It was a big week for business-to-business exchanges: Dell Computer Corp. launched Dell Marketplace online to let customers buy products from Dell and other suppliers starting next month; the aerospace industry completed its first transaction on its Exostar exchange; and BroadVision Inc. unveiled software for building an online marketplace.
Dell, which already sells approximately $50 million worth of computer products online every day, will encourage its small- to midsize business customers to migrate to dellmarketplace.com, where suppliers selling office goods will have to pay transaction fees to Dell. Many online business-to-business exchanges are languishing, but Dell's experience in online selling bodes well for its stab at online marketplaces.
Dell Senior Vice President Joe Marengi officially cut the ribbon for Dellmarketplace.com, describing how Dell, using Ariba marketplace software, will host supplier catalogs that will let customers make purchases online.
Dell's John Hampton, director of New Ventures, declined to disclose the exact fees that Dell will charge suppliers, which at other exchanges typically range from .5 % to 15 %.
Dell could phase out the transaction fees based on the suppliers' needs and acceptance, Hampton said.
There are no publicly announced suppliers or customers for Dellmarketplace.com, but it's expected to begin operation next month.
Exostar is ready to fly
Although slow to take off, Exostar, the business-to-business exchange for the aerospace industry, is expected to finally fly this week. Started by Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co., the Exostar exchange is based on software from Commerce One. Exostar spokesperson Robert Jorgensen says the first transaction involving supplier Boise Cascade was successfully completed last week. Exostar expects to charge a $1 or $2 fee for each order, but that could turn into a 2% fee on large volume orders.
Commerce One Inc. is working with GE Global eXchange Services to ensure that the Commerce One XML-based transactions can be converted into electronic data interchange format. The aerospace industry has been a big user of EDI-based networks for a decade, and modern business-to-business exchanges aren't going to change that overnight.
While Ariba Inc. and Commerce One have been the most prominent competitors in the business-to-business marketplace software market, last week saw the entry of another software vendor in BroadVision - already known for its One-to-One Enterprise software used by about 1,000 corporations as their business-to-business e-commerce sites' foundation.
BroadVision's new business-to-business exchange software is called MarketMaker, and it's aimed directly at Ariba and Commerce One. MarketMaker, which starts at $400,000, lets an organization set up a business-to-business exchange with multiple buyers and suppliers.