That's B2C (business to consumer) in the patois of the information age, and though it gets a lot of media attention of the gracious-what-will-they-think-of-next variety, it is very far from the big ticket item of electronic commerce.

Toyota's venture will target industry players who distribute and sell repair parts, but the system also will have a B2C element. That means IStarXchange could compete with such B2C players as GR8RIDE.com, an online start-up that hopes to sell aftermarket parts to car buffs.

In the other model — business-to-consumer (B2C) — some large corporations that have taken the lead have primarily been in service-oriented industries.