Why Suppliers Should Use B2B Exchanges

Business to business e-commerce is on the rise! Worldwide B2B e-commerce revenues are estimated to reach around US$ 2 trillion in 2004. This is a significant leap from last year's US$ 1.4 trillion. However, according to a recent survey, although, more than 70% of companies have already used Internet as a purchasing channel, a mere ten percent of their overall spending is directed via the Internet! Contrary to popular believe, this means, B2B e-commerce has still large potential to grow.

Internet has the capacity of changing the conventional way of doing business. Today, you can not only buy and sell your products and services on the Internet, you can, virtually, shift all your business processes to online solutions as well. If you take advantages of new Internet based technologies, the outcome would be tremendously beneficial to your business. How to do this without spending a fortune and not putting a huge pressure on scarce corporate resources? The possible answer could be B2B exchanges!

A B2B exchange is an online marketplace, where buyers, sellers and intermediaries form communities, exchange views, offer products and services, and conduct business transactions.

By becoming a member of a B2B exchange you can benefit in both cost-saving and revenue increase ? two primary requirements of productivity increase.

New sales channel

By becoming a member of a B2B exchange, you open a low cost, highly functional and easy-to-use sales channel for your company. You expose your company to a new targeted audience that otherwise would have been untapped. Prospective customers can buy products and services from you, using various venues and features of the B2B exchange, where you are a member.

Marketplace: All B2B exchanges include a marketplace, where suppliers can post sales offer of their products and services. Buyers, looking for specific products, can easily find best suppliers that suit them from the marketplace. A populated marketplace can easily become a good sales channel for a supplier.

Electronic catalog: As a member of the B2B exchange, you are allowed to add all your products or services to the consolidated online repository of the exchange. Adding your products to the repository helps to create online standardize electronic version of your product specification ? if you don't have that before ? and use the same catalog with other electronic sales systems ? even with other B2B exchanges using XML interface.

You can publish sales offer of your entire catalog to the marketplace, eliminating a need for other web presence. You can add products or services to the repository one by one or you can use XML interface to upload your whole electronic catalog.

Web Store: Some B2B exchanges allow you to convert or integrate your website to their exchange. This helps you to handle sales conveniently from your website and the marketplace of the exchange seamlessly. You can make a web store from scratch with the help of integrated website builder of the B2B exchange as well.

Auctions: One of the great features of many B2B exchange is their auction systems. As we all know from the immense success of Ebay, auctioning is a great way of selling products online. Some exchanges boast reverse auction system, where suppliers bid for a deal posted by a buyer.

As a supplier, you can participate in those tenders without any extra cost involved.

Low customer acquisition cost

Your mere presence in the B2B exchange might bring you new customers! Since the buyers come to the exchange themselves; your cost of getting customers through this channel is relatively low in comparison to other traditional channels. You can even increase your visibility by advertising in the key places of the exchange, where your prospective buyers frequently visit. Being highly targeted, these ads produce incredible results.

Improve customer service

Ability to have constant interaction through the B2B exchange allows you to serve your customers better. You can track the whole ordering process from payment to delivery and bring greater efficiency in customer service. The integrated functions of an exchange such as sales management, internal messaging service, lead management, etc. also help you managing customers service process effectively.

Efficient information sharing method

When needed, you can instantly update your catalog and inform customers about changes. Whether you are launching a new product or having a web seminar, through the B2B exchange you can share the information more efficiently. Some B2B Exchanges use sophisticated knowledge management systems to create, capture, reprocess and reutilize information intended for specific group of audience. These contents or information can be displayed on demand or in time to a member ? when needed.

Business processes management

One of the primary objectives of using B2B exchanges for you should be their ability to handle, run and administer various business processes. These solutions assist you to streamline your business, reduce overhead costs and reduce documentary errors.

