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B2B

Business-to-business (B2B) is the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers (B2C).

History

Electronic commerce as such exists already for over 20 years. In sectors such as retail and automotive, Electronic Date Interchange (EDI) for application-to-application interaction has been used. For defence and manufacturing, Computer Aided Logistics Support (CALS) has been developed to integrate information across larger parts of the value chain. These forms of electronic commerce have however been fairly limited in their diffusion and take up.

With the advent of the Internet, B2B electronic commerce has taken an explosive development. B2B e-commerce is accounting for the main share of electronic commerce. According to CAGR, the money volume of B2B exceeds that of B2C by about 10 to 1, with 149.1 bn Euro in 2001 for B2B in Western Europe compared with 22.5 bn Euro for B2C.

Trends

Despite the dot.com crisis, B2B is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. In its July 2002 report The Future Of Europe's Online B2B Trade, Forrester research estimates B2B revenue worldwide to be $2.2 trillion Euro in 2006, and net trade to surge from 2% of total business trade in 2002 to 10% in 2004.

Companies have many options to buy and sell over the Internet. Besides EDI, which is still widely used, they can buy on a supplier’s website or sell over their own Internet portal. An option widely used are also B2B electronic marketplaces.

Benefits for companies

The main benefits companies undertaking B2B have are

• Cost savings due to savings in electronic purchasing and sales, effective supply chain management, collaboration, increased market transparency, increased global sourcing possibilities and the expansion of existing and new markets.

• Innovation orientation for new products and services, due to the possibility for close interaction and cooperation with customers and suppliers through technology partnership and collaborative commerce.

• Increased time to market.

According to a Goldman Sachs study, B2B estimated cost savings by sector range from 5 % in the health care sector up to 29-39 % in the electronic component sector. For more information and case studies on cost savings achieved see the report Impact of E-Commerce on the Economy .

Legal and regulatory issues

The most important legal documents for B2B e-commerce to consider are:

• E-commerce Directive -  establishes the country of origin principle to ensure the free movement of Information Society services within the EU and provides the basis for the legal validity of electronic contracts. It also defines transparency obligations for service operators, such as information requirements on the identity of the service provider, information requirements on prices and information requirements on the terms and conditions of the contract.

• E -signatures Directive - creates a harmonised framework for the use and the legal validity of e-signatures.

• Brussels Regulation - gives the option for the parties to agree upon the competent court for B2B cross border disputes.

• Rome Convention - stipulates free choice of law for B2B cross border transactions.

Glossary: the most important definitions from the world of B2B

Agent technologies

Application service provider (ASP)

Auctions

Catalog aggregators

Customer Relation Management (CRM)

Electronic Date Interchange

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

E-outsourcing

E-Procurement

ebXML/ ebXML initiative

Exchanges

Infomediary (business)

Interoperability

Maintenance, repair, and operating equipment (MRO)

Net Market:

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

Reverse auction

Standards

Supply Chain Management

Virtual private marketplace

Hungry minds

Papers, reports, studies

The following papers, reports and studies on B2B marketplaces are available on the web and are generally free, or contain interesting free samples and/or summaries.  

The Future Of Europe's Online B2B Trade, Forrester Research report, July 2002

Einsatz von Open-Source Software in Unternehmen und oeffentlichen Unternehmen: Ergebnisse aus Deutschland, Schweden und Großbritannien, Berlecon Research, July 2002

E-Business-Integration und Web Services: Chancen und Perspektiven im deutschen Markt, Berlecon Research, April 2002

Virtual marketplaces in the chemicals sector: B2B turnover expanding strongly, Deutsche Bank Research, January 2002

Virtual marketplaces: Big is beautiful, Deutsche Bank Research, October 2001

A performance index for B2B marketplaces, Joint McKinsey & Stanford University Business School’s Center for Electronic Business and Commerce research McKinsey Quarterly, 2001 Number 2 Web exclusive. .

B2B e-Commerce for European Hi-Tech, NetmarketsEurope, April 2001

Electronic Marketplaces for Companies - Myth or Reality?. Jonas Bygdeson, Louise Gunnarsson, eMarket Services - Swedish Trade Council, February 2001. This report describes how to categorize electronic marketplaces, their functionality and their value adding activities.

