CompTIA EIDX B2C Models
EIDX's historical focus has been on business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce.  Many developments in the world of business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce trigger developments in B2B electronic commerce, and vice-versa.

Some basic B2C models are described here for informational purposes.

Most of us are consumers, and are familiar with the traditional methods for buying consumer goods.

• Buying Stuff at Stores (Brick and Mortar businesses)
  • Go to retail store or outlet (or flea market, or whatever)
  • View and/or handle stuff
  • Select stuff
  • Pay for stuff
    • Or charge it
  • Take stuff home
    • Variation:  Purchasers can have goods shipped/delivered to their homes or other locations.
• Ordering Stuff from Catalogs
  • Browse through a catalog
  • Select stuff
  • Fill out order form, including payment information, and mail it
    • Variation:  Phone in the order
  • Receive stuff at home or other location
  • Return stuff because it's the wrong stuff

• The consumer logs onto the web and accesses the seller's web site.  The seller sends a catalog to the consumer, just like in Pre-Order Model 1.  In this case it is sent from the seller's to the consumer's on-line session on his/her computer desktop. 
• Some web sites now have a feature that allows consumers to find out if the item they want is available.  This is like the inventory inquiry and inventory advice.  If inventory is not available, the consumer  has the option to look elsewhere.  Most web sites do this availability step after the consumer goes through the process of submitting an order and is committed to the buy.
• In most B2C transactions for non-major purchases, the consumer typically does not send a  request-for-quote and wait for a response from the seller.  However, this is not unheard of, especially for big-ticket items, antiques, and other such commodities, which may be sold via uction or an Exchange.
• If the consumer is satisfied and decides to purchase, he/she sends a request from his/her desktop to the seller's server indicating that he/se are ready to buy.  This is analogous to the contract award.  The seller's server responds with an order form sent to the consumer's desktop or by starting a shopping cart in the consumer's on-line session.
• The consumer fills out the order form by selecting items to be put into the shopping cart, and at the end,completing the order with ship-to address and payment information.  This is analogous to a B2B buyer creating an order in a back-end system.
• When the consumer submits the order, it is just like the 'send purchase order' step in Order Model 1. In this case, the order is sent from the consumer's computer desktop to the seller's server.
• The seller's server sends a PO response to theconsumer's desktop.  It may tell the consumer that the order has been accepted and will ship immediately, or it may tell the consumer that the order will be confirmed via e-mail.
• If the goods are not shipped immediately, the consumer may have the opportunity to request a change to the order, which the seller has to respond to, or the seller may send a re-acknowledgment of the order via e-mail.  The seller may request something from the consumer (seller-initiated change); for example, if multiple items are on-order, and one item is backordered, the seller may send a request to the consumer offering them a choice to hold all items until they can ship together or to ship available items immediately and send the backordered item in a separate shipment.  The consumer then sends back a response to the seller.
• Seller may have one warehouse from which they ship stuff, or several strategically located warehouses.   The warehouses may be those of a third-party logistics provider (3PL) with whom the seller has contracted.  The seller or 3PL may ship to the consumer's home, or another location such a recipient of a gift.

• Storefront Order Model
  
  Seller provides a web site that serves as the internet store front.  Goods are shipped to the customer's home or other location from a warehouse.  Payment is by credit card, which allows sellers to do quick credit checks before accepting orders or before shipping orders.
  • Go to seller's web site
  • Log in if you are a returning customer
  • Look at stuff in online catalog
  • Select stuff
  • Register if you are a new customer
  • Fill out order form, including payment information, and push "Submit Order"
  • Receive stuff at home or other location
  
  Amazon.com, is an example of a storefront model.
• Same Day/Next Day Delivery
  
  This is where the consumer places an order in the morning for same-day delivery, or the night before for next-day delivery.  It's really the same as the Storefront Order Model except for the turnaround time.  Many people are familiar with the internet grocery delivery services, which haven't turned out to be profitable for all entrants in the market due to the logistics of having well-stocked warehouses in strategic locations.  However, this is becoming an important service model for the supplying of medicines and medical equipment to homebound patients; in this case, the service availability tends to be localized.

• Kiosk Order Model
  
  Many stores have computers set up in their stores that allow customers to order something that is either out-of-stock, or only available via catalog order.  Goods are shipped from a warehouse which ships either to the store, where the customer can come pick up  when it arrives, or have ship it to the customer's home or other location.  Since the customer is in the store at the time of order placement, there are more payment options - payment doesn't have to be via credit card.
  • Go to retail store
  • View stuff, or look up stuff in the catalog
  • Access the order form on the store's computer
  • Fill out order form, including payment information, and delivery option
    • If payment is other than credit card, pay for stuff
  • Go back to store when stuff arrives, or receive stuff at home or other location

• Aggregator Order Model
  
  There are two types of aggregator models.  One is when buyers join together and bundle their requirements in order to increase their purchasing power.  The buyers are typically businesses, so it's really a B2B model.  In the other type of aggregator model, sellers join together and bundle their offerings to increase their selling power.  Usually, a third party acts on behalf of either buyers or sellers to execute transactions.  Sellers aggregate to reduce cost of sales, extend customer reach and improve customer service, and it offers buyers one-stop shopping for a variety of goods, especially if the aggregation brings together sellers of hard-to-find, specialty products.  From the consumer's perspective, the ordering process is just like the process in the Storefront Order Model.

Staples.com is an example of an aggregator model.  From the consumer's perspective, the consumer is buying everything from Staples.

• Auction and Exchange Models
  
  Used both for big-ticket and high value consumer goods, as well as for materials and capital assets that businesses use to build their products.  Described in more detail in Trading Communities.