畢業(yè)設(shè)計外文資料翻譯-在線食品雜貨訂單履行的交易

1、畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）外文資料翻譯學(xué) 院： 專業(yè)班級： ) 學(xué)生姓名： 學(xué) 號： 指導(dǎo)教師： 外文出處：Online Grocery Order Fulfillment Tradeoffs 附 件：1.外文資料翻譯譯文； 2.外文原文 指導(dǎo)教師評語：翻譯材料與畢業(yè)設(shè)計課題有一定關(guān)聯(lián)，學(xué)生根據(jù)要求能正確翻譯外文材料，充分表達出原文意思，語句通順。按時完成外文翻譯任務(wù)，總體上符合相關(guān)要求。簽名： 2015年 101.外文資料翻譯譯文在線食品雜貨訂單履行的交易摘要：這項研究分析了在線食品在他們履行策略上的交易，大眾最初更加傾向于去商店購買復(fù)合型食品雜貨，而不是去分散式的購物中心。當(dāng)傳統(tǒng)的購物者采用了在線訂

2、購時，商店購物這種方式在擁塞以及購物車的緊張的狀態(tài)下就顯現(xiàn)出劣勢了。盡管分散式的購物中心也減少了店鋪的擁擠，提高了挑選質(zhì)量和產(chǎn)品選擇，但是在線購買增加了大眾對于高消費以及不確定需求的擔(dān)憂。我們推進一種最小化避免擁擠的在線食品雜貨訂單模式。從業(yè)者可以使用這種模式防止消費者不滿意，而研究人員也將發(fā)現(xiàn)這種模式為未來的多樣模式提供了基礎(chǔ)。1介紹在線食品雜貨的開辟者單純的來經(jīng)營公司，在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)繁榮的年代，這些公司使用合資企業(yè)來創(chuàng)新性的經(jīng)營。然而，自由消費和低于消費者可接受的在線食品購買力導(dǎo)致大多數(shù)情況下需要開辟者或者停止需要。例如，西夫韋 GroceryWorks,美國收購了豆莢和簡化,最終關(guān)閉。圖1 在

3、線銷售雜貨百分比圖1顯示美國網(wǎng)上雜貨銷售的百分比,根據(jù)木星研究估計,該百分比正在逐年增加,到2009年將達到1%。雖然從樂觀預(yù)測的角度看，這種不超過5%雜貨銷售將長期存在,將達到200億美元。根據(jù)其他來源的估計,在線購物收入在1998年是2.35億美元,2002年是2.4億年，2006年達到6.2億。從2002年到2004年，幾個e-grocers的銷售每年增長超過50%。FreshDirect每月的銷售額在2004年增加了25%,活躍客戶較上年同期增加四倍。它曾經(jīng)拒絕約1000個訂閱者，因為他承受了太多壓力。在歐洲,2010年，雜貨總收入的10%的預(yù)計將在網(wǎng)上獲得。在英國,在線市場在2000

4、年達到10億年，繁榮狀況超越美國,在一定程度上解釋了英國零售商的分散程度小,人口密集的問題,這同時也促進有效的交付,并且方便那些消費者前往商店。英國特易購網(wǎng)上銷售,是世界最大的在線零售商,增長從2000年的50萬磅開始,2004年達到577萬，在2006年達到近10億英鎊。2006年圣誕周期間,樂購需要超過額外的送貨車和數(shù)以百計的其他員工來滿足需求。2網(wǎng)上購物的好處網(wǎng)上購物的客戶受益于便利和更高質(zhì)量、以及獲得更新鮮的食物。網(wǎng)上方便包括以下的幾種能力:(1)添加購物清單,(2)與其他家庭成員發(fā)送郵件,(3)評論項目(4)得到個性化的優(yōu)惠券(5)將卡路里和營養(yǎng)信息進行排序,如鈉含量和(6)從網(wǎng)上食

5、譜中給“一個點餐”的成分自動進行排序。此外,經(jīng)過嚴(yán)格的溫度控制，食物更加新鮮，加工品質(zhì)更加高和在線零售商的配送中心獲得最短供應(yīng)鏈。通過使用他們的購物清單，消費者也可以節(jié)省時間,使得訂單時間平均只有20分鐘,雖然第一次網(wǎng)上訂單大約需要一個小時。Home-helpers老人和殘疾人的利基客戶。在線零售商通常很忙,因為方便相對富裕的消費者愿意支付交貨。3反對網(wǎng)上購物 這種消費根深蒂固的習(xí)慣是很難改變的，消費者可能不愿支付運輸費用。盡管需求增加,客戶獲取成本范圍從200美元到700美元，為e-grocers提供高質(zhì)量的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)來獲得忠誠和保留住那些經(jīng)常猶豫不決的選擇的顧客，因此這是至關(guān)重要的。如果消

