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Chapter 2. WebSphere Commerce V5.6 Overview 25
Draft Document for Review July 28, 2004 7:33 pm 6320ch_sum_of_changes.fm
The following are some examples of some of the demand chains supported by
WebSphere Commerce.
Buyers, resellers, and manufacturers
Buyers purchase goods from a manufacturer’s resellers. Resellers, in turn,
obtain the goods from the manufacturer, via the manufacturer’s hub. The
resellers may be hosted by the manufacturer, or the resellers may be remote.
Resellers, manufacturers, and distributors
The manufacturer provides a hub for their resellers. Resellers and other channel
partners may be able to do several functions in this hub, including locating
distributors of the manufacturer’s goods. In order to locate suppliers, the reseller
may browse a product catalog in the private hub. If the desired products are
available from more than one distributor, the reseller can check product
availability, distributors’ location, and prices for various distributors. Then, if the
reseller chooses, they can split their order between several distributors. The
order is then sent to the distributors, who completes the transaction and delivers
the goods or services to the reseller. The reseller then sells the goods or services
directly to the consumer.
Supply chain
A supply chain is composed of the organizations that provide services to a
business. WebSphere Commerce allows buyers and suppliers to interact directly
through a private marketplace. In this private marketplace, a forum is provided
for suppliers to offer goods or services for sale. Buyers are then able to enter the
forum and browse and select the goods or services that is needed. Buyers can
establish contractual relationships directly with individual suppliers, and they can
issue RFQs or RFPs to selected suppliers.
The private marketplace does not support competitive bidding and
counter-bidding or other methods of competition.
2.5.3 Hosting Ex-Sites
This business model provides an easy mechanism to manage a number of
stores using one set of tools and processes.
Hosting
The hosting model supports hosting of merchants or other businesses by an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other hosting provider. Each hosted store can
have its individual catalog and various other requirements and thus could
operate independent of other stores. Both B2C and B2B stores can be hosted.