A Standards-based, P2P Approach to Marketplaces and Exchanges. Doug Ross, Chief Technology Officer, BadBlue.com, February 5, 2001. A commercial white paper but a good overview of the issues involved in melding P2P and B2B

The Insider's ’ Guide to B2B Integration, NetmarketsEurope, Chris Bridges, February 2001

The Challenge of Online Trust in B2B, NetmarketsEurope, Julian Bond, January 2001

E-real estate – The Real Estate Sector in the Internet Age, Deutsche Bank Research, 5.01.2001

Business uses of Peer to Peer (P2P) Technologies, Netmarkets Europe, January 2001

P2P in B2B, Workshop, Netmarkets Europe, December 2000

The B2B Internet Report- Collaborative Commerce, Chuck Phillips and Mary Meeker, June 2000

B2B Darwinism - How e-Marketplaces Survive (and Succeed), John Ferreira, John Christensen, Deloitte Consulting, 2000. A study by Deloitte Consulting outlining the critical success factors for e-marketplaces in a period of consolidation.

eB2B in the financial services industry, Arthur Anderson, Summer 2000

B2B industry overview, Jon Ekoniak and Timothy Klein, US Banccorp Piper Jaffray, May 2000

B2B Marketplaces in Germany, Berlecon Research

Netrana - The Death of the Fat Butterfly, Rusty Braziel and Andrew McAfee, White paper on how P2P technologies can be used in B2B markets.

Books

Online Dispute Resolution for Business: B2B, Ecommerce, Consumer, Employment, Insurance, and Other Commercial Conflicts
by Colin Rule, Jossey-Bass; ISBN: 0787957313; September 2002

Net Markets: Driving Success in the B2B Networked Economy

Tom Dagenais,David A. Gautschi / Hardcover / McGraw-Hill Companies, August 2002

B2B Integration: A Practical Guilde to Collaborative E-Commerce

Gunjan Samtani / Paperback / World Scientific Pub Co, ISBN: 1860943268, August 2002

Ebxml Simplified: A Guide to the New Stadard for Global E-Commerce

Eric Chiu / Paperback / Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, ISBN: 0471204757, June 2002

B2B: How to Build a Profitable E-Commerce Strategy

Michael J. Cunningham / Paperback / Perseus Publishing, May 2002

The Interactive Marketplace: Business-to-Business Strategies for Delivering Just-in-Time, Mass Customized Products, Keith T. Brown / MS Reader eBook / McGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN; 0071374434, April 2002

The eMarketplace: Strategies for Success in B2B eCommerce

Warren Raisch / MS Reader eBook / McGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN: 0071380124, April 2002

Ebxml: The Technical Specification

Aaron E. Walsh / Paperback / Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, January 2002

The B2B E-Commerce Handbook

Matt Haig / Hardcover / Kogan Page, Limited, January 2002

Making the e-Business Transformation/ trad. e-Business en la pratica

Peter Gloor, Ediciones Mundi Prensa/ Springer Verlag London, 2002

Global Digital Business: A Perspective for Creating B2B Value

Tim Wroblewski / Adobe Acrobat eBook / McGraw-Hill Companies, January 2002

B2B Marketing: A Radically Different Approach for Business-to-Business Marketers
Steve Minett / Financial Times-Prentice Hall Books (FT-PH), ISBN: 027365425X, January 2002

Beyond the Exchange: The Future of B2B
Richard Wise, David Morrison, Harvard Business School Press; ISBN: B00005RZAR; January 2002

Implementing B2B Commerce with .Net

Lyn Robison, Paperback, Addison Wesley, December 2001

Professional ebXML Foundations

D.A. Chappell, V. Chopra, J.J. Dubray, C. Evans, B. Harvey, T. McGrath, D. Nickull, M. Noordzij, B. Peat, P. van der Eijk, J. Vegt, Wrox Press, 2001.

E-Commerce: Business, Technology, Society
Kenneth C. Laudon, Carol G. Traver / Hardcover / Addison Wesley, November 2001

B2B and Beyond: New Business Models Built on Trust

Harry B. Demaio, Hardcover, Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, September 2001

One to One B2B: Customer Development Strategies for the Business-To-Business World
Don Peppers, Martha Rogers, Doubleday; ISBN: 0385494092; May 2001

Understanding B2B

Matthew Friedman,Marlene Blanshay / Hardcover / Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc., ISBN: 0793144892, April 2001

Building B2B Applications with XML: A Resource Guide
Michael Fitzgerald, John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 0471404012; 1 edition March 2001

Learning XML

Erik T. Ray,Christopher R. Maden / Paperback / O'Reilly & Associates, Incorporated, January 2001

B2B Application Integration: e-Business-Enable Your Enterprise
David S. Linthicum, Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201709368; 1st edition, January, 2001