But at corporate-organized sites, retailers and manufacturers must be invited to participate, leaving out many smaller companies. For instance, Kmart Corp. , Target Corp. and CVS Corp. teamed up in April to form the Worldwide Retail Exchange to allow the retailers to purchase products via the Web. Similarly, General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG are developing an online auto parts purchasing alliance called Covisint .
Retailers then browse through a free virtual catalog of the products offered.
If a store owner is interested in placing an order, he or she must contact the supplier. Keats Construction Co. But Keating didn't fine-tune the site's concept alone. Company officials say the site was financed by more than 20 investors, most from metro Detroit. But no figures were disclosed. Keating said the company expects to break even by mid-fall and could go public in early 2001.