2828.bz b2b Information Center http://www.2828.bz/information Most B2B applications are in the areas of supplier management (especially purchase order processing), inventory management (i.e., managing order-ship-bill cycles), distribution management (especially in the transmission of shipping documents), channel management (i.e., information dissemination on changes in operational conditions), and payment management (e.g., electronic payment systems or EPS)   Differences of B2B Marketing and B2C Marketing:   1. The Market Size: Consumer markets are measured in the “millions” while only a few B2B firms have customer bases over “thousands”. On the other hand, the dollar value of each B2B customer is significantly larger than in the consumer market.   2. The Buying Process: In the business market the buying process is much longer and involve many people. It’s not unusual to have a 6-9 month buying cycle involving 5-10 people as both decision makers and influencers.   3. The Selling Process: Vastly different than in consumer markets, B2B sales organizations are characterized by well-paid field sales people, distributors, and business partners or independent representatives who are not only engaged in the selling but in the fulfillment of the product or services.   4. The Cost of A Sale: As a result of the selling process, the cost of a B2B sale is much higher. Average sales call costs now average of $350-400. A complex solution may require 8-10 calls to close a sale plus the advertising and marketing expense to generate inquiries and qualify leads.   5. The Value of A Sale: Balancing out the cost of B2B selling is the value of the sale. The initial transaction value is measured in hundreds or thousands of dollars and the likelihood of on-going sales is quite high. As a result, the lifetime value of a B2B customer can span many years and add up to hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars.   6. Data Quality: In general, the quality of B2B data is far below consumer standards. One key reason: research indicates that 72% of business people have had one or more changes in their business card during a 12-month period. Unfortunately, no National Change of Address card exists for business addresses.   7. Lead Generation vs. Sale. Most B2B campaigns are devoted to generation of an inquiry that is subsequently qualified to a lead. In consumer marketing only a small fraction of communications are for lead generation while the majority is for direct sale. This places a greater emphasis on creating offers that are much different than those used in consumer programs.   http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Growth_of_Business_with_B2B_Directories.htm 19th Apr,2010 Placing your local business into a B2B directory has a wide variety of advantages for your company. Recent studies prove that B2B e-commerce revolution is very much important; highlighting some of the profound transformations in the conduct of business that B2B ecommerce has begun to usher. Another will be the crucial issue of valuation of B2B technology and alliances.   Why do you think is the establishment of Internet-based buying and selling marketplaces significant?   Most suppliers from the past had an advantage over buyers simply by knowing more about the product sold meaning, the efficiency of their manufacturing processes and the availability and cost of raw materials and the different components. B2B eliminates, or greatly reduces this type of advantage, by shifting the emphasis to the comparative value of the product or service, which ensures greater transparency than ever before. The use product search engines, compare offerings from most, if not all, of the suppliers of a particular product almost instantaneously, and make their decision secure in the knowledge that they have obtained the best possible deal available at the time.   Another advantage is that it allows buyers to become intimately involved in the procurement process. Secondly, B2B allows better supply chain management. Lastly, tighter inventory control becomes possible, allowing further reduction and control of costs.   A simple B2B procurement solution from a buyer's perspective could include any of the following components:   ·        management chooses from several suppliers' online catalogs and with those products are considered to be appropriate for purchasing within the organization ·        employees are given access to those products or catalogs through the Internet, with appropriate automated controls ·        authorized purchases result in a purchase order being electronically sent to the appropriate supplier, with an electronic update of the buyer's records, ·        automated credit check and confirmation of receipt of the purchase order by the supplier ·        ability of the buyer to check on status of the order and estimated delivery times, ·        As well as the possibility to make changes to the order, and automated billing and delivery of the product by the seller.   Business- to- business commerce includes a broad range of intercompany transactions , including wholesale trade as w ell as company purchases of services, resources, technology, manufactured parts and components, and capital equipment. It also includes some types of financial transactions between companies, such as insurance, commercial credit, bonds, securities and other financial assets. The popular phrase B2B e-commerce refers to the substitution of computer data processing and Internet communications for labor services in the production of economic transactions. Many companies engaged in B2B ecommerce are intermediaries between other companies that buy and sell goods and services.   