WEEK 11
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Synopsis
This week’s readings cover the
history of B2B e-service business models, B2B service technologies, and the future of B2B
service business models.
Readings
Way back when everyone was focusing on
the glory of B2C e-services, a call cried out from the wilderness about the importance of
B2B.
(Required) Sawhney, M., and S. Kaplan, “Let’s Get Vertical,” Business 2.0, September 1, 1999.
http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/1999/09/01/16856
Then, once people had shifted their focus
onto B2B e-services, yet another call cried out about the importance of B2B technology
providers.
(Required) Davis, J., and M. Sawhney, “How it Works,” Business 2.0, February 1, 2000.
http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20635
The following articles are additional
articles that originally were published as extensions of the “How it Works”
article, explaining the technologies in this area. If you are interested in these
technologies, you might want to browse or read one or more of these additional articles
– but it is too much to assign, so it is not required
reading.
“The Informant” – web content management – http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20622
”The Configurator” – build to order product configurators – http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20623
“The Market Maker” – electronic spaces for trading - http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20624
”The Production Manager” – supply chain management – http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20626
“The Profiler” – data mining software and analysis – http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20628
“The Partner” – alliances – http://www.business2.com/content/magazine/indepth/2000/02/01/20629
Now, another call cries out from the
wilderness, yelling not to believe those other voices.
(Required) Wise, R., and D. Morrison, “Beyond the Exchange: The Future of B2B,” Harvard Business Review, November-December 2000, p. 87-96.
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/prod_detail.asp?R00614
Case
Technology for Transportation Bidding at The Home Depot
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 in Atlanta, GA, and is currently the world’s largest home improvement retailer. In June, 1999, Home Depot launched its expanded Website (www.homedepot.com) which includes more than 150 interactive how-to projects, personalized customer home pages, and interactive features such as project calculators. Managing the logistics of this retailer giant is no easy task. In the mid-1990s, Home Depot semi-computerized its transportation bidding process for carriers, but it was found to still have many shortcomings. Thus, they more recently partnered with i2 Technologies to develop a flexible, Internet-based bidding mechanism for truckload shipments, which went live for the first time in January 2000.
Questions