Dell closes online
marketplace
By Kathleen Ohlson
Network World Fusion, 02/06/01
After being open for only four months, Dell Computer
quietly closed its online marketplace.
The marketplace was announced last September and
officially launched in October. Dell suppliers would sell
Dell products and a range of third-party goods directly
to customers. Motorola, 3M and Pitney Bowes were
the only suppliers that signed up to participate in the
Dell Marketplace.
The company's decision to close down the marketplace
resulted from a combination of factors, according to
Ken Bissell, a Dell spokesman. "The decision to
disengage was due to a lack of maturity in the
collaborative commerce market, and limited readiness
of customers" to participate in marketplaces, Bissell
said.
Dell now is turning its attention to its
SupplierAdvantage program, which was also
announced in September. The SupplierAdvantage
program offers products and services to customers
who want to become suppliers in marketplaces.
Customers are supplied with hardware from Dell,
software from Microsoft and integration and
implementation services from Lante.
"Marketplaces are viable - and over time, as they
mature more, we will be a more willing participant in
marketplaces," Bissell said. He declined to speculate if
Dell would launch another marketplace. |