6、費者在他們的在線購買時感到失望，這可能使得他們無限期離開并阻止其他人嘗試網(wǎng)上購物。下面將討論在線零售商需要解決的質(zhì)量問題。4網(wǎng)上購物的問題e-grocers有許多挑戰(zhàn)需要去克服。要解決的問題包括感官、替換,處理溫度、復(fù)雜性和交付。這些可以通過提供成熟可用的信息和一個成熟消費者的評論框來獲取他們想要的結(jié)果。4.1感官問題在線產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量很難評估,尤其是對于未包裝的項目例如生產(chǎn)來說。除了包裝商品,很多雜貨產(chǎn)品非標(biāo)項目。變量非標(biāo)準(zhǔn)項目難以描述和表示在線。水果是一個從項目到項目不同的例子,與品牌包裝商品不同。許多雜貨店產(chǎn)品是“觸摸和感覺”的,顧客更傾向于購買前檢查一下。在網(wǎng)上比實體店有著更加少的感覺,人們

7、通常嗅覺和觸覺來評估水果是否新鮮和成熟。例如,有些人喜歡買香蕉是綠色的,而其他人則喜歡香蕉黃色。在線零售商需要提供一種通信來判別是否成熟。 4.2替代問題替換缺貨的產(chǎn)品的一個問題在于網(wǎng)上購買不知道選擇什么樣的才能滿足客戶。例如,需要一個食譜的未交付的一個項目會讓客戶感到惱火,但用一個不同的品牌也會導(dǎo)致不滿。根據(jù)一個40個在線訂單的消費者研究可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，沒有一個顧客收到全部訂單,大約五分之一的替代物品不可接受的。消費者的邏輯替換是直觀的和高度的。為了彌補這個問題,豆莢顯示如果他們的第一選擇是不可用的，那么在線消費者將被取代。 4.3處理問題 e-grocers的另一個品質(zhì)的挑戰(zhàn)是處理軟水果和其他脆

8、弱的東西,這些東西很容易被壓扁或受損。培訓(xùn)員工仔細挑選和包裝的重要性是至關(guān)重要的。因為在線零售商需要建立信任,避免消費者的不滿。在線零售商通常在堅固的盒子或包物品箱交付而不是塑料袋防止損害脆弱的東西。 4.4溫度問題許多雜貨店產(chǎn)品溫度敏感。除非溫度控制，否則冷藏和冷凍食品很容易變質(zhì)。在線零售商需要非常小心地控制溫度和使用冷藏卡車和貨車。例如,FreshDirect 通過加工中心進行生產(chǎn)和包裝，保持食物在或低于364.5交貨問題交付也具有挑戰(zhàn)性，并且是昂貴的,因為不同的溫度控制所需不同的卡車或貨車。例如,SimonDelivers使用盒子,可以保持冰淇淋凍在80華氏度的天氣和在八小時內(nèi)的進行交付

9、。這些物品往往很笨重，盡管他們相對價值通常非常小。與相對成本交付相比，高容量的價值是增加的,否則就需要更多的卡車和司機。高效的運輸卡車路由是另一個挑戰(zhàn)。5網(wǎng)上購物的商業(yè)模式 e-grocer失敗通常是由于經(jīng)常使用沒有被驗證的商業(yè)模式。當(dāng)前和已在線雜貨商的商業(yè)模式包括從商店或配送中心或兩者同時來實現(xiàn);無人值守的交付;并從商店或其他地點接入。 5.1商店實現(xiàn) 特易購(Tesco),世界上最大的送貨上門雜貨商,英國的96%人口靠近該商店。其商業(yè)模式,專注于改進增量來降低風(fēng)險,是基于商店實現(xiàn)的模式。員工使用一種稱為“選擇手推車”的特殊車，用屏幕指南和“貨架標(biāo)識符”軟件安裝來指示他們,其通過選擇列表中的

