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Technology Stocks : Commerce One Inc - (CMRC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MDGO who wrote (1114)	4/12/2000 3:41:00 AM
From: Kashish King	Respond to of 1938

The problem with making money on B2B is that it's based on open standards. Anybody with a $500 server and a reasonably fast Internet connection (DSL for example) should have no trouble participating in a B2B network. Rather than having one gigantic service, there will be thousands of miniature servers communicating with larger public servers in an open system. The participating systems will communicate with each other using software (probably free) that is based on open industry standards. Suppose you wanted to sell winter clothing for Pez candy dispensers. Let's futher assume you have the information regarding that product in your company database -- that's usually the case regardless of B2B requirements. Well, the first task would be to determine what category you want to advertise your product under. You will pick from a list of existing product categories. Each category will have an existing XML vocabulary but you don't need to know anything about that. Forget the high-tech buzzwords and just pick the category for a tree of product and service types. Next, you will hit the publish button in your company's database XML publisher. What you will end up with is one or more text files that describe the Pez Candy Dispenser Clothing in terms of the closest category you could find: confections.novelties.wacky for example. So how do you let the world know you have the goods? You connect to any B2B exchange with the click of a button. How do you know if there is any interest and/or activity? Just go to any exchange using your browser and log in. So you see, it's the monster exchanges that have the real opportunity, not the software licensing folks. I don't see any benefit in having monster exchanges, either. Many small exchanges would be better.

To: MDGO who wrote (1114)	4/12/2000 12:32:00 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1938

It is disturbing how this market has failed to factor in the EXTRAORDINARY dollar amount of transactions that will eventually be facilitated through CMRC's b2b software. CMRC has some of the most incredibly immense economic industries utilizing their system, whether it be the auto industry, the aircraft industry, or the recently reported oil and chemical industry. Last I heard CMRC has some 54 different partnership arrangements that will derive licensing fees, transaction fees, and maintenance fees, IN ADDITION to the wealth of marketing data that will be accumulated for dissemination at a price. And I haven't even touched upon the international markets that have yet to be fully optimized by ecommerce supplier networks. CMRC is doing B2B high volume markets with BILLIONS to TRILLIONS of dollars passing through their networks. Those who believe that B2B is just a flash in the pan and that their partners won't pass on some of their savings to CMRC as click fees and revenue sharing are smoking some seriously potent stuff. Their partners obviously wish to optimize their own supplier networks and realize hidden cost efficiencies. However, without a high volume and reliable network on which to carry out these transactions, they will find themselves vulnerable to sudden outages or interupptions that can cripple their just in time logistical operations. Methinks that they fully understand that if you want high quality service, there must be a financial incentive to the platform providers to create that environment. After all, look at the money that companies such as SUNW, IBM, and MSFT have made providing similiar solutions for corporate IT networks. Once companies are "locked in" to doing Ecommerce supplier auctions, they will pay to ensure that NOTHING interuppts that service. One more factor to look at for B2B is that it may just provide the perfect mechanism for undermining the rampant corruption and "under-table" deals that proliferate in the current supply network. All bids will be available for ALL to see (if I understand correctly) and the lowest price that meets the stated product standard will win. Certainly not how business is currently done in so much of the current economy where "good 'ol boy" networks demand payoffs and special "incentives". Just my opinion. Regards, Ron