Business 2 Business

What is B2B?

Business-to-business (B2B) describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer

The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving subcomponent or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction.

Here is a list of some common business activities that could be integrated into a B2B implementation:

* Finding customers through sales and marketing
* Obtaining quotations, negotiating price, specifications and contracts
* Inventory management and control
* Warehousing: Enabling just-in-time (JIT) ordering/shipping and moving warehousing costs to suppliers
* Distributed web-based database applications for companies spread across wide geographical area.
* R&D. Product (or service) development
* Selling to retail and wholesale customers and through distributors
* Invoicing
* Managing Human Resources (Staff)
* Managing Property
* Enabling distributors and customers to do your marketing for you
* Sales & Marketing reporting system between a franchisor and its franchisees.
* News reporting system by journalists spread across the country to the newspaper's head office.