B2B Markets: Procuremen and Supplier Risk Management in E-Business

This chapter clarifies some of the different types of efficiencies that can be achieved in B2B electronic commerce. We focus on the risk management aspects of these efficiencies, especially those pertaining to supplier or supply chain management related costs. This novel approach incorporates risk management by combining the traditional collaborative framework (of reservation capacity and associated pricing) with a dynamic spot market, both of which are Web-based. By way of contrast, in prior research and industrial use, these two supply modes of collaborative commerce and spot market, have been used separately, in a non-integrated way. We develop a framework that draws upon our research, as well as that of others, suitably adapted by us to this context and interpreted to provide insights into the economics of B2B commerce against this backdrop. We also point out open questions and identify new research directions.