Chapter 6
Public B2B Exchanges, Directories and Other
Support Services
Class Exercises
Jason Chou-Hong Chen, Ph.D.
Professor of MIS
Graduate School of Business, Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA 99223 USA
chen@jepson.gonzaga.edu
1
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Application Case 6.2: Global Transportation
Network Ocean Portal (p.272)
1.
•
2.
•
3.
•
Identify the critical success factors of this exchange.
The factors are early liquidity, ownership, governance,
openness and a range of services.
Is a consortium the best type of ownership for this kind
of exchange?
Responses will vary.
Although there are thousands of shippers, some of them
are very big (e.g. Wal-Mart). Does it make sense to have
them create a shipper’s exchange? Why or why not?
Responses will vary.
2
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Application Case 6.2: Global Transportation
Network Ocean Portal (p.272-cont.)
4.
•
5.
•
6.
•
7.
•
What motivates a carrier to participate in the exchange?
The incentive is additional contracts.
What motivates a shipper to participate in the exchange?
The incentive is reduced price.
How was customer service improved by the exchange?
It allowed for greater communication and information
flow.
Research GT Nexus’ on-demand model and list its
capabilities.
Student responses will vary.
3
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Application Case 6.3: Asite’ B2B E-Marketplace
for the Construction Industry (p.289)
1.
•
2.
•
3.
•
Identify the success factors of this company (see the list
of success factors in Section 6.9).
The factors are early liquidity, ownership, governance,
openness and a range of services.
How would you classify the ownership of this emarketplace?
It is run by a co-op.
Examine the Webcor Application Case in Chapter 7.
How does Webcor differ from Asite? How is it similar?
Webcor also uses EC technology to enable
communication and collaboration, but not in a portal
setting.
4
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Application Case 6.3: Asite’ B2B E-Marketplace
for the Construction Industry (p.289-cont.)
4. Enter asite.com and read about new developments (those
within the last 6 months).
•
Responses will vary.
5. What is the exchange’s revenue model?
•
The firm appears to have a revenue model based on
consulting and IT solutions.
6. Using the classification scheme presented in this chapter,
is asite.com a portal or an exchange?
•
This appears to be an exchange.
7. Examine the site’s tendering, procurement, and project
management tools.
•
The site appears to offer a wide array of tools.
5
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Market Liquidity
• Market liquidity:
– The degree to which something can be
bought or sold in a marketplace without
affecting its price
• Achieve liquidity
– sufficient number of participants in the
marketplace
– sufficient volume of transactions
6
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Discussion Board Questions
• **9. Explain the importance of early liquidity
and describe methods to achieve it.
• Early liquidity is very important for exchanges
because it puts that exchange in a more
competitive position because of easier access to it
or the lack of need for additional capital.
• The keys to early liquidity focus on increasing
transaction volume as quickly as possible.
Transaction volume is achieved by having more
buyers and suppliers in a network, by increasing
transaction volume and decreasing transaction
7
cost.
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
• 2. Suppose a manufacturer uses an outside
shipping company. How can the manufacturer
use an exchange to arrange for the best possible
shipping? How can a shipment status be
tracked?
• The manufacturer can consult an exchange to find
a shipper that provides the best overall value. The
shipment status can be tracked through that
vendor's Web site.
8
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
• 4. Which types of exchanges are most suitable
for third-party ownership and why?
• Exchanges work best in fragmented markets,
seller-concentrated markets, and buyerconcentrated markets.
• Exchanges are successful in fragmented markets
because of the large number of buyers and sellers
and no clear industry leaders.
• Exchanges are successful in seller-concentrated
markets because of the large number of potential
buyers served by a more limited number of sellers.
• Exchanges are successful in buyer-concentrated
markets because of the large amount of buying
conducted by a few large companies.
9
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Internet Exercise
#5. Most of the major exchanges use an ERP/SCM
partner. Enter i2.com and view its solutions. What are
the benefits of these solutions?
•
This firm provides a wide variety of solutions to assist in
value chain management. According to the Web site,
some of the benefits of the solutions include: improved
relationships with suppliers, expanding business
relationships, focusing on customers, integration of
systems across the value chain, rapid network
connections and software tailored to specific industries.
10
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Real-World Case: IMARKETKOREA
(p.298)
1.
•
How do support services benefit the exchange?
The support services make dealing with the exchange
and making purchases easier. This increases usage.
2.
•
Relate this case to desktop purchasing (Chapter 5).
The system mirrors many of the ideas of desktop
purchasing, but with a focus on MROs.
3.
Write a brief summary of the benefits of the exchange
to buyers.
Student responses will vary, but will focus on the
decreased costs and time involved with acquisition.
•
11
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Real-World Case: IMARKETKOREA
(p.298-cont.)
4. Write a brief summary of the benefits of the
exchange to sellers.
• Student responses will vary,
5. Compare iMK to Alibaba.com. What are the
similarities and the differences?
• Both appear to be market aggregators, but iMK
has a narrower product and market focus.
12
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce
Real-World Case: IMARKETKOREA
(p.298-cont.)
6. Much of iMK’s success is attributed to the
understanding of the Korean culture and business
environment. Given that iMK wants to expand
internationally, what could be some of its
stumbling blocks?
• Student responses will vary but can include
coping with variations outside the Korean market
and variations in other global markets.
7. Check the recent news and press releases (last 6
months) at imarketkorea.com. Identify expansion
patterns.
• Student responses will vary based on date of
retrieval.
13
Prentice Hall & Dr. Chen, Electronic Commerce