B2B Commerce:
Here, both the parties involved in e-commerce transactions are business firms, and, hence the name B2B, i.e., business-to-business.
Creation of utilities or delivering value requires a business to interact with a number of other business firms which may be suppliers or vendors of diverse inputs; or else they may be a part of the channel through which a firm distributes its products to the consumers. For example, the manufacture of an automobile requires assembly of a large number of components which in turn are being manufactured elsewhere— within the vicinity of the automobile factory or even overseas. To reduce dependence on a single supplier, the automobile factory has to cultivate more than one vendor for each of the components. A network of computers is used for placing orders, monitoring production and delivery of components, and making payments.
Likewise, a firm may strengthen and improve its distribution system by exercising a real time (as it happens) control over its stock-in-transit as well as that with different middlemen in different locations. For example, each consignment of goods from a warehouse and the stock-at-hand can be monitored and replenishments and reinforcements can be set in motion as and when needed. Or else, a customer’s specifications may be routed through the dealers to the factory and fed into the manufacturing system for customized production. Use of e-commerce expedites the movement of the information and documents; and of late, money transfers as well.
