Commerce One and e-BuildSMART launch African building and construction industry portal

Southern African buyers and suppliers in the construction industry now have access to global and regional trading opportunities through MarketSite Africa, powered by Commerce One technology, the leader in global e-commerce solutions for business. This is the region`s first construction and building portal.

Commerce One South Africa (Distributor Operations) announced an agreement with e-BuildSMART South Africa to create and develop an e-commerce trading solution based on Commerce One^1s leading software and technology.

e-BuildSMART will bring its expertise in construction industry software and its professional network, which encompasses a number of major buyers and sellers within the industry.

Commerce One South Africa and e-BuildSMART will work together to implement the Commerce One e-procurement solution, providing procurement services to a host of buyers and sellers within the building and construction industry.

e-BuildSMART announced that key construction companies have entered into an agreement to be hosted on the e-BuildSMART portal which links to Commerce One South Africa`s trading infrastructure - MarketSite Africa. The initial four participating companies include: Basil Read, WBHO, Concor and Stocks Civils. These four combined represent 12 percent of the building and construction market.

e-BuildSMART are currently in negotiation with other leading construction companies and their suppliers to create a system where both the buyer and the seller can gain maximum efficiencies by eliminating costly processes in the supply chain. This is in line with the trend in the rest of the world where companies are coming together to realise savings in both their procurement and trading environments. For suppliers to the construction industry it means that their products can be seen by a wider audience and bought anywhere in the world. Suppliers can achieve real savings by automating their catalogues, which will be hosted on MarketSite Africa, powered by Commerce One. The construction industry is global in its reach and Southern African companies can now trade efficiently with counterparts across the globe.

"This is the first industry vertical which will be hosted on MarketSite Africa. The fact that e-BuildSMART have these prominent construction companies signed on is a major achievement and signals the seriousness with which B2B e-commerce is being treated by the construction industry. These farsighted companies recognise the massive cost saving and revenue raising opportunities by embracing Commerce One`s portal solution. Commerce One dominates the industry vertical marketplace business with over 20 major portals announced globally. These include large portals like Covisint, the automotive exchange led by General Motors. Buyers and suppliers to the construction industry in Southern Africa will have immediate access to other portals and e-marketplaces throughout Commerce One`s Global Trading Web," says Michael Bosman, CEO Commerce One South Africa. The GTW is a collection of regional trading hubs around the world forming a trading community.

James Morgan, CEO of e-BuildSMART adds, "We believe that it is an achievement to launch the first construction industry e-commerce portal in South Africa with market leaders such as Basil Read, WBHO, Concor and Stocks Civils. Each of these companies command significant spend in the industry. We believe that this technology will transform the way construction companies purchase their goods and will result in lowered costs for both buyers and suppliers."

"e-BuildSMART will also provide integration with current construction accounting systems, and other third party software, to produce an end-to-end, electronic information system to allow project teams to share information efficiently from the design stage through project completion. A current emphasis is in loading suppliers` catalogues. We expect to have a significant percentage on-line in the first quarter of next year", says Morgan.

Daan van Schalkwyk IT manager of Concor says, ""We believe that this will be the way in which we do all of our purchasing in a few years time. The benefits for us include confirming pricing which typically takes up an enormous amount of our time and we will be able to expedite this process."

Alli Bachus, the chief buyer of Stocks Civils says, "It will make us aware of suppliers we don`t use and who may offer added value. Construction tenders are a matter of deadlines and having information when you need it is critical."

"Commerce One`s world-leading technology was chosen because it met all the necessary requirements of the local construction industry," adds van Schalkwyk. "The ability to integrate this technology with the way in which we work with activities like estimating pricing, tracking and cost is unique to the construction industry persuaded us of the value of joining the construction industry," he added.