10、條目。然而,這個過程是勞動密集型的，所以樂購沒有排除在未來合理的配送中心訂單中的體積因素。事實上,2006年2月在克羅伊登,倫敦南部開設(shè)了一個店,在這個地方有較少的一些異常忙碌的商店。目前在商店選擇依賴 HYPERLINK / o Enter自動提交 HYPERLINK / o HYPERLINK / 小倉庫。sooper公司,克羅格品牌,是目前網(wǎng)上只有在科羅拉多州才擁有。K有一個“網(wǎng)上訂購發(fā)送”包括禮品卡、鮮花、優(yōu)質(zhì)肉類和優(yōu)質(zhì)水果。盡管這用于在西雅圖,波特蘭、舊金山、洛杉磯、圣地亞哥、拉斯維加斯、博伊西提供交付,但是它已經(jīng)關(guān)閉了其在線商店。 5.2從配送中心實現(xiàn) 盡管許多創(chuàng)新,e-groce

11、r創(chuàng)業(yè)先鋒在配送中心方面要求有昂貴和有太多的需求的能力。例如,Webva希望利用“最后一英里”,在巨大的高度自動化的倉庫上花了12億美元。然而,Webvan由于高估了對網(wǎng)上購買雜貨和低估了物流的需求問題而失敗。 FreshDirect在紐約成功履行訂單的配送中心。這個在線雜貨商有一個基于按訂單制造的有趣的和獨特的商業(yè)模式,即類似的概念,來成功地使用戴爾電腦。FreshDirect提供高質(zhì)量的新鮮食品的策略使其獲得8%的利潤是行業(yè)平均水平的4倍。 SimonDelivers在明尼蘇達州,保羅使用一個基于路徑實現(xiàn)的配送中心。如利用MobileCast UPS物流技術(shù)來通知用戶的送貨到達時間。 在英

12、國,2001年中期,阿斯達(1999年收購沃爾瑪)添加一個基于web的訂單系統(tǒng),它可以用來提供選定地區(qū)專用倉庫。Ocado創(chuàng)業(yè)雜貨商,與Waitrose商店,可以提供從配送中心到倫敦,它認為這樣可以實現(xiàn)更有效的商店。5.3無人值守交付 雖然精簡,但是Shoplink已擁有許多商業(yè)模式創(chuàng)新的功能,但是他們是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫的破滅的受害者。簡化目標(biāo)為兩個有孩子的家庭收入,提供了一個“不要耗盡”服務(wù)，來自動補充continuously-needed商品的消費者的庫存和每周的計劃交付。 SimonDelivers現(xiàn)在使用一個類似的“報紙路線交貨”模型來幫助控制成本。簡化提供商品和服務(wù)以外的食品,如視頻和干洗

13、。令人驚訝的是,盡管用“最后一英里”提供的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)以外的食品會增加利潤,除了特易購(Tesco)和施萬,目前大多數(shù)在線零售商忽視這個機會。簡化也因為無人值守交付客戶的車庫的冰箱而使用一個帶鎖的箱子條目。無人值守交付不再是常見，雖然豆莢和SimonDelivers離開絕緣冷卻器而擠滿了干冰;以及Netgrocer使用聯(lián)邦快遞，得以提供儲存一些不易腐爛的食品。亞馬遜也提供儲存一些不易腐爛的食物。研究表明其他形式的無人值守交付,如從避免緊交付的角度來擔(dān)保交付和共享接收盒、捕捉節(jié)約成本。 電子商務(wù)越來越流行，已經(jīng)成為用戶普遍接受和使用的業(yè)務(wù)模式。 電子商務(wù)應(yīng)用程序支持數(shù)據(jù)在通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)參與商業(yè)交易涉及的

14、過程中管理各方之間的相互作用。研究人員將日益重要的電子商務(wù)在佐治亞技術(shù)研究所中心對GPU（圖形，可視化和可用性）進行研究是明顯的。對他們第八調(diào)查結(jié)果中進行總結(jié)，研究人員報告說，“無論是在用戶購物還是通過基于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)交易花費的數(shù)量方面，電子商務(wù)都在高速發(fā)展著。” 10000受訪者中的四分之三以上表示在網(wǎng)上購買商品。最常引用的理由使用網(wǎng)上購物是方便（65），其次是供應(yīng)商信息（60）的可用性，沒有壓力的形式銷售（55）和節(jié)省時間（53）。一個好的電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站應(yīng)提交下列對客戶更好的可用性的因素11：根據(jù)調(diào)查顯示，電子商務(wù)的安全性正在增加。它們逐漸具有以下幾方面的優(yōu)點：將項目添加到購物車之后，返回到站點的

