Directorate of distance education

Process Mapping
Process Map Example
 

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e) Time to Market
“Time To Market” is the time that is necessary to bring a product 
on the market from a time an idea was put forward. Worldwide, new 
technologies provide an incredible source of inspiration to formalize ideas 
while making Time-To-Market even more critical because of the rapid 
flow of information and speedy competition.
f) Reduction of Costs and ROI
The use of new technologies for the functioning of an enterprise 
makes it possible to reduce the costs on the different levels of its 
organization in time. Nonetheless, implementation of such a project is 
generally very costly and necessarily leads to organizational changes, 
which may cause upheaval in the practices of its employees. It is therefore 
essential to determine the return on investment (ROI) of such a project, 
i.e. the difference between the expected profits and the required overall 
investment, taking into account the cost of human resources mobilized.
Characterization of the e-Business
A company can be viewed as an entity providing products or 
services to clients with the support of products or services of partners 
in a constantly changing environment. The functioning of an enterprise 
can be roughly modeled in accordance with a set of interacting functions, 
which are commonly classified in three categories:
➢ Performance functions, which represent the core of its activity (core 
business), i.e. the production of goods or services. They pertain 
to activities of production, stock management, and purchasing 
(purchasing function);
➢ The management functions, which cover all strategic functions of 
management of the company; they cover general management of 
the company, the human resources (HR) management functions as 
well as the financial and accounting management functions;
➢ The support functions, which support the performance functions 
to ensure proper functioning of the enterprise. Support functions 
conver all activities related with sales (in certain cases, they are part 
 

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of the core business) as well as all activities that are transversal to the 
organization, such as management of technological infrastructures 
(IT, Information Technology function).
➢ Enterprises are generally characterized by the type of commercial 
relationships they maintain. Dedicated terms therefore exist to 
quality this type of relationship:
➢ B To B (Business To Business, sometimes written B2B) means a 
commercial relationship business to business based on the use of a 
numerical support for the exchange of information.
➢ B To C (Business To Consumer, sometimes wrritten B2C) 
means a relationship between a company and the public at large 
(individuals). This is called electronic commerce, whose definition 
is not limited to sales, but rather covers all possible exchanges 
between a company and its clients, from the request for an estimate 
to after-sales service;
➢ B To A (Business To Administration, sometimes written B2A) 
means a relationship between a company and the public sector (tax 
administration, etc.) based on numerical exchange mechanisms 
(teleprocedures, electronic forms, etc.).
As an extension of these concepts, the term B To E (Business To 
Employees, sometimes written B2E) has also emerged to refer to the 
relationship between a company and its employees, in particular through 
the provision of forms directed at them for managing their carreer, 
vacation, or their relationship with the company committee.