Table of Contents
Introduction. Problem Statement
- Walmart marketplace B2C model allows selected third-party vendors to sell products to consumers (Naujoks, 2020).
- The company does not take ownership of such products.
- Sellers make logistical arrangements for the products sold.
- Without an in-house delivery system for third-party vendors, some consumers might decide against making purchases, denying Walmart substantial income.
- A new table and process should be added to the system to handle deliveries for local and international clients.
User Management Table
- The added table with attributes indicating consumer’s address.
- City, country, address, postal code, and mobile details help specify the location where products should be delivered.
Design Contracts and Algorithms
- Contracts offer preconditions, post conditions, and class invariants/constraints.
- They are best defined/specified in class and functional documentation of software as shown in previous class diagrams.
- Development language for design contracts include C (ACSL), C# (Spec#), Java (JML), JavaScript (JSConTest), and PHP (Praspel).
Mechanisms to Detect/Prevent Errors
- Regular inventory check by the third-party sellers.
- Two-way factor authentication during login.
- Ensuring the customer signs when the package is delivered.
- Reconcile transactions weekly/monthly.
- Regular systems audit.
References
Lai, G., Liu, H., Xiao, W., & Zhao, X. (2022). “Fulfilled by Amazon”: A strategic perspective of competition at the e-commerce platform. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.
Naujoks, T. (2020). Marketing functions and B2C e-marketplaces: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Marketing Channels, 26(4), 250-262. Web.
Wang, O., Somogyi, S., & Charlebois, S. (2020). Food choice in the e-commerce era: A comparison between business-to-consumer (B2C), online-to-offline (O2O) and new retail. British Food Journal. Web.