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Lesson 3 Business-to-Business (B2B) sites
Objective Define characteristics of B2B sites.

(B2B) Business-to-Business Sites

The goal of a business-to-business (B2B) Internet site is to automate aspects of its supply chain activities in order to reduce processing time. This includes ordering, order tracking, inventory management, shipping, and receiving.

Payment

The critical aspect of electronic payment is made through EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) services. EDI enables computer-to-computer transfer of business information by enabling computers from one company to query and transmit purchase orders and invoices to another company's computers. This is essentially for large corporations working with suppliers. The Internet can also be used for secure transactions between banks of two businesses so payments can be exchanged electronically.

Security

Security is a priority because the companies proprietary data must be protected. There are various mechanisms for securing data, such as firewalls. Firewalls protect the secrecy and integrity of an enterprise's data. The proprietary information is kept in an area physically separate from other information accessible through the network. The table below provides an overview of the characteristics of a B2B site.

Product Research 101
B2B (business-to-business) is the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers. Although early interest centered on the growth of retailing on the Internet, forecasts are that B2B revenue will far exceed business-to-consumers (B2C) revenue in the near future. According to studies published in early 2000, the money volume of B2B exceeds that of retailing on the Internet by 10 to 1. Over the next five years, B2B is expected to have a compound annual growth of 41%. The Gartner Group estimates B2B revenue worldwide to be $7.29 trillion dollars by 2004. In early 2000, the volume of investment in B2B by venture capitalists was reported to be accelerating sharply although profitable B2B sites were not yet easy to find.
In the next lesson, you will learn about the characteristics of business-to-consumer sites.

Business to Business Sites Characteristic
Goal Automate aspects of the supply chain: ordering, order tracking, inventory management, shipping and receiving
Benefit Processing of Supply activities gained through automation
Payment EDI Services enable computers of one company to query and transmit purchase orders and invoices to another company's customers.
Security Company's proprietary data must be secured
Sample Site CPlusOOP.com