B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

Enhanced services
E-Marketplaces and Collaborative Networks 451
E-marketplaces should evolve from a transaction and supply chain
aggregation based model to new models based on transactions, content,
integrated e-procurement and collaborative supply chain. They should
provide affordable, secure and single point of supply chain interaction
and support integration with existing systems, such as ERP and order
processing.
Neutrality
It is critical that e-marketplaces prevent any side playing a dominant
role by dictating such matters as the technology and operational standard,
since it should be neutral to all participants. Of course, if a company
decides to participate in a buyer centric or a supplier centric exchange,
the operating and technical standards would be dictated by them.
Setup, participation and transaction fees
Setup costs for participating in any e-marketplace should not be too
steep. These costs may also be dependent on the volume of content that
needs to be put online in the exchange. Several e-marketplaces do not
charge any one-time participation or annual fees from buyers. They do,
however, charge substantial fees from suppliers. So, as a supplier, a
company should negotiate fees with companies running e-marketplaces.
It may even create alliances with other suppliers and bargain for a
group/volume discount.
Some exchanges do not charge any participation fees even to suppliers.
Suppliers pay fees (volume-based, percentage of total transaction or flat
annual fees) only when they receive a confirmed order from buyers.
Flexible, secured, scalable technology
The technology supported by e-marketplaces should be flexible, so that
it is interoperable with the internal systems of companies, and architecture
should be flexible enough so that adding any off-the-shelf product (like
adapters for internal systems) requires much less coding. Additionally,