Suppliers bid for the business of the entire pool, and the lowest bid wins. The exchange hosts an electronic version of the print catalogs of a myriad of suppliers. Buyers can access the catalogs online at the exchange and place orders to be fulfilled by the supplier of their choice. Sometimes the exchange acts as the distributor and fulfills the orders itself. For example, Commerx PlasticsNet aggregates the catalogs of nearly 30 polymer and resin suppliers.
Buyers get multiple quotes for goods or service, and the seller gets sales leads.
Matching buyers and sellers The exchange works like the stock market, matching the bids and offers of buyers and sellers. This type of exchange is most often used for selling commodities. Examples of marketplaces using buyer-seller matching include Altra Energy, an exchange for electricity, natural gas, and oil, and Agriplace, an exchange for grain and fertilizer. Value-Added Services Exchanges also may offer additional services to attract members, or as an alternate revenue source. VerticalNet, for instance, offers portals for 56 vertical industries, including financial services, food and packaging, and healthcare.