Electronic Wholesale Services: Advantages and Promising Directions of Development

Abstract

It has been demonstrated in the presented study that the use of services plays a key role in the formation of a new type of the competitive economy based on the information technology and involves the innovation of mutually beneficial commercial interactions. Qualitative and quantitative changes in the content, forms, and mechanism of the workflow management have been investigated in the aspect of the main trends in the development of the monetary relations. The search for the modern business technology predetermined the development of the electronic wholesale market and the possibility to improve the convenience of the service of doing business. The subjects of this sector of commodity circulation confirm the efficiency of the formation of economic relations in the segment of online trade services and the prospects of the electronic business. The analysis of the electronic market trade workflow allowed to establish the main trends in its development, to identify the specifics of partnerships, their establishment, and the online implementation of trade procedures through the electronic document workflow. As a result of the study, the authors have established the reasons for the increase in the number of participants of electronic marketplaces, changes in the commodity structure in the corporate procurement sector, the mechanism for reducing purchase prices through electronic auction, and the possibility of optimizing costs and increasing the efficiency of managerial processes in the organization by improving the service automation of business selling processes in a competitive environment. Based on the comparison of the number of auctions conducted and the amount of deals concluded, it has been noted that the largest number of auctions were held in consumer goods, where the average deal value was the least, while the deals of the highest value were in the provision of services, with the lowest proportion of the conducted auctions. The authors of the study have analyzed potential commercial and technological risks and identified the main fraudulent schemes in electronic commerce and measures aimed at preventing or eliminating certain risk factors and conditions of uncertainty of the result. Based on the opinions of the experts, the promising directions for developing the electronic market and electronic wholesale services have been noted in the study, which can be achieved through the creation of independent electronic trading platforms by large industrial corporations, as well as through the use of the information and communication network functions in the internal corporate interaction in large holdings. Combining the capabilities of the marketplaces of the corporate and public procurement sectors and launching a joint service for electronic trading while maintaining established business processes will improve the efficiency of the commercial activities of participating organizations.