Monday, August 2, 1999

How To Compete

Folks,

As i read the following stories, I wonder about the future of int'l trade...
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ORACLE LAUNCHES WEB-BASED EXCHANGE
Oracle announced plans to host a business-to-business trading
network called Oracle Exchange. The Exchange will offer new
Internet-enabled purchasing models such as spot buys or reverse,
buyer-driven auctions, as well as traditional catalog-based sales
models. It will be accessible to all buyers, regardless of
whether they use Oracle software. Oracle expects the Exchange's
broad range of pricing models and items to provide a competitive
edge over small rival startups such as Ariba and Commerce One.
The Exchange is based on Oracle's existing enterprise
applications, including Oracle Strategic Procurement and Oracle
Internet Procurement, which have already become the company's
fastest-growing products. The Exchange will be hosted on its
application service, Oracle Business OnLine. It will be
supported by the Oracle Supplier Network, which features more
than 260 suppliers, and will feature Oracle Internet Sourcing,
which will aid buyers and sellers in operating the Exchange's
more complex purchasing models. (InternetWeek Online 07/28/99)
****

What I see is it getting easier to trade, and easier to sell, and easier to
unload unwanted goods...which is good news for the consumer. For those who
practice small business international trade (at least as I advocate it be
practiced), our costs go down with zero increase in competition. As I
mentioned, you have no real competition when you compete on design (or what
auto makers used to call "styling"), and not on price.

John