He hopes to cut spending by at least 10 percent over the next few years by plugging into horizontal and vertical marketplaces. Entergy is among the few businesses that are exploring both horizontal and vertical marketplaces, with the goal of discovering significant cost-savings. But horizontals aren't taking the threat lying down. They're racing to reach critical mass first, and some plan to partner with big vertical industry marketplaces rather than compete with them. Both types of markets have advantages.
Horizontals offer goods and services needed by all companies across all industries.
These types of markets can save companies money by aggregating their purchases and squeezing volume discounts out of suppliers. A vertical marketplace is more akin to a continuous trade show in cyberspace. It's a place where companies in one industry can share information and trade parts and production materials. In aviation, for instance, Boeing could go to a vertical marketplace and order everything from rivets to jet engines in one stop. Vertical Web marketplaces deliver big savings by electronically connecting a company with dozens of suppliers willing to compete for its business.