Imagine that your job as a procurement manager involved sourcing your company's needed resources from 500 different marketplaces. If you needed steel, you would go to a steel marketplace. If you needed gypsum, you would go to the gypsum marketplace, and so on.

Seems absurd, but that's what some early settlers in the online marketplace frontier once offered -- a niche so narrow that it drove them out of business. After all, normal people don't go to an egg store for eggs, a flour store for flour and a cheese store for cheese. They go to a supermarket that offers myriad choices and even has the added convenience of banking, dry cleaning, florist and photo services.

For those online marketplaces that understood the big picture, the reward has been longevity and prosperity.

Forecast: What's In Demand? The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm, offers demand projections on numerous direct and indirect materials. Reports are available for purchase via the company's Web site: www.freedoniagroup.com. Injection molded plastics: U.S. demand is projected to grow 2.8% annually to 16 billion pounds in 2010. Packaging machinery: Global demand is expected to expand 4.9% per year through 2010 to more than $33 billion. Displaying 1 of 3 Page:<< Back · Next >> View article on one page Print Email Discuss Bookmark Digg Newsvine RSS Recent Items in Operations First-Ever Danieli Micromill Started Up at CMC Arizona Defense Venture Group to Locate New Facilities in South Carolina G7 to Continue Stimulus Until Global Economy on Track U.S. Loses 20,000 Jobs Reauthorize Highway Bill to Increase Jobs, Says Manufacturers Association February 2010 Issue Subscribe Now Buy a link now Adopting Primary Yardsticks Selecting the best mileposts for the never-ending journey. The Future Worker With skilled job openings going unfilled, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Mark Tomlinson sees workforce development as a top priority for manufacturers. The Toyota Brake Recall Read the latest news about the Toyota brake recall.  Who is to blame and what are the effects? Procurement Outsourcing is In A look at what to expect from the global supply chain in 2010. Webinar: Optimize Your Mfg Systems What if you could test and optimize your processes virtually, without performing costly "what-if" scenarios on the plant floor? Learn how truck maker PACCAR does it. New Webinars Winning Stimulus Funding for Infrastructure Projects Lessons Learned from PACCAR/DAF Trucks NV: Virtually Validating and Optimizing Manufacturing Systems Lean Quality for Pharma and Consumer Product Manufacturers: Saving Millions With Rapid Testing More Webinars » New White Papers Leverage ERP for Sales & Operations Planning Enabling The Lean Enterprise High Efficiency In Manufacturing Operations Achieving Exponential Growth: How Technology Can Support The Seven Essentials What's on Your Sustainability Dashboard? More White Papers » Will Toyota restore its quality reputation within the year? Yes Only Partially No Don't Know Comment in the IW Forums. Leadership & Strategy | Operations | Economics & Public Policy Technology & Innovation | Rankings | Related Knowledge Directory Subscription Services | Advertising | Terms of Use | Privacy Notice | Contact Us Copyright© 1998-2010 Penton Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Technical questions or bug reports? E-mail webmaster@industryweek.com