The accomplishment of business transactions via the internet, e-commerce for short, has outgrown its infancy and is increasingly emerging as a standard aid for everyday business transactions-though not all of the initial expectations have been fulfilled. In co-operation with its subsidiary BASF IT Services (Wadenswil/Au, Switzerland), BASF addressed this topic at a very early stage. At present, some business segments are conducting more than 50% of their sales activities via e-commerce.