Dell lets its customers into the shop window

NEWS Three suppliers - 3M, Pitney Bowes and Motorola - have already signed up for the exchange, which is due to go live at the end of the month. Dell claims the marketplace differs from other models because suppliers can personalise product offerings and service specifications for different customers, and facilitates transactions online. Revenue will initially come from transaction fees, charged as a percentage of the value of each deal. However, Dell hopes to eventually phase out this model as it introduces new value added services it can charge for. Mary Hope, B2B analyst with Ovum, said while Dell's offering seemed sophisticated it was not a radically new model. However, she said future plans to earn against additional services was an imaginative angle and as B2B marketplaces evolved more exchanges would need to adapt similar strategies. "Transaction based fees are a nice recurring revenue stream that's going to go uphill as business transactions increase."