B2B Marketplace
With the removal of trading barriers and globalization, it has never been easier to buy and sell products and services abroad. With this strong demand of international trade and the increasing importance of internet for doing business, B2B marketplaces have become very popular.
What is the definition of B2B?
B2B is the acronym used for Business to Business transactions. This is usually between manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Please note that this is applied to both products and business services.
What is a B2B marketplace?
It is a business trade portal and directory that allow sellers such as manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers and distributors to promote their products or services to potential clients. You can also find a wealth of resources that will help you trade with other countries.
These online portals, which are basically websites, allow businesses to advertise and promote their products and services by posting selling leads or offers. To simplify, a B2B marketplace encourages and facilitates the communication between buyers and sellers favoring a dynamic international trade.
Types of B2B marketplaces
You have two types of portals: Global websites that target world trade and regional oriented websites which target geographical regions or countries.
A quick tour of existing B2B marketplaces
Websites with it origins in Asia are the world leader in this domain with portals such as Alibaba.com and Tradekey.com. They started by being the specialist of outsourcing in China and have expanded worldwide. China is an important player on the world trade scene and one of the most important exporter in the world.
South American and Caribbean B2B marketplaces
Marketplaces are starting to play an important in developing regions as the internet connection is increasing at a rapid pace and companies are relying more on marketplaces to promote themselves. The leader in this region is a fairly new site that launched back in 2009 called www.mercatrade.com. They have targeted a region that represents 42 countries and a population of 600 million. What is great about this site is that you see features that are not necessarily seen in other marketplaces such as being able to search green, organic and fair trade products. You also have a dedicated search engine for tax free zones which are important trading platforms in the region.
To search for trading opportunities with Latin America and the Caribbean, B2B marketplace. To search for information and tips, Resources Latin America
