Andrew Bartels
with John Ragsdale, Tom Pohlmann,
G. Oliver Young, Katherine Brown
November 2005
Measured purely on strength of functions, Emptoris is the top eSourcing suite vendor.
Overall, the product has the most sophisticated spend analysis, supplier assessment, and sophisticated bid optimization functions, as well as strong supplier discovery, RFx/reverse auctions,and sourcing activity management functions. Its globalization features are also strong.
Emptoris was one of the first vendors to recognize the value of providing a broad sourcing suite that includes spend analysis, supplier discovery and assessment, and contract management, along with the standard eSourcing tools of RFx and reverse auction support. Through internal development and acquisition of specialist vendors like Zeborg and Intigma in spend analysis, and Valuedge in supplier assessment, it has created the strongest eSourcing suite in terms of functions.
Andrew Bartels
Spend Analysis: Key App, Few Vendors
July 19, 2004
Emptoris: Banking On Analytics As A Differentiator
Emptoris has made the building of strengths in analytics a core part of its strategy for success. In addition to its automated spend analysis offering, it has one of the strongest products in the market for complex sourcing bid optimization.
Lora Cecere
AMR Research Alert
Emptoris Buys Intigma, Heating Up Spend Management Market
June 09, 2005
“This is good news for Emptoris customers. The company is serious about improving the depth of spend management at a time when users need deeper functionality for compliance initiatives.”
“This acquisition continues Emptoris’s legacy of using science to build a competitive advantage in the sourcing market. With 138% growth last year, the company is making a statement with this acquisition: Emptoris is serious about bringing deep products for spend management to market, and this acquisition definitely moves it toward that goal.”
“Due to the depth of the product, leadership of the management team, and discipline of the company in managing the balance sheet, we believe that Emptoris will be a stronger player for some time to come.”
Pierre Mitchell
AMR Research Alert
"Spending Analysis Is Not Just for Finders, but Keepers, Too"
September 12, 2003
"Emptoris's acquisition of Zeborg provides not only a top-notch spending analysis technology platform and services capability, but also the potential for closed-loop performance analysis that is critical to any supply management program."
Pierre Mitchell
AMR Research Report
"E-Sourcing: ROI Tastes Great, Applications Less Filling"
June 30, 2002
"Emptoris is very strong in all functional processes associated with direct materials support. Emptoris' integrated, internally-developed functionality is a strong point for companies looking for one sourcing application to cover a range of capabilities."
Vinay Asgekar, Jennifer Kemmeter, Pierre Mitchell
AMR Research Alert
"Optimization Is the Key for Strategic Sourcing in High-Tech and CPG"
May 24, 2002
"High-Tech companies have complex, multi-tier supply chains that require total cost modeling on Bills of Materials (BOMs). At an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or a contract manufacturer level, where the material cost may reach up to 80% of the COGS, the cost of direct materials has had a significant effect on the profitability of the product. The line items within the BOMs and the total cost modeling required based on numerous parameters of a complex supply chain demand that the sourcing activity be structured, automated and supported through an intelligent decision support framework. A good example of this is Motorola’s recent selection of Emptoris. Motorola was interested in not only reducing the direct material costs through intelligent sourcing, but also compressing the sourcing cycle times to reduce the cost of the business process. Motorola will roll out the Emptoris Sourcing Portfolio over the next 12 months and plans to capitalize on its investment by integrating it with multiple other commercially packaged applications."
Tim Minahan
Emptoris Market Alert
January 25, 2006
"Accenture, IBM, ICG Commerce, Intersources, and QP Group have embedded their own category content and domain expertise within the Emptoris sourcing optimization platform to support strategic sourcing projects and deliver category specific solutions to their customers."
Tim Minahan
Emptoris Market Alert
Emptoris-Intigma Deal Answers Calls for Better Spend Data Visibility
June 16, 2005
“Supply management automation visionary Emptoris has purchased Intigma….The deal capitalizes on the increased role of spend data management within supply management transformation initiatives, and reinforces Emptoris’ role as a leading solution provider.”
“consider Emptoris a compelling solution for all enterprise spend.”
“This deal is well timed, positioning Emptoris to capitalize on a business trend to make spend data cleansing, classification, and analysis a streamlined and repeatable process.”
“The multi-faceted solution makes Emptoris a compelling spend-data management offering for all Global 2000 enterprises, regardless of industry or spending profile.”
Tim Minahan
Emptoris News Release
May 24, 2004
"The first wave of sourcing automation focused on creating process and market efficiencies. Achieving the next level of savings will require enterprises to improve visibility into spending, adopt more intelligent and flexible negotiation methods, and enhance compliance and performance management capabilities. Emptoris 5 integrates these capabilities into a single platform designed to provide enterprises with the tools to maximize and sustain supply performance and savings."
Tim Minahan
Aberdeen Group
September 15, 2003
"The Zeborg acquisition was strategic in that there was no overlap with Emptoris' customer base. Due to its indirect spending focus, Zeborg was naturally strong in services sectors. Emptoris' advanced sourcing analytics have proven most appealing among manufacturers that must assess complex bills of material (BOMs) containing thousands of line items. The deal provides Emptoris with significant opportunities to cross-sell and upsell existing customers. It also solidifies the company's role among top-tier sourcing providers, with about 50 licensed customers."
Tim Minahan
Aberdeen Group
January 17, 2003
"Emptoris is one of the strong players in electronic sourcing, well positioned to take advantage of a market that will grow from $1.1 billion in 2002 to $3 billion in 2005.”
Tim Minahan
Aberdeen Group
"eSourcing Gets Strategic"
September 2002
"Aberdeen research suggests - and Emptoris' recent big customer wins confirm - that large enterprises are now ready for more advanced optimization and multi-tier sourcing capabilities. Emptoris is well positioned to support this emerging demand."
Tim Minahan
Managing Director of Aberdeen Group’s e-Business practice
“Strategic sourcing provides the single largest opportunity to reduce costs and design the optimal supply chain structures. However, sourcing remains a manual, paper-based activity at most organizations, resulting in lengthy process cycles and sub-optimal purchase decisions. Internet-based sourcing (e-Sourcing) has proven to dramatically shorten sourcing cycles, reduce processing costs, and enhance negotiations and evaluation of potential supply chain partners. The Emptoris Sourcing Portfolio expands the value of e-Sourcing by enabling buyers to take into account, multiple line items, non-price factors, complex business rules, and other constraints in order to make the lowest-total cost purchasing decisions and to construct the optimal supply network.”
Current Analysis
Joseph Marino
November 8, 2002
“Organizations should consider the Emptoris Sourcing Portfolio 4.0 as a full-featured integrated strategic sourcing platform with strong differentiation in its use of optimization technology.”
Technologic Partners
John Verity
October 28, 2002
“Emptoris has built a strong user base with several marquis customers, Motorola and GlaxoSmithKline, among them - - and established itself as one of the leaders in the sourcing software sector.”
Press Releases 
