For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Enterprises Should Push Supplier Networks To Deliver Interoperability

The Plethora Of Discrete Networks Detracts From ePurchasing's Value

by Duncan Jones, July 30, 2009

Enterprises use supplier networks to trade electronically with their suppliers, but they find that insufficient cooperation between rivals limits potential progress. Chief purchasing officers (CPOs) and their ePurchasing program managers struggle to get . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Hot Companies To Watch: Q4 Update

Profiles Of Emerging Companies And Technology Trends That Tech Vendors Need To Know About

by Chris Andrews, December 19, 2008

In this series, we highlight interesting new vendors and important technology trends. At Forrester, we've seen a strong interest in emerging technologies among our strategist clients as vendors seek to stay innovative and identify the "next big thing" . . .

Making B2B Marketing Work

by Elana Anderson, April 13, 2005

Interviews with business-to-business (B2B) marketing executives reveal that the marketing organization is ineffective when it is siloed, tactical, and not accountable for results that tie to meaningful metrics. As one marketer said, "Marketing has a credibility . . .

What B2B Marketers Need From Technology

Customer Data Management Is The Best Place To Start

by Elana Anderson, April 8, 2005

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers struggle most to reach decision-makers and measure effectiveness. As a result, they are shifting budget dollars from advertising toward more direct and interactive tactics — supplementing sales forces with higher spending . . .

Online Trade Among Small Businesses Looks Lopsided For 2005

by Meredith Morris, February 14, 2005

Small businesses are increasingly buying goods and services online, but they are cutting back on selling goods and services via the Internet. Small manufacturers account for most of the pullback in online selling activity. The small-business market has . . .

B2B Web Sites Fail The Usability Test

by Bruce D. Temkin, January 12, 2005

Over the last 14 months, B2B sites received an average score of -1.1 on Forrester's Web Site Review — well below the scores for B2C sites. Both groups of sites received their lowest scores on our Navigation criteria.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends 2005: eMarkets

Consolidation And Shakeouts Shrink The Number Of eMarkets

by Andrew Bartels, November 18, 2004

Old eMarkets never die, they just merge away. A dozen or so industry eMarkets and a smaller number of geographical eMarkets have survived the dot-com bust. Some have quietly grown revenues and transaction volume and even achieved profitability. Others . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

The Emergence Of The Business Services Hub

Solutions That Provide Hosted Integration Capability For The B2B World

by Ken Vollmer, September 10, 2004

Business services hubs provide a wide variety of on-demand integration services that will be well-suited for many types of integration challenges in the B2B world, especially those that require support for multiple communications protocols and data formats.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Hubspan Innovation Delivers Flexible Data Exchange

by David Metcalfe, March 19, 2004

Firms continue to exchange EDI messages across value-added networks but are also buying into interoperable data exchange services from vendors like Advanced Data Exchange, Elemica, and Global eXchange Services. Hubspan, a startup providing an outsourced . . .

B2C Tops B2B In Customer Experience Management

by Bruce D. Temkin, Bob Chatham, Nicole Belanger, December 17, 2003

This is the sixth and final brief in the "State Of Customer Experience" series. We looked at responses from both business-facing and consumer-facing companies. When it comes to managing customer experiences, B2C firms do a better job.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

IT Trends 2004: B2B and B2C E-Commerce Activity and Applications

by Andrew Bartels, November 24, 2003

Among the key trends for e-commerce are a new surge in B2C sales, continued growth in B2B sales, continued soft demand for buy-side e-procurement and e-sourcing solutions, and a revival of demand for sell-side commerce servers.

