The use of these tools, whether these be EDI, web commerce, electronic payments etc., will vary by company depending upon the nature of the business activity and the size of the company. Electronic commerce is an activity that one company cannot undertake by itself. Business have trading partners. All businesses need to communicate with these trading partners. So an important attribute of electronic commerce is the exchange of information with trading partners.
Electronic commerce is also about computers.
Some commentators argue that electronic commerce can be done without computers, eg telephone banking. However, with the convergence of telecommunications and computer technology this is more a discussion point. For the sake of simplicity, we will state that electronic commerce requires the use of computer technology. Electronic commerce is also about communictions. Companies need to communicate, in electronic forms, with trading partners.