Co-written by Thomas Demitrack
The Internet is revolutionizing the way businesses in virtually every sector of the economy go to market. The first wave involved so-called "business-to-consumer" initiatives ("B2C"), characterized by the phenomenal rise of Amazon.com. The most recent manifestation is the proliferation of "business-to-business" or "B2B" electronic marketplaces, which create online exchanges or sites for the purchase and sale of goods and services between companies. The May 1 edition of Forbes reported that some 600 B2B sites in hundreds of industries have been launched, and new initiatives are being announced daily. More celebrated examples include MetalSite (metals); MyAircraft.com (aeronautics); WorldWide Retail Exchange (retail); and the B2Bs being formed by Procter & Gamble, Nestle, and H.J. Heinz (consumer products); International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, and Weyerhauser (paper); and Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Abbott Laboratories (medical products).
