Ontology Design for Supporting Matchmaking in E-commerce

Semantic heterogeneity of information is a major barrier in the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce arena. Defining ontology of data and mapping ontologies among heterogeneous information repositories is one approach to achieve interoperability. By standardizing ontologies, message content and message protocols, the semantic Web can make matchmaking process more flexible and automated. This paper investigates how semantic and Web services technologies can be used to support "request for quote" service in e-commerce. It firstly highlights the features of "request for quote" scenario, then, demonstrates the design and implementation for this RFQ service matchmaking prototype based on OWL description and service ontology.