Introduction

 

Until a decade before, novel products, good salesmanship and technology were fair enough to close a business deal. But, the current world of cut-throat competition and short product lifecycle has created a requirement for quicker marketing options. Introduction of the Internet and e-commerce during the 90s has caused hype in the activities involving e-business. Its impact on the business activities of the companies has caused a drastic change in the global economy. Companies started to realise that internet can be a great asset and can boost up the efficiency in everyday business dealings, and internet became the new way of linking customers to suppliers. B2B portals serve as an 'electronic market' that enables the buyers and sellers to exchange information, products, services and payments through computer networks. It plays a pivotal role in building a profitable and value-oriented relationship between businesses and the many individuals involved in them.

Let us take the example of a small manufacturer from Delhi, Honzhou, Hanoi or Mexico. They have high quality manufacturing facilities. Now, there might be importers who are looking for quality manufacturers. How can an importer or a buying house locate the manufacturer? The solutions could be, first to create a web identity, second to be a part of any of the leading business 2 business internet portal, and third; to create authenticity by being a verified manufacturer. These steps would create confidence in the prospective buyers mind. But this process needs to have an adequate follow-up done by updating and informing the world about the manufacturing capabilities and product designs categorically. This improves the chance of gaining the trust of buyers.

 

 

Application Areas of B2B Portals:

 

In the life cycle of a business, B2B portals have many potential application areas.

 

• Create an Identity: B2B portals create an identity for the business in the global market. They create searchable list of good suppliers and products which are efficiently marketed through direct marketing initiatives, trade fair participation and paid/free search optimization techniques resulting in the buyers reaching the right suppliers.
• Increase the sales: B2B portals optimize the company's website for search engines. Priority listing given in the B2B portals enables the search engines to prioritize the concerned company, and thereby be noticed by importers for valuable supplies. This could be a bit costly proposition since internet searches today are changing their methods of giving priority listing to companies.
• Increase the efficiency of Supply Chain Management: 70% of the turnover is in materials. Getting connected with highly cost effective suppliers which would lead to fewer inventories holding and being competitive in having high quality raw materials at a low cost.