Want to Grow your Local Business - Must work with B2B Directories   The ways in which B2B e-commerce is transforming the existing business models are countless, and we've truly only begun to explore its potential. In order to face the challenges presented by these transformations, it is crucial to maintain a willingness to reevaluate existing business processes and to invest in what surely constitutes the most exciting business development in years: B2B e-commerce. http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/With_Just_A_Click_of_A_Mouse_Keeping_It_Simple_With_Your_Local_Business.htm 19th Apr,2010 After a long decade of losses, investors no longer believe the promise of big profits. Expert’s advice says that in a business you should always invest with your head and not your heart. Recently a businessman’s faith in the economy dropped down a bit because of what analysts say that we are again under the so-called “Great Depression” era. But now, with the introduction with B2B directories has again given hope and aided investors to bounce back in believing again. Why Most Business Tycoon relies on B2B Directories to their Success? The desire to play it safe is what most business minded people would do nowadays. But most business tycoons would always go beyond that. They always look beyond the traditional. And what is their reason behind that? To gain more profit, this simply means to increase sales of their business. When it comes to gaining profit in today’s time, a lot of concepts and effective marketing strategies would not be possible without the immense help of the internet. The dramatic change of relying on online marketing has considerably touched the way business would be considered cost effective. These confident and knowledgeable business owners save lots of money by simply hiring a reputable marketing company. They would choose a business directory that uses well-kept email blasts, post card decks which are designed specifically for their trade, and direct mail as ways for delivering their product. And in choosing for B2B directories always look for a company where they will develop and track ways that work best for you. Take into consideration the value of turning your business into an online shopping market. A lot of analysts say that this is the developing trend in today’s market. The following studies have shown that ·       Every fourth household today’s time has a computer. ·       That up to 70 % of Internet users shops online. ·       75 % of Internet users have experience with shopping online – ·       The purchasers are men, who made up 54 % of all purchasers. ·       Approximately one third of all purchasers is made up by people aged 20-29 years ·       The highest interest is in books, magazines and text-books (37 %). ·       The second most favorite goods were electronic devices (28.9 %). ·       These were followed by tickets to cultural events (23.6 %), ·       Clothes and sports equipment (21.4 %), ·       Services in the area of travelling (16.2 %), ·       Films and music (16.2 %) ·       56 % of the purchasers chose to pay for the purchased goods by means of credit card ·       26 % of the purchasers paid by means of banking transfer, ·       19% paid cash   What are some strategy points to the more distant future of your local business when it comes to choosing a local B2B directory?   - Strategy should secure the company a specific competitive advantage - Strategy determines primarily basic parameters of business activity, set of products, services, volume of    production, markets etc. - Strategy should aim at achieving harmony between activities of the company and its environment - Strategy should base on key resources and abilities of the company - Strategy should delimit basic ways of securing resources that are necessary for its implementation - Strategy fundamentally determines objectives on the tactical and operative level of management - Strategy also has to reflect corporate values, expectations of the stakeholders, and corporate culture   Want to Start your local Business - Check Your Local B2B Directories     http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Behind_Every_Business_Success_Story_is_a_B2B_Directory.htm 19th Apr,2010 A lot of companies today are attempting to find out how they should approach business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce despite the fluctuations in the recent stock market. Increasing the visibility of your local business is nowadays essential. With developments in the Internet and Web-based technologies, distinctions between traditional markets and the global electronic marketplace-such as business capital size, among others-are gradually being narrowed down. The name of the game is strategic positioning, the ability of a company to determine emerging opportunities and utilize the necessary human capital skills (such as intellectual resources), thus this is impact on the Business world with B2B Directories   To make the most of these opportunities through an e-business strategy that is simple, workable and practicable within the context of a global information milieu and new economic environment. With its effect of leveling the playing field, e-commerce coupled with the appropriate strategy and policy approach enables small and medium scale enterprises to compete with large and capital-rich businesses.   What is e-commerce?   Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business activities for products and services. It also pertains to “any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact.”   E-commerce is usually associated with buying and selling over the Internet, or conducting any transaction involving the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services through a computer-mediated network. Though popular, this definition is not comprehensive enough to capture recent developments in this new and revolutionary business phenomenon. A more complete definition is: E-commerce is the use of electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between organizations and individuals.   