In the early days of ecommerce it was more likely that you would have direct interaction with an online business. Before the advent of shopping carts and online credit card transactions you might have been advised to call the online business phone number and place your order over the phone. Packages may have arrived with a hand written mailer and a note of thanks enclosed. As a customer you might have even been saddled with the task of sending a check and then waiting for the product to arrive once payment cleared the bank.
As ecommerce business has expanded, so too have the methods of payment. With the payment issues moving toward an automated accounting system we have seen the fulfillment of orders move toward a more automated function as well.
This is the typical order of product fulfillment with major online companies today.
1) Product ordered through online store using standard shopping cart.
2) Autoresponder used to confirm order placement and payment information.
3) Order added to a fulfillment database.
4) Autoresponder used to alert customer to the successful shipping of the product.
5) Tracking information provided to allow...