The Interactive Marketplace: Business-to-Business Strategies for Delivering Just-in-Time, Mass-Customized Products

Most ecommerce experts agree that click-and-buy shopping cart sites are fast becoming a thing of the past. Soon, the only ebusinesses that will matter will be those which allow customers to custom design the products they buy. At Ford, the Ford-Oracle AutoXchange site transformed Ford's supply chain from one based on forecasts and building for inventory to a real-time, build-to-order model. In this practical guide to the future of ebusiness, BuildNet, Inc. Chairman Keith T. Brown clearly explains why the most successful business-to-consumer (B2C) ebusinesses, now and in the years ahead, are those built on interactive business-to-business (B2B) platforms that integrate Internet technology into all phases of business operations. And he arms readers with the knowledge and skills needed to create solid interactive business plans. Keith T. Brown (Durham, NC) is Chairman of BuildNet, Inc., the home-building industry's largest ebusiness, technology, and project management software company. A privately held company, BuildNet, Inc. manages the construction of approximately a third of all residential home construction in the U.S.