Market places, which appeared on the Internet in 1999-2000 with a great boost from the large construction groups (buildings, cars) and visionary start-ups, is a transaction exchange platform, completely virtualized because of the Internet.

Market places make it possible to put clients and suppliers with a common trade in touch with each other, and to rationalize and centralize the purchase and sales processes. For the customer, there is an immediate payback as he profits from a platform that centralizes all of his suppliers, and can play them off against each other more effectively. For the supplier, it is the automation of the sales processes and exposure to new customers that he is looking for.

There are two types of market place: "public" market places, which are generally controlled by a third party supplying a service to two other parties, and private market places, which are controlled by large industrial groups that want to centralize the management of orders they have with myriads of equipment suppliers and small suppliers.

Web technologies and application servers were quickly seized on as most pertinent for the construction of such systems, because of their unequalled interoperability.

The principal risks to the success of a market place are: managing a multivendor catalogue, complex pricing rules, making contracts, commissioning, reverse bids, and installing the interconnections of the market place with the various information systems involved.

SOFTEAM, with its wide experience in the profession, can help you solve these problems through its Consulting, Training, Development and Products Services.