B2B's Alive But Keeping Private; Private Networks Reign; Firms rack up B2B sales, but large, public systems have fallen out of favor.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN

Three years ago, business to business seemed like the next big wave.

But when big names like Ariba Inc. and Commerce One Inc. fell, so did most of the industry.

At least that's the generally accepted view. But, say B2B market trackers, that's not the case.

"The names have changed," said Dan Garretson at market tracker Forrester Inc. "But companies are still buying supplies and selling their services."

New forecasts are actually raising expectations for B2B e-commerce. The latest, by eMarketer Inc., are an example. Originally, it figured that U.S. online business-only sales during 2001 wound up at $281 billion. That's been bumped up to $306 billion. And researchers at eMarketer expect B2B trading in the U.S. to grow rapidly. They're predicting B2B revenue to top $1.3 trillion in 2005.

But few survivors remain from the tech wreck. At its peak in mid-2000, online auctioneers operated around 2,000 different public exchanges. They welcomed nearly anyone. Each promised less paperwork, immediate updates of inventories and easier trading of data about changes in production. Perhaps best of all, public exchanges offered a continuous flow of new suppliers.