Is It for Real?

What is the scope and impact of this B2B revolution? Is it for real, or is it just more of the hyperbole that we have been witnessing with e-commerce over the past two years?

Just as with e-commerce, estimates on the effect of B2B vary widely. Gartner Group forecasts that global B2B e-commerce will reach $4 trillion by 2003—this, compared with less than $400 billion in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce online sales[2] (see Figure 1.1). Similarly, AMR points out that the manufacturing sector accounted for $96 billion of Internet-based commerce in the U.S. in 1999, and this should grow at an annual rate of 78% to reach $1,700 billion by 2004.[3] Goldman Sachs predicts that B2B e-commerce will grow in the U.S. from $39 billion ...

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