《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》63 E-commerce, the Small Business Road to Profits

　　Unit 63
E-commerce, the Small Business Road to Profits
Is it correct to say, "As the big get bigger, the small get smaller?" It could well be so, if it weren't for the Internet and the surge of "electronic commerce". Much has been changed. Think back to a decade ago and imagine you were looking for a specialized¹ product. It's a story which happened to me.
I wanted to purchase 300 quill² pens to hand them out to guests at a function being held in Nov. 1991. It wasn't until I had exhausted³ almost all of the Melbourne Yellow Pages directory that I gained a lead. A Melbourne gift supplier knew of a company in Britain that produced quill pens in the quantities which I required. I commenced by faxing the Sales Manager. Having no response after a week, I sent another fax addressing it to "anyone who can help me". A week later I received a brochure. We chose the quill pens most suitable and placed an order for 300 via the fax. After 3 days I rang the company to see where my order was, only to find out the order had not been received. I proceeded to refax the information. The order then was processed and they asked for a deposit which was sent. They then confirmed the order. Being in the freight forwarding business, I asked our UK agent to pick up the shipment for me in three days. At that point the unexpected occurred. They didn't have the required number of quill pens in stock. The order was incapable⁴ of being fulfilled on time! The result? The whole process took 6 weeks to reach the point where the outcome was negative. This was in 1991.
That is not the way o do business in 2000. If today I was looking for quill pens, I would go straight to the Internet. There I would find numerous suppliers of quill pens and be able to see clear pictures, examine prices, know when and how the product could be delivered, and order and pay for it. Today suppliers compete by their web pages and have opened up the whole world to their products.
E-commerce helps small businesses compete in the world market, against multinational⁵ organizations. Businesses, no matter how small, become virtual organizations and can give the same information as though all the components⁶ of manufacturing, warehousing and freight were available as in-house functions.
Let's assume that my quill pen supplier in Britain is now just that -- the supplier. The customer, however, doesn't know that! The several participants in its supply chain are now the manufacturer, the marketing⁷ company (my quill pen company), the freight company, the distributor and the end user. The Supply Chain can be electronically automated⁸ with the greatest of ease. It does not matter how many participants are involved, or how far and extended is the supply chain. The Internet does the rest!
E-commerce enables small to medium-sized businesses to usefully interact within the Supply Chain, as if they were all part of the same organizations they now have the tools to compete! All this happened in a market which, until recently, was regarded for the big players only. Overall it brings competitiveness and greater profitability.

1 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

2 quill   

n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶

参考例句：

• He wrote with a quill.他用羽毛笔写字。
• She dipped a quill in ink,and then began to write.她将羽毛笔在墨水里蘸了一下，随后开始书写。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

5 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

6 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。