January 24th, 2005-- Isabelle Chan reported via CNET Asia today that China has already launched China B2B Hub, an online trading platform to make it easier and cheaper for thousands of small and mid-sized businesses in the country to work with multinational companies. China B2B Hub is based on RosettaNet standards to make it easier, faster and less costly for multinationals to integrate with their OEM (original equipment manufacturers) partners, suppliers, logistics providers and distributors across China.
The executive vice president for E2open, Lorenzo Martinelli, said: "China B2B Hub is designed to be a Chinese government-endorsed standard, for use by China-based SMBs to effectively integrate with multinational companies."
Motorola and its local partner, Tianjin Jinya Electronics (Jinya) have signed up to use it. Both organisations are using the Hub to exchange key forecast and inventory information in the form of RosettaNet PIPS (Partner Interface Processes) used in the manufacturing of Motorola products, Martinelli said.
"Where previously Motorola may have faxed over a forecast report, and received either phone or fax confirmation about the availability or status of the shipment, with China B2B Hub, Motorola can now access that information real-time," he explained.
Liu Wenbo, vice general manager of Tianjin Jinya Electronics, said in a statement: "Integrating with China B2B Hub will improve our business process automation with Motorola and increase real-time visibility of forecast and inventory, meanwhile saving tremendous costs for Jinya, from transmission and support to operations."
Companies have to pay an annual subscription fee, including a one-time set-up fee. Subscription is based on the different types of business transactions, regardless of the volume of transactions, Martinelli said. For example, forecast and inventory updates represent two transaction types.
He added that SMBs need not worry about investing a lot of money into the infrastructure, as all they need is a B2B client software which they can download for free.
Acting as "the gateway" to the China B2B Hub, the client software "sends and receives information in their native format from the SMB's internal systems, without any changes required, to China B2B Hub where it is converted into a RosettaNet PIP, or other industry standard format. The information is then forwarded to the "multinational company", he explained. The China B2B Hub serves all industries and it not limited to the electronics sector, Martinelli said.
