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B2B
When Best of the Web began compiling information on business-to-business companies two years ago, the nascent B2B industry was dominated by trading hubs. Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically due to attrition, consolidation and business-plan overhauls. Software providers have now taken greater prominence in our B2B universe. As corporate tech spending has stalled, many companies listed here have been hunkered down in survival mode with sagging revenues and stock prices. But there are pockets of strength: customer relationship management, supply chain and business process outsourcing tools remain hot. And the emerging area of Web Services, which help companies integrate their disparate software systems, continues to grow.
ASP
If you want to cut costs and increase efficiency, turning to an ASP may be the best way. Instead of paying a lot of money upfront for servers and
... Aerospace & Defense
Aerospace companies are desperate to cut costs, so they have taken to the Web. Consortia, like Cordiem, dominate headlines, but niche applications
... Agriculture
Some 80% of the 250,000 top-producing U.S. farmers use the Internet. Sites surviving the recent shakeout in e-agriculture help farmers connect faster
... Automotive
Despite good intentions and great technology, it has proven difficult for companies like Covisint to break old habits in the auto industry. --Ben
... Business Process Outsourcing
The keyword here is "outsourcing." These firms save clients money by taking over noncore operations like accounting, customer relations, order
... Chemicals
Chemical and life sciences companies were early converts to the power and potential of online marketplaces. Now the most active hubs--backed by big
... Collaboration
Collaboration software is still hot. But it's increasingly incorporated into "product lifecycle management" packages. Translation: software that
... Computers
Most businesses already use the Web to buy and sell computers and find IT services like Web-hosting. In this business the competition is fierce and
... Construction
Many online B2B companies learned the hard way that contractors don't want to purchase their materials online or do business without a handshake.
... Content Management
Sharing all of an organization's digital assets to improve productivity is a top priority among most CIOs. Microsoft's entry into this $1.3 billion
... Customer Relationship Management
With nearly $43 billion at stake, CRM has become a battleground for software heavyweights from SAP and Oracle to PeopleSoft, all going after leader
... Electronics
In this market, once-hyped e-marketplaces like E2open and Converge now peddle software and services. Here again, distributors with established
... Energy
Enron's implosion chilled the online energy trading world, and many have scurried back to the safety of telephones and trading pits. The potential
... Excess Inventory
Cisco wrote off $2.1 billion in inventories last year. Inventory overstock is a $60
billion drag on U.S. businesses. These e-dealers are turning
... Financial Content Providers
Timely access to accurate information is critical for anyone involved in the markets. As a result, financial content providers have florished on the
... Financial Services
Financial services companies used to leave huge, expensive paper trails when they did their business. With the Web, it's becoming more automated,
... Food & Beverage
It's been a rough year for public exchanges in the food and beverage industries. Sites like FoodUSA and Foodscape have folded. Others, like
... Healthcare
Web applications and healthcare have always held great promise. Thanks in part to physician's resistance to change, that promise has been largely
... Hospitality & Travel
The North American hotel business spends $80 billion annually, and nearly 65% of all hotel rooms are operated by the top six companies. All eyes are
... Human Resources
Most HR functions--from payroll and benefits administration to performance management--can now be outsourced to Web-based applications. Stay tuned.
... Indirect Procurement
These firms help clients manage fixed assets, mostly by forecasting maintenance and repairs, and then buying parts and supplies not used directly in
... Industrial Equipment
Not long ago industrial equipment looked like an ideal candidate for online exchanges. Lately, the focus has shifted to private exchanges and
... Knowledge Services
Does your company have an "information" strategy? Do your key employees have efficient access to the latest content? Look to the companies below for
... Logistics & Transportation
Under pressure to perform, and facing heightened security and customs regulations in the wake of Sept. 11, shippers are looking for the fastest, most
... Media & Advertising
Media companies are sitting on a goldmine of valuable assets that need digitizing inorder to realize value. Here are the companies providing the
... Metals
The metals business may not yet be ready to accept the B2B revolution. MetalSite, Aluminum.com and MetalSpectrum have shut down. E-Steel has become a
... Paper & Forest Products
The paper industry is reeling as overcapacity, consolidation and globalization have led to mill closings and employee layoffs. Any help these
... Procurement
Driving costs down and focusing on core businesses are the watchwords of the "new" new economy. E-procurement providers are reaping the rewards as
... Real Estate
Commercial realty's embrace of the Web has been slow. Only half of real estate firms have a common property information database and only 16% of are
... Retailing
Big retailers were early to embrace the idea of efficiency via Web-based trading hubs. Unfortunately a digital Tower of Babel existed, thanks to
... Security
As the supply chain extends to customers and suppliers, and more companies collaborate over the Web, security problems only get bigger. These
... Small Business
Web giants Microsoft, Yahoo and EBay are duking it out to offer Web Services to small-business owners. Why waste time wooing shops like Sally's
... Supply Chain Management
Innovators I2 and Manugistics are getting hammered as
software giants like SAP are swooping in for market share. Said one wry analyst: "People want
... Telecommunications
A year ago bandwidth was hot and telecom stocks were soaring. Today there is a fiber-optics glut and an industrywide depression. In an effort to
... Trading Platforms
The Web is a haven for upstart and established financial trading operations. But hard times have hit. A shakeout has eliminated BondBook and Atriax,
... Web Services
The hottest B2B buzz these days is about Web Services. These providers make software that lets companies integrate and modernize their legacy systems
... Wireless
Wireless is down, but it is definitely not out. Watch these companies prosper as government and industry finally begin to untether. -- Ken Yamada
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