aises 1eries " funding from the Intel apital.
1ets up t#o ne# business lines, ,net#or/ based obile Advertising and 1ocial et#or/ing. 3orges partnerships #ith media houses *++9-)+ inthis
aunch of aytm- Online recharge portal, India biggest category
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!aises 1eries funding from 1A 4entures
One97
%andles over 8< billion calls on a monthly basis on the platform
*+))-)*
Over <++ million 1ubscribers handled on a daily basis Organisationally crosses )+++ employees aunch of "ills and @ic/eting 4ertical in aytm aunches services #ith 8 operators in Africa
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aunch of Ad#or/s-obile advertising platform 0xpansion in International ar/et %andling over ;+ billion calls on a monthly basis on the its platforms.
PRODUCT PROFILE
aytm is India$s largest mobile commerce platform. aytm started by offering mobile recharge and utility bill payments and today it offers a full mar/etplace to consumers on its mobile apps. 2e have over *+mn registered users. In a short span of time aytm has scaled to more than )< illion orders per month. aytm is the consumer brand of India$s leading mobile internet company One97 ommunications. One97 investors include 1AI3 artners, Intel apital and 1A 4entures. 2e strive to maintain an open culture #here everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Our team spends hours designing each ne# feature and obsesses about the smallest of details. Our approach is simple to design something #e$d love to use ourselves. @herefore #e listen and ta/e the time to understand our users and ta/e their reactions most seriously. a/ing stuff easy and intuitive is not our only goal. In addition to usability, #e strive to create accessibility, convenience and credibility. 1implicity reflects in our home page design and this mantra has been follo#ed throughout the site and our apps. @he #orld is increasingly mobileB people #ant access from #herever they are, #henever they need it. At aytm, you have the option of recharging and shopping from #henever, any#here and are e&uipped #ith a secure online #allet called aytm ash.
I@0!A@C!0 !04I02 0lectronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a #ide range of online business activities for products and services. It also pertains to Dany form of business transaction in #hich the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact. 0-commerce is usually associated #ith buying and selling over the Internet, or conducting any transaction involving the transfer of
o#nership or rights to use goods or services through a computermediated net#or/. @hough popular, this definition is not comprehensive enough to capture recent developments in this ne# and revolutionary business phenomenon. A more complete definition isB 0-commerce is the use of electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation bet#een or among organiEations, and bet#een organiEations and individuals. 2hile some use e-commerce and e-business interchangeably, they are distinct concepts. In e-commerce, information and communications technology 5I@6 is used in inter-business or inter-organiEational transactions 5transactions bet#een and among firmsForganiEations6 and in business-to-consumer transactions 5transactions bet#een firmsForganiEations and individuals6. In e-business, on the other hand, I@ is used to enhance one$s business. It includes any process that a business organiEation 5either a for-profit, governmental or non-profit entity6 conducts over a computer-mediated net#or/. A more comprehensive definition of e business isB D@he transformation of an organiEation$s processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the ne# economy.G @hree primary processes are enhanced in e-businessB ). roduction processes, #hich include procurement, ordering and replenishment of stoc/sH processing of paymentsH electronic lin/s #ith suppliersH and production control processes, among othersH *. ustomer-focused processes, #hich include promotional and mar/eting efforts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers$
purchase orders and payments, and customer support, among othersH and
8. Internal management processes, #hich include employee services, training, internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. 0lectronic applications enhance information flo# bet#een production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. 2or/group communications and electronic publishing of internal business information are li/e#ise made more efficient.
(ifferent types of e-commerce
The major diferent types o e-commerce are: businessto-business (B2B); business-to-consumer (B2C); business-to-government (B2); consumer-to-consumer (C2C); and mobi!e commerce (m-commerce)"
"*" e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce bet#een companies. @his is the type of e-commerce that deals #ith relationships bet#een and among businesses. About ?+ of ecommerce is of this type, and most experts predict that "*" ecommerce #ill continue to gro# faster than the "* segment. @he "*" mar/et has t#o primary componentsB e-frastructure and emar/ets. 0-frastructure is the architecture of "*", primarily consisting of the follo#ingB
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logistics - transportation, #arehousing and distribution 5e.g., rocter and amble6H application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of pac/aged soft#are from a central facility 5e.g., Oracle and in/share6H outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as 2eb-hosting, security and customer care solutions 5e.g., outsourcing providers such as e1hare, et1ales, iJ 0nterprises and Cniversal Access6H auction solutions soft#are for the operation and maintenance of real-time auctions in the Internet 5e.g., oai @echnologies and Open1ite @echnologies6H content management soft#are for the facilitation of 2eb site content management and delivery 5e.g., Inter#oven and rocureet6H and 2eb-based commerce enablers 5e.g., ommerce One, a bro#ser-based, J-enabled purchasing automation soft#are6.
