At most, it's a concoction of vortals and e-procurement sites. The next logical step, e-procurement sites, promise multiple bids, approvals, and purchase orders. So, the B2B scenario in India consists of players who have started off with the simplest of models-a catalogue service of requirements and availability of items, that bring buyers and sellers together. In the interim, most sites offer homegrown variants of the auction process, keeping in mind infrastructure considerations. And so on and so forth.
Fragmented industries ensure better chances of success, per se.
In non-fragmented industries, the support of the industry big boys is vital for success. Relationship with suppliers is more likely to evolve from that of a trader to a service provider. Some middlemen are at risk. A big question mark for Indian B2B sites. To get all this to work, different ERPs need to 'talk' to each other.