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To: allen v.w. who wrote (34118)	4/17/2000 6:26:00 PM
From: allen v.w.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 40688

Here is a piece that Gordon Whyte wrote. I couldn't find a date on this piece. ------------------------------------------------------------ B2B E-Commerce A Beginners Guide Worldwide business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce reached $145 billion in 1999. By 2004 it is projected to reach $7.29 trillion with North America accounting for nearly 40% of this (source : Gartner Group). Pretty soon most business will be E-business to some extent. It?s clear that B2B E-commerce involves businesses selling things to each other over the Net, but there?s a lot more to it than that. In this feature we?ll take a look at what B2B E-commerce is all about, and why it is becoming so important. A significant proportion of business has been carried out for many years electronically by using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), proprietary purchasing systems and email. The difference the Internet has made is that instead of expensive and complicated point-to-point links or proprietary networks having to be set up, there is a standard, (reasonably) reliable and secure universal communications system which companies can utilize to transact business ? the Internet. It is, in effect, a kind of virtual universal market square on which any business can set up a its own stall and begin trading. It?s easy to see that an on-line marketplace, which mirrors the physical marketplace, will make it easier for companies to transfer information, and make financial transactions quicker and more efficient. The real point about business on the Net is that it allows completely new ways of doing business to develop. With so many businesses on line, one of the problems is going to be finding the best company to do business with. Simply scouring the Net looking for a company that exactly matches the criteria you are looking for is likely to be time-consuming and frustrating. What is needed is a sort of virtual middleman, or market maker who can bring together buyers and suppliers. And this is exactly what has developed. A new breed of electronic ?hubs? has emerged which can intelligently route business transactions over the Web from one business to another. part 2 of 2 These ?Portal Sites? are are also known as ?marketplaces?, ?B2B sites? or in the case of industry-specific hubs ?Vertical Portals or Vortals. They all perform the same function of bringing buyers and sellers together, increasing market liquidity and generally reducing the cost of doing business on-line. Portal sites usually operate in one of three ways. Catalog Sites Catalog based sites are the most obvious type of B2B site where buyers are matched up with sellers of a range of (usually) fixed price items. Transactions are usually frequent although often medium to low value. Exchange Sites Exchange sites are more sophisticated and operate roughly in the same way as financial exchanges. They are usually used for trading commodity?like items such as electricity or paper. Auction Sites B2B auction sites can work in much the same way as consumer auction sites and are often used to sell off surplus inventory. Another type of B2B site that is perhaps not so obvious is the B2B Community Site. Doing business is not always about actual business transactions. There are other business activities like research, and political lobbying, or even just informally exchanging ideas, where it is useful for businesses to get together, and the Web of course is the ideal medium for bringing people together. There are many industry-specific sites that exist purely to act as a center of interest for particular industries. In this short article I?ve only managed to touch on the some of the possibilities that B2B E-Commerce offers. Check out some of the following B2B sites and resources to get a closer view of the current B2B scene Altra.com Altra operates Altrade, a real-time electronic marketplace for trading natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and power. Ariba.com One of the big players, Ariba offers a global eCommerce infrastructure that provides cost saving and revenue opportunities for businesses of all sizes. BidCast Bidcast.Com is a leading Online Government and Business Contracting Marketplace. Commerceone Commerce One enables buyers and sellers around the world to trade in a barrier-free environment and creates new business opportunities for trading partners. ComAuction ComAuction is an on-line business-to-business auction site with managed transactions eCommerce Portal WIZnet's eCommerce Portal is a business community providing a range of services. Verticalnet.com These narrowly focused web sites attract buyers and sellers from around the world and offer community features as well as business opportunities.