Matthew Hicks

If you listen to Thomas Siebel, the worst has yet to come for business-to-business software vendors. “On the B2B exchange side, I dont think anyone will survive. They are all gone,” the chairman and CEO of customer relationship management software vendor Siebel Systems Inc. said at Forrester Research Inc.s B2B Technology Leadership Forum in Scottsdale, […]

Preparing the launch of a product can cause even the best marketers heartburn, what with the steady stream of stress from deadlines and from trying to coordinate advertising agencies. Before even beginning to feel that pain at Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., though, marketers sought prevention. As they were gearing up for the January […]

What do Michael Jordan and apparel industry e-marketplace company Fasturn Inc. have in common? Both were indirectly caught up in the controversy that arose a couple of years ago when large apparel companies such as Nike Inc. were accused of using offshore contractors that relied on underpaid child labor. Jordan, then the all-universe star of […]

Its not just e-marketplaces and startup service providers that are taking business-to-business e-commerce trust seriously. Century-old insurers, banks and business services companies also have stepped to the fore to help e-businesses mitigate the risks of buying and selling on the Web. Their names are familiar: Insurer American International Group Inc., financial services company Bank of […]

Last October, less than six months into her job, Meena Patel prepared to tell co-workers they were losing their jobs. As human resources director and associate counsel for Goinvest.com Inc., Patel had never dealt with a layoff before, but she knew she had to do it with speed and compassion. “You have to be a […]

Two years ago, top executives at welding equipment maker Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. thought they had a red-hot idea: Sell the companys secondary brand of welders, Hobart, directly to consumers through its Web site, millerwelds.com. The idea, however, got a decidedly cold reception from the nationwide network of 950 distributors through which Miller had been […]

Building co-branded sites that allow manufacturers to control how product information is presented online by their retailers and distributors is becoming increasingly common. But, experts say, manufacturers shouldnt stop there. Doing so would be like writing a book with only a splashy cover. Its whats behind the cover that really matters. For many manufacturers, the […]

Egghead.com Inc. faced a nightmare before Christmas when, on Dec. 18, executives at the online technology retailer discovered that a hacker had accessed its computer systems. To make matters worse, within the first 24 hours they found out that the compromised systems included the databases that hold customer credit card information. Egghead.com CEO and President […]

It may be the winter of dot-com discontent, but you wouldnt know it from Salary.com Inc. Since last May, the year-old site has more than quadrupled its unique visitor count to 586,000 per month, vaulting Salary.com to No. 6 on Jupiter Media Metrix Inc.s list of top career sites. The Wellesley, Mass., company even managed […]

In november, after cable television network Black Entertainment Television touted an interview on its Web site, BET.com, with 13-year-old rap music star Lil Bow Wow, teenagers flocked to the site like hungry puppies going after a juicy bone. Fans not only got to read what the young star had to say about his latest single, […]

Broadband Web surfers might be willing to watch short video clips and venture through three-dimensional navigation while sitting in front of their PCs, but dont bet on them watching full-length entertainment programs while sitting at a computer desk. The living room television could play an increasing role as broadband access expands. TV set-top boxes and […]

Sitting in a Chicago conference room in March, executives from three of the countrys largest commercial real estate companies peered at one another with a little skepticism and a lot of anxiety. It was the first meeting of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and Trammell Crow Co. since the companies had […]