Berlecon Research Reveals White Spots On the Map for B2B Marketplaces; Europe is Next; US in a Two Year Lead; Several Business Opportunities for Expansion Into Europe.

Business Editors

BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000

A new report from Berlecon Research, a leading German research firm, identifies several white spots for transatlantic expansion into the German and European business-to-business (B2B) market. For the report &uot;Virtual Intermediaries: B2B Marketplaces on the Internet&uot;, Berlecon Research analyzed 545 B2B marketplaces in over 40 industries in Europe, North America and other regions. The study contains short profiles of all marketplaces analyzed, including 50 marketplaces which will go online later in 2000.

The study tracks the explosive growth in that segment of e-commerce: more than 50 percent of all identified B2B marketplaces have been launched in 1999. According to the study, Germany and the rest of the world still lag two years behind the USA. &uot;Although we expected to find a gap with the US we were still surprised about the number and magnitude of industry-specific white spots identified,&uot; said Thorsten Wichmann, principal e-business analyst of Berlecon Research. &uot;However, we expect for the next two years a powerful acceleration in the number of new B2B marketplaces. Our analysis projects a 10-fold increase until 2002 leading to 600-800 marketplaces in Germany, with an expected volume of up to US$15 billion. Marketplace operators will earn commissions and subscription fees of more than US$500 million, while German B2B e-commerce altogether will exceed US$ 37 billion.&uot;

Comparative analyses of the USA and Germany, in particular, pinpoint several industries which are covered by marketplaces in the USA, but which still offer business opportunities elsewhere. Berlecon Research sees the greatest industry potential and white spots for new B2B marketplaces in Germany in electronics, health care, chemicals, machinery, food, agriculture, construction, metals, printing, and medical/lab equipment. In the US 408 marketplaces were analyzed for the report, while in Germany only 61 marketplaces were identified. Up to now there are no signs for a reduction in the current two years lag with the US, neither for Germany nor Europe (92 marketplaces) or Asia (19 marketplaces).

Based on an extensive web site analysis, statistical research and expert interviews, the German e-business experts also analyzed several success factors for B2B marketplaces with respect to market liquidity, price fixing, market neutrality, anonymous trading, trustee functions, revenue models, and other features ranging from industry content to customer-specific price conditions.

Additional information about the report and the table of contents can be found at http://www.berlecon.de/b2b/english.html. On request, an executive press summary including the URLs of 20 European marketplaces is available.

Berlecon Research, established 1997 in Berlin, is a leading independent research company that analyzes the economic and business impact of information technology. Further information on Berlecon Research's capabilities, services and events can be found at http://www.berlecon.de.