E Commerce Flow

Question: What is e-commerce; explain components and flow of e-commerce? Answer: The objective of this report is to discuss the international expansion of Coles in Brazil, China and India. Coles is an established brand in the Australian region and it is important that the company must look for new avenues for expansion. The developed markets like Australia and America have limited scope of expansion. However, the developing countries like Brazil, China and India have very good prospects for the retail industry. This report discusses the global market environment and the external market factors like Political, Social, Economical and Technological that would help Coles to take the expansion decision (Dellaert, 2011). This report also discusses the risk factors associated with the international expansion. The focus of the report is to investigate the international business and e-commerce opportunities for Coles in the emerging markets of Brazil, China and India. Company Background Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood, Melbourne by G.J. Coles, Coles operates 776 supermarkets throughout Australia, including several now re-branded BI-LO Supermarkets. Coles has over 100,000 employees and, together with rival Woolworths, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the Australian market. In 2015, Coles registered total revenue of AU$38 billion. The logo of the company can be shown as: Review the global market environment Internatioanl Trade Patterns In recent times, the internatioanl trade patterns have evolved a lot. It has been observed that the developing nations have adopted a liberal approach towards the international trade arrangements. The developing countries like China, India and Brazil have allowed the Foreign Direct Investment in the retail industry (Kuma, 2011). It can be said that the international trade patterns are good for Coles to expand in the developing markets of India, China and Brazil. E-commerce and international business market factors The e-commerce industry is an expanding industry across the globe. There are number of players in the industry and in recent times, the industry has taken the path of consolidation. In the Australian market, Coles has already started its operations in the e-commerce space. In fact, it would be a good idea for Coles to focus on the e-commerce space in the developing markets of India, China and Brazil. There are tremendous opportunities in the e-commerce space in these evolving markets as the market is far from saturated. International marketing and free trade In recent times, there has been a transformation in the markets from protectionist to open markets. In the current business environment, the markets of China, India and Brazil can be termed as an open market. The governments in these nations have taken the approach of liberalization and privatization. In recent times, there has been a boom in the private sector. The retail industry is an open market in these countries and this is a go indicator or sign for Coles. International trade policies and agreements The international trade policies are liberal in these countries and this has opened the gate for the international marketing opportunities. It is important that Coles should invest on the international marketing opportunities in these countries. The company would have to make certain investment towards the international marketing. It is important that Coles should use the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to increase the reach of its international marketing campaigns. International business and e-commerce market factors PESTLE analysisThe analysis of the external factors or the PESTLE analysis is a powerful tool to analyze the market. It is important that the organizations should have a solid understanding of the external market conditions before making any expansion decision. The PESTLE analysis for the developing countries of Brazil, India and China can be discussed as:Political Legal factors: The political and legal factors are the crucial factors that influence the decision making of organizations. The large organizations like Coles may not want to enter the markets where the political conditions are not stable. The governments of developing nations realize the importance of foreign direct investment (Anita, 2010). The political and legal factors are positive in the developing countries like India, China and Brazil. Economical factors: It would be correct to say that the economic conditions should be stable for the companies to expand in the new regions. It is also important that the economy of the country should develop over time. The economic conditions are good in India and China. The economic conditions in Brazil may not be as good as the economic conditions in the India (Pieterson, 2010). However, the good thing for Coles is that the government of these countries are trying hard to improve the improve the economic conditions of the country. It can be said that the economic conditions are favorable for Coles to expand in these countries. Social factors: The social factors are linked with the emotions and attitudes of the people. The retail industry is a matured industry and the people in the society depend on the players in the retail industry (Dholakia, 2010). The social factors are positive for the retail industry as people depend on the organizations in the retail industry to meet their basic things. Technological factors: With the spread of Internet and social media the technological factors have improved a lot. It can be said that the technological factors are po sitive for Coles and other players in the retail industry. Environmental factors: It is important that the organizations should understand their responsibilities towards the environment. The environmental factors would have an important role to play in the coming times. This is the one area where Coles would have to work with society and focus on sustainable development. International market trends The international market trend is inclined towards the use of social media marketing tools. Today, the mobile advertising industry is 100 billion dollar industry. It is expected that the focus of the organizations would increase towards the social media marketing channels (Keller, 2010). E-commerce markets The e-commerce markets are an evolving market in the developing countries of India, China and Brazil (Frambach, 2011). Coles would have the good opportunity to tap the e-commerce markets of these countries. References Dholakia, U. M., Kahn, B. E., Reeves, R., Rindfleisch, A., Stewart, D., Taylor, E. (2010). 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