Business-to-business, or B2B, marketplaces generated a lot of hype in late 1999 and early 2000 when B2B software companies such as Ariba and VerticalNet soared on Wall Street then subsequently plunged. In reality, B2B activity on the internet remains limited. A 2000 study by the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm identified only 300 B2B marketplaces on the web nationwide that were fully functional.
Florida's $3.2-billion citrus industry, in a bid to streamline marketing and boost profits, wants to take advantage of B2B on the net. But the industry is moving cautiously.
One venture, launched in May, is www.fruit2juice.com, an auction site designed to help both growers and juice processors buy and sell oranges and grapefruit. Operated by Lake Wales-based Global Ag Exchange, the site was the brainchild of Baxter Troutman, a grandson of Ben Hill Griffin Jr., and is run by a group of citrus industry veterans that includes Florida Citrus Commissioner John Alexander, who serves as president and COO.
The fruit2juice.com site includes detailed 10-day weather forecasts, citrus industry news and classified ads, but the key feature is the marketplace. Here, says Alexander, subscribers to the site can participate in customized auctions that will be public or private and include one or many buyers and sellers. The idea is to dramatically reduce the time that growers and processors now spend on phone calls each day.
For now, the auction process is focusing on fruit used in juice processing -- 90% of the citrus produced in Florida. Buyers are prequalified. Alexander says fruit2juice.com also is negotiating deals with suppliers of fertilizer, farm equipment, office supplies and other items needed to run a citrus or agricultural business. Subscribers pay monthly subscription and transaction fees, which Alexander declines to disclose, on each sale.
Alexander hopes to have 1,000 of the state's 14,000 growers as subscribers by the end of the 2001-2002 growing season, which ends in June 2002. So far, citrus industry veterans are treading carefully into the online world. "It's been cautious," says Alexander of the response to the site. "They want to understand it."
In terms of volume, Alexander says, "We expect to sell approximately 2 million boxes of fruit the first year." A box is 85 pounds to 95 pounds, depending on the type of citrus. For the 2000-2001 season, Florida produced 300 million boxes of citrus, 244 million of which were oranges.
Efruit International (www.efruitinternational.com), which is a subsidiary of Infosto Group, a Finnish media company, has focused its efforts so far on global sales of fruit juices but is in the process of setting up systems for buying and selling fresh fruit as well as fruit for juice processing. The company's JuiceMarketplace allows sellers to post products for sale to buyers who are prequalified. Once a deal is made, the companies can book shipping services online and track and print reports on the juice bought and sold. Says Hunt, "We are a vertical marketplace."
Hunt is realistic, but optimistic, on the industry's willingness to adapt to technological change. He says, "Within five years there will be a seamless citrus system."
Technology Briefs
Tech Florida?
There are some indications that Florida is making strides in becoming a technology state, according to Cyberstates 2001, a report by the American Electronics Association and Nasdaq. In 2000, Florida's high-tech employment ranked fifth in the nation, up from sixth the previous year, with 231,413 workers.
Still, the state is far behind the two leaders, California and Texas, with 973,600 and 440,700 workers, respectively. In terms of technology companies, Florida ranked sixth, with 10,109.
The picture isn't as bright when it comes to wages. The study found that Florida tech workers earned an average of $50,270, which is 77% more than the average private-sector wage in Florida but ranks the state 29th in the nation.
The Money Tree
A few Florida tech companies are still attracting venture investments. Orlando's Florida Digital Network secured $130 million in new capital to expand its telephone and high-speed internet network. An investment team that includes First Union National Bank and Waller-South2000 provided $50 million in cash and an $80 million loan to fund the network's construction.
In June, OmniCluster Technologies (Trendsetters, Page 12; "Showtime!" Page 52) in Boca Raton, a developer of server hardware and software, closed on $10 million in financing from Mellon Ventures, H.I.G. Ventures and CrossBow Ventures.
Helping Firms Grow
Florida Atlantic University's Technology Business Incubator in Boca Raton added five companies to fill the center. Joining the incubator, which offers low-cost office space, are:
-- Central Data, a computer consulting company;
-- Capritech, a developer of customer relationship software;
-- Accompany Care, a provider of personal in-home care;
-- Alternergy, a designer of electronic products using alternative energy sources;
-- Amazia, an e-business infrastructure provider.
Click It!
Airline Seat Maps
http://airtravel.miningco.com
Frequent fliers are picky about where they sit. Now there's a way to check out the exact location of any seat on aircraft flown by Delta, USAirways, Continental, TWA and other carriers. The only thing you have to know is what type of aircraft you're flying on -- Boeing 737, DC-9, etc. You'll discover that if you regularly book seat 11F on a Continental Airlines DC-9 aircraft, that same seat on a USAirways DC-9 would land you in a different place on that plane. The site also includes safety ratings for each aircraft and airline as well as the age of each carrier's fleet.