First, the significance of the concept of e-commerce
IT (information technology) has brought great development to global industrialization, and network construction has brought unparalleled impetus to global enterprises. It enables all kinds of information of enterprise products to be released to the whole world 24 hours a day, so that people in all corners of the world can get information timely and accurately through the Internet, which brings great convenience to people. At present, government agencies, enterprises and institutions all over the world, especially in developed countries in Europe and America, have established websites and entered the stage of e-commerce, which makes the traditional business model rapidly change to the global networked e-commerce business model. In China, most enterprises, institutions and government agencies have also established websites. However, most of these websites only publish product information and government news online, and few websites can realize online instant trading, online payment, online customs declaration and cargo insurance, which is far from the higher-level goal of networked business operation mode-"e-commerce".
As the most advanced business model in the industry, e-commerce will greatly save money, time and resources for enterprises, and will have an important impact on the commercial operation of the whole industry. According to preliminary statistics, compared with the traditional business model, the business model of e-commerce can save about 5% ~ 7% of the total business, and the e-commerce of international trade can even exceed 15%.
Reduce transaction costs: E-commerce eliminates all complicated procedures, and all business activities are completed online in one go, such as customs, commodity inspection, foreign trade, foreign exchange, industry and commerce, taxation, banking, insurance, freight mode, expenses, cargo insurance, contract signing, etc. , saving a lot of financial resources, material resources, manpower and time, reducing a lot of expenses for enterprises, reducing costs and improving efficiency. E-commerce is starting a new revolution in the field of international trade.
Second, the impact of e-commerce on international trade
First of all, the trading mode in the international trade market has undergone major changes, and a "virtual market" has emerged. E-commerce has opened up a brand-new open, multi-dimensional and three-dimensional market space through online "virtual" information exchange, broken through the condition that the traditional market must be based on a certain geographical existence, and connected the world into a unified "big market" with the information network as the link, which has promoted the formation of world economic globalization and marketization. The global accelerated flow of production factors such as capital, commodities and technology brought by information flow has promoted the rapid development of the global "network economy". In this internet trading environment, the economic and trade ties and cooperation between countries have been greatly strengthened.
Secondly, the main body of international trade has undergone major changes, and "virtual companies" have emerged. Modern information and communication technology connects many companies into a company group network through the core technology owned by a single company in their respective professional fields, and completes the market function that a company cannot undertake, thus providing goods and services to the market more effectively. This new form of enterprise organization does not have the power to force companies to connect with each other in capital relations, but it seems to have some substantive functions because it undertakes certain functions of information collection, processing and transmission. The strategic alliance of multinational corporations is the main manifestation of this "virtual company". Through a dynamic network combination of an open system, we can find resources and alliances, realize "virtual operation" to adapt to the changing economic competition environment and personalized and diversified consumer demand trends, and bring the benefits of division of labor and cooperation, complementary advantages, mutual use of resources and benefit sharing to multinational companies.
Third, great changes have taken place in the way of international trade management. The interactive network operation mechanism provided by e-commerce provides a relatively complete market environment for international trade, and the optimal allocation of transnational resources and production factors through international trade is the link of world economic operation, making the market mechanism fully and effectively play its role on a global scale. This trade mode breaks through the traditional one-way logistics operation mode and realizes the "four-stream integration", that is, a brand-new management mode with logistics as the support, capital flow as the form, information flow as the core and business flow as the main body, and provides all-round, multi-level and multi-angle interactive business services through information networks.
Third, e-commerce brings advantages to Internet trade.
The advantages of online trade are mainly manifested in the following aspects:
1. Internet trade will greatly reduce the transaction costs of buyers and sellers. Buyers and sellers contact directly through the network, without the participation of trade intermediaries, reducing the intermediate links of transactions; All parties involved in the transaction can store, exchange and process information only by paying low network communication and management fees, saving money and reducing costs; Because the Internet is a global open network, it is beneficial for both parties to obtain "complete information", reduce the search cost in the market and reduce the uncertainty of transactions; Direct transmission of electronic documents on the Internet can not only save the production cost of paper documents, but also shorten the time for settlement of foreign exchange by presenting documents, speed up capital turnover and save interest expenses.
2. Online trade improves work efficiency. The existing network technology realizes the instant transmission and exchange of standard format documents (such as contracts, bills of lading, invoices, etc.). Among commercial users, buyers and sellers can directly handle various foreign trade business procedures such as ordering, negotiation, signing, customs declaration, inspection, chartering, booking space, paying taxes, payment and settlement. Being indoors greatly shortens the transaction time, making the whole transaction very fast and convenient, thus promoting the work efficiency of finance, customs, transportation, insurance and other related departments.
3. Online trade is beneficial for enterprises to enhance their competitiveness.
Companies and manufacturers can apply for domain name registration, set up their own websites on the Internet, introduce products and services through webpages, and publicize corporate image, which is conducive to expanding corporate visibility, exploring overseas markets and improving international competitiveness. In addition, Internet trade has no time and geographical restrictions and is less affected by natural conditions. It can conduct "all-weather trading", promote its products to the world and increase trade opportunities. At the same time, it is helpful to grasp the market dynamics in time and accurately, keep close contact with customers and improve the competitive position in the market.
In a word, the global village is the result of globalization, and the development of e-commerce has accelerated the information exchange and communication among different members of the global village. International trade is one of the driving forces of e-commerce, which provides a convenient trading and information transmission platform for international trade. The rise of e-commerce is a profound business revolution in the field of international trade. In this change, the reorganization of the world market and the deepening of international trade innovation will have a far-reaching impact on every country. In order to participate in the international market competition more effectively and gain more benefits in the process of economic globalization, we should attach great importance to the development trend of e-commerce, seriously study and explore the development law of e-commerce and its influence on international trade, so as to take positive countermeasures, cultivate the innovation mechanism and international competitiveness of enterprises, and make China's foreign trade win advantages and initiative in international competition and maintain rapid and healthy development.