New York June 4, 2001 It's good news or bad news, depending on your viewpoint. PricewaterhouseCoopers' latest Trendsetter Barometer, released today, shows that only 4.75 percent of purchases and 1.27 percent of sales of fast growth companies are currently being fulfilled over the Net & but those figures include all companies not yet involved in B2B. Therefore when those that are involved in B2B and the share of overall purchasing or sales they do are viewed separately, a much more upbeat picture emerges.
The report states that, currently, 59 percent of all Trendsetter growth companies are buying directly from others over the Net, securing an average of 8.05 percent of their latest quarter's purchasing requirements in this way. In contrast, only 25 percent are presently engaged in B2B-selling over the Net, generating an average of 5.06 percent of their latest quarter's total sales in this manner.
In his analysis of the data, Steve Hamm, managing partner of middle market advisory services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, explained that, due to the uncertain economy and the relatively new nature of B2B, only the fast growth companies able to take on uncharted business ventures have quickly jumped into the B2B waters. As a consequence, any all-encompassing view of business-direct purchasing and selling appears greatly understated.
It is clear that many have been reluctant to start the B2B endeavors by selling & but in time, when they are more comfortable, those already in B2B purchasing and other will begin to see business-direct sales as a missed opportunity that can add important revenues, said Hamm.
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Trendsetter Barometer is developed and compiled with assistance from the opinion and economic research firm of BSI Global Research Inc.
