BOSTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Its time to dust off that Spanish language textbook youve been keeping in the closet since college. In its latest report, the Yankee Group forecasts an upswing in B2B transactions in Latin America over the next few years.
By 2005 it will grow from US$10.9 billion at the end of 2001 to US$63.8 billion. B2B is altering the Latin American business landscape. The few large companies transacting through EDI in the region since the mid 90s are seeing an onslaught of less technologically sophisticated enterprises now able to buy and sell through third-party Internet B2B marketplaces, or extend supply chains online.
The report predicts that manufacturing, wholesale/retail, and financial services will lead in the volume of transactions. B2B will trickle down to industry sector.
Geographically, Brazil will have the largest piece of the pie. Yankee Group predicts they will account for 51% of this volume by 2005. "It's a result of the size of the market and speed with which Brazilian companies are bringing to bear an intense focus on B2B initiatives," according to Raphael Duailibi, Brazil Market Strategies analyst. Mexico, Argentina, and Chile will also prove to be leaders in the online movement as old ways of doing business are shaken up.
According to Grant Smith, senior analyst for the Yankee Group's Internet Strategies Latin America Planning Service, "The Internet is the unique medium through which Latin American companies of all sizes can slice through an enormous amount of red tape and efficiently cut business deals."