Playing the numbers game; E-marketplace projections may have overestimated b-to-b success.(Brief Article)

B to B, November, 2000 by KARPINSKI, RICHARD

So much of the early research on b-to-b e-marketplaces centered on numbers: How many thousands of markets would be generating how many trillions of dollars worth of transactions?

But maybe those projections jumped the gun.

In recent weeks, top-tier management consulting companies, including McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group Inc. and A.T. Kearney Inc., have issued reports examining whether e-marketplaces really deliver what they promise. Their conclusions aren't pretty.

Almost to an outfit, these elite consultancies found e-marketplaces today come up way short of fulfilling their large promise.

B-to-b marketers looking to reach customers through these new e-market channels would do well to understand their strengths and...

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