Using technologies in a bid to streamline business processes like supply chain is nothing new. Companies have been using various solutions to support product development, customer service, procurement and other integral processes for many years. Before the Internet era, many companies have invested enormous amount of money in infrastructure building to automate supply chain process. Today, thanks to the Internet, even small companies have opportunity to use highly sophisticated supply chain solutions for a small cost. Many B2B exchanges, such as Rusbiz.com, allow small companies to use supply chain management solution for a small fee. The major benefits of using supply chain solutions include:

1. Reduced sales time

2. Better inventory control

3. Lower overhead

4. Reduced manufacturing cycle time

5. Reduced cost of goods

Business to business e-commerce is evolving very fast. The fact is, at one point, most of all business transactions will take place via the Internet. B2B exchanges are a way of building cost-effective e-business environment on the Internet, which is capable of producing concrete and quantifiable business benefits to the participants.

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business. You can contact him at mailto:nowshade[at]rusbiz.com, http://ezine.rusbiz.com/newsletters/news letter32.htm

---

Web Store - Why Do You Need One?

Internet has opened a new era of business opportunities. Each... Read More

Creating The Perfect Ecommerce Website

If you're thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and going... Read More

Gooooooooooogle It!

....there's much more to Google than you thought:With the wealth... Read More

How Merchant Accounts Can Save You Money

We all know that accepting credit cards is the key... Read More

Maximize Your Froogling for Increased Website Profits

Are you familiar with Froogle? If you are an online... Read More

10 Second Internet Person, sound familiar?

Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online... Read More

Writing Web Pages: Get To The Meat Faster

Much of my consulting work comprises writing 'Outside Opinion' reports... Read More

Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site

After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes... Read More

Chinas Online Shopping May Be Booming In The Next Few Years

Data from China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that... Read More

Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan

You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable... Read More

10 Reasons Why People Wont Buy A Second Product From You

1. You didn't follow up after the first sale. After... Read More

Succeed With Your Own Home Based Business

An internet business is by far the best way to... Read More

Drop-Shipping ? A Great Way of Making Money Online

Using the Internet to sell products and services to ever... Read More

Is Your Business Afraid of the Internet?

My Business is Afraid of the InternetBill Gates, CEO of... Read More

Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me

As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often... Read More

Is It Still Possible To Make Money On The Internet?

Many people are saying that the internet is dead. So... Read More

How to Receive Payments for Your Online Sales

Once you decide which products you are planning to sell... Read More

Free Competition Analysis for E-Commerce Startup

For anyone who has completed research regarding e-commerce, there are... Read More

7 Must Have Scripts to Look for When Shopping for E-commerce Hosting

When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of... Read More

Database: The Secret of Success

BENEFITS OF A DATABASEBy maintaining your list as a database,... Read More

How to Boost Conversion Rates, While Lowering Merchant Account Fees!

Using an Address Verification System (AVS) when processing your online... Read More

Online Lead Generation: Can it Work for My Business?

Business-to-business service providers have a wide range of tactics they... Read More

Leading eCommerce Consultant Admits You Should Only Listen to One Real Expert! (And its not him!)

Let me share with you a secret that most marketing... Read More

Online Shopping: Legal Challenges for Taxing Authorities

E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More

Grow your Business with Emarketplace - Part III

Increase Company ProductivityAfter years of hard work, finally your business... Read More

Is It Easy to Build An E-commerce Web Site?

--Online Commerce--E-Commerce website is all about selling products and services... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Personalisation and Customisation

The key difference between an (old-fashioned) Intranet and a PortalWhat... Read More

Increasing E-commerce Website Sales

With consumers purchasing billions of dollars of merchandise online each... Read More

Selecting The Right Shopping Cart For Your Website

Shopping Cart Installation And SetupShopping cart technology has evolved to... Read More

The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover

Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eager... Read More

E-Commerce Is Back On The Fast Track

How much holiday shopping did you do on-line this year?... Read More

Alternative E-Commerce Solutions

Over the past several years, the Internet has emerged as... Read More

Why Our Site Was Removed From The ODP

Our website, Best Of The Home, has been listed in... Read More