The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. Efrastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of the following:   and#9679; logistics - transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter and Gamble); and#9679; application service providers - deployment, hosting and management of packaged software from a central facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare); and#9679; outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as Web-hosting, security and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing providers such as eShare, NetSales, iXL Enterprises and Universal Access); and#9679; auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real-time auctions in the Internet (e.g., Moai Technologies and OpenSite Technologies); and#9679; content management software for the facilitation of Web site content management and delivery (e.g., Interwoven and ProcureNet); and#9679; Web-based commerce enablers (e.g., Commerce One, a browser-based, XML enabled purchasing automation software). http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/The_Strategic_Marketing_Process_of_B2B_Directories.htm 19th Apr,2010 What is B2B? B2B is short for “business-to-business”. Most local business relies on this type of electronic commerce where the transaction is usually done directly by the manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer. B2B implies that both the seller and the buyers are business corporations; while business-to-business electronic commerce implies that the buyers are individual consumers. Some related terms are B2C which means business to consumers, and B2G which is business to government   What B2B Directories can offer your local business? 1.    Regarding your Product – it’s price, and tracking its sales history 2.    For your customers – sales history and forecast. 3.    For suppliers - Product line and lead-time, sales terms and conditions. 4.    In terms of product process – capacity, product plan. 5.    For fellow competitors – market share, product offerings. 6.    In terms of sales and marketing – marketing promotions 7.    The supply chain process - the quality, delivery time etc.  Electronic Marketing A B2B directory can be used to sell the company’s product and services to business customers on the Internet. Maybe termed as seller marketing because customers visit the web site that the supplier has prepared. Procurement Management This process will help your business in terms of purchasing goods and services from other external suppliers. In B2B directories they will provide your local business on how to issue Purchase Orders, receive and approve deliveries, endorse supplier payments and manage suppliers against their contracts. To cut it short, this means letting the buyer know they get what they have paid for. Want to Start your local Business - Check Your Local B2B Directories. Electronic intermediaries This is based on the IT side and the business infrastructure of B2B directories to become in order and help build the trust and integrity of the market participants ensuring them a legitimate transaction has been performed. In traditional markets there are no electronic intermediaries involved.   Just in time JIT delivery is the part about maintaining an inventory. It helps your business from getting overstocks and keeping production lines moving. This means that a supplier must be able to provide just-in-time (JIT) delivery - reliably getting products there just before the customer needs them.  Electronic Data Interchange EDI is the electronic exchange of specially formatted standard business documents such as orders, bills approval of credit, shipping details and confirmation sent between business partners. This is an important part in integrating a B2B.   What are the advantages of B2B Directories? ·        The main advantage of making your local business rely with B2B directories is for dramatic changes in cost reduction. ·        Since we are in the era of getting more advanced in technology B2B directories mainly rely with Electronic commerce. ·        B2B directories helps your business lower the cost and still get an effective marketing strategy ·        It shortens the selling cycle ·        Electronic Data Interchange or EDI where electronic funds transfer is used ·        The most important of all is B2B’s can promise JIT or just in time delivery where the company can track their goods through online tracking. Without B2B Directories - Business were never so easier.   http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Back_to_Basics_B2B.htm 19th Apr,2010 The Title says it all. B2B Directories will help your local business attract more consumers in no time. Without B2B Directories - Business were never so easier Here are some tips that will help your local business succeed. 1.    Make sure that you complete your company profile and contact Information. Why is it important? ·         To establish a strong and credible presence on a B2B portal, you need to complete your Company Profile and include your contact details. ·         Buyers prefer to contact suppliers who provide detailed information about their company and business. ·         Suppliers who don't complete their profile or who fill-in incorrect information are not considered serious about doing business and find it more difficult to attract buyers.  ·         A detailed Company Profile and complete contact details not only establish your credibility and authenticity, but also provide potential customers an insight into your business. ·          Make sure your profile includes your company logo, history of the business, key verticals etc. in addition to your email address, phone, fax and postal address. 2.    Post your products online ·         Most of the B2B websites allow the members to post 5-10 products. ·          Select your representative products to post online and add detailed product description including product specifications, model, and quantity. 3.    Establish communication and Deliver Information ·         Make sure that you include all the necessary details the buyers want like payment terms, the quantity you can provide, etc. 4.    