USAutoNews.com Forms a Strategic Supplier Partnership With PurchasePro.com To Create a Premier 'E-Marketplace' for the Automotive Industry
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- USAutoNews.com, a premier automotive industry portal, today announced that it will create a universal dealer e-marketplace for the sale and distribution of products and services for the automotive industry powered by PurchasePro.com (Nasdaq: PPRO - news), a leader in browser-based, business-to-business e-commerce solutions.
Through its industry-specific Internet portal and e-commerce hub, USAutoNews.com will create three exchanges and two marketplaces covering B2B and B2C sales and distribution of dealer maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, cars, financing, warranties, and aftermarket parts. USAutoNews.com currently lists over 22,000 links to automotive websites and provides aggregated news from over 60 sources. Further, the USAutoNews.com related website, DealerWarranties.com, provides consumers with extended warranties that are sold and serviced by dealers.
Implementation of PurchasePro.com's e-MarketMaker solution will allow USAutoNews.com members and their customers to receive better pricing, streamline their ordering process, expand their selection of suppliers, use single-checkout technology when purchasing from multiple vendors and communicate with over 25,000 businesses currently participating in the PurchasePro.com global network.
``USAutoNews.com is dedicated to creating fast and efficient solutions for automotive dealers, trade members and their customers,'' said Robert J. Zwerling, chairman and chief executive officer of USAutoNews.com. ``Our e-commerce solution will allow the automotive industry and its customer base to buy and sell a wide range of products and services through the dealer. Our focus is to use the Internet to facilitate commerce between the dealer and consumer rather than disintermediate the dealer as some other Internet models have attempted.''
``Our e-MarketMaker solution enables us to power e-commerce in new vertical industries while continuing to add to our critical mass of buyers and suppliers on the PurchasePro.com global marketplace,'' said Charles Johnson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of PurchasePro.com. ``This seamless marketplace creates a dynamic exchange-to-exchange opportunity, allowing new buyers and suppliers to facilitate e-commerce across diverse industry segments.''
The agreement to develop and operate a premier universal automotive industry exchange will create three separate product and service exchanges and a vehicle service contract and dealer car marketplace within the USAutoNews.com portal. The specific exchanges under development include an aftermarket products exchange, an MRO non-factory products exchange and an industry shopper exchange. The vehicle service contract marketplace, DealerWarranties.com, will facilitate increased dealer sales of vehicle service contracts, while the AtomicAuto.com marketplace will offer dealer's cars, warranties and financing to consumers. As a value-added benefit, the automotive industry exchange will also be available to PurchasePro.com's existing and future strategic alliance partners.
About USAutoNews.com
USAutoNews.com is the first and largest Internet automotive portal providing communications and e-commerce business to automotive dealers and trade in the $1 trillion automotive industry. The company is focused to utilize the Internet to assist dealers to sell more cars, parts, services and warranties and to lower their operating costs. The USAutoNews.com portal currently has links to over 22,000 automotive websites and aggregates news from over 60 news sources. The DealerWarranties.com site of USAutoNews.com generates extended warranty prospects for dealer and includes an MRO non-factory product exchange. For information regarding USAutoNews.com call toll free at 1-800-559-6494 or visit the company's web site at www.USAutoNews.com. Catalyst Capital, A Newport Beach, Calif.-based venture management firm that services emerging companies in the Internet, software and digital technology areas, manages USAutoNews.com.
About PurchasePro.com
PurchasePro.com, a leader in Internet business-to-business e-commerce, operates the PurchasePro.com exchange encompassing more than 25,000 businesses and powers approximately 160 private marketplaces with its highly scalable, browser-based e-commerce engine. The PurchasePro.com exchange and the private marketplaces employing its technology make it easy for businesses of all sizes to buy and sell a wide range of products and services. PurchasePro.com enables businesses to compete more efficiently by meaningfully reducing procurement costs and greatly increasing employee productivity.
PurchasePro.com offers the fastest e-marketplace solutions in the industry designed for important market segments -- e-Procurement for corporate procurement needs, v-Distributor for online distributors, and e-MarketMaker for Internet market makers.
A key element of PurchasePro.com's strategy is to develop sales and marketing relationships with industry leaders including AOL, Hilton, Office Depot Inc. and Sprint Corp. The company provides extensive support and training programs. For information call toll free at 888-830-4600 or in Las Vegas at 702-316-7000 or visit www.purchasepro.com.
Note to Editors: PurchasePro.com is a servicemark of PurchasePro.com, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This press release includes forward looking statements which are subject to the ``Safe Harbor'' created by 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 (which involve the company's plans, beliefs and goals, refer to estimates or use similar terms) involve certain risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties associated with rapidly changing technologies such as the Internet, the risks of technology development and the risks of competition, that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision. For more information about these risks and uncertainties, see the SEC filings of PurchasePro.com, Inc., including the section entitled ``Factors That May Affect Results'' in its 10-K filing for the period ended December 31, 1999 and its 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2000, which is available from the company on request and on the Internet at the SEC's Website, www.sec.gov.
SOURCE: USAutoNews.com |
