Full Project – Design and implementation of an eCommerce system for agricultural products ordering and delivery

Click here to Get this Complete Project Chapter 1-5

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The  internet  has  generated  massive  changes  in  markets,  private  and  public  sectors  and economies of today‘s world. One aspect of internet application that is gaining renewed interest  and  fame  is  the  use  of  internet  for  development and  poverty  reduction.  Both national  governments  and  donor  communities  are  realizing  huge  benefits  the  Internet  can bring to poor communities living in remote areas, particularly the farmers and are adopting  strategies  to  maximize  this  potential.  The  internet  reduces  transaction  costs, changes  markets  structures,  integrates  global  and  local  markets,  and  creates  employment opportunities.  As  such  the  Internet  can  have  a  big  impact  in  stimulating  local  micro-economies and raising the purchasing power of rural peoples. Success stories and experiences from other  developing  countries  about  how the internet has lowered poverty levels in those areas have encouraged the government and many NGOS in Nigeria to adopt rural automation. A  number  of  farming-oriented  information  systems  have  been  developed  by  donor communities to manage farming process.

Due to the great increase in the awareness of internet and the technologies associated with it, several opportunities are coming up on the web. So many businesses and companies now venture into their business with ease because of the internet. One of such business that the internet introduced is the web based ordering system.

Until recently, most of the delivery orders were placed over the phone, but there are many disadvantages to this system.  It is possible for anybody to order any goods via the internet and have the goods delivered at his/her doorsteps. But while trying to discuss the transfer method of the goods and services, attention is focused on the payment mode. In other words, how possible is it to pay for goods and services via the internet? This then leads to the discussion  of  the  economic  consequences  of  digital  cash.  What  are  the  implementations  from  the  view  point  of  economic?  Since  the  world  is  fast becoming a global village, the necessary tool for this process is communication of  which telecommunication is a key player. A major breakthrough is the wireless  telephone system which comes in either fixed wireless telephone lines or the Global System of Mobile communication (GSM).

What I propose is an online ordering system originally designed for use in the agriculture business, but just as applicable in any sector of the agriculture industry. The main advantage of this system is that it greatly simplifies the ordering process for both the customer and the farmer. The system also greatly lightens the load on the farmers’ end, as the entire process of taking orders is automated. Once an order is placed on the webpage that will be designed, it is placed into the database and then retrieved, in pretty much real-time, by a dashboard application on the farmer’s end. Within this application, all items in the order are displayed, along with their corresponding options and delivery details, in a concise and easy to read manner. This allows the farmers to quickly go through the orders as they are placed and produce the necessary items with minimal delay and confusion. The greatest advantage of this system is its flexibilty.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The local farm market  faces  widespread  rip-offs  and  limited  access  to expanded  market.  Middlemen  and  other  unscrupulous elements  buy  agricultural products  at  very  low  prices  from  the  farmers,  taking  advantage  of  their ignorance of prevailing market rates resulting in farmers losing millions of naira worth of their business.

The current circumstances have also denied the farmers the opportunity of accessing the international market and expanding the volume of their trade. Unless this condition  is  significantly  addressed  through  a  vibrant  marketing  service,  farmers  will continue to lose real value for their business and face increased odds in trade.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The aim of the study is to develop a web portal that will address the information needs of the farmers. The following are the objectives:

1. Develop a platform where customers will be able to gather more and reliable information about agricultural products.
2. The products and services offered would provide the customers with all the different categories of available agricultural products that they can choose and order from.
3. This will provide a user friendly environment between the customer and employee thus increasing the efficiency of the agricultural products ordering system.
4. There will also be an online enquiries form with which customers will use to get in touch with the farmers.
5. It will also help for easy retrieval of orders made by the customers.

1.4  SCOPE OF STUDY

The  scope  of  the  study  was limited  to  establishing  the  information  needs  of  the farmers and developing a agricultural products ordering and delivery web portal to serve these needs.