Learn to respond and counteroffer ·         View your inbox regularly and respond to them on a timely basis.  ·         Once you receive the buyer's counteroffer, you need to send email to negotiate with them about the prices and other terms and conditions and try to bring them to mutually agreeable terms. 5.    Always Trade Safely ·          secure your business ·         follow all the necessary guidelines and investigate your possible future business partner ·          Make a research about the potential buyers and investigation about their contact details. 6.    Choose the most suitable platform How Business Directories Can Bring You More Business A recent B2B study by Enquirio reports a full 92% of respondents turn to online resources in the early stages of the buying cycle. And 77% named Google as their first choice.  There are 12 ways to check if your B2B Directories are working perfectly for your business. Ask the following questions. 1. Make sure your local B2B Directory has a goal or purpose 2. Have you identified your audience – and what keeps them up at night? 3. Does your site design support your brand identity and communicate professionalism? 4. Can a new visitor or prospect determine easily what you do and who you serve? 5. Are the paths to information clear? 6. Does your content instill trust and credibility? 7. Is your content formatted for online readers? 8. Does your writing compel visitors to take action? 9. Is your content portable? 10. Do you have a newsletter? 11. Does your site make it easy for someone to contact you? 12. Is your site optimized for search engines? http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/More_With_Attraction_Less_With_Retraction.htm 19th Apr,2010 Don’t just sit down and space out. Now is not the time to take things for granted especially when you would want to market your business. Here are Seven Deadly Marketing Initiatives presented by an economist. Business Directories Really Change Way Of Doing Businesses. 1. Develop and monitor the performance of your channels. The current economy dictates that companies divest their underperforming assets. For marketing managers, this means carefully evaluating the performance of your sales channels and partnerships. Since most businesses rely on a network of resellers, distributors, service partners, or retailers to sell to customers, it is important to know the relative performance of each of these channels. Moreover, grasping your marketing and sales operations as a set of processes will enable you to evaluate efficiencies in the chain. Eliminating weak links can save your company significant amounts of cash. Bottom line: Pruning nonproductive business relationships will improve the health of your organization and enable you to focus on your most profitable channels. 2. Retain and augment your most valued customers. The cost of acquiring new customers in these choppy waters is very expensive. Sales cycles have increased, new buyers are apathetic, and marketing messages have diminishing impact. Initiatives focused on mining current relationships will prove to be very effective in these lean times. The cost of gaining incremental sales from a current relationship can often be less than that from a new customer. Bottom line: Treat your current customers as assets that must be protected diligently during these times. Do whatever it takes to keep your current franchise of customers productive and well served. 3. Measure value creation for your customers. The current macroeconomic downdraft has created a heightened sensitivity to value. Companies are carefully looking at all operations and their impact on profitability. Good marketing organizations have long understood this concept and have measured the performance of products or services in terms of quantifiable customer results. A good example is the claim Larry Ellison makes related to the millions of dollars he, or should I say Oracle products, saved his company. Bottom line: Take the time to quantify the value your business has on other businesses. 4. Collaborate with customers. Looking for new product ideas in a tough economic market? Look no further than your customer base. Product development geared for an existing customer base is a lot easier than trying to launch new products into an uncharted market. Making key customers influence the future of your business model or product pipeline is a great way to build trust. Create an environment of shared responsibility where there is a mutual interest to maintain the viability of the enterprise. Bottom line: Customer apathy is death. Do whatever it takes to engage your customers in decisions that affect the future of your company's product or service. 5. Get industry focused. Industry specialization or domain expertise is a mandate under tight market conditions. Over the last few years, the growth of competition in every space required companies to develop specific capabilities for discrete industry segments. Developing deep expertise within a target market is more effective that attempting to do everything for every market. Bottom line: Execute a marketing strategy that is an inch wide and a mile deep versus a mile wide and an inch deep. 6. Integrate customer contact points. All customer contact points should be leveraged as a sale channel when companies face contracting opportunity pipelines. Support, delivery, and maintenance activities should be viewed as cross-selling or up-selling opportunities for your existing customer base. This strategy places greater emphasis on your organization to have a cohesive view of the customer. And the only way to achieve this goal is to integrate information collected throughout the entire customer lifecycle. Bottom line: Distribute the sales responsibility across the entire organization by integrating and distributing customer data. 7. Break out the measuring stick. The emphasis on delivering tangible value requires marketing organizations