Business-2-Business (B2B) eCommerce has gone through a lot of transitions in the last decade. My question is has B2B eCommerce just been a big train wreck of late? Has there really been any real progress in realizing the dream of true electronic document exchange between businesses?
Short History of B2B eCommerce. Until the last decade, B2B eCommerce, which started with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in the 60’s, was adopted by businesses very slowly and with not much fanfare. Suddenly with the advent of the internet and the breakaway from the traditional Value Added Networks (VAN), B2B eCommerce exploded. All of a sudden there were dozens of “killer” integration applications, and new standards such as XML that were to revolutionize the way we do business. Now after a decade, is B2B eCommerce any further along? There are now so many EDI-type standards and so many proprietary integration applications that many businesses are locked into proprietary EDI / B2B solutions or they are so confused about B2B eCommerce that they do not know what to do.
B2B eCommerce – Order Out of Chaos? |
Can a Supreme Governance Committee Clean-up B2B eCommerce? It would be nice if a supreme authority would come along and clean up this B2B eCommerce mess. In my heart, an overall authority, even a Government agency, that would “lay down the law” would be wonderful. From my past experience, I do not believe that there will ever be a supreme authority over global data standards and data exchange.
Standards Committees Versus the 800 lb. Gorillas. Standards committees act too slow, and there are too many “800 lb. gorillas” that will disrupt any attempt at global data standards and data exchange standards. These “800 lb. gorillas” include Fortune 500 companies like large retailers, manufacturers, and service providers that have immediate real-world issues that need an EDI-type solution now. Other “800 lb. gorillas” are large EDI / integration / software vendors that are either protecting their existing turf or are attempting to expand market share by offering a new, proprietary “silver bullet” that will solve all B2B integration problems.
B2B eCommerce Needs Clarity Because It is Important. B2B eCommerce is important and businesses really do need a solution to electronically exchange their business documents with their suppliers and customers. B2B eCommerce saves money, improves supply chains, and speeds procurement cycles. One of the biggest challenges with B2B eCommerce is that the person that holds the purse string knows little about EDI. His or her most trusted advisors in most cases know nothing about B2B eCommerce and EDI solutions.
Are Our Education Institutions Letting Us Down By Not Teaching B2B eCommerce? Are the subjects of B2B eCommerce and Electronic Data Exchange even taught in college and universities? How is the business sponsor for a B2B eCommerce project to know who can implement a good B2B solution and what is a bad B2B solution?
B2B eCommerce, A Fuzzy Technology That Needs Business Clarity to be a Strategic Enabler. I have seen too many B2B solutions that were too overpriced to implement and maintain or did not meet the business objectives. Also, there are too many businesses out there that have not implemented any serious B2B solutions. Many businesses just do not see the value of standardizing the electronic exchange of business documents between their suppliers and customers.