There can be no doubting the value of computerized automation. It has expedited the speed of business and reduced the need for manual intervention. These days, there are even "lights-out" computer data centers that operate independently of human intervention.

Computer automation has freed people to perform the many critical cognitive tasks that computers are unable to address, and in so doing has greatly improved their lives. Somewhat ironically, one of the most important cognitive tasks facing people is establishing the proper balance of computer automation and manual involvement. This need for balance is exemplified in the creation and operation of e-marketplaces, in which goods and services are bought and sold in high volumes across electronic networks.

To date, e-marketplaces have been largely composed of public and private B2B electronic exchanges and auctions that have brought buyers and sellers together in a digital environment. This environment favors buyers more than sellers because buyers have been able to drive down prices based on their aggregated purchasing power, increased competition and product commoditization. Some of these public consortium exchanges have developed tremendous buying power, but as anyone who reads the business pages of the newspaper knows, many of them have also foundered.

Why? Because they have not moved beyond their focus of solely automating transactions.

"When you think about online business-to-business commerce, many people have discounted the need for personalized experience," says Dr. Pehong Chen, the president and CEO of BroadVision, a supplier of one-to-one e-business applications for extended relationship management. "These people think it's more important to have an effective commerce transaction, or to have pricing competition and comparisons, or visibility into inventory. These are all very important, but our reality is that, at the end of the day, it's still people who are doing the job. Therefore, delivering personalized business services is a very important part of business-to-business relationships."

The Quest for Collaborative Commerce

There are four keys to collaborative commerce and the collaborative marketplace. These keys--known as the "Four C's"--are commerce, content, collaboration and community.

Commerce: The Baseline

Commerce is the baseline process of doing business. It includes different types of sourcing methods that are used to automate e-marketplace transactions. Auctions, requests for quotation (RFQs) and requests for proposal (RFPs) are all automated aspects of commerce.