Wayne,
Here is some information on the Company, its market, its business and its customer base. Our CEO has alot at stake in this deal as he is by far the largest shareholder in this company. Worth watching this IPO to see how it does when it goes public as we could see significant revenue and earnings from this and other deals.
DC
Company Description
PartsBase.com is an online provider of Internet business-to-business e-commerce services for the aviation industry. Our global e-commerce marketplace (sometimes referred to as our "e-marketplace" or our "solution") provides a means for our over 13,000 members in more than 115 countries to buy and sell new, used and overhauled aviation parts and products in an efficient, competitive and cost-effective manner. We estimate that our e-marketplace utilizes a database of approximately 1,200 suppliers, which we believe constitutes one of the largest independent databases of inventory and information in the aviation industry. Current members of our e-commerce marketplace include Boeing, Honeywell, Federal Express, Pratt & Whitney, Northrup Grumman Aviation and United Parcel Service.
The worldwide market for aviation parts and products is highly fragmented and includes many types of suppliers, such as airlines, original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs"), numerous independent distributors, on-site airport
maintenance providers, also known as fixed base operators, Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") certified facilities, traders and brokers. Aerospace Industries Association estimates that total exports and imports of aircraft parts and products were approximately $29 billion in 1999. Furthermore, in recent years, the airline industry has experienced rapid growth in business and leisure travel. As a result, the world fleet of aircraft is projected to increase from 12,600 aircraft in 1998 to 28,400 aircraft in 2018, according to Boeing's 1999 Current Market Outlook (the "Boeing Report"). The increase in
travel and the number of aircraft have likely contributed to demand for aviation parts and products as aircraft must be serviced at scheduled intervals. In addition, management believes that as the age of the world fleet of aircraft
increases, demand for new, used and overhauled parts and products may increase. Forrester Research estimates that the business-to-business e-commerce market will grow from $43 billion in 1998 to $1.3 trillion by 2003.
Our goal is to solidify a position as a leading aviation industry e-commerce marketplace in order to capitalize on the continued expansion of the market for
aviation parts and products. Our solution takes advantage of the growth, pervasiveness, low costs and community building nature of the Internet as a basis for e-commerce for the broad, highly fragmented aviation industry. We believe that the value of our e-marketplace grows substantially as each new member brings additional parts, products, information and buying power to our community.
OUR SOLUTION
Our solution is designed to streamline the procurement cycle for our members by enabling them to source, bid parts and products, and eventually manage their order payment online. Our target members are primarily the businesses that buy and sell aviation parts, supplies and components in the global marketplace, and our current members vary from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies such as
General Electric, Honeywell, AMR and Boeing. We have designed our e-marketplace to meet the needs of these customers and their industry. With a standard Internet connection, a Web browser and a PartsBase.com membership, each of our e-marketplace members can immediately participate as both a buyer and a seller.
Our e-marketplace is designed to provide advantages over traditional procurement processes, including:
- reduced procurement costs;
- more efficient pricing and improved access to sellers for buyers;
- ability to locate the most geographically desirable parts;
- expanded distribution opportunities for sellers; and
- ease of use and better access to information.
Our current and proposed Web site features include:
- online buying and selling utilizing advanced parts search features, iventory listings, and requests for quotations, also known as RFQs,
member access to detailed information regarding current and prior transactions;
- online auctions for aviation parts and products;
- procurement controls providing members with the ability to control and monitor corporate purchasing; and
- community-building information such as industry job and aircraft sales istings, as well as links to members and other industry Web sites.
In addition, we have recently signed an agreement with Tradex Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Ariba, Inc., to install and implement customized software that will allow for seamless online transactions. We have also contracted with Trading Dynamics, Inc., another subsidiary of Ariba, Inc., to provide software for our auction platform. We expect that such software will further enable online negotiating, pricing and bidding, as well as allow us to
act as a clearing house for products, and to allow our members to complete their transactions online.
OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY
Our objective is to establish our e-marketplace as the preferred aviation industry business-to-business e-commerce solution. The key elements of our strategy include:
- Achieving growth through transaction fees and other sources of revenues;
- Strengthening the PartsBase.com brand;
- Increasing membership and market penetration;
- Establishing and expanding strategic sales and marketing relationships;
- Expanding our international presence; and
- Attracting and retaining members with new content, features and services. |
