Earn more, learn more, and realise your potential Mobile Technology email newsletter Get ZDNet's mobile news and reviews. However, other exchanges, such as Covisint for the car industry, are expanding.
Analysts say the key to success lies in good planning and wise investment.
The integration costs for e-marketplaces can be huge, as companies may need to connect several internal applications to these online venues. Once their systems are linked to e-marketplaces, firms may have to pay fees to the firms running the marketplaces. Fees are usually based on transaction volumes or subscriptions. Of course, if a firm sets up a marketplace itself, either alone or as part of a consortium, this cost may be eliminated. Of Europe's 500 marketplaces, fewer than 100 are expected to survive, according to research company Jupiter Media Matrix.