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ARTICLES FROM EARTH SCIENCE COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
What does e-commerce mean? To me it means I can log on to the Internet and buy things - airline tickets, office supplies, software, computers, cars, soap, household items, and just about anything else I can possibly think of. I can also try to sell anything I want either through a Web page or one of the many on-line auctions (See Personal Computing column, this issue). This business-to-consumer process is becoming familiar and is easy to use - at least at the better sites. Most on-line transaction for consumer goods is accomplished with credit cards, so if you don’t have one you are out of luck! Any serious e-commerce site provides security so that you have at least some protection for the credit card number that you enter. Verisign offers one of many security schemes used by business-to-consumer sites that offer on-line purchasing (www.verisign.com). A merchant purchases a digital certificate that encrypts and protects sensitive data and transactions. Business-to-business, or B2B, and e-marketplaces are moving into the business mainstream and are much more complex than business-to-consumer. B2B is in the early stages of growth and rapidly becoming more versatile. Buyers and sellers have access to an unprecedented amount of information literally at their fingertips and are able to conduct business in a secure environment. E-commerce is expected to grow exponentially for the next several years. B2B commerce is expected to grow from $225 million in 2000 to $1.7 trillion in 2003. By 2001, for example, 50% of steel trading is projected to be accomplished on the Internet. The term e-commerce refers to automating business transactions from warehousing through negotiations to sales contracts. E-business is an automated on-line solution that facilitates and supports overall business processes such as inventory production planning, purchasing, etc. Other business objectives can be met such as growth, profitability, etc. A business to consumer transaction is simple: choose a vendor, select and order, process credit card, and ship. Business to business transactions require much more intensive interactions between the buyer and seller including identifying the products and requirements, sending requests for quotes, purchase orders, setting up credit, preparing fulfillment, arranging shipping, inspections, defining tariffs and customs, preparing invoices, and finally concluding the payments. Several mineral or and metal trading sites are up and running on the Internet and more are in the wings getting ready for their debut. These trading sites are on-line auctions on a grand scale with much more complexity that you experience on e-bay. The new mineral and metals trading sites use B2B software that enables these complex transactions. Because the startup costs for a trading site are so high, third-party facilitators are becoming a preferred solution for on-line trading. Startup costs to implement e-commerce solutions can range between $6 million and $20 million. The value of this new business paradigm is the increased efficiency in researching, negotiating, and completing transactions. Trading metals depends on extensive interaction between producer and buyer. Many metals sales are time critical, and the supporting systems need to be able to respond to this and many other factors. Many companies are realizing higher productivity and savings with their metal transactions. The trading sites are structured to offer flexibility to fit how businesses are run. How B2B Metal Trading Works The trading sites contain information about how they operate and most give examples of the products available for trade and other services they offer such as shipping, insurance, etc. A couple of the sites let you try out a sample transaction without registering. The sites all require you to register and each has its own requirements. When you register as a participating member you are allowed to place listings and submit bids and engage in the private auctions. Non-participating members may be allowed only to view auction results. The hosting company also will verify your company’s ability or authorization to buy or sell metal and mineral commodities. For example on the Uranium On-Line site, not just anyone can buy and sell uranium, so proof is needed that you are an authorized or licensed uranium products buyer, seller, or trader. Sellers post offers to sell a commodity and include information such as price, quantity, delivery location, delivery date, payment terms. Bidders make offers, the bid placer evaluates bids and negotiates until a final decision is made. On some sites the buyer and seller do not know the identity of the other until the transaction is complete. On other sites, an invitation list gets the bidders started. The auctions are often held at a specific time (within hours) or may cover several days. When a bid is accepted, the B2B site may handle other services such as certification, financing, insurance and shipping services. A few of the metal and mineral trading sites are listed. The sites have more detail about what they offer as well as the commodities they handle. The sites also include general information about the commodities, news, current price quotes, stocks and financial information, statistics, and many other resources for aiding the on-line trader. All these sites are easy to use and packed with information. They all offer free registration, but of course you must be a qualified buyer or seller to actually participate in an auction. Several allow you to be an observer. Core Markets This marketplace trades raw materials for the steel industry. They are found at www.coremarkets.com. It offers other services including risk management, insurance, financing, freight forwarding and warehousing. The company’s head office is in New York and they also have offices in China, South Africa and Israel. They have strategic partnerships set up with other industry participants, such as Steinweg, a warehousing and distribution company. Other partners include Fortis Bank, a commodities financier; SGS group, verification and testing; Metal Bulletin; Tradeum, a subsidiary of VerticalNet, provider of the eMarketplace Suite transaction software the system is based on; and Lante Corporation Internet services company. Some of the commodities included in recent trading were molybdenum oxide, silicon metal, manganese ore, chrome ore, ferro titanium, and ferro molybdenum. (See more