The GULF Better business (page 1 of 2)

By Shilpa Mathai MUSCAT

The past year has seen a number of online trading hubs go live in the Gulf. MidEastOnLine, Businessdubai.com, OmanTradaNet and Tradeyoursite.com are just a few examples of nascent B2Bs in the region. Most of these exchanges operate on similar premises, but they differ in terms of value additions and targeted markets.
The Businessdubai.com model is based on Dubai's regional re-export strength and caters to global companies that want to develop their exports into the region, as well as local trading and manufacturing companies sourcing products worldwide, and similar companies engaged in regional exports and re-exports. "By local companies, we mean those located in each of the four regions that we are focused on: the Middle East, the CIS, Africa and the Indian subcontinent," says Animesh Basu, the B2B's general manager.

The company claims to focus on e-marketing, rather than e-procurement, and lists an e-rep service, where a local business facilitator is allocated to a member company as one of its USPs. "We are able to offer this service to complement the online service because of our own domain experience and industry knowledge," Basu says. "We are also the first site to provide services like vendor rating and pre-shipment inspection."
MidEastOnLine has built its B2B infrastructure on the Commerce One (C1) platform. "Commerce One provides us the ability to offer more than just private marketplaces and e-procurement," says Owen Taraniuk, the company CEO. "We have the ability to offer live auctions, reverse auctions, workflow and seamless integration with existing and legacy systems. Organizations can utilize the MidEast platform in their own name for a fixed fee. We have a strong reseller channel in place, including Al Alamiah in Saudi Arabia, Imtac in Oman, Horizon in Qatar and Gibtek in the UAE. This allows us to spread our efforts to many different industry segments. The energy sector has been a key focus."
MidEastOnLine has also integrated a number of third-party services to the platform. Among other services, says Taraniuk, "we will be offering CitiConnect, the CitiBank Payments gateway, UPS, FedEx and Aramex Shipment Services and UPS/GAC outsourced logistics very soon."

MEC International, an international business development company, and Tradeyoursite.com also jumped into the fray when they started operations in October 2000. They provide Arab investors with a secure, online trading market for the selling and buying of existing and recently terminated dotcoms, or specific assets from such companies.

The B2B concept has definitely spread in the region, from C1 Middle East's alliance with Microsoft, Compaq and PriceWaterhouseCoopers to set up Egypt's first B2B marketplace, to OmanTradaNet, the sultanate's first digital exchange. "B2B sites in the Middle East are fairly new businesses and are in the development stage," says Abdelhamid Z. Suboh of Accenture Consulting Service, Dubai. "Corporations in the region and, specifically, small and medium enterprises will need some time to become aware of the B2B benefits. It will take some time before B2B e-commerce is widely accepted and adopted here."
But is the regional market big enough to support this B2B boom? "I do not see a large number of serious competitors in the region at this stage," says Taraniuk. "We have a first-mover advantage, but we welcome competition. It will help us prove the value of B2B to regional companies."

"The market is large and growing," insists Businessdubai's Basu.