Guess? the Designer label clothing company has partnered with PeopleSoft, an eBusiness application software provider, and Commerce One, a global provider of e-commerce solutions, to launch an
e-commerce portal for the apparel industry online trading community to enable textile and apparel producers to automate procurement and lower costs.
Jan Coetzee, managing director PeopleSoft South Africa, says that this business to business (B2B) e-commerce move for the apparel industry is a step toward increasing virtual purchasing standards for accessing designer clothing speedily over the Internet.
"Using PeopleSoft eProcurement, an end-to-end eBusiness solution integrated with the PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management suite, and Commerce One MarketSite, a B2B e-commerce portal solution," he continues, "will make Guess? the first apparel company to create a vertical portal for its industry. This e-commerce portal will also enable it to streamline its internal procurement processes and dramatically reduce its supply chain costs."
Coetzee explains, "Based on the Commerce One MarketSite portal solution, the Guess? portal will enable its suppliers, licensees and retailers to enjoy the benefits of electronic commerce. The Apparel Buying Network at www.apparelbuy.com, will offer an online marketplace to the entire apparel industry."
"It is the industry`s first vertical marketplace based on Commerce One MarketSite, and will allow apparel industry suppliers and manufacturers to place their product catalogues on-line and provide a tool to allow suppliers, manufacturers and retailers to enhance the way that they do business in the future" he adds. He further comments that Guess? and PeopleSoft have a long standing relationship through Guess?`s use of PeopleSoft Human Resources Management Solution 7.5 and the now integration of PeopleSoft`s eProcurement to automate and manage purchasing more strategically."
"The PeopleSoft eProcurement and the Commerce One MarketSite solution provide many opportunities for cost reduction," states Paul Marciano, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Guess?. "This solution will create an Internet-enabled, seamlessly integrated supply chain that we believe will give us a significant advantage in the marketplace. Through our e-commerce portal we will be able to offer these same advantages to our suppliers and partners in the apparel industry."
According to Coetzee the tight integration with the PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management suite and access provision to Commerce One MarketSite, makes its eProcurement an end-to-end eBusiness solution designed to reduce procurement costs by aggregating purchasing across the enterprise. He maintains that PeopleSoft eProcurement extends authorised purchasing capabilities to all employees, and connects them to Commerce One MarketSite, an open business-to-business marketplace portal providing comprehensive electronic commerce services and real-time access to a large community of suppliers.
"The system will standardise all purchasing, eliminating off-contract buying, and will leverage Guess? buying power for optimised supplier discounts," he explains.
The Guess? MarketSite portal will roll out in three phases to address the needs of suppliers, trade customers, and the apparel market at large. The first phase will make an online catalogue for indirect purchasing available to internal Guess? employees, licensees that manufacture Guess?-branded accessories, and suppliers via PeopleSoft eProcurement and Commerce One MarketSite. The second phase will enable electronic trading with the textile industry for components such as buttons and zippers. The third phase will allow open trading among buyers and suppliers in the textile and apparel industries. Participants will be able to conduct transactions ranging from volume purchasing to apparel manufacturing using an automated bid-quote process and online auctions.
The first phase will launch in the first quarter of 2000. The second and third phases will launch in the third quarter and fourth quarters of 2000, respectively.
Share
PeopleSoft
PeopleSoft is a world leader in enterprise application software. PeopleSoft provides eBusiness applications for customer relationship management, human resource management, financials, and supply chain, along with a range of industry-specific solutions. For more than 4, 000 customers, PeopleSoft applications offer greater flexibility, rapid implementation, scalability across multiple databases and operating systems, and lower cost of ownership. Customers include some of the largest multi-national organisations in the world, as well as small- and medium-sized businesses. In addition to software, PeopleSoft offers PeopleSoft Advantage Customer Service, a comprehensive consulting, education and technical support programme. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, PeopleSoft (www.peoplesoft.com) employs 7, 000 people and had 1999 revenues of $1.4 billion.