Supply Chain - B2b Vs B2c

Supply Chain - B2B vs B2C

Electronic Commerce, the Second Wave by Gary P. Schneider defines Business to Business or B2B as “Transactions conducted between businesses on the Web”. The same book and author define Business to Consumer or B2C as, “Transactions conducted between shoppers and businesses on the Web.” At first glance B2B and B2C appear to be somewhat similar processes; however, that statement cannot be further from the truth when considering the network of suppliers, transportation firms, and brokers that combine to create a supply chain for each of these two examples of business units.

A supply chain, logistics network, or supply network is the system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer (Schneider, 2004). A typical supply chain begins with the extraction of raw material and includes several production links, for instance; component construction, assembly and merging before moving onto several layers of storage facilities of decreasing size and ever more remote geographical locations, and finally reaching the consumer. Many of the exchanges encountered in a supply chain will be between different companies who will seek to maximize their revenue within their specialty of interest, but may have little or no knowledge or interest in the remaining players