0-mar/ets are simply defined as 2eb sites #here buyers and sellers interact #ith each other and conduct transactions. @he more common "*" examples and best practice models are I", %e#lett ac/ard 5%6, isco and (ell. isco, for instance, receives over 9+ of its product orders over the Internet. ost "*" applications are in the areas of supplier management 5especially purchase order processing6, inventory management 5i.e., managing order-ship-bill cycles6, distribution management 5especially in the transmission of shipping documents6, channel management 5i.e., information dissemination on changes in operational conditions6, and payment management 5e.g., electronic payment systems or 016.
@he impact of "*" mar/ets on the economy of developing countries is evident in the follo#ingB Transaction costs. @here are three cost areas that are significantly reduced through the conduct of "*" e-commerce. 3irst is the reduction of search costs, as buyers need not go through multiple intermediaries to search for information about suppliers, products and prices as in a traditional supply chain. In terms of effort, time and money spent, the Internet is a more efficient information channel than its traditional counterpart. In "*" mar/ets, buyers and sellers are gathered together into a single online trading community, reducing search costs even further. 1econd is the reduction in the costs of processing transactions 5e.g. invoices, purchase orders and payment schemes6, as "*" allo#s for the automation of transaction processes and therefore, the &uic/ implementation of the same compared to other channels 5such as the telephone and fax6. 0fficiency in trading processes and transactions is also enhanced through the "*" emar/et$s ability to process sales through online auctions. @hird, online processing improves inventory management and logistics. Disintermediation. @hrough "*" e-mar/ets, suppliers are able to interact and transact directly #ith buyers, thereby eliminating intermediaries and distributors. %o#ever, ne# forms of intermediaries are emerging. 3or instance, e-mar/ets themselves can be considered as intermediaries because they come bet#een suppliers and customers in the supply chain. Transparency in pricing . Among the more evident benefits of emar/ets is the increase in price transparency. @he gathering of a large number of buyers and sellers in a single e-mar/et reveals mar/et price information and transaction processing to participants. @he Internet allo#s for the publication of information on a single purchase or
transaction, ma/ing the information readily accessible and available to all members of the e-mar/et. Increased price transparency has the effect of pulling do#n price differentials in the mar/et. In this context, buyers are provided much more time to compare prices and ma/e better buying decisions. oreover, "*" e-mar/ets expand borders for dynamic and negotiated pricing #herein multiple buyers and sellers collectively participate in price-setting and t#o-#ay auctions. In such environments, prices can be set through automatic matching of bids and offers. In the e-mar/etplace, the re&uirements of both buyers and sellers are thus aggregated to reach competitive prices, #hich are lo#er than those resulting from individual actions. Economies of scale and network effects. @he rapid gro#th of "*" emar/ets creates traditional supply-side cost-based economies of scale. 3urthermore, the bringing together of a significant number of buyers and sellers provides the demand-side economies of scale or net#or/ effects. 0ach additional incremental participant in the e-mar/et creates value for all participants in the demand side. ore participants form a critical mass, #hich is /ey in attracting more users to an emar/et.
"usiness-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce bet#een companies and consumers, involves customers gathering informationH purchasing physical goods 5i.e., tangibles such as boo/s or consumer products6 or information goods 5or goods of electronic material or digitiEed content, such as soft#are, or e-boo/s6H and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic net#or/. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be traced to online retailing 5or e-tailing6.@hus, the more common "* business models are the online retailing companies such as AmaEon.com, (rugstore.com, "eyond.com, "arnes and oble and @oys!us. Other "* examples involving information goods are 0-@rade and @ravelocity.
@he more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing products and information, and personal finance management, #hich pertains to the management of personal investments and finances #ith the use of online ban/ing tools 5e.g., Kuic/en6. ear/eter estimates that #orld#ide "* e-commerce revenues #ill increase from C1L<9.7 billion in *+++ to C1L;*?.) billion by *++;. Online retailing transactions ma/e up a significant share of this mar/et. ear/eter also estimates that in the Asia-acific region, "* revenues, #hile registering a modest figure compared to "*", nonetheless #ent up to L?.* billion by the end of *++), #ith that figure doubling at the end of *++*-at total #orld#ide "* sales belo# )+. "* e-commerce reduces transactions costs 5particularly search costs6 by increasing consumer access to information and allo#ing consumers to find the most competitive price for a product or service. "* e-commerce also reduces mar/et entry barriers since the cost of putting up and maintaining a 2eb site is much cheaper than installing a Dbric/-and-mortarG structure for a firm. In the case of information goods, "* e-commerce is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution net#or/. oreover, for countries #ith a gro#ing and robust Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible. What is B2G e-commerce?
