B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

34 B2B Integration — A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce
2.3.4. Participation in online marketplaces
What is the advantage of participating in an online business community?
Consider the data provided by Grainger's consulting unit on the
advantages of electronic marketplace sales:
• Cuts transaction costs by 32%;
• Reduces inventory and production costs by 25%; and
• Slashes errors and exceptions by 52%.
B2Bi allows companies to build digital marketplaces or participate
in multiple vertical and horizontal markets.
2.3.5. Streamline business operations
B2Bi helps companies to automate, reshape and improve the efficiency
of their business processes via business process management. It automates
the inter-organizational, inter-functional and inter-personal activities of
these processes.
2.3.6. XML-based integration
B2Bi over the Internet is completely credited to the use of XML, which
fully leverages the open standards of the Internet.
Today, companies are faced with the daunting challenge of linking
inter-company data and processes for their business-to-business (B2B)
e-commerce initiatives — all while integrating customer and packaged
applications, databases and mainframe systems within the enterprise.
How are the companies addressing these challenges? The answer is by
using XML-based B2B integration.
2.3.7. Increased customer service and retention
With real-time and quality information companies get an opportunity to
provide much better personalized service and upgraded value-added
services to valuable customers. Through B2Bi, there is complete transparency
of business information end to end, which empowers customers
to make better decisions and let companies respond to customers' needs