electronic marketplace (EM)

An electronic marketplace(EM) is an electronic purchasing platform on the Internet or another network where manufacturers, service providers and distributors offer products and services and where prospective customers and customers can view and purchase these products. Electronic marketplaces are concrete places of commerce, as opposed to electronic markets, which are abstract places of commerce.

Electronic marketplaces form the uniform interface through which trading partners communicate with each other and transact business. They provided informational support to trading partners in the selection of services and goods, purchase, financing, transaction and delivery through special services. Such offerings can be cross-industry, but equally industry-specific; they can be open to everyone, or have specific access requirements.

Providers, customers and functions of electronic marketplaces (EM)

Cross-industry marketplaces are horizontal marketplaces, while industry-specific marketplaces are vertical. Horizontal marketplaces are not geared to specific goods and service offerings; they are open to companies from a wide range of sectors. They are comparable to traditional department stores and offer a mixed range of goods and services. This can include all areas of daily life, vacations, mobility, insurance, maintenance and repair, etc. If the individual areas offered become too large, they can be spun off in vertical marketplaces.

Horizontal marketplace using the example of Libri.de

Vertical marketplaces have an industry-specific range of offerings that focuses on certain industries and goods, comparable to specialty stores. Vertical marketplaces can be those for electronic goods, for goods in the entertainment industry, woodworking, hospital supplies and much more. A well-known vertical marketplace is that of the automotive industry: Convisint. Vertical marketplaces offer e-commerce, with trading partners communicating with each other throughout the supply chain. Such marketplaces can use e- collaboration to provide trading partners with statistics, product life cycles, market forecasts, and other information relevant to purchasing decisions.

In addition to the aforementioned electronic marketplaces, there are also marketplaces for tenders, auction platforms and platforms for auctions, such as eBay, or those with variable values in real time, such as the stock exchange.