Add Profit from Value Added Services

Once exchange is set as primary sales channel, available free resources can be used to create more value added services for clients. Some of services that exchange may offer also can be used to generate more value.

Reduce Order Processing Cost

The supply chain solutions of a B2B exchange may allow sellers to reduce order processing cost significantly. Studies show that cost of processing a purchase order can be reduced from US$ 70 down to US$ 6 only.

Sales and support costs

By automating sales and customer support processes companies can reduce over head costs over 25-30% easily.

Inventory keeping costs

Clearer visibility and forecasting ability allow companies considerably reduce inventory keeping costs.

Since an existing B2B exchange may not have all necessary features and functions, a good option is to build a private exchange based on one’s own specific business process automation need. This exchange, at its minimum, should be able to cover major portion of supply chain and inventory control.

The following elements should be integrated to create substantial value to a private B2B exchange:

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is core solution of an exchange and can deliver great values to existing systems. Implementation of this solution will help achieve incredibly high return on investment. Business process automation in this component of exchange includes both supplier and buyer–side quotation, requisition, purchase order and invoice.

Marketplace

This is venue where exchange owner company will post their products for sale. A shopping cart should be integrated to electronic marketplace in order to automate buying process. The offered-for-sale products will be directly related to inventory control management component of exchange.

Auction

Electronic auction system can use both English and Dutch auction methods. For convenience auction component can be integrated to electronic marketplace. Online auction helps liquidate surplus goods easily.

Reverse Auction

This solution allows automate electronic procurement, where suppliers compete for a business deal real time online.

Members Storefront

The participants of Private Exchange – both buyers and sellers of exchange owner company get a Storefront that reflects profile of company, their products and other information.

Forum

A Forum or Discussion Board is an organized, on-line interactive message board where participants conduct discussion on a set of topics by posting questions, comments and responses.

Directory of Companies

This is a listing of all registered participants – buyers and sellers of exchange owner company – either by business category or by alphabetical order. An advanced search engine tool can be incorporated in order to find a company based on data provided.

E–catalog

E–catalog is a hierarchy of product and service categories. All products and services handled by exchange owner company should be consolidated in catalog.

Private B2B exchange is a powerful concept, which engulfs a fairly big portion of business processes requiring automation. This is more like a business ecosystem that has an ability to change way companies think and do business and create tremendous value to their owners.

Definition

If you are looking for a definition of a particular word or a phrase, Google is best place to get it. In Google search box, write "define: word or phrase" without quotation marks and click search button. If there is a definition available for your search term you will, most certainly, get it. It's a very useful feature for students and people, those who write research papers.

Synonyms

You may think that search engines are too dumb to show query results of synonyms of your search term. It's not so! At least, in case of Google! If you use tilde "~" in front of a keyword in your search term, Google will bring results on synonyms of that word as well.

Searching within a website

Another great feature of Google search engine allows you to make your query within a specific website. First you write your search term in Google search box and then write "site: website or domain name". For example: if you are looking for word "Microsoft" within website www.micromedia.com you will write: Microsoft site: micromedia.com.

Check backward links to your website

If you have a website, Google search engine also has a nice feature to show you which web pages are linking to yours. In search box, write: Link: you website address.

Other important tips to remember are:

There is no need to use "AND". Google always relate all words in a search term with Boolean "and".

However, if you would like to make your query for two words - one or another - you can use "OR". You have to write "or" in capital letters to give it Boolean value.

Google is not case sensitive. You can write your search terms either in capital or in small letters. You can even mix them up.

Google omits most of very common words, such as the, in, etc. If you, indeed, need to add a specific word forcefully, use plus (+) sign in front of that particular word. Same way, you can exclude a word from your search expression by putting minus (-) sign in front it.

If you would like to make a search on an exact phrase or expression, put words within quotation marks. That way, your search result will show only those pages where exact expression was found. In order to search phrase: For whom bell tolls, write "For whom bell tolls" in search box. I'll also suggest you to download Google Toolbar. Apart from search box and its ability to block pop-ups, Google Toolbar also shows pagerank of website you are visiting now. Pagerank is a system of evaluating web pages - developed by Google founders and used as core of Google's search engine algorithm. The Toolbar also includes feature with ability to fill up online forms from stored information automatically. You can also keep your daily journal or blog right from toolbar.

Much to net users delight, Google, in accordance with its ambitious mission statement to organize world's information and make it universally useful and accessible, so far doing a great job by providing us best search engine and extremely handy features and services. We can only hope that flow of innovative ideas from Google will not slow down in future, when it becomes a public company.