Things go from bad to worse for B2B

NEWS The current drought in the world of B2B e-marketplaces is by no means over and could extend into at least 2003. Kelly Murphy, CEO of Irish e-procurement company Marrakech, has taken a swipe at flagging giant Ariba and its arch-rival Commerce One. He told silicon.com: "Exchanges and marketplaces are not going to work, at least over the next couple of years. The customers are saying it isn't working." Marrakech bases its business model on setting up connections to its commerce network and charging suppliers per transaction rather than selling software licences. He added: "Buying $2m software licences is a mistake and spending $2m to $3m on implementing software is another mistake." For the likes of Ariba, there is now some serious belt-tightening going on as share prices plummet and customers vanish. Murphy points out that for Ariba, the sums just don't add up. "It sold 350 marketplaces but has less than 200 buyers." However, Catherine Stenson, UK marketing director for Commerce One argued that 70 of the top 200 companies in the world have invested heavily in e-marketplaces. She said: "E-marketplaces are not going to wait two years - they are already working. Inevitably there will be e-marketplaces that fail, but no Commerce One marketplace has gone bust." With reference the Ariba's recent run of terrible fortune Murphy concluded: "It would not be good if Ariba collapsed. They are good marketeers and pioneers of the dream."