to quantify results. Improving a relevant set of performance metrics for your customers should be the central objective of your business. However, measuring results can be tricky business. After all, how do you prove what a solution does for your customers? Incentive-based compensation or pricing can signal very clearly to customers that your company is willing to enter a true partnership and share risk mutually. Bottom line: Signing off on performance metric improvement may sound risky, but in these times it's a risk that must be taken to survive today's downdraft. http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Don_t_Worry_These_Are_Not_The_Seven_Deadly_Sins.htm 19th Apr,2010 Let's face it. What's the number one reason why B2B directories should use social media?The answer is: Relationships help us make B2B buying decisions. Always remember that a business relationship should always be a strong relationship. The more relationships a local business has, the more purchasing decisions are needed. And the more participation in media is needed to be able to establish newer and better relationships.   The best ways to connect with other businesses is through communicating with them online.  You have to look for Vendors, partners, suppliers and agencies must be part of those people can be visible in social media networks such as Linkedn, Twitter, and  Facebook. B2B and B2C companies get a lot of attention in the social media space. B2C is easier to track because there is an immediate purchase decision at the end of the process for an individual.   Social media is another touch point for your next potential customers to find you while they are researching what their company wants and needs. Consider if your presence on a social media site could help you achieve your business goals. Grow Your Local Businesses with B2B Directory.   Traditionally the buying cycle in B2B takes longer. Having an open door of communication between the potential customer and your Online community manager could be the determining factor when it is finally time to make a decision.   The key entities in B2B EC are: Selling Company Buying Company Electronic Intermediary Deliverer Network Platform Protocols and communication Back-end information system - including ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning The Information Processed in B2B - meaning what you have to expect will be sent back and forth between the buyer, seller and intermediary product details customer profile supplier conditions product process - capacities transportation, times, costs  Most Business Tycoon rely on B2B Directories For Success. There are a lot of B2B marketers who are speeding up their ability to test innovative search engine optimization programs. Unfortunately, there are a mix of common mistakes that persist.   Here are 5 common mistakes and how to avoid them. 1. Use Keywords that are Important to you A few tips on researching the keywords your customers use to find your products/service: Brainstorm based on solutions and customer needs Identify what concepts are most relevant according to where the customer is in the buying cycle Conduct interviews or survey customers Review current web analytics for referring search traffic Poll sales and customer service staff for phrases used by customers Leverage social media monitoring tools for tags and phrases Review competitor web site content   2. You cannot reach a content by the use of search bots Here are a few ways to avoid crawling issues: Avoid unnecessarily complex URLs and using session ids Do not publish multiple URLs to duplicate content Rather than use temporary redirects (302 or JavaScript) use a 301 redirect to point old pages to new pages Understand that if you site navigation relies on Ajax, Flash or JavaScript, you'll want to provide an alternative text link navigation method. 3. Avoid Lack of Content Always create new content. Along with the creation of new content is the issue of site architecture. Managing content along with the interlinking of keywords to pages helps search engines find pages and infer meaning. Fresh, themed content along with a logical site structure using categories, sub-categories and appropriate links between them can make a tremendous impact on search engine driven customers to a B2B web site. 4. Keywords Missing in Content and Text Links Here are some basic one-page content optimization tips to guide the usage of keywords: Title tags Headings Paragraph titles Keywords in body copy Anchor text in links Image alt text 5. Always Monitor KPIs and Ongoing Optimization of Content Marketing A few KPIs to pay attention to include: Keyword sourced traffic Branded vs non-branded keyword traffic Pages indexed, popular entry pages Crawling errors and Webmaster Tools Reports Rankings relative to your own site over time Inbound links: quantity, quality, longevity Link traffic Social media citations and traffic http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Establishing_a_Great_Relationship_With_Your_B2B_Directory.htm 19th Apr,2010 Let us be familiar how business-to-business transactions are conducted? In B2B commerce, it can be conducted directly between a buyer and seller or via an online intermediary. The intermediary can either be: a person  or an organization  or an electronic system  Types of Transactions in Business-to-Business Directories: Spot Buying buying goods and services at market prices often facilitated by a third party exchange Strategic Sourcing long-term contracts that are usually negotiated to get a good cost advantage often this is done by streamlining your supply chain  Choosing the right B2B sales tools can help by: Building collaborative relationships Improving life on the front line Boost sales What is the Impact on the Business world with B2B Directories? Let us now focus on B2B tools that work. The sales perspective Probably for the sales team the most important among its responsibilities is closing the deal. It is always a reflection in their daily performance. That’s where these people are praised for. Getting the deal done is a must for them. They would also need to write a quarterly report showing its quota whether the team has reached its quota. Company growth depends directly on the outcome of your meetings with prospects and clients. There is a need for relying on the materials and sales tools that marketing has supplied to help educate and engage the company’s prospects.  