Cable & Wireless, the global telecommunications group, today announced it is piloting a phased worldwide programme to put online a large proportion of its own purchasing, with Commerce One, Inc, the leader in global e-commerce solutions for business and SAPMarkets, the leader in collaborative marketplace software and solutions.
Cable & Wireless' internal e-enabling programme, of which the eProcurement project is just one part, is driven by the company's commitment to internet technology for improving business communication and extracting greater efficiencies - both for Cable & Wireless' customers and for the company itself.
The trial is expected to improve the efficiency of Cable & Wireless' procurement function, by automating the interaction between itself and its suppliers. If the trial is successful, Cable & Wireless' e-Procurement programme will deliver benefits in terms of faster transaction time and greater compliance with Cable & Wireless' global standards and supply agreements.
Commerce One and SAPMarkets are supporting the Cable & Wireless vision for online procurement through their recently announced alliance. Today, it combines the e-marketplace infrastructure and business-to-business solutions from Commerce One with e-procurement, supply chain, product planning, and analysis applications from SAPMarkets. The trial goes beyond simple catalogue ordering to provide dynamic procurement of goods and management of all facets of the supply chain - for instance planning and demand aggregation.
Mike McTighe, CEO Global Operations, Cable & Wireless said: "e-Procurement is about working the way we anticipate our customers to be working - using the internet to save money and make life easier. eProcurement is the first of a series of e-enabling projects that are taking place within Cable & Wireless Global since its creation in May, all designed to promote greater dynamism and empowerment. This project clearly demonstrates Cable & Wireless' own commitment to the power of IP technology that forms the core of our whole business strategy going forward."
Initially, the e-Procurement pilot will use four commodities and eight suppliers from the US and UK. Cable & Wireless intends to orchestrate a global rollout of the programme next year.
The project will draw upon the experience of Cable & Wireless Optus, Cable & Wireless' Australian operator which is a Commerce One Global MarketSite Partner and implemented the Commerce One solution for its own internal procurement in March this year.
"In early trials, we demonstrated that the time taken to process a purchase order was reduced by 75%-90%. This brings us the true cost savings of e-procurement and frees up staff for other activities," said David Stokes-McKeon, Director E-Solutions, Cable & Wireless Optus.
Cable & Wireless Optus brings specialist expertise in e-Business solution implementation, supplier adoption and deployment.
"A key component of successful e-procurement implementation is communicating the value to suppliers and helping them trade online. e-Procurement needs to be an end-to-end solution addressing the needs of buyers and suppliers," Mr Stokes-McKeon continued.
Mark Hoffman, chairman of the board and CEO of Commerce One said: "Cable & Wireless wanted a single, industry-leading e-business marketplace solution to leverage the power of the internet in managing the entire supply chain. The Commerce One and SAPMarkets team offers that capability. We are pleased to be working with industry leaders such as Cable & Wireless to move the world's business commerce onto the internet."
"The SAPMarkets and Commerce One solution offers Cable & Wireless substantial collaborative supply-chain capabilities that allow buyers and sellers to control inventories and business transactions across company boundaries in a single solution - we are proud to be part of the team that delivers groundbreaking functionality to Cable & Wireless," said Mayur Shah, President of SAPMarkets.
About Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless is a major global telecommunications business with revenue of over #9 billion (US$14 billion) in the year to 31 March 2000 and customers in 70 countries. Its operations around the world offer a full range of telecommunications services. Cable & Wireless' focus for future growth is on IP (internet protocol) and data services and solutions for business customers. It is developing advanced IP networks and value-added services in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in support of this strategy. With the capability of its global IP infrastructure and its strength in key markets, Cable & Wireless holds a unique position in terms of global coverage and services to business customers.
Cable & Wireless and the Globe Device are registered trademarks of Cable and Wireless plc.
About Cable & Wireless Optus
Cable & Wireless Optus (ASX; CWO) is Australia's leading integrated communications company - serving around four million customers each day. The company provides a broad range of communications services including mobile, national and long distance services, local telephony, business network services, Internet and satellite services and television.
Since commencing operations in 1992, Cable & Wireless Optus has invested more than $7bn in the construction of fixed, mobile and satellite networks, including central business district and suburban local access networks. These networks provide the company with an advanced technology platform capable of delivering integrated communications, information and entertainment services.
The company is also one of the world's largest carriers of international IP and data traffic. Cable & Wireless Optus offers a complete range of e-Solutions products and solutions including networks, hosting, professional services and e-commerce applications.
Visit www.optus.com.au
About Commerce One & SAPMarkets
In June 2000, SAPMarkets & Commerce One announced the teaming of Commerce One's leading e-marketplace infrastructure and B2B solutions with top-rated mySAP.com e-business applications from SAP and SAPMarkets. The joint offering combines e-procurement - with collaborative services for trading communities - dramatically reducing cycle times, improving customer relationships and increasing productivity for businesses worldwide. The Commerce One & SAPMarkets team strategy is unique in the industry, including product strategy, co-engineering, joint marketing, sales and support, and thus offers enterprises and trading communities a single source for the entire range of open business-to-business solutions and e-marketplaces. Commerce One is located in Pleasanton, Calif., and can be reached by phone at (800) 308-3838 or (925) 520-6000, or via the Internet at www.commerceone.com. SAPMarkets, based in Palo Alto, California, can be found at www.sapmarkets.com.
For more information on SAP visit www.sap.com.
The foregoing paragraphs include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include statements concerning an alliance regarding the implementation of business-to-business electronic marketplaces and the potential business benefits to be realized from such alliance and marketplaces. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those described in such statements as a result of a number of factors. These factors include but are not limited to the ability of the parties to execute on their plans with respect to the alliance and the extent of customer adoption and utilization of these e-marketplaces. For a discussion of these and other risk factors that could affect Commerce One's business, see "Risk Factors" in Commerce One's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and its quarterly report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2000.
For further editorial information, please contact:
Melissa Favero
Cable & Wireless Optus
Tel: +61 2 9342 5030
Email: melissa.favero@cwo.com.au
Nicola March
Cable & Wireless Global
Tel: 020 7315 4031
Email: nicola.march@plc.cwplc.com
Patrick Meyer
Commerce One
Tel: + 44 1753 483 044, + 44 7901 555 644
Email: patrick.meyer@commerceone.com
Simon Dismore
SAP Markets
Tel: +44 20 8917 6563
Email: simon.dismore@sap.com