1.5      SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study  findings  add  new  dimensions  to  the  fields  of  web  computing  and  management information systems through advancement of a new web technology-based approach to solve persistent problems in farming and sales.  The findings are further, hoped to  solve,  via  the  proposed  web  portal,  the  main  problems  bedeviling  the  farmers  such  as  inability  to  access  international  market,  low  animal  prices  and  frauds  in agricultural products supply chain.

1.6      LIMITATIONS

During the process of developing this project work, some challenges were encountered. These include:

1. Lack of Power Supply: the nature of power supply is discouraging, after a complete research, there is not enough power supply to compile the project work electronically and this led to the delay of this work.
2. Finance: the cost of producing this project material almost brought this project work to an end.

iii.    Lack of material from the case study: the process of getting information from the farmers in local areas was not encouraging; as the farmers find it difficult to release or explain the process involve in the storage, sales and accounts of their products

1.7      DEFINITION OF TERMS

Pastoralist:  A way of life of peoples who do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or  periodically.  It  is  distinguished  from  migration,  which  is  noncyclical and  involves  a  total  change  of  habitat.  Nomadism  does  not  imply  unrestricted  and undirected  wandering;  rather,  it  is  based  on  temporary  centers whose  stability depends on the availability of food supply and the technology for exploiting it. The term  ̳nomad’encompasses three  general  types:  nomadic  hunters  and  gatherers, pastoral nomads, and tinker or trader nomads (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011).

Transhumance:    A  form  of  pastoralism  organized  around  the  migration  of  livestock  between mountain pastures in warm seasons and lower altitudes the rest of the year. The seasonal  migration  may  also  occur  between  lower  and  upper  latitudes.  Most peoples   who   practice   transhumance   also   engage   in   some   form   of   crop cultivation,   and   there   is   usually   some   kind   of   permanent   settlement. Transhumance is practiced in those parts of the world where there are (Solomon, 2002)(Igwerson, 1996)mountains, highlands, or other areas that are too cold to be inhabited (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011).

Web:  The  leading  information  retrieval  service  of  the  Internet  (the  worldwide  computer network).  The  Web  gives  users  access  to  a  vast  array  of  documents  that  are  connected  to  each   other   by   means   of   hypertext   or   hypermedia   links—i.e., hyperlinks,   electronic connections  that  link  related  pieces  of  information  in  order  to  allow  a  user  easy  access  to them.  Hypertext  allows  the  user  to  select  a  word  from  text  and  thereby  access  other documents   that   contain   additional   information   pertaining   to   that   word;   hypermedia documents   feature   links   to   images,   sounds,   animations,   and   movies   (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011).

Web application:    A  client/server  application  that  uses  the  web  browser  as  its  client  and  performs  an interactive service by connecting with servers over the Internet (Leon, 2003). Web portal:: A Web site or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail,  forums,  search  engines,  and  online  shopping  malls,    online  services  such  as AOL, and  Google  (Webopedia , 2011)

Get the Complete Project

This is a premium project material and the complete research project plus questionnaires and references can be gotten at an affordable rate of N3,000 for Nigerian clients and $8 for international clients.

Click here to Get this Complete Project Chapter 1-5

You can also check other Research Project here:

1. Accounting Research Project
2. Adult Education
3. Agricultural Science
4. Banking & Finance
5. Biblical Theology & CRS
6. Biblical Theology and CRS
7. Biology Education
8. Business Administration
9. Computer Engineering Project
10. Computer Science 2
11. Criminology Research Project
12. Early Childhood Education
13. Economic Education
14. Education Research Project
15. Educational Administration and Planning Research Project
16. English
17. English Education
18. Entrepreneurship
19. Environmental Sciences Research Project
20. Guidance and Counselling Research Project
21. History Education
22. Human Kinetics and Health Education
23. Management
24. Maritime and Transportation
25. Marketing
26. Marketing Research Project 2
27. Mass Communication
28. Mathematics Education
29. Medical Biochemistry Project
30. Organizational Behaviour

32    Other Projects pdf doc

1. Political Science
2. Psychology
3. Public Administration
4. Public Health Research Project
5. More Research Project
6. Transportation Management
7. Nursing

Education

Essay 

Full Project – Design and implementation of an eCommerce system for agricultural products ordering and delivery