E Business

E-Business

One company that comes to mind when thinking of E-Business is Office Depot which is an office supply store that started with a single store. E-Business is any business/transactions a company conducts via the internet to run and maintain the company (Lorette, 2015).

The internet and e-business have changed the way brick-and-mortar companies and businesses conduct business. With E-Business companies are able to purchase and sell products and services to consumers without having to come to a physical location. This saves both time and money. This would include customer service, placing orders and processing orders as well as communicating. E-Business allows office depot customers to shop from convenient location and having orders shipped directly to them. Their website offers customers the option to set up an online account or shop as a guest. Customers are able to track orders, return purchases and even chat online with a live customer service representative.

Office Depot was started before E-Business and has adjusted very well. The company opened its first store in 1986 in Lauderdale, FL. eventually growing into three stores with a total of over 1million in sales. By 1987 the company had grown with stores in stores in Georgia and additional stores in Florida totaling about 650 employees. By the late 90’s Office Depot had nearly over 170 locations in more than 25 states. Office Depot also merged with another office company named The Office Club, Inc. The merger made Office Depot the largest seller and distributer of office supplies in North America (“Office Depot Company History", 2015). After the merger according to ("Office Depot Company History" (2015). “Office Depot began to leverage the Internet aggressively, launching the first of a number of new Web sites. The award-winning site established Office Depot as the industry's technology leader, expanded its domestic e-commerce capabilities, and ultimately extended the