"usiness-to-government e-commerce or "* is generally defined as commerce bet#een companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. @his /ind of e-commerce has t#o featuresB first, the public sector assumes a pilotFleading role in
establishing e-commerceH and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for ma/ing its procurement system more effective. 2eb-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process 5and reduces the ris/ of irregularities6. @o date, ho#ever, the siEe of the "* e-commerce mar/et as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. What is C2C e-commerce?
onsumer-to-consumer e-commerce or * is simply commerce bet#een private individuals or consumers. @his type of e-commerce is characteriEed by the gro#th of electronic mar/etplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries #here firmsFbusinesses can bid for #hat they #ant from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing ne# mar/ets. @his type of e-commerce comes in at least three formsB •
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auctions facilitated at a portal, such as e"ay, #hich allo#s online real-time bidding on items being sold in the 2ebH peer-to-peer systems, such as the apster model 5a protocol for sharing files bet#een users used by chat forums similar to I!6 and other file exchange and later money exchange modelsH and classified ads at portal sites such as 0xcite lassifieds and e2anted , a/#heels.com 5an interactive, online mar/etplace #here buyers and sellers can negotiate and #hich features D"uyer eads : 2ant AdsG6.
onsumer-to-business 5*"6 transactions involve reverse auctions, #hich empo#er the consumer to drive transactions. A concrete example of this #hen competing airlines gives a traveler best travel and tic/et offers in response to the traveler$s post that she #ants to fly from e# Mor/ to 1an 3rancisco. @here is little information on the relative siEe of global * ecommerce. %o#ever, * figures of popular * sites such as e"ay and apster indicate that this mar/et is &uite large. @hese sites produce millions of dollars in sales every day. Adantages of C2C sites
onsumer to consumer ecommerce has many benefits. @he business model of * is very interesting. @he primary benefit #hich consumers get is reduction in cost as compared to buying space of their adds on other ecommerce sites #hich seem to be &uite expensive. eople interested in selling their items can post their respective items for free or #ith minimal charge depending on the c*c #ebsite. @his leads to formation of a profitable customer base. * #ebsites form a perfect platform for buyers and sellers #ho #ish to buy and sell products of similar interest. @his leads to increase in visitor to customer conversion ratio. Another benefit is that business o#ners can easily afford the lo# cost of maintaining * #ebsites and earn good profits instead of buying or hiring a shop #hich could cost a lot. Another ma>or plus point these #ebsites have is that personal items li/e #atch ,shoes etc can be purchased and sold #ith ease #hich is not in case of other types of ecommerce. Disadantages of C2C sites
@here are a couple of disadvantages to these type of sites as #ell. (oing transaction on these type of #ebsites re&uires co-operation bet#een the buyer and seller. It has been noted many times that these
t#o do not co-operate #ith each other after a transaction has been made. @hey do not share the transaction information #hich may be via credit or debit card or internet ban/ing. @his can result in online fraud since the buyer and seller are not very #ell versed #ith each other. @his can lead to la#suit being imposed on either ends or also on the site if it has not mentioned the disclaimer in its terms and conditions. @his may also hamper the c*c #ebsite's reputation. ompanies #hich handle consumer to consumer ecommerce #ebsites seem to have becoming very cautious to prevent online scams. What is m-commerce?
-commerce 5mobile commerce6 is the buying and selling of goods and services through #ireless technology-i.e., handheld devices such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants 5(As6. Napan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce. As content delivery over #ireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce #ill surpass #ireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. @his may #ell be true for the Asia-acific #here there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users.
Industries affected by m-commerce includeB •
Financial services, including mobile ban/ing 5#hen customers
use their handheld devices to access their accounts and pay their bills6, as #ell as bro/erage services 5in #hich stoc/ &uotes can be displayed and trading conducted from the same handheld device6H
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Telecommunications, in #hich service changes, bill payment
and account revie#s can all be conducted from the same handheld deviceH •
Service/retail , as consumers are given the ability to place and
pay for orders on-the-flyH and •
#hich include the delivery of entertainment, financial ne#s, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device. Information
services,
@here are at least three ma>or forces fueling e-commerceB economic forces, mar/eting and customer interaction forces, and technology, particularly multimedia convergence. Economic forces. One of the most evident benefits of e-commerce is economic efficiency resulting from the reduction in communications costs, lo#-cost technological infrastructure, speedier and more economic electronic transactions #ith suppliers, lo#er global information sharing and advertising costs, and cheaper customer service alternatives.
