The definition of B2B in the internet world
Company Web sites, since the target audience for many company websites is other companies and their employees. Company sites can be thought of as round-the-clock mini-trade exhibits. Sometimes a company Web site serves as the entrance to an exclusive extranet available only to customers or registered site users. Some company websites sell directly from the site, effectively e-tailing to other businesses. Except selling online, some of them provide Ask For Quote and Customer Relationship Management system online. Those new online features can serve their business customer by 24 x 7 and make them different from the competitors.
Product supply and procurement exchanges, where a company purchasing agent can shop for supplies from Suppliers, request proposals or quote, and, in some cases, bid to make a purchase at a desired price. Sometimes referred to as e-procurement sites, some serve a range of industries and others focus on a niche market.
Specialized or vertical industry portals, product listings, discussion groups, and other features. These vertical portal sites have a broader purpose than the procurement sites (although they may also support buying and selling). They only focus on an industry and server the business clients who are in the industry. For example, Gift and Premium, those portals will give the detailed information from material to finished products. Let the people in the same circle understand the industry trend and latest information.
Brokering sites that act as an intermediary between someone wanting a product or service and potential suppliers. Equipment leasing is an example. Information sites (sometimes known as info-exchange), which provide information about a particular industry for its companies and their employees. These include specialized search sites and trade and industry standards organization sites.
Many B2B sites may seem to fall into more than one of these groups. Models for B2B sites are still evolving.
Another type of B2B enterprise is software for building B2B Web sites, including site building tools and templates, database, and methodologies as well as transaction software.
B2B is e-commerce between businesses. An earlier and much more limited kind of online B2B prior to the Internet was Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which is still widely used.
About the Author: Jou Yaoo has been in IT industry for more than 12 years with experience in different domains (Global Trade, Finance, Insurance, Publishing and so on). He is a co-founder of EasyTrade.com). It is a free B2B e-Commerce and Business Directory site built on sophisticated technology platform to engage the business for Asian suppliers and western buyers
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