The marketing perspective The marketing team needs to gain the attention of its target prospects and they are the ones responsible for bombarding promotional messages in everyones inbox, get and stay at the top of search engine results and use key search phrases; qualify and nurture contacts until they are ready to be passed to Sales; become a trusted resource to reporters, analysts, and other thought leaders; and report the worth of such results when they're often indirectly linked with revenue and profits.  Marketing softens the ground for Sales by building trust with members of each key audience. This is how Business Directories Can Bring You More Business Achieving growth and success in your B2B business. The overall goal of a local business in B2B is to empower its growing sales team to close more and larger deals while saving time on sales communications with individual prospects. According to a study having an improved sales message: Enabled new sales staff to ramp up and generate revenue more quickly.  Ensured that the marketing messaging and the direct sales communications were in harmony.  Guaranteed that content a prospect would find on the company website dovetailed with what the individual salesperson said.  Ensured that each sales representative hit the same key points.    Other Essential Tools in B2B are:   Guidelines for the sales process  Checklists for discussions with prospects  Tips on assembling collateral for follow-up  Email attachments designed to fit in with specific types of communication  A new sales elevator statement  Templates the sales team could customize, including content for slides, text for emails, text for sales letters, and a cold-call script    Results of using essential marketing tools and sales template would lead to Selling the entire solution Getting less resistance on price, and Hearing fewer references to the competition    http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Sales_Tools_That_Completely_Work.htm 19th Apr,2010 In a business, everyone has to realize what is important is the buying and selling factor. And now, companies are trying to advance themselves and try out all the marketing schemes possible in order to increase their transactions and most especially their income. If you notice, local business or even large companies have started to turn away from each other, not trying to share anymore and would sometimes already decline any personal interactions during their sales process probably because of the increase of business-to-business or what they call B2B exchanges. These local directories or what you can call online marketplaces have helped companies reach high peak levels of accuracy, efficiency and the most important factor would be profitability. In fact, a lot of business tycoons have started requiring their trading partners to conduct the following such as sales ordering, payment and fulfillment online. Business-to-business transactions have become a standard operating procedure already, and the way these exchanges are designed and run are being standardized already. For example local business can choose a wide array of softwares available where exchange in-house, purchasing off-the-shelf and extending their existing enterprise resource planning setups or ERN is already included. What is the best option for your company? Do-It-Yourself This would be recommended for a small start-up company. You can build a simple B2B business stand touch point where most firms seem to find it a bit less efficient. For example if you were to just take orders from 10 partners, then you can try first. But if you soon start a contract-driven kind of environment, where its partners has its own ways of wanting to do business with you, it tends to become more complex meaning you need a better solution for that. Purchasing Packaged Softwares and Building out Existing ERP Implementations This by far are the best two options there is. For Growth of Business with B2B Directories. The ERP vendors are pushing that local companies can benefit from this for easy integration. According to them, they help customers to really leverage the data and investments that they have already made rather than replicating solutions they already have in place. In some of their softwares for example they can already link directly into its supply chain applications, enabling customers to access real-time inventory. Also, they noted that with the use of their software, all data would reside in a single location. The centralized model prevents duplication of effort or miscommunication of information, which sometimes occurs when an e-commerce platform must communicate with various software programs across an enterprise.     Where We Will See B2B Business Directories in Future - Success OR Flop However, bear this in mind, regardless of which path companies choose, B2B exchanges are not entirely problem-free. While the front-end trading portion of such marketplaces has been refined over time, in many cases the back-end processes -- ranging from handling purchase orders and credit references to billing and shipping -- have not lived up to their potential. It is now quite clear that B2B portals are here to stay, but whether they will persist with anything like their original personalities intact are less evident. For some companies, huge losses due to marketing and infrastructure costs mean that profits are still a long way off.   http://www.2828.bz/information/resource/Bringing_S-u-c-c-e-s-s_to_your_B-u-s-i-n-e-s-s.htm 19th Apr,2010