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... This paper will examine the current possibilities and probabilities for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. It will also examine current research methods and how they can adapt, ultimately through technology, to overcome the challenges and maximise the opportunities for B2B research. It examines all of the research, scientific and business electronic angles, while of course hoping not to confuse them!
Environment: context and issues Linking B2B e-commerce and research together, Rajesh Nakhwa of US B2B e-commerce firm Ariba has stated in Quirks (October 2000):
In todays competitive climate of global e-commerce, customer loyalty is a key factor to success. Companies are demanding immediate access to customer feedback in all aspects of their business experience. ... e-businesses realise that sustaining a healthy customer-orientated relationship is a full-time endeavour that requires constant feedback. ...
(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Here is just a small selection of facts and figures from various sources:
* AMR reports that by 2004, e-commerce transactions will grow to $5. ... AMR also reports that companies that do not aggressively pursue an e- commerce initiative will lose customers and ultimately fail.
* According to Gartner, B2B e-commerce reached $145 billion worldwide in 1999 and is projected to surpass $7. ...
* The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that US B2B e-commerce will grow from $1. ...
* Forrester Research (USA) surveyed corporate executives and found that 71% plan to extend their business processes to online trading exchanges by the end of 2001.
* Asia/Pacific B2B e-commerce market will boom, reports IDC. ...
* In the midst of a down economy, European e-business activity is on the rise, reports AMR in a May 2001 survey of 203 businesses in the UK, France and Germany. ...
So, consumer e-commerce, electronic B2B is not going to go away. ... Diagrams describing typical business buying behaviour are shown below (Figures 2 and 3). However, business markets differ from consumer markets. ...
Differences to consumer markets are:
(1) Market structure and demand:
* Far fewer but larger buyers
* Geographically concentrated
* More fluctuating demand
(2) Buying unit:
* involves more buyers
* More professional
* purchasing effort
(3) Decision types/process:
* More complex
* More formalised
* Long-term relationships
The increasing development of online B2B transactions, however, is arguably simplifying business buyer behaviour, and potentially increasing the similarity with consumer markets.
E-commerce
In short, c-commerce is simply another word for doing business on the web. ... e. ... e. ...
E-commerce is changing the way businesses interact with each other, and therefore changing the relationship with customers. E-commerce leverages the power of the internet to conduct business. There are two main types of e-commerce:
(1) Business-to-consumer (B2C): the sale of goods, services and content to individuals.
(2) Business-to business (B2B): the buying and selling of goods, services and content among enterprises.
Regardless of segment, the core benefits are the same for the seller:
* Less paperwork
* Fewer manual processes
* Less human interaction
* Reduced processing costs
* Improved accuracy
* Shortened transaction cycle
However, warnings do also exist for those entering this field: Success could be the death of e-commerce, said Dean Whitlock, VP e-Business at ICL.
Although Whitlocks observation sounds rather ominous, it is becoming increasingly obvious that a lack of foresight, insufficient testing, coupled with short-term planning and sparse information, may result in e-commerce crippling a companys business. These are of course the opportunities for research and planning consultancies. ... Rushing into e-commerce without a lot of thought ahead of time is a serious mistake. ...
Barrett also quotes Mike Donaldson, of US e-commerce company NEON, as saying:
The world of e-commerce is changing rapidly. Ten years ago e-commerce was defined as participating in an EDT initiative. Today e-commerce means supporting interactive websites; it means using XML and the internet to conduct interactive B2B communications; and it also means enabling communications and transactions with multiple exchanges.
B2B e-commerce (eB2B)
A simple definition is the use of the internet by businesses to do business. ... The three main tools of online-B2B and collaboration are e-mail, electronic data interchange (EDI) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML). ...
Portals
A corporate e-business portal is one that represents a single entry point into a corporate website that consolidates protected web content and web-based applications. ...
Some examples of e-marketplaces are e2open. ... But regardless of the approach an organisation takes, it is important for companies entering the world of online B2B to remember the good old principle of give-and-take: Any B2B integration situation requires partners on both sides to be flexible in dealing with one anothers limitations, says US e-commerce firm Mercators Leary.
The collaboration principle
According to many, the underlying principle in B2B e-commerce markets is collaboration. ... Despite the negative inference, collaborative commerce has gained tremendous popularity in the technology world over the past few years. ... This improves time-to-market, access to critical business planning information, and overall competitiveness. Indeed it can generate tremendous e-business value. These cooperative activities are essential elements of future business success. ...
Future look
Given the high level of interest this topic is generating, why has B2B e-commerce not already appeared as a stronger driving commercial force (especially outside of the USA)? ...
The long-term effects of these new B2B e-markets remain unclear, but benefits from their presence will likely far outweigh the costs. Independent e-market-makers will potentially help sellers increase the size of their markets. In addition, e-market-makers will no doubt help many buyers to meet their needs. Most importantly, independent e-market-makers will manage massive quantities of supply and demand data, which will help in the distribution of near-perfect information to buyers and sellers. Thus, as e-markets mature they will begin to mediate larger sets of buyer/supplier relationships. They will also have to focus more narrowly, so three segments of e-markets may exist:
(1) Commodity e-markets: high-volume trade of products and services with commodity or near commodity status.
(2) Business service e-markets: focus on supporting specific inter-enterprise processes, such as those related to logistics, financial services and operations.
(3) Integration service e-markets: focus on linkages between trading partners to facilitate process-to-process integration.
However, individual e-markets will find it increasingly difficult to support broad sets of commerce capabilities required to sustain relationships of differing intensity and duration. E-markets will have to align themselves strategically with business services partners, as well as technology partners. In addition, e-markets will find themselves taking on the role of the traditional distributor as well as application service provider. With business process efficiency comes added value and the traditional responsibility for customers. Therefore, e-markets must take on the customer relationship management initiatives that traditional bricks-and-mortar enterprises struggle with today - and they must also use channels outside their internet initiatives to communicate with their customers.
The bad news
Indeed, all is not well in B2B e-commerce, as elsewhere with the internet. ...
In addition, between April 2000 and April 2001, AMR Research tracked 400 online marketplace failures.
The main themes
Overall, two main e-commerce initiatives need to be highlighted.
Personalisation
In the not so distant future, companies will provide personalised interfaces between their products, services and e-marketplace as a way to build and sustain lasting relationships with their customers.
Approximate Word count = 6015
Approximate Pages = 24.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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