Thesis

B2B e-marketplaces : a study of the current industry

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2000
Thesis identifier
  • T11421
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Abstract
  • The subsequent work is a study of B2B e-marketplaces. These trading platforms are a relatively new creation, having their birth in the ever more widespread adoption of Internet technology throughout business. The implementation of electronic transactions in place of the traditional paper-based order process offers substantial cost reductions to companies. Once a company has decided on changing the procurement process to the electronic medium however it is presented with a multitude of technical incompatible problems to reach all of its trading partners, as there currently exists no technical standard for business transactions. Thus there is an opportunity for an intermediary, a platform where a myriad of companies can ‘virtually’ congregate to trade, this marketplace being accessed through an easy to use Web site. The e-marketplace may generate revenue in part by extracting a fee for each transaction conducted across its platform. This creates a dilemma, the creation of a trading platform is not such a feat that it is beyond large companies. Indeed the transaction fees charged by e-marketplaces compound the desire of companies to create their own platforms. Such private e-marketplaces are appearing, built on proprietary technologies and inciting concerns of fair-trading law infringements. The independent e-marketplace built to service an entire industry must offer more to potential users than a company could provide for itself. It achieves this through being neutral and open to all industry members, highly transparent in operation and explicit in its integrity. Impossible for company-created and therefore biased platforms, the independent platform can create a Virtual Community, supporting networking throughout an industry. Rather than monetary profits for the owners of the platform, the true value of the e-marketplace lies in the use of information to manage inventory, saving large amounts of money usually trapped in stock and in striking redesigns of workflow.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Gibb, Forbes
Resource Type
DOI

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