Ariel Technologies has concluded an agreement with Infobank Africa which will not only see subsidiary Intersolve Health Informatics and its clients able to utilise the Ariel Technologies` e-commerce hub in Southern Africa, but also open doors internationally for Intersolve which is on a globalisation drive.
Infobank International is the leading European software vendor specialising in Business to Business e-procurement and on-line trading communities. Infobank International recently chose South Africa as its corporate headquarters for Africa. Ariel Technologies concluded an e-hub agreement with Infobank, which gives the information technology giant the right to build and operate an e-commerce hub powered by Infobank Africa`s InTrade e-hub, trading community software. The e-hub is due to go live shortly with a pilot project for four Denel subsidiaries.
Intersolve is a leading provider of turnkey information solutions to the health care sector, both public and private throughout southern Africa and recently announced two joint ventures which will see the company marketing its products in South America and in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom.
Compatibility tests between Intersolve`s products - hospital management information systems, HOSP - and Infobank`s InTrade e-commerce suite have proved successful.
Says Gerhard Smit, Intersolve general manager, private and international health: "The agreement with Infobank Africa is two-fold. Firstly, it will enable Intersolve`s clients, among them the major private hospital groups, to utilise the Ariel e-hub locally through an Intersolve portal. This is a major step forward for the health care sector as electronic procurement, which is cost effective, timeous, reduces paperwork and increases efficiency in purchasing, will help hospitals and large clinics to cope with the tremendous volumes of purchases made on a daily basis."
"Secondly, when we enter new international markets we will form joint ventures which will utilise Inobank`s In Trade products as our e-commerce software."
The main benefits of Infobank e-hub includes software support for unlimited currencies and more than 52 languages, making it truly multi-lingual and multi-currency with simple and flexible processes to create a dedicated on-line market place.
"Infobank InTrade is a dynamic, e-B2B tool, which enables companies to become fully e-enabled without having to develop in-house website with full e-commerce capability.
"Through Ariel Technologies, we have extensive experience in the integration of e-commerce with company systems and we will be using these skills and tools to offer direct delivery to applications."
Mr Smit says joining hubs offers numerous benefits to member organisations and suppliers alike.
"A benefit for large member organisations is the ability to reduce procurement costs from a South African average of R480 per order to as low as R40 per order. In the UK Infobank has already demonstrated that it can reduce handling costs from lb75 to lb10."
Key to the concept is that the software is available at minimum cost to suppliers, while catalogues and pricing are captured into the hub and can be modified and tailored depending on which client accesses the price lists. This is critical to be able to offer preferential pricing to larger clients.
The purchaser or member organisation signs a membership agreement. Suppliers pay a "transaction tax" which is a percentage of each sale going through the portal, which means that even small suppliers will find it cost-effective.
Furthermore, as Intersolve portals grow around the world each can link into the other, creating a global, competitive virtual market.
Share