Samsung successfully implements private exchange solution from SAP, Commerce One

Samsung Electronics Corporation (SEC) and SAP AG today announced the successful implementation of a private exchange based on MarketSet, the joint solution from SAP and Commerce One, Inc. Samsung's private exchange, called Worldwide Trading Network (WTN), is a single global system that links all Samsung R/3 and legacy systems using one common platform.

To date, Samsung has deployed the Worldwide Trading Network across nine major production, sales, and logistics subsidiaries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company plans to complete its efforts to create a digital business platform by rolling out the system to all of its 59 global subsidiaries by the end of this year.

The Worldwide Trading Network enables efficient inter-subsidiary trading processes with real-time reporting and analysis for effective business performance tracking. It allows Samsung to achieve significant cost savings by reducing inventory through tight integration between the sales, procurement, and accounting processes of various subsidiaries around the globe.

"With the WTN, we are now able to integrate all the ERP systems in our overseas subsidiaries into a single system based on the Internet platform and move closer to becoming an organisation that can respond to e-business needs," said Kwang Tae Kim, vice president, Corporate Public Relations Group, SEC. "We plan to evolve on the system to use it as the basic infrastructure for collaboration with our customers."

Samsung's private exchange solution increases efficiencies by reducing the time for information flow between the sales and production subsidiaries from four days to four seconds. Real-time reporting and analysis allows Samsung to extend visibility and improve the transparency of processes across its entire supply chain.

The vision of the Worldwide Trading Network is to extend integration to all internal offices, sales offices, external trading partners, and even customers, using a hosted platform and the Internet.

"With the implementation of MarketSet, Samsung is now equipped to increase the efficiency of its mission-critical functions and to continue to drive its competitive advantage in the electronics industry," said Shai Agassi, executive board member of SAP. "By leveraging SAP's proven understanding of business processes, Samsung will be able to reduce inefficiencies and improve its time to market throughout its value chain and across its enterprise. Samsung's success with MarketSet is a great example of an accomplishment resulting from SAP and Commerce One's strategic partnership to develop marketplaces and facilitate business-to-business integration."

"It is great to see that Samsung is achieving tangible results from the Commerce One / SAP MarketSet solution. We believe Samsung's emergence as an e-business leader further demonstrates the continued need for business-to-business e-commerce solutions that support key industries," said Mark Hoffman, chairman and CEO of Commerce One. "We continue to work with SAP to find new ways to deliver solutions that help our customers cut time and costs out of their trading processes."

The WTN represents a significant building block for Samsung's future growth by enabling new breeds of collaboration between Samsung and its partners and by allowing easy integration of existing and new applications to further streamline processes.

A multi-disciplinary team of consultants from Samsung Data Systems, SAP and Commerce One supported the Samsung-led effort.