B2b Supply Chain

B2B vs. B2C

In this paper, there will be a definition of what a business-to-business is as well as a business-to-consumer. A definition of a supply chain will be discussed. There will also be a discussion of the differences in a business-to-business as opposed to a business-to-consumer.

Business-to-Business

Supply chains are known as the series of channels any product can take from its original production to reach its final destination. An example of this is when a customer walks into Wal-Mart or K-Mart to purchase a television. These supply chain will begin with the customer and their desire for a television. Then the supply chain continues to the brick and mortar store. The K-Mart stores receive its products from the K-Mart distribution center. The K-Mart distribution center will get their product from the manufacturer and the manufacturer gets materials from quite a few companies that supply raw materials. This basic supply chain is liquid and continuously goes back and forth (slashdoc.com, 2007).

Business-to-Business or short (B2B) is a longtime sales practice where the transactions primarily target companies and wholesale buyers. Many companies have both B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) elements and it is more likely for companies to concentrate in B2B transactions (wisegek.com, 2007). B2B is popular in sales and services due to its major capacity. A customer will visit a manufacturer's website to purchase one sweater and a pair of shoes. A buyer of a chain of stores will not just buy one item but may buy over 6,000 items of one particular product. The manufacturer will lose out on a very large sale if they do not use one of the B2B elements.

The sales of B2B are also produced by providing a particular manufactured good that is will not be obtainable to a regular consumer. This B2B operation is mostly used when businesses are manufacturing. A company that produces some sort of spray bottle, for example, may need a specific plastic nozzle. Several companies that produce these nozzles will solicit their services to pitch unique designs for the product. Obviously these products will be useless to individual customers, but the company will order tens of thousands of them (wisegek.com, 2007).

There has been a tremendous expansion in e-business and B2B has played a significant role. Not only is the B2B focusing on sales but many companies are performing other financial transactions online. B2B communications are being used to encourage capital ventures, trades of stocks and other types of financial transactions. Most of these transactions are very costly for the common individual and there is no equal B2C alternative available. It may cost some companies as much as a billion dollars to handle B2B electronic transactions (wisegek.com, 2007).

Business-to-Consumer

B2C is the primary focus toward customers and not towards other businesses. Even though B2C companies sell to other resellers or other business as a small portion of their revenue, the primary function of B2C is selling to customers. Most vendors are normally a B2C company while manufacturers and wholesalers are normally B2B companies. The B2C phrase is typically used to refer to B2C business online but can refer to any vendor.

B2C also refers to online trading and online auctions. An example of this is markets that provide online stock trading, online auctions such as eBay, and other auctions that provide household and other goods. B2C e-commerce is an emerging commerce model where companies and customers network by electronic means or digitally. A good example of a B2C e-commerce is Amazon.com. Amazon.com is a bookstore online that was launched in 1995 and has