Web Application Development e-Marketplaces and B2B e-Commerce Lecturer: Farkhod Alisherov

e-Marketplace An e-Marketplace is an internet location owned by a company or consortium which allows other companies or individuals to get new suppliers or buyers for their products as well as develop trading networks which makes negotiating, settlement and delivery easier and more efficient.

Structure market maker is neither a buyer or seller, but is a neutral third party a consortium of sellers that leverage their combined power to efficiently sell their products to buyers buyers can also set up a marketplace to reduce their costs and obtain better purchasing terms buyers can set up another type of marketplace, a private marketplace, for their supplier networks

Functionalities forward or reverse auctions, vendor catalogues, fixed price ordering, trading exchange functionality, bulliten boards / wanted ads

Options Ownership of the E-marketplace Costs Ease of Use / Support Industry Fit Marketplace Participation Security / Privacy Process Integration

Ownership of the E-marketplace Successful e-marketplaces are usually backed by good capital and this helps to ensure their success and longevity

Costs You should compare the costs of joining the marketplace with the projected savings and efficiency gains from joining the marketplace. Look for hidden costs. Possible things that e-marketplace charge for are commissions for completed transactions, membership fees, listing fees, value added services (inspection, escrow, delivery, etc)

Ease of Use / Support An e-marketplace should be easy to use and should not require a lot of training for your staff. Check to make sure that the marketplace does not require special equipment and has a straightforward transaction process

Industry Fit Many e-marketplaces are targeted toward one or two industries. Consequently the processes and structure of the marketplace are designed to maximize efficiency gains and transaction costs for that industry.

Marketplace Participation If there are no buyers and sellers listed on the marketplace, it is unlikely that you will gain anything from joining the marketplace. A viable marketplace will have a lot of buyers and sellers - this is the only way that an e-marketplace can work

Security / Privacy Be sure that the transaction information is not published or available for a third party or a competitor. You do not want a competitor getting hold of your key supplier data or pricing information. Moreover, you would only want to do business with reputable buyers. An e-marketplace should have systems in place to prevent or reduce fraud

Process Integration An efficient marketplace should be designed so that it integrates with existing buyer and seller ways of doing business. This may means conducting transaction in an industry standard format or offering ways to "plug into" the system

Business-to-business (B2B) Describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer The overall volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions

Communication and collaboration Many businesses are now using social media to connect with their consumers (B2C); however, they are now using similar tools within the business so employees can connect with one another. When communication is taking place amongst employees, this can be referred to as "B2B" communication

Differences between B2B and B2C Buying B2B products is much riskier. In international trade, delivery risks, exchange rate risks and political risks Details may have to be discussed in length Brand loyalty is much higher than in consumer goods  The selling process involves high costs

B2B e-Commerce best practices

Make the B2B experience as intuitive as B2C Be sure that e-commerce processes are simplified. Easy-to-follow guided selling, interface personalization and enhanced search features, as well as simple checkout processes are must-haves for intuitive B2B e-commerce experiences.

Ease of use, means easy to do business with At its core, e-commerce translates into instantly available, comparable and configurable products and services. With price quotes, contract renewals and comparisons available at the business user’s fingertips, B2B e-commerce opens up new opportunities for companies to initiate the buying process.

Product visualization can add perceived value Through the use of images, video and even CAD integration, B2B e-commerce allows for a new dimension in product evaluation.

Support customer-specific contracts and pricing in B2B B2B e-commerce allows for customized profiles, which upon logging in, provide customers with recommended products, click-of-a-button re-ordering, and contract renewal options. With easy-to-update admin capabilities, pricing and discounts stay connected with customer profiles to ensure customers keep coming back.

Integrate both the customer’s and supplier’s systems B2B e-commerce should work for you and your customers, allowing for a variety of payment options and multi-currency

Ensure robust security and high availability Your must ensure effective controls, standards and infrastructure are in place to protect your data.

Measure B2B adoption and success with real-time reports Measure everything. How many people visit your B2B e-commerce site? What is driving them there? Where do they go on the site? Do they purchase? If not, then where do you lose them? Watch the metrics carefully if you want to learn and improve. Dashboards are a great visual tool for real-time, easy-to-digest performance measurements

Engage the end customer to understand their B2B needs If you want your customers to buy, you need to understand what they need and how your products and services can address those needs. That’s pretty basic. If they are buying online, you can track how they shop, what they look at, and what they ultimately buy.

Utilize a platform that is easy to administer and is constantly updated Make sure your platform is easy to update and supports the latest technologies. Look for a vendor with a solid track record of delivering innovation and customer satisfaction. The market WILL change – make sure you can change with it to stay on top