Electronic Channel Broker

To facilitate commerce on a global scale, the issue of the distributed, heterogeneous nature of the product/supplier/buyer information chain must be addressed. Currently, after leaving the manufacturer, a product passes through a number of distributors before reaching the consumer, increasing the cost with each link in the chain. Historically, the information linkages have resided primarily with the distributors. With the advent of the Global Infortmation Infrastructure, however, the consumer has access to a larger fraction of the information flow. To streamline the distribution process and promote global commerce, we are working on developing a matchmaking service, an Electronic Channel Broker, that provides an end-to-end solution for the consumer by considering the complete business transaction.

Matchmaking is a process whereby consumers seeking goods and services with given specifications are put in contact with providers whose goods and services match the specifications. Providers may also reach consumers in a similar fashion. An inherent problem with matchmaking is that the representation of the consumer specifications (typically formed as a query) will differ from the representation of the providers' goods and services. For example, one provider may maintain a structured database of products while another provider may maintain a collection of text documents describing the features of each product. Methods from schema integration and data integration problems from federated databases and heterogeneous systems can be used. The Electronic Channel Broker will utilize exact and approximate similarity query processing methods to perform matchmaking along with EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) for exchange of business data.

The Electronic Channel Broker will consist of user-friendly interfaces for the suppliers and consumers. First, the suppliers and the consumers post their offers and requirements using the web-based interface of the Broker. At the same time shipping agents register the availability of their services with the Broker. The system then evaluates various possibilities for matching a supplier with a consumer via a shipping agent in the most cost-effective manner. As part of this process the Broker establishes profiles for all the parties involved which may be used in the future to expedite transactions. The Broker will perform all communications with financial institutions to perform credit checks and the actual transfer of funds.