Call for proposals for the establishment of B2B e-marketplaces portal
The European Commission's Enterprise DG has published a call for proposals for the establishment of an online information service on business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplaces. The objective of the call is to create and maintain a European online 'B2B e-marketplaces portal' to facilitate the access of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to neutral and reliable information on B2B e-marketplaces and business partners, and to provide them with guidance to select the most appropriate and trustworthy e-marketplaces and business partners, thus helping SMEs to take maximum advantage from participation in e-marketplaces. The online information services should be made available as widely as possible and preferably within all Member States, the acceding countries, the candidate countries and the EEA EFTA states and in all relevant languages. The main task is to set up, maintain and operate an online information website, providing, ideally, the following services: - a database of existing European B2B e-marketplaces, providing neutral, reliable and up-to-date information on e-marketplaces, including in particular: the type of goods and services traded online, the trading functionalities, the number of participating companies and the number and value of transactions that take place via the e-marketplace. In addition, the database should provide information on potential trading partners, such as the country of establishment, registration number, legal form, etc; - the editing and publishing of a handbook on B2B e-marketplaces, with all relevant information on the different types of e-marketplaces, their potential benefits and risks and how to effectively participate in them; - a set of customised services to provide personalised guidance and assistance to SMEs concerning B2B e-marketplaces; -the provision of an independent rating system to evaluate the economic relevance and the trustworthiness of European B2B e-marketplaces, based on neutral assessment of existing e-marketplaces, including the number and volume of transactions, the availability of transparent policies on participation and exclusion rules and on contractual and membership terms; - the collection and dissemination of best practice, based on practical experience of SMEs in B2B e-marketplaces, reflecting the situation in specific industry sectors; -the collection and dissemination of codes of conduct developed by industry sectors for B2B e-marketplaces, in particular for online auctions; -a list of events and conferences on B2B e-marketplaces. The total budget allocated for the project is 500,000 euro.For further information, please contact: Mrs. Georgia Chioni European Commission Enterprise Directorate General SC 15 (1/164) Unit D4 B-1049 Brussels Fax: +32 2 2969500 E-mail: georgia.chioni@cec.eu.int To see the full details of the call, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/funding/grants/calls_2003/action_1a.htm