REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2000-- Concur Technologies (Nasdaq:CNQR - news), the leading provider of business-to-business workplace eCommerce solutions, announced today that Barnes & Noble.com (Nasdaq:BNBN - news), Contact East, Inc., Fatbrain.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:FATB - news), and MaterialNet.com, have been selected to participate in Concur Business Advantage.
Jointly founded with Nortel Networks (NYSE/TSE:NT), Concur Business Advantage is the first global leveraged buying eCommerce trading network for the small and mid-size business (SMB) market. Concur Business Advantage connects users over the Internet directly to market-leading suppliers and enables small and mid-size businesses to take advantage of the leveraged buying power of multi-billion dollar corporations.
``Bringing the largest number of buyers and premier suppliers to our commerce network will enable us to meet our goal of creating the world's largest, most heavily trafficked electronic commerce trading network,' said Rob Reid, president, Concur Commerce Network Division. ``We're pleased to bring these market-leading suppliers into Concur Business Advantage to deliver their high quality goods and services to our customers, as well as to provide them with a highly efficient, low-cost distribution channel.'
Suppliers in Concur Business Advantage offer a broad range of high-quality corporate goods and services, from office supplies and travel services to computer equipment, custom printing, and more. These participating suppliers will offer customers special pricing offers, value added services, and discounts as high as 65 percent.
``As the leading business-to-business online book provider, Barnes & Noble.com is pleased to join the Concur Business Advantage program,' said Brian Buckley, vice president Business Solutions, Barnes & Noble.com, the fourth largest eCommerce retailer focused largely on the sale of books, music, software, magazines, prints, posters, and related products. ``By teaming with leaders like Concur, we are able to continue to offer e-procurement solutions to businesses to streamline the purchase of books and related products from Barnes & Noble.com.'
Contact East is a leading supplier of MRO products with a focus on products for assembling, testing, and repairing electronic equipment. ``For 37 years Contact East has been committed to providing customers with excellent service, quality, selection, and value,' said Madelyn Mitton, marketing director, Contact East, Inc. ``Joining Concur Business Advantage is a terrific opportunity for us to continue to provide leading services to existing customers while allowing us the opportunity to reach a broad range of new customers who are excited to realize the efficiency of e-procurement.'
Dennis Capovilla, president and COO of Fatbrain.com, the Internet's one-stop shop for corporate document management, said, ``Fatbrain.com's association with the Concur Business Advantage program provides Concur Business Advantage customers with access to the most comprehensive selection of professional books, documentation, and training materials. In addition, the relationship builds on Fatbrain.com's business-to-business strategy to efficiently manage, market, and deliver information for corporations everywhere.'
``We're always looking to bring added value to our customer's experience,' said David Centner, president of MaterialNet.com, the first and only B2B e-marketplace for raw materials that offers reverse auctions for the purchase of all metals. ``Once we identified Concur's technologies as the most beneficial to our audiences, we moved quickly to join the Concur Business Advantage network.'
The Boston Consulting Group states that U.S. business-to-business eCommerce will grow by 33 percent per year and reach $2.8 trillion in transactions by 2003. Concur Business Advantage, a leveraged buying eCommerce trading network, offers the potential for small and mid-size businesses to save billions of dollars. With between 25 and 55 percent of total company expenditures spent on corporate goods and services, Concur Business Advantage is the first leveraged buying trading network that offers businesses the ability to reduce their purchasing spend by five to 15 percent. For a mid-size business spending $10 million on corporate goods and services, this could mean savings of $1.5 million. |
