Sterling Commerce teams with Commerce One to deliver complete e-marketplace solutions

Sterling Commerce Inc., a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. and Commerce One Inc. have announced a strategic alliance to combine Commerce One`s e-commerce capabilities with Sterling`s expertise in e-marketplace development, application and process integration and e-business consulting - providing a comprehensive e-marketplace solution. Sterling Commerce is represented in South Africa by Commerce Centre, jointly owned by Sterling Commerce and Datacentrix Holdings.

The joint solution is available immediately through both Sterling and Commerce One`s direct and partner channels worldwide. SBC will be the first customer for the combined offerings in Sterling`s e-marketplace solution. Through the agreement, Sterling will resell Commerce One`s MarketSite Portal Solution and BuySite e-procurement application as part of its e-marketplace solutions to businesses anywhere in the world, in any industry. Additionally, the agreement provides access to Commerce One`s Global Trading Web, which when combined with Sterling`s global e-marketplace communities, provides customers with access to the world`s largest online business-to-business trading community.

Commerce One will leverage Sterling`s e-business integration software in its e-commerce offerings - allowing customers to further automate the transaction flow to back-end systems. Commerce One also will round out its e-commerce solution by offering Sterling`s consulting services and community development.

"Through Commerce Centre, Sterling provides businesses with the solutions they need to address the three critical stages required for becoming an e-business: needs assessment, process integration and e-marketplace development," says Chris Greyling, COO of Commerce Centre. "The Commerce One agreement allows us to take our e-marketplace solutions to a new level by providing the industry`s leading e-procurement offering."

The overall e-marketplace sector is expected to grow from $200 billion in 2000 to $2.5 trillion in 2004, according to International Data Corp., as businesses rush to take advantage of the operational efficiencies and cost savings afforded by online commerce and collaboration with vendors, suppliers and partners.

E-procurement is one of the fastest-growing areas of e-marketplace development because it can result in dramatic cost savings. According to GartnerGroup research, e-procurement can result in a 70 percent reduction in process costs and a 5 to 15 percent drop in product costs. The research shows that the average cost to process an order electronically is $30, opposed to an average of $107 per requisition processed manually.

"Integration to back-end systems is critical to the success of building global e-marketplaces," says Derek Lubner, marketing director of Commerce One South Africa. "Connecting Sterling`s e-business integration solutions with Commerce One`s e-commerce products creates easy onramps to global e-marketplaces using customers` existing technology investments. We also extend the automation of transaction flows - from sourcing to purchasing to recording the transaction in a company`s accounting system - further reducing costs."