E-Business-One to many: sell side e-marketplaces

During this session we look at the sell side of the B2B e-marketplace.  When we talk about sell-side e-marketplace we are referring to the situation where there is one seller and there are many potential buyers in the marketplace.  A company will sell products and/or services to business customers often via an extranet.  The seller (company) can be a manufacturer selling to a wholesaler, retailer or to an individual business.

The B2B model is quite similar to the B2C model.  However, there are some major  differences. Firstly, most companies tend to separate B2B customers from B2C customers.  In some instances a company will appoint a separate manager over each group of customers to ensure that their needs are met.  B2C clients receive the same catalogue while B2B clients may receive customised catalogues. 

There are three different methods of sell-side-these are:

• Sales from online catalogues
• Selling via distributors and other intermediaries
• Selling via e-auctions

Sales from online catalogues

This is where the company places all their products on an online catalogue.  If the business customer is large enough a separate catalogue is produced.  Companies such as Microsoft use online catalogues to sell their software to their  B2B clients.  Within the online catalogue clients can get quotes for products and order online.  There are a number of limitations to using online catalogues

Sales fom intermediaries

Manufacturers can sell directly to the final client, however they can also use intermediaries.  Most intermediaries sell to a variety of industries, however, some intermediaries specialise in particular industries.  If manufacturers are going to use intermediaries they have to bear in mind that conflict may occur between the distributor and the manufacturer and also between the distributor and the final client/customer. 

Selling via e-auctions

Over last few years e-auctions have increased in popularity.  Manufacturers often use e-auctions to sell unneeded or obsolete items.  Manufacturers often use forward auctions which is similar to E-Bay.  The seller puts a price up on the site and potential buyers make bids on the item.  There a number of benefits of these e-auctions:

1. revenue generation
2. Potential cost savings
3. Acquire members and there is potential to retain them
4. Customer loyalty to the e-auction site

Companies can have the option of auctioning from their own site or using a distributor.  If a company decides to auction from their own site it is essential to employ a person to manage that part of the website.