on Core Markets below.) Uranium On-Line The site is owned by New York Nuclear Corporation to auction nuclear fuel in real time. Start at www.uranium.com for general information. The trading URL is www.uraniumonline.com. Even if you are not a registered trader, you can see the list of uranium lots offered and wanted. They also have a list of organizations that regulate nuclear materials. Several organizations are also listed that monitor nuclear safeguards. Besides the usual trading support, this site has a chat room. The staff will help the listing party design the auction specifications such as quantities, etc. MetalSite This is a marketplace for raw materials through end-use products and can be found at www.metalsite.net. It includes news and issues in the metals industry, analysis and editorials, a metals glossary, lists of sellers, global metals industry specifications, product information, and more. The site covers a wide variety of metal commodities. A useful part of the site is QuoteFinder, the place to generate and submit requests for quotes (RFQs). Supplier qualification is facilitated. Millions of dollars of Prime/Excess and Non-Prime/Secondary metal changes hands on MetalSite every month. CopperNet CopperNet is a portal on copper trading on-line (www.coppernet.com) operated by Pyramid Cyberway Ltd. (PCL), a company dedicated to bringing the global non ferrous industry to the Internet. The site facilitates the copper industry’s migration to Internet technology and is a platform to conduct and optimize business. Some of the services include:
The online Trading Board enables you to buy and sell copper goods in specific trading sections. It will match buyers and sellers and automatically close deals when the conditions match perfectly. Business-to-Business Software VerticalNet Tradeum is a subsidiary of VerticalNet, provider of the eMarketplace Suite transaction software. The company provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions targeted at distinct business segments through three Strategic Business Units: Markets, Exchanges, and Solutions. In addition to providing the transaction software to the e-marketplace, VerticalNet Markets operates 57 vertical marketplaces that unite buyers and sellers from around the world by catering to individuals with similar professional interests (one of which is oil and gas). Hosted e-commerce capabilities are provided to help businesses of all sizes increase sales reach and improve efficiency of marketing efforts VerticalNet Exchanges focuses on direct material exchanges, providing open and spot markets for traditional off-line businesses moving online. VerticalNet Solutions delivers a comprehensive digital marketplace solutions for industry alliances, Global 2000 enterprises and Net Market Makers. The Markets and Exchanges provide a comprehensive solution for accelerating time to market, building customer loyalty and driving transactions within a market. Oracle Exchange Oracle exchange is an open, business-to-business e-marketplace in which, using only a standard Web browser, companies can transact business online. Buyers and suppliers can communicate and share information in real time. The applications enable retailers to talk to more suppliers globally, to source products and services. Oracle offers all the products and services for creating, running, supporting, and maintaining global exchanges. An open e-marketplace is provided for Internet-driven supply chains. The platform is based on Oracle 8I, a scaleable and secure database product designed for the rigors of Internet computing. It has built-in applications that ensure privacy and security of data for exchange participants. A hosting environment is also provided to participants in real time whether the exchanges are public or private. The exchanges are hosed on Oracle Business OnLine, an established application-hosting and outsourcing service. The exchanges operate in dedicated service centers built to support the data-processing requirements of global organizations and e-marketplaces. Key services include catalog hosting, spot purchasing, buyer auctions, seller auctions, and transaction delivery. The Oracle Supplier Network is a group of suppliers and editorial content service providers integrating with the Exchange and Procurement. The supplier network provides a framework for the technical integration of supplier content and addresses the business-process issues associated with various goods and services. For more information go to www.oracle.com or www.oracle.com/oramag/marketplace. Related Information Sites Metal Bulletin Metal Bulletin is a source for information about a variety of metals, but they do not handle on-line commodity transactions. They are found on-line at: www.metbul.com. Some of the information they offer includes:
For more information contact MBJ Marketing Department, Park House, Park Terrace, Worcerster Park, Surrey KT4 7HY England. Tel:. +44 (0)20 7827 9977. Fax: +44 (0)20 8337 8943. Email: admin@metalbulletin.com Info-Mine Info-Mine (www.infomine.com ) offers an extensive amount of information about mines, mining companies, suppliers, software, articles, and just about anything else related to the mining industry. In the Suppliers area, you can also see lists of Web sites that provide procurement services, e-procurement (for supplies and equipment), and commodity trading sites. E-procurement sites listed include the following:
The commodity trading sites listed include:
Mining-Technology http://www.mining-technology.com/index.html This site has an extensive equipment catalog and lists conferences, information about active mining projects and the companies who supply them, VeriSign™ VeriSign™ OnSite (http://www.verisign.com ) is a fully integrated Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) managed service designed to secure intranet, extranet, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and e-commerce applications by providing maximum flexibility, performance, and scalability with the highest availability and security. The OnSite service allows you to cost-effectively establish a robust, customized PKI and Certificate Authority (CA) system for issuing digital certificates. The company provides the needed security for e-commerce sites to handle financial and other sensitive transactions.
This article is reprinted from Earth Science Computer Applications Monthly Newsletter. Click to the Web site for more information about the newsletter and other Gibbs Associates publications.
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