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

A Hybrid Communications Model Is a Good Alternative for B2B Exchanges

by Ken Vollmer, August 19, 2003

Clients with large trading partner communities should use a hybrid communications model for their B2B data exchanges since this alternative provides the required scalability at a lower cost than a VAN-based or Internet-based option.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

IT Trends 2003, Midyear Update: B2B and B2C E-Commerce

by Andrew Bartels, June 11, 2003

B2B and B2C e-commerce via the Internet continues to grow, with the buy side remaining the primary driver of online commerce growth in the remainder of 2003 and 2004.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

E-Sourcing vs. Vertical Marketplaces — Which Is Best?

by Tom Harwick, December 23, 2002

Full service e-sourcing solutions are highly focused on maximizing the value obtained for the procurement dollar. Vertical marketplaces have a broader focus on sourcing, order collaboration, vendor-managed inventory and supply chain management.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

ChemConnect Rebounds With GXS Data Exchange

by David Metcalfe, Matthew M. Nordan, James Walker, October 21, 2002

ChemConnect announced today the integration of its connectivity service with the GXS EDI network. The deal helps ChemConnect compete with Elemica and heralds a broader strategy for GXS.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

IT Trends 2003: B2B and B2C E-Commerce

by Andrew Bartels, October 3, 2002

The buy side will remain the primary driver of online commerce growth in 2003 and 2004, with businesses adopting e-procurement and e-sourcing solutions and consumers steadily increasing their use of the Internet for buying consumer goods.

The Future Of Europe's Online B2B Trade

by David Metcalfe, Julie Meringer, Manuel Ángel Méndez, July 25, 2002

B2B infrastructure will power Europe's online trade to [EURO]2.2 trillion in 2006. Rapid growth from 2003 will push slow-moving firms into the digital chasm. Executives should recharge B2B business cases with forecast data.

Industry Consortia Still Make Sense

by W. Daniel Garretson, Eric G. Brown, Bill Doyle, Kathryn P. Carr, July 24, 2002

Despite the eMarketplace bust, most owners of industry consortia are satisfied. But for long-term success, these vertical hubs must abandon marketmaking and focus instead on data interoperability and process standards.

Covisint Management Change Will Enable Better Coordination With Automotive Manufacturers

by Ken Vollmer, July 12, 2002

While its demise is one possible outcome, we believe Covisint is now better positioned to achieve its objectives as its new CEO, Harold Kutner, has significant auto sector expertise. Its success hinges on how successful he is in gaining supplier support.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

B2B Hubs Offer Another Option for Exploring Collaborative Product Development

by Erica Driver, May 1, 2002

B2B exchanges provide an excellent opportunity for manufacturers to engage in inter-enterprise collaborative product development without having to purchase, install and maintain CPD software.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

IT Trends 2002, Midyear Update: B2B and B2C E-Commerce

by Andrew Bartels, April 10, 2002

For the second half of 2002, expect B2C e-commerce sales to slow down a bit while B2B e-commerce sales continue to grow, especially in e-channels like EDI value-added networks and extranets, among other trends.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

eMarketplaces: Rebound And Deliver

by David Metcalfe, Julie Meringer, Jessica V. Roitman, March 6, 2002

Europe's exchanges struggle to deliver value or turn a profit. Rebounding requires a defensible core business around interfirm data exchange - and delivering XRM apps and collaborative process outsourcing.

Use Sell-Side B2B Auctions To Boost Asset Value

by Jim Walker, Steven J. Kafka, Lisa Hurd, February 25, 2002

@TheMoment is providing its auction software to Reliant and TXU - enabling the two energy companies to sell options on generation capacity at the best prices. Other manufacturers will turn to sell-side auctions to improve earnings.

ChemConnect's Buy Signals eMarketplace Normalization

by Steven J. Kafka, Jim Walker, January 10, 2002

ChemConnect announced today that it will buy rival CheMatch in an all-stock transaction. The deal signals a new phase in the shakeout in which eMarketplaces improve customers' productivity.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Commerce One Is the Leader in the Shrunken Market for E-Marketplace Transaction Platforms

by Andrew Bartels, January 10, 2002

Commerce One stands out in this application segment because it supports more leading consortia exchanges than any other trading platform, because it is the only vendor still focused on this product and because it is generating revenue.