It's interesting watching traditional companies play with the New World.
yes, it is, c m....and interestin' to me that my traditional Office Depot store has had e-commerce capabilities that i wasn't even aware of!! The company announced some rather unique news today:
<<<Office Depot Votes Enthusiastically for Business-to-Government eCommerce with Multi-State EMall Contracts
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1999--Office Depot Corp. (NYSE:ODP) announced today it has entered into a purchasing contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for office supplies. While such agreements are not typically newsworthy, the new agreement is anything but typical, and spotlights the sweeping reforms in government procurement being brought about by the technological tidal wave called the Internet. What makes this agreement special is its direct ties to Office Depot's participation in the Multi-State EMall, a large-scale, Web-based procurement initiative being piloted by Massachusetts in partnership with several other states. The system will give participating Massachusetts state employees the ability to purchase Office Depot products for the first time using only their Web browsers, at prices that reflect the new agreement.
Just as noteworthy is the fact that Office Depot has never had a vendor relationship with Massachusetts, yet they have been participating in the EMall for months, having been brought into the project by the state of Utah, one of several states piloting this online purchasing system. Such contractual agreements normally take months to complete, but the new contract was inked in a matter of days thanks to both states' cooperative procurement policies, which allow each to leverage existing contracts made by the other without a lengthy bidding process.
Even more dramatic is that the Office Depot catalog will be available to Massachusetts' users almost immediately after the contract is in place, thanks to the EMall's rigorous adoption of a standard trading technology for commercial business over the World Wide Web. Called OBI (Open Buying on the Internet), this standard is already helping Buyer and Supplier organizations dramatically reduce costs associated with one of the most common types of business purchasing: the routine ordering of incidental-but-necessary everyday goods and supplies. Once a trading partner becomes OBI-compliant, it can begin to transact with other OBI-aware organizations without costly programming, simply by adding a few details about the new partner to a database and performing routine testing of the new connections.
Office Depot's participation in the EMall is part of the firm's strategic move in Web commerce. The office products giant is hardly new to the electronic commerce arena. "We've been passionate and persistent in linking our customers electronically," said Monica Luechtefeld, Vice President of Office Depot's Business Services Division. "In just the past 18 months, we've gone from around 500 Corporate Customers to over 27,000 Companies on-line with us". Office Depot was one of the first companies to embrace the potential of the Web in business-to-business commerce. They have been an enthusiastic and active member of the OBI Consortium, the industry group that created the first open standard for business-to-business purchasing of low-dollar, high volume commodities over the Internet. By making their extensive catalog OBI-compliant, Office Depot has been able to service multiple state contracts with a single connection to the EMall, which is also using an OBI interface.
Business leaders and technology pundits alike unanimously agree that business-to-business eCommerce will be the biggest growth area for the World Wide Web over the next few years. While the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its partners are taking a leadership role in embracing this method of using Web technology to address procurement overhead costs, most believe that all state and local governments will ultimately benefit from this online trend. Overhead cost savings compared to paper-based purchasing predicted by Forrester Research and others are very compelling, a major reason the EMall pilot team is eager to open the system up to wider-scale state and supplier participation, working hard to deliver their findings to all the pilot participants so they can move ahead, "If the pilot has shown one thing," notes John Harrison, the Supplier Coordinator for the EMall, "it's that collaborative procurement over the Web is the future of government-to-business purchasing. The team is excited about Office Depot's increased participation at a time when we're developing the business model for a production rollout. You can feel momentum building everywhere for this, and our suppliers are a big part of that success!"
About the Multi-State EMall
Since it's official launch last October, this unique project has drawn wide attention due to its ambitious use of Web technology, adoption of a commercial eCommerce standard for public sector procurement, and national scope. Active partner states include Idaho, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Utah, while 22 other states with Observer status are closely monitoring the pilot progress through regular updates. The EMall home page is accessible from the public Internet, as well as through participating states' Intranets, at emall.isa.us. While catalog access to contract items and prices is restricted to member states only, visitors to the site can learn about the project, see which suppliers are currently participating, and read many of the articles about the EMall initiative that have appeared in the press. An excellent article by Government Technology features editor Todd Newcombe appeared in the October, 1998 magazine's supplement, "Government Internet Guide". It is available on request, in paper form only, at the EMall supplier address below, or directly from the magazine.
About Office Depot
Office Depot, headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, is the largest corporate office supplier in the U.S., with sales over 9 billion in 1998.
As of June 26, 1999 the company operated 757 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 30 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and seven regional call centers. Furthermore, the company owned and operated 20 office supply stores in France and two stores in Japan; had mail order and delivery operations in 10 countries outside of the United States and Canada; and under joint venture and licensing agreements, had 74 additional stores under the Office Depot name in six foreign countries. Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP.
CONTACT:
Office Depot, Inc.
Monica Luechtefeld
Vice President
Business Service Division
800/937-3600 Ext. 4543
Fax: 561/266-1153
E-mail: mluechtefeld@officedepot.com
or
Multi-State EMall
John G. Harrison
Supplier Coordinator, Commonwealth of Mass.
617/720-3353
Fax: 617/727-4527
E-mail: john.harrison@osd.state.ma.us
KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS FLORIDA
BW1894 JUL 20,1999
6:23 PACIFIC
9:23 EASTERN>>>
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