B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

Safety
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Figure 13.5. — Relationship between safety and mobility of software agents
13.9. Agents' Role in B2B E-commerce and B2Bi
The use of intelligent software agents that automate the coordination
activities among business partners is not only an advantage, but a necessity
in the connected and networked world that companies operate in.
Intelligent agents can be responsible for collecting and interpreting
information of merchants and products, making decisions, even presenting
payment information and settling transactions, thus reducing time and
cost. They will help buyers and suppliers achieve greater efficiencies in
all of the important aspects of B2B, such as content, community and
transaction.
Additionally, agent based e-commerce happens on the Internet and
does not require the high setup costs associated with EDI. Agent
technology also leverages existing infrastructure and investments.
Agents can help in automating all the repetitive activities in the
following business aspects:
• Internal functions and activities, such as accounting, order fulfillment
and personnel management;
• External activities, such as supply chain management and eprocurement,
which involve interaction with trading partners, B2B
exchanges; and
• External customer centric activities such as eCRM, sales and services.
Let us review these aspects in greater detail.