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To B2B or not to B2B, that is the question major players in the automotive industry must ask themselves as business-to-business e-commerce - “B2B” - becomes the very first trend of the 21st century. With new online alliances being formed almost daily between OEMs and suppliers - and with some suppliers creating their own networks -AEI looks at some of the most prominent B2B players.

It's not unusual for Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., and Daimler Chrysler to make headlines. But when the Big Three make those headlines by revealing a joint venture that might be called the “Big One,” even practiced industry observers take notice. That's exactly what happened Feb. 25, when the three automotive giants announced plans to form a B2B integrated supplier exchange through a single global Internet portal, creating what Ford termed “the world's largest virtual marketplace,” with estimated annual transactions of $300 billion.

Temporarily titled NewCo, the joint venture was formally christened Covisint (www.covisint.com) on May 16. Covisint (pronounced KO-vis-int) is a combination of the primary concepts of why the exchange is being formed, the principals said in a press release: “Co” represents connectivity, collaboration and communication; “Vis” represents the visibility that the Internet provides and the vision of the future of supply chain management; “Int” represents the integrated solutions the venture will provide as well as the international scope of the exchange.