Exchange business and legal issues.
Business to business digital trading exchanges have invaded almost every industry. Over the past 18 months, approximately 500 - 600 exchanges have emerged. Exchanges lower procurement costs by enabling just-in-time ordering, on-line tracking and access to multiple sources of supply through reverse auctions. Companies establishing exchanges should consider the following:
All of the issues relating to ASPs apply to exchanges.
The FTC is watching. The FTC is concerned about monopolies, collusion, price fixing and other anti-competitive behavior. All documents should be reviewed by anti-trust counsel.
Understand the increased liability. Exchanges seek to outsource substantially all IT needs of a company - from procurement to human resources to accounting. If an exchange breaks down, its customers will be crippled. The exchange and its customers need to minimize risk by agreeing on best standards (standard of care), warranties, limits on remedies, ownership of copyrights, patents and other intellectual property. New e-commerce insurance policies can help shift the risk.
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