0conomic integration is either external or internal. 0xternal integration refers to the electronic net#or/ing of corporations, suppliers, customersFclients, and independent contractors into one community communicating in a virtual environment 5#ith the Internet as medium6. Internal integration, on the other hand, is the net#or/ing of the various departments #ithin a corporation, and of business operations and processes. @his allo#s critical business information to be stored in a digital form that can be retrieved instantly and transmitted electronically. Internal integration is best exemplified by corporate intranets. Among the companies #ith efficient corporate intranets are rocter and amble, I", estle and Intel.
Market forces. orporations are encouraged to use e-commerce in mar/eting and promotion to capture international mar/ets, both big and small. @he Internet is li/e#ise used as a medium for enhanced customer service and support. It is a lot easier for companies to provide their target consumers #ith more detailed product and service information using the Internet. Tecnolo!" forces. @he development of I@ is a /ey factor in the gro#th of e-commerce. 3or instance, technological advances in digitiEing content, compression and the promotion of open systems technology have paved the #ay for the convergence of communication services into one single platform. @his in turn has made communication more efficient, faster, easier, and more economical as the need to set up separate net#or/s for telephone services, television broadcast, cable television, and Internet access is eliminated. 3rom the standpoint of firmsFbusinesses and consumers, having only one information provider means lo#er communications costs. Components o a typica! successu! e-commerce transaction !oop
0-commerce does not refer merely to a firm putting up a 2eb site for the purpose of selling goods to buyers over the Internet. 3or ecommerce to be a competitive alternative to traditional commercial transactions and for a firm to maximiEe the benefits of e-commerce, a number of technical as #ell as enabling issues have to be considered. A typical e-commerce transaction loop involves the follo#ing ma>or players and corresponding re&uisitesB @he !eller should have the follo#ing componentsB •
A corporate 2eb site #ith e-commerce capabilities 5e.g., a secure transaction server6H
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A corporate intranet so that orders are processed in an efficient mannerH and I@-literate employees to manage the information flo#s and maintain the e-commerce system.
Transaction partners includeB •
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"an/ing institutions that offer transaction clearing services 5e.g., processing credit card payments and electronic fund transfers6H ational and international freight companies to enable the movement of physical goods #ithin, around and out of the country. 3or business-to-consumer transactions, the system must offer a means for cost-efficient transport of small pac/ages 5such that purchasing boo/s over the Internet, for example, is not prohibitively more expensive than buying from a local store6H and Authentication authority that serves as a trusted third party to ensure the integrity and security of transactions.
Cons"mers 5in a business-to-consumer transaction6 #hoB •
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3orm a critical mass of the population #ith access to the Internet and disposable income enabling #idespread use of credit cardsH and ossess a mindset for purchasing goods over the Internet rather than by physically inspecting items.
#irms$B"sinesses 5in a business-to-business transaction6 that together form a critical mass of companies 5especially #ithin supply chains6 #ith Internet access and the capability to place and ta/e orders over the Internet.
Goernment , to establishB •
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A legal frame#or/ governing e-commerce transactions 5including electronic documents, signatures, and the li/e6H and egal institutions that #ould enforce the legal frame#or/ 5i.e., la#s and regulations6 and protect consumers and businesses from fraud, among others.
And finally, the %nternet , the successful use of #hich depends on the follo#ingB •
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A robust and reliable Internet infrastructureH and A pricing structure that doesn$t penaliEe consumers for spending time on and buying goods over the Internet 5e.g., a flat monthly charge for both I1 access and local phone calls6.
3or e-commerce to gro#, the above re&uisites and factors have to be in place. @he least developed factor is an impediment to the increased upta/e of e-commerce as a #hole. 3or instance, a country #ith an excellent Internet infrastructure #ill not have high e-commerce figures if ban/s do not offer support and fulfilment services to ecommerce transactions. In countries that have significant e-commerce figures, a positive feedbac/ loop reinforces each of these factors.
#nternet re!evant to e-commerce @he Internet allo#s people from all over the #orld to get connected inexpensively and reliably. As a technical infrastructure, it is a global collection of net#or/s, connected to share information using a common set of protocols. Also, as a vast net#or/ of people and information, the Internet is an enabler for e-commerce as it allo#s businesses to sho#case and sell their products and services online and gives potential customers, prospects, and business partners access to
information about these businesses and their products and services that #ould lead to purchase. "efore the Internet #as utiliEed for commercial purposes, companies used private net#or/s-such as the 0(I or 0lectronic (ata Interchange-to transact business #ith each other. @hat #as the early form of e-commerce. %o#ever, installing and maintaining private net#or/s #as very expensive. 2ith the Internet, e-commerce spread rapidly because of the lo#er costs involved and because the Internet is based on open standards.