15、不同部分。輕松瀏覽商品，并在列表中選擇項目。簡單的導(dǎo)航，從主頁到具體產(chǎn)品的信息或鏈接。明顯的購物鏈接或按鈕。最小的和有效的安全通知或者消息。布局一致的產(chǎn)品信息。電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站設(shè)計中的另一個重要因素是反饋。由用戶輸入的命令直到EB站點響應(yīng)，用戶和網(wǎng)站之間的互動周期是不完整的。據(jù)諾曼稱，“反饋 - 發(fā)回實際上已經(jīng)做了用戶信息化，是控制科學(xué)的著名概念，信息論。想象一下，你甚至不能聽到自己的聲音，或者嘗試畫一幅無標(biāo)記的鉛筆畫：不會有反饋。在視覺或口頭信息的變化上呈現(xiàn)給用戶。簡單的實例包括由用戶做出的選擇或者基于一個窗體上填充字段用戶從下拉列表中選擇。另一個例子是使用收銀機的聲音，以確認一個產(chǎn)品已被添加至

16、電子購物車。已完成訂單迅速確認。這可以用一個確認或完成頁面來完成。生成所花費的時間并下載該頁面的數(shù)量，但是，刺激了電子商務(wù)用戶的來源。用戶很快獲得有意義的事件。空白頁，或者是一個用戶認為是“很長一段時間”，通過收到確認，可以被解釋為“一定有什么用蓉的順序?！比绻傻拇_認可能需要比用戶預(yù)期的要長，那么設(shè)計應(yīng)包括被確認或履行進展情況的用戶中間的反饋。最后，反饋不應(yīng)分散的用戶。通過網(wǎng)站提出的行動和做出的反應(yīng)應(yīng)該是有意義的。反饋不應(yīng)該通過從收集信息，選擇產(chǎn)品，下訂單的重要任務(wù)中來吸引用戶的注意力。2.外文原文Online Grocery Order Fulfillment TradeoffsJudy

17、 E. Scott University of Colorado at Denver and ABSTRACTThis study analyzes tradeoffs online grocers face in their fulfillment strategy. Brick and click grocers initially favor fulfillment from stores rather than distribution centers. However, store fulfillment is vulnerable to congestion and “trolle

18、y rage” when pickers of online orders get in the way of traditional shoppers. Although fulfillment from distribution centers relieves store congestion, and improves picking productivity and product selection, online grocers show concern for the high cost and uncertain demand. We propose a model for

19、minimizing congestion of online grocery orders. Practitioners can use the model to prevent customer dissatisfaction while researchers will find this study provides a basis for future model variants.1. IntroductionThe pioneers in online groceries were pure play firms that used venture capital to expe

20、riment with innovative ideas during the dotcom boom. However, unconstrained spending and slower than expected consumer adoption of buying groceries over the Internet resulted in most pure play pioneers being acquired or closed down during the dotcom bust. For example, Safeway acquired GroceryWorks,

21、Ahold USA acquired Peapod and Streamline, and Shoplink and Webvan closed downFigure 1. Percentage grocery sales onlineFigure 1 shows that the percentage of U.S. grocery sales online, according to Jupiter Research estimates, is increasing, and will reach 1% by 2009. Although optimistic forecasts do n

22、ot expect more than 5% grocery sales will be online long term, this would be $ 20 billion. Other sources estimate that online grocery revenue was $235 million in 1998, $2.4 billion in 2002 and $6.2 billion in 2006. Sales at several e-grocers increased more than 50% per year from 2002 to 2004. FreshD

23、irects monthly sales increased 25% in 2004 and active customers increase fourfold from a year earlier. It once had to refuse about 1,000 orders because it was overwhelmed.In Europe, 10% of total grocery revenue is expected to be online by 2010. In the UK, the online market was $1 billion in 2000 and

24、 is thriving more than in the US, partly explained by the smaller degree of fragmentation of UK grocers, denser population which facilitates efficient deliveries, and greater inconvenience consumers have to travel to stores. Online sales at Tesco UK, the worlds largest online grocer, grew from 50 mi

