The evolution of e-procurement sites has been so
rapid that it prompted some analysts to say that
“Charles Darwin never saw anything like this” [2]. Still,
there have been several identifiable stages in the fastforward
evolution of B2B marketplaces [10, 14, 16]:
1. Big corporations such as General Electric and Wal-
Mart created buying and selling hubs in the Internet
designated to cut costs and speed supply procurement.
2. Third-party exchanges appeared, facilitated by independent
firms such as PlasticsBIN.com, National
Transportation Exchange, and Vertical Net. They
brought together many buyers and sellers and created
a genuine market in a number of areas (primarily
non-production-related goods)