1. A method for use in improving profitability of one or more business entities, the method comprising: receiving, by a computer, business-related data from at least two unrelated business entities, where the business-related data describes one or more aspects of the operations of each of the business entities; storing at least some of the business-related data from each of the business entities in a common database; and in accordance with the terms of an agreement among the business entities, allowing at least one of the business entities to receive information gathered from the common database, where the information includes data describing some aspect of a business relationship between at least one of the business entities and another entity that is not party to the agreement.