25、llion pounds in 2000, 577 million pounds in 2004 to almost 1 billion pounds in 2006. During the Christmas week in 2006, Tesco needed more than 300 extra delivery vans and hundreds of additional staff to cope with the demand.2. Benefits of online grocery shoppingOnline grocery customers benefit from

26、convenience and higher quality, fresher food 5, 12, 17-19. Online conveniences include the ability to (1) add to the saved shopping list over several days, (2) email lists to other family members, (3) comment on items, (4) receive personalized coupons, (5) sort items by calorie count or nutritional

27、information such as sodium content and (6) order the ingredients for “one click meals” automatically from online recipes. Furthermore, food is fresher and higher quality when processed under the strict temperature control and shorter supply chain in online grocers distribution centers.Consumers also

28、 save time by reusing their shopping lists, resulting in orders averaging only 20 minutes, although the first time online order takes about an hour. Home-helpers of the elderly and disabled are niche customers. Online grocers often target busy and relatively affluent consumers who are willing to pay

29、 for delivery because of the convenience.3. Resisting online grocery shoppingConsumers ingrained shopping habits are difficult to change and consumers may be reluctant to pay the delivery charge. Although the demand is increasing, customer acquisition costs range from $200 to $700 so it is critical

30、for e-grocers to provide high quality products and service to gain loyalty and retain customers who often ventured online hesitantly. If consumers are disappointed in their online experience they may stay away indefinitely and also discourage others from trying online grocery shopping. The quality i

31、ssues that need to be addressed by online grocers are discussed next.4. Issues for online grocery shoppingThere are many challenges for e-grocers to overcome. Issues to address include sensory, substitution, handling, temperature, and delivery complexity.4.1 Sensory IssuesProduct quality is difficul

32、t to evaluate online, especially for non-packaged items such as produce. Other than packaged goods, many of the grocery products sold are non-standard items. Variable non-standard items are difficult to describe and represent online. Again, fruit is an example that varies from item to item, unlike b

33、randed packaged goods.Many grocery products are “touch and feel” items that customers prefer to inspect before purchase. Fewer sensory cues are available online than in the physical stores where people often smell and touch fruit to assess whether it is fresh and ripe. The degree of ripeness desired

34、 is highly personal. For example, some people like to buy bananas that are green while others prefer their bananas yellow. Online grocers need to provide a way of communicating the ripeness available and the ripeness desired. Some sites do this by providing information on the ripeness available and

35、a comment box for consumers to specify what ripeness they want.4.2 Substitution IssuesSubstitution for items out of stock is a problem online since the picker does not know what would satisfy the customer. For example, non-delivery of an item needed in a recipe will annoy customers, but substituting

36、 a different brand may also result in dissatisfaction. A consumer study of 40 online orders found none of the shoppers received their full order, and around a fifth of the substitute items were unacceptable. Consumers logic for substitution is intuitive and highly personal. To compensate for this pr

37、oblem, Peapod shows consumers online what will be substituted if their first choice is not available.4.3 Handling IssuesAnother quality challenge for e-grocers is handling soft fruit and other fragile items, which can easily be squashed or damaged. Training employees in the importance of picking and

38、 packing carefully is critical since online grocers need to build trust and avoid consumer dissatisfaction. Online grocers typically pack items in sturdy boxes or crates for delivery rather than bags to prevent damage to fragile items.4.4 Temperature IssuesMany grocery products are temperature sensi

39、tive. Refrigerated and frozen items can spoil easily unless the temperature is controlled. Online grocers need to be very careful with temperature control and use refrigerated trucks and vans. For example, FreshDirect keeps food at 36 F or below all the way through production and packing at its proc

40、essing center, and in its trucks during shipping. Food is only exposed to warmer air when the delivery person removes an order from the truck. In contrast, during the traditional value chain groceries typically go through temperature fluctuations as they pass from wholesaler to truck to grocer to cu

41、stomer cart and home. Supermarkets choose temperatures for shoppers comfort, while distribution centers choose ideal temperatures for the food. FreshDirect, which has 12 different temperature zones in its processing center, professes that it sells a better quality product since it gets groceries to

42、the consumer faster with better temperature control.4.5 Delivery IssuesDelivery is also challenging and expensive because of the varied temperature control needed in the trucks or vans 23. For example, SimonDelivers uses boxes that can keep ice cream frozen for eight hours in 80 degrees Fahrenheit w

