According to Bill Paulk, IBMs vice president of e-marketplaces, IBM hassaved about $1.7 billion since 1993 by being able to divulge sensitive price and inventoryinformation over a private exchange built for 25,000 suppliers and customers. As the host ofthe exchange, the company helped defray the cost of connecting suppliers. The payoff: On-time delivery to customers soared from about 50 percent to close to 90 percent, whichhelped justify the cost, Paulk says. In 1999, IBM invested in E2open, a consortia-based e-marketplace for the electronics industry. Why do you think IBM needs both a privateexchange and a consortia-based e-marketplace?