Toward a wider e-marketplace collaboration

Electronic marketplaces have grown tremendously in popularity and importance in the last few years that various business models have sprouted to adapt to the evolving needs of enterprises.

While the typical electronic exchange is one where businesses register as sellers or buyers or both to conduct trading on the Internet, focus has shifted in recent years to value-added services that enhance transactions and business relationships, including gaining access to global markets and installing feedback mechanisms that allow for greater collaboration and faster workflows.

Automating the supply chain and taking it online has many advantages that companies that are not yet part of e-procurement chains or electronic trading systems are being won over into this innovative process.

However, for the early adopters, their needs have gone beyond mere cost reduction, greater inventory control, transparent pricing, or directory listings.

According to Christine Yap, chief executive officer of SourcePilipinas.com Inc., a multi-industry B2B horizontal e-marketplace, their theme in 2005 is "synergy beyond competitive sourcing," with the aim of expanding their business model and integrating disparate traditional systems via a neutral-centric exchange that fits various cultures for enterprises in different stages of e-commerce adoption.

The fifth anniversary celebration of SourcePilipinas.com held at the Hyatt Hotel was capped by the launching of its feedback board, which aims to widen its trading partners’ accreditation process.

"The board is a useful tool that allows our trading partners to know community members’ rating for a specific supplier or buyer," Yap said. "Dual feedback provides a clearer view to rectify concerns that may have been raised in the regular flow of transaction, and encourages others that have been performing above par."

The feedback board complements SourcePilipinas’ market intelligence data, which shall be complemented by up-to-date financial statistics on procurement-related undertakings.

"These are part of SourcePilipinas’ vision to introduce positive changes in the way procurement is done through an active exchange utilized by all industries and one that reinforces teamwork and transparency," Yap said.

SourcePilipinas.com commenced operations in September 2000 to pave the way for an electronic procurement platform that could be used by all industries.

Through SourcePilipinas, trading partners are connected across a market base and vertical communities that provide registered trading partners with opportunities to forge working alliances, share knowledge and infrastructure to realize efficiencies, and create community interaction and collaboration. 

Five years after building its operations from scratch, it has evolved to become an electronic business platform that serves as an active exchange for the purchase not only of office supplies and packaging materials, but the other needs of industries, including food, beverage, restaurants, hotels, real estate, banking and mining.

The growth spurt was especially robust in the last two years when from a base of 1,800 trading partners in 2004, it has tremendously grown to 2,800 as of last month. Transactions processed also increased from 100,000 last year to 150,000 during the first nine months of this year.

In the last two years, SourcePilipinas opened its e-payment gateway that allows buyers and suppliers to capitalize on a unified system to monitor payments. Trainings were also conducted to allow members to make full use of the available features of the exchange.

Linkages were also forged to find business opportunities between the Philippines and neighboring countries. An e-directory, which broadens partner selections and features pricing updates for items that may be used as index for cross-referencing and discussions, was initiated with select government agencies to reinforce accreditation procedures.

As a business solutions provider, SourcePilipinas is fully taking advantage of recent innovations in information technology to realize the potentials of online trading.