43、eather and picks up the boxes on the next delivery. Also the items are often bulky and heavy even though their relative value is often very little. The high volume to value ratio increases the relative cost of delivery since more trucks and drivers are needed than otherwise. Efficient routing of del

44、ivery trucks is another challenge.5. Online grocery business modelsThe e-grocer failures often used business models that had not been validated. Current and defunct online grocer business models include fulfillment from stores or distribution centers or both; unattended delivery; and pick up from th

45、e stores or other locations.5.1 Fulfillment from storesTesco, the largest home delivery grocer in the world, has store proximity to 96% of U.K.s population. Its business model, focusing on incremental improvement to lower risk, is based on fulfillment from stores. Employees use special carts called

46、picking trolleys mounted with screen guides and shelf identifier software instructing them where to pick the items in the list. However, this procedure is labor intensive so Tesco has not ruled out centralized distribution centers in the future when justified by the volume of orders. In fact, in Feb

47、ruary 2006 it opened a -only store in Croydon, south London where it has fewer stores and some that are exceptionally busy .Brick-and-click grocers typically pick and deliver from their stores. Safeway and King Soopers are online in limited cities. Safeway, based on a partnership with GroceryWorks a

48、nd Tesco, offers online delivery services in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. GroceryWorks business model started with one large warehouse, changed to multiple,smaller warehouses, and currently relies on in -store picking. King Soopers, a Kroger brand, is currently online

49、 only in Colorado. K has an “Order Online, Send Anywhere” option for gift cards, flowers, premium meats and premium fruits. Although Albertsons used to offer delivery in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles/San Diego, Las Vegas, and Boise, it has closed its online store.5.2 Fulfillment from

50、 distribution centersDespite many innovations, pioneer pure play e-grocer startups distribution centers were much too costly and had far too much capacity for the demand at that time. Webvan, for example, aspiring to leverage the “l(fā)ast mile,” spent over $1.2 billion on huge highly automated warehous

51、es. However, Webvan failed from overestimating the demand for buying groceries online and underestimating the logistic problems.FreshDirect successfully fulfills orders from a distribution center in New York. This online grocer has an interesting and unique business model based on make-to-order, a s

52、imilar concept to that used successfully by Dell Computer. FreshDirects strategy of providing high quality fresh food enables it to earn 8% margins which are four times the industry average.SimonDelivers in Minneapolis-St. Paul uses a distribution center and route-based fulfillment. Tools such as Mo

53、bileCast from UPS Logistics technologies inform its users of the delivery arrival time.In the UK, in mid-2001, Asda (purchased by Wal-Mart Stores in 1999) added a web-based order system, ASDAhome, which delivers in selected areas from dedicated warehouses. Ocado, a startup grocer that partnered with

54、 Waitrose stores, delivers to London from a distribution center, which it believes is more effective than fulfillment from stores.5.3 Unattended deliveryAlthough Streamline and Shoplink had business models with many innovative features, they were victims of the dotcom bust. Streamline targeted two i

55、ncome families with children, provided a “dont run out” service which automatically replenished the consumers inventory of continuously-needed items and scheduled delivery everyweek .SimonDelivers now uses a similar “newspaper route delivery” model to help control costs. Streamline offered goods and

56、 services beyond groceries, such as videos and dry cleaning. Surprisingly, although using the “l(fā)ast mile” to provide products and services beyond groceries increases margins, with the exception of Tesco and Schwans, currently most online grocers ignore this opportunity. Streamline also offered unatt

57、ended delivery to a refrigerator in the customers garage using a lockbox for entry. Unattended delivery is no longer common although Peapod and SimonDelivers leave insulated coolers packed with dry ice; and Netgrocer uses Fedex to deliver non-perishables. Amazon is also delivering non-perishables 11

58、. Research has suggested other forms of unattended delivery, such as secured delivery boxes and shared reception boxes, to capture cost savings from avoiding tight delivery windows 3, 36-38.E-commerce is fast gaining ground as an accepted and used business paradigm.Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) a

59、pplications support the interaction between different parties participating in a commerce transaction via the network, as well as the management of the data involved in the process .The increasing importance of e-commerce is apparent in the study conducted by researchers at the GVU (Graphics, Visual

60、ization, and Usability) Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In their summary of the findings from the eighth survey, the researchers report that “e-commerce is taking off both in terms of the number of users shopping as well as the total amount people are spending via Internet based trans