Abstract: An electronic commerce network that facilitates the exchange of goods and services is described that includes configurations for physically implementing the system and data structures for logically implementing the method. The physical components of the system include a wide area network, a message bus, data channels and system connectors. The logical components of the system include system software, client application software, databases and an event coordinator/workflow processor. Functions of the system include business network registration, user registration, definition of roles, assignment of roles to business networks and user registrants, definition of logical products, definition of physical products, identification of the goods needed by a participant, identification of the goods offered by a participant and the brokering of a solution that takes into account the needs of one participant and the offer of another participant.