B2B Ecommerce Systems

B2B ecommerce is an important part of any online business. Leaving aside the simple transfer of funds — covered here — many businesses need some combination of:

• creditworthiness assessment.

• guarantee of quality and delivery of goods (escrow services).

• safeguards against fraud.

• fast collection of funds, with ability to vary the collection period.

• reporting: approval of sale, invoicing, delivery, payment.

• procedures to handle disputes.

 

Whatever is adopted, the system should keep confidential information safe, and integrate with popular accounting packages.

Banks have traditionally provided many of the above services, and are expected to remain the major players in the near future, but electronic equivalents now exist to:

• largely replace the traditional roles of banks & finance companies.

• add to the services offered by banks and finance companies.

• process payments by the ACH system.

In the US, the range of services is both expanding and contracting. More systems are appearing (probably than the market will support), but vendors are also focusing on specific needs. Our resources page describes the best known systems available to US businesses, and our products listing page compares escrow services.

Banks in the UK and elsewhere are catching, though many financial institutions are still undecided on how (or whether) to provide ecommerce solutions. You'll have to ask around, or search ecommerce articles.

The dotcom crash has killed off many nascent b2b ecommerce systems, including b2b payment systems, but our resources page lists the companies still providing technology for advanced trading systems.

Note also that some of the existing systems have failed to come up to expectation, and many remain relatively untested. Before signing up:

• ask for testimonials.

• scour the ecommerce press for case histories.

 

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