As
the name suggests, business-to-business refers to commerce
conducted between companies.The concept of B2B e-commerce, or electronic
commerce between companies, can be defined as the substitution
of the physical processes that commercial transactions involve by
electronic processes. E-commerce transactions take place in e-marketplaces
or portals, Internet-based technology platforms where buyers and sellers
meet and do business in real time.
These platforms consist of a horizontal market (in which products
and services not directly connected with the company's business operations
are transacted) and various vertical markets (specific to a
given business sector), both of which are interrelated; in other words,
companies may simultaneously belong to a vertical market and a horizontal
market.
