B2B
Business-to-Business. The scope of commercial and transactional exchanges between two companies, as opposed to B2C or B2G.
Definition
B2B designates any commercial, contractual or informational flow circulating between two economic actors: buyer and supplier, principal and subcontractor, distributor and manufacturer. It stands in contrast to B2C (Business-to-Consumer), aimed at the end customer, and B2G (Business-to-Government), aimed at public administration. EDI is by construction a B2B practice: EDIFACT, X12 or cXML messages always transit between two legally distinct organisations.
Origin
The expression spread through anglophone business press in the 1990s, riding the rise of inter-firm electronic commerce and online marketplaces. It quickly replaced longer formulations such as inter-firm trade in technical documentation. Today the acronym serves as a cross-cutting label for a wide ecosystem: ERP, EDI, e-procurement, SaaS platforms for e-invoicing, B2B marketplaces.
Example in context
A large retail chain emits thousands of B2B orders to its suppliers every day. Each order typically rides the EDI channel:
- The retailer sends an ORDERS EDIFACT message to the manufacturer.
- The manufacturer replies with an ORDRSP (acknowledgment) and then a DESADV (despatch advice).
- The cycle closes with an INVOIC, archived on both sides as fiscal evidence.
The whole exchange is strictly B2B: no end consumer is involved in the documentary transaction.