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Aspect Development and Cahners Announce Joint Venture to Create
Manufacturing.net Portal to Combine Content from Cahners and Aspect to Create
The Leading B-to-B eCommerce Marketplace Across 23 Vertical Markets
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., and NEW YORK, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspect Development, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASDV) and Cahners Business Information, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK and ENL), have signed a letter of intent to form Manufacturing.net, a joint venture that will combine their strengths into the most powerful business-to-business (B-to-B) eCommerce site for researching and buying manufacturing goods and services, including materials and supplies used in maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). The www.manufacturing.net B-to-B portal currently operated by Cahners will become part of the joint venture and will be upgraded to full eCommerce functionality by year-end.
Manufacturing.net, formerly known as Manufacturing Marketplace, is an information powerhouse, providing more than 400,000 pages of editorial information from 23 vertical markets, including the latest developments in automation and controls, manufacturing processes, design engineering and development, plant operations and the supply chain. Manufacturing.net already has more than 200,000 registered users and currently receives more than one million page visits a month, making it one of the most popular B-to-B portals. With the addition of Aspect's renowned MRO eContent and search technology, Manufacuring.net will expand its mission to full-function eCommerce.
Brian Nairn, Cahners chief operating officer, said, "Cahners is the trusted source of content for more than 2 million manufacturing professionals. Aspect is the leading provider of business-to-business infrastructure and eCommerce solutions for the inbound supply chain, in use today at more than 170 leading manufacturing companies. The combined resources and market knowledge of Cahners and Aspect will create an eCommerce solution for businesses that is unmatched."
This joint venture is the latest initiative of Aspect Development's new eMarket business unit, which provides B-to-B eCommerce infrastructure solutions for vertical market portals, suppliers and Web-based exchanges. Since Manufacturing.net will be a key enabler of the enormous growth expected in B-to-B eCommerce, its is expected to contribute significantly to accelerating growth at both Aspect and Cahners.
Romesh Wadhwani, Aspect chairman and chief executive officer said, "Aspect believes that B-to-B eCommerce will only be successful at portals that provide all of the content that users need, at their fingertips. That means a rich, deep combination of editorial content, product and supplier content, news, alerts, and other knowledge that allows users to quickly look at their universe of choices, compare alternatives, make the best selections and place orders with their supplier of choice. We felt that a strategic partnership with Reed Elsevier, the world's greatest B-to-B publishing company, would achieve this objective and allow us jointly to become the market leaders immediately. This is an enormous market opportunity, and our joint-venture is perfectly positioned to take full advantage of it."
About Cahners
Cahners (www.cahners.com) is a leading provider of business information in the United States. Cahners is a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group (NYSE: RUK and ENL), a leading publisher and information provider with principal operations in North America and Europe. Cahners publishes 128 business magazines, operates more than 120 Web sites and provides 16 business communities with online services, custom publishing, directories, research and direct-mail lists. |
