e-marketplace

E-com

an Internet-based environment that brings together businessto-business buyers and sellers so that they can trade more efficiently online.

     The key benefits for users of an emarketplace are reduced purchasing costs, greater flexibility, saved time, better information, and better collaboration. However, the drawbacks include costs in changing procurement processes, cost of applications, setup, and integration with internal systems, and transaction/subscription fees.

     There are three distinct types of emarketplace: independent, in which public environments seek simply to attract buyers and sellers to trade together; consortiumbased, in which sites are set up on an industry-wide basis, typically when a number of key buyers in a particular industry get together; and private, in which emarketplaces are established by a particular organization to manage its purchasing alone.