Burlington,
Mass., October 2, 2000 - Emptoris, Inc., the leading provider
of dynamic B2B e-commerce solutions, today announced that VerticalNet
Markets, a division of VerticalNet, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERT), and the
Internet's leading network of business-to-business industrial
commerce communities, has selected Emptoris' ePASS™ as a
key component of its commerce strategy and technology solution.
Under the terms of the agreement, VerticalNet Markets will integrate
ePASS into its network of markets to provide advanced strategic
sourcing capabilities for buyers, and to allow suppliers to compete
on more than just price. In addition, VerticalNet Solutions will
enhance its current offering by serving as an ePASS reseller to
its customers, including industry alliances, global 2000 enterprises
and Net market makers.
"VerticalNet's online trading communities cover a wide range
of markets - from communications to manufacturing to healthcare
- and all of our communities require sophisticated e-commerce
solutions for transacting business on the web," said Joseph Galli,
Jr., president and CEO of VerticalNet, Inc. "Our relationship
with Emptoris allows us to further enhance our commerce strategy.
As an extension to our platform, VerticalNet eMarketplace Suite™,
Emptoris' ePASS enables our markets and strategic partners to
provide buyers and suppliers with an advanced RFQ solution."
ePASS is an optimized e-commerce software solution that extends
beyond simple single item transactions to enable strategic sourcing
of direct materials and services over the Internet. By using ePass
in conjunction with eMarketplace Suite, market operators will
enable buyers to find the right suppliers based on multiple decision
factors, including price, product quality, vendor ratings, customer
service and existing contracts.
By implementing ePASS, net market makers can increase transaction
volume by meeting the complex strategic sourcing needs of buying
and selling professionals and empower them to make the best online
trading decisions. ePASS' customizable business rules, intelligent
workflow, and advanced decision support technology allow Emptoris'
partners and customers to rapidly deploy industry specific e-marketplace
solutions, build collaborative buyer-seller relationships, and
quickly optimize multifaceted purchasing decisions.
"Strategic sourcing is one of the most important e-commerce
components, and Emptoris' ePASS enhances our existing capabilities
and furthers VerticalNet's clear competitive advantage in this
area," said Zev Laderman, CEO of VerticalNet Solutions. "Combined
with eMarketplace Suite's existing RFP and RFQ functionality,
the advanced RFQ management and decision support capabilities
of ePass will benefit all market participants and provide our
customers with the optimal solution."
With
ePASS' customizable business rules, comprehensive workflow and
industry-leading optimization engine, buyers can now consider
all factors to make the best possible purchasing decision. Suppliers
also benefit because ePASS and eMarketplace Suite allow them to
compete on more than just price, and to showcase additional qualifications
that help the customer make better decisions.
"VerticalNet
has established itself as the leader in creating and managing
B2B e-commerce communities. The fact that a company of this stature
has selected ePASS as a key component of its e-commerce platform
validates the need for advanced dynamic pricing solutions in the
B2B market," said Avner Schneur, president and CEO of Emptoris.
"Emptoris is excited that ePASS will be offered not only
within the VerticalNet family of markets, but also to its strategic
partners and beyond."
VerticalNet
eMarketplace Suite™ is a comprehensive set of content, community
and commerce-related design tools, as well as multiple commerce
transaction modules, including auctions, aggregated and distributed
catalogs, exchanges, RFP/RFQs, and structured negotiations. With
its broad range of powerful products and tools, eMarketplace Suite
helps industry alliances, global 2000 enterprises and Net market
makers to rapidly establish and grow liquidity in their public
and private marketplaces.
About
VerticalNet, Inc.
VerticalNet, Inc. (www.verticalnet.com)
provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions targeted at distinct
business segments through three Strategic Business Units: VerticalNet
Markets includes 57 industry-specific web sites designed as online
vertical trading communities and provides hosted e-commerce and
community capabilities for corporate divisions and mid-size businesses;
VerticalNet Exchanges focuses on direct material open and spot
markets; VerticalNet Solutions builds digital marketplaces for
global 2000 customers, consortia and neutral Net market makers.
VerticalNet International leverages the Company's three strategic
business units to create global Internet B2B marketplaces, offering
products and services internationally and partnering with companies
that have strong local presence and domain expertise.
VerticalNet
and NECX are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Vert Tech
LLC in the United States and/or other countries.
About VerticalNet Solutions
VerticalNet Solutions delivers the most comprehensive digital
marketplace solutions available to industry alliances, global
2000 enterprises, Net market makers, VerticalNet Markets, and
VerticalNet Exchanges. VerticalNet Solutions leverages the experience
of VerticalNet Markets and Exchanges as owners and operators of
trading communities to provide a comprehensive solution for accelerating
time to market, building customer loyalty and driving transactions
within a market. VerticalNet Solutions' product suite is an end-to-end
solution that includes community, content and market design tools,
multiple market mechanisms and transaction types, multi-party
system interaction and a broad range of buy- and sell-side services.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VerticalNet Solutions
can be reached at www.verticalnetsolutions.com
or 415-995-2080.
About Emptoris,
Inc.
Emptoris, Inc. is the leader in dynamic B2B e-commerce solutions
for net market makers and Global 5000 companies. By implementing
ePASS, Emptoris' advanced, web-based procurement solution, e-markets
can increase transaction volume by meeting the complex strategic
sourcing needs of buying and selling professionals and empower
them to make the best online trading decisions. ePASS' customizable
business rules, intelligent workflow and advanced decision support
technology allow Emptoris' partners and customers to rapidly deploy
industry specific e-marketplace solutions, build collaborative
buyer-seller relationships and quickly optimize multifaceted purchasing
decisions. Emptoris is a privately held company and is an Internet
Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE) Partner Company. The company is headquartered
in Burlington, Massachusetts. For additional information, please
visit www.emptoris.com.
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