Retailing B2bRetailing B2bBusiness to BusinessBusiness to business e-commerce focuses on selling to other businesses online, and is one of the largest forms of e-commerce used today. Before the Internet, business-to-business transactions were referred to simply as trade or the procurement process. Today, we use the term B2B commerce to describe all types of computer-enabled inter-firm trade, such as the use of the Internet and other networking technologies to exchange value across organizational boundaries. B2B e-commerce has significant growth potential, which could make the ultimate size of B2B e-commerce huge. In the beginning stages of B2B e-commerce it involved inter-business exchanges, but now there are many other services included in B2B e-commerce which include e-distributors, service providers, matchmakers, and others which have widened the use of B2B e-commerce today.
The growth of B2B e-commerce is going to be at a whole different level by the year 2006. The electronic marketplaces will become the dominant form of B2B e-commerce, is not supported. Next, Private industrial networks will play a dominant role in B2B e-commerce both now and in the near future. Lastly, B2B e-commerce is a small part of all inter-firm e-commerce today, suggesting the difficulties of adopting and successfully implementing B2Be-commerce.
The evolution of B2B e-commerce has evolved over the last 30 some years through several technology-driven stages. The first step was introduced to us in the 1970s and it was called the automated order entry system. This system involved the use of telephone modems to send digital orders to large companies. This technology was later replaced in the 1980s and the 1990s by Internet workstations that involved accessing electronic online catalogs. Within this revolution there is the emergence of electronic storefronts, which are “online catalogs of products made available to the public marketplace by a single supplier” (Sutton). There are many potential benefits to using B2B e-commerce which include: lower administrative costs, lower search costs for buyers, reduced inventory costs by increasing competition among suppliers, lowering transaction
to a value greater than that provided by traditional payment methods, and less risk of losing market value to the customers who are less willing to transact with an expensive online retail provider. Moreover, a significant amount of B2B e-commerce is provided directly to consumers through e-business. As a result, B2B e-commerce businesses need to provide a significant amount of online credit by charging for transactions. As consumers are motivated by a need to access online goods, B2B e-commerce also provides additional convenience of a number of activities. First, many of B2B e-commerce activities are done using automated delivery. This is done so that customers can see and make their purchases in their local area, which then becomes a delivery point on their website. This service is offered by all B2B e-commerce businesses, but there are some limitations that B2B e-commerce businesses must follow. First, some of these B2B e-commerce companies may not have in-house logistics facilities to provide the electronic service and so, some B2B e-commerce services require external, online services which provide the traditional delivery services such as online booksellers. Second, some B2B e-commerce businesses require access to government-approved mobile kiosk/callsign centers such as those located in major cities for these services. Some B2B e-commerce firms have adopted a method of bypassing this regulatory hurdle. Although some online retailers do use third-party services to facilitate the sale of their products under electronic retail agreements, there are many online retailers which provide automated payments to customers via B2B e-commerce. Third, some B2B e-commerce businesses may not have a local store or online catalog that allows them to pay directly to customers. This could lead customers to avoid their local retail stores if they need a small piece of their everyday shopping experience, as the online storefronts usually are far more complex and may not allow for this feature. Fourth, B2B e-commerce could make it harder for consumers to find a local online retailer. Some B2B e-commerce businesses are located in places that are already experiencing a severe recession or may be moving to the other side when the global economy recovers. A lot of companies have moved from local shops to online businesses and therefore there are some customers who have no idea where to go. This makes some online retailers less suitable for large-scale distribution and for that reason they may become more expensive because they are less accessible to consumers.
The evolution of business operations in general is an important step for B2B e-commerce businesses to take to support the growth of customer demand for the products the business sells. As one of the most important developments of the 1980s and 1990s, it was also an important step for B2B e-commerce companies to move to smaller, less important retail stores such as online retailers such as Amazon. As many of the major retail sites are located in countries where no government permits online shopping, online shopping is now especially appealing. In some parts of the world, Internet access is not accessible by regular retail, as the retail stores of Europe, Asia, and Africa tend to not accept the large numbers of visitors coming in on mobile devices such as smartphones. B2B e-commerce businesses need to develop and expand their online retail services to meet