What is needed is a sort of virtual middleman, or market maker who can bring together buyers and suppliers. And this is exactly what has developed. A new breed of electronic hubs has emerged which can intelligently route business transactions over the Web from one business to another These Portal Sites are are also known as marketplaces , B2B sites or in the case of industry-specific hubs Vertical Portals or Vortals. They all perform the same function of bringing buyers and sellers together, increasing market liquidity and generally reducing the cost of doing business on-line. Portal sites usually operate in one of three ways.
Transactions are usually frequent although often medium to low value.
Exchange Sites Exchange sites are more sophisticated and operate roughly in the same way as financial exchanges. They are usually used for trading commodity like items such as electricity or paper. Auction Sites B2B auction sites can work in much the same way as consumer auction sites and are often used to sell off surplus inventory. Another type of B2B site that is perhaps not so obvious is the B2B Community Site. Doing business is not always about actual business transactions.