IndustryNet: a model for commerce on the World Wide Web

Abstract

In describing a Web-based on-line information gathering tool, the authors show how the system adapts to meet each user's needs and learns from user behaviour. One of the system that has begun to make good on the early predictions is the IndustryNet marketplace on the Web. IndustryNet provides several services for its users. It is a news service, an on-line trade journal that provides instant reader service information, a searchable archive of new product announcements, a searchable archive of design application cases, and a provider of interactive access to manufacturer and distributor information. We outline the IndustryNet approach to conducting commerce on the Internet. We examine how IndustryNet is enhancing the relationship between buyers/specifiers, manufacturers, and distributors.