B2B to follow P2P in Sharing Economy

The fast-growing economy of monetizing unused or underused asset goes by many names: the “sharing economy,” the “gig economy,” the “on-demand economy,” and the “collaborative economy.” Whether sharing goods as in Uber, renting homes as in Airbnb, or serving up micro-skills as in TaskRabbit, consumers are using technology to find and buy one another’s extra resources.  These companies are peer-to-peer marketplaces focused on C2C or B2C sharing. On the other side of the coin, you have B2B marketplaces. 

So, what about marketplaces for B2B sharing? Instead of consumers trading goods and services, the B2B sharing economy is when businesses share services and assets with each other. Sharing resources among businesses will make the companies more efficient as they pay for what they need when they need it instead of making expensive investments on owing assets. With B2B sharing, companies can focus on their strengths and outsource the rest, developing better products for consumers while still providing the same experience that a more traditional organization would. This lean operating model will ensure companies react quickly to market changes in a less expensive and more efficient manner.

PLAYERS IN B2B MARKETPLACES

Though peer-to-peer marketplaces dominate the current sharing economy, the number of B2B sharing companies that are adopting technology to share everything from collaborative office spaces to underutilized equipment is growing steadily. Let’s look at a few of the top front-runners of the B2B sharing economy:

FAST GROWING B2B SHARING ECONOMY