E-trading hub goes live in China

China is providing funds to develop 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.

Launched last week in Beijing, China B2B Hub is sponsored by several government ministries and agencies: the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Information Industry, China Association of Standardisation (CAS) and RosettaNet China.

The trading hub is based on RosettaNet standards and designed to automate the exchange of data including logistics and supply chain information, making it easier, faster and less costly for multinationals to integrate with their OEM (original equipment manufacturers) partners, suppliers, logistics providers and distributors across China.

Owned and developed by China's Productivity Centre for e-Business and Logistics (CLTC) and with the authorisation of MOST, the new platform is powered by US-based E2open which provides software as a service for the management of inter-company processes.

Lorenzo Martinelli, executive vice president for E2open, told CNETAsia: "China B2B Hub is designed to be a Chinese government-endorsed standard, for use by China-based SMBs to effectively integrate with multinational companies."

Two companies have signed up to use the platform: Motorola and its local partner, Tianjin Jinya Electronics (Jinya). 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."

Last year, an electronic data exchange called e-Hub was launched to provide transparent, dynamic and timely supply/demand systems for enterprises. The developers involved were Business Commerce, the Hong Kong subsidiary of Global eXchange Services, and ChinaECNet, a joint venture between the China Centre for Industry Information Development (under the Ministry of Information Industry), Avnet and Global Techmart.

Martinelli claims that unlike China B2B Hub, the "other hubs are primarily information portals where companies can find information such as name, address, location and basic product data about companies in China".

"We do not know of any other government-endorsed hub that is currently in production, exchanging RosettaNet-based transactions," he added.

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.

Isabelle Chan writes for CNET Asia.