Seven secrets for success for B2B exchanges:
stay focused - specialise on a vertical
play to win - the need to dominate
maintain commercial neutrality
ensure transparency and integrity
add value by building a virtual community
make the right strategic partnerships
operate as a virtual corporation
Profiles:
Elinex: wholesale electricity market in Eastern Power Grid in the US
Journals & magazines:
- Business 2.0
- Business Week
- Forbes
- Industry Standard
- Inter@ctive Week
- Red Herring
- The Economist
- Wired
B2B Exchanges
The Killer Application in the Business-to-Business Internet Revolution
by Arthur B Sculley and W William A Woods
Copyright © 1999, hardback 254 pages, ISI Publications
ISBN 962-7762-59-8
10 September 2000
amazon.co.uk www.amazon.com
John Sculley, brother of the author Arthur, wrote the Foreword. This book can be used for reference or training purposes. The authors explain the jargon of B2B, B2C, etc. and gives many examples and insights into successful B2B presence. In particular, they believe every business should have an Internet presence.
B2B is business to business. B2C is business to consumer, as in Amazon.com. C2C is consumer to consumer, as in e-bay. C2B is consumer to business, as in Priceline. But it's B2B that is going to explode.
Common features of B2B exchanges and key advantages:
- centralised market space
- neutrality
- standardised contracts, documents, products
- pre-qualification and regulation of the users
- dissemination of price quotes, post-trade information and pricing history
- maintenance of the integrity of the market
- transparency
- self-regulation of the market and of the pricing mechanism
- clearing and settlement or fulfilment services
- confidentiality and anonymity
- an exchange community - meeting place not only for members and users but also for service providers
Trading Models:
- aggregators: fixed prices, e.g. catalogues
- trading hubs: fixed prices and some buyer-driven (reverse) auctions
- post and browse: individual deals. on-eon-one negotiated terms and prices, OTC
- auction markets: dynamic pricing, seller-driven and buyer-driven (reverse) auctions
- fully-automated exchanges: dynamic pricing, automated matching of orders, continuous auction markets.
Updates, see http://www.b2bexchanges.com