hursday May 6, 9:40 am Eastern Time
BCE Emergis woodchip auctions
(Full text of press release from ISDN Wire Service)
BCE EMERGIS LAUNCHES NEW BUSINESS TO BUSINESS AUCTIONING
TECHNOLOGY; FORESTRY INDUSTRY IS THE FIRST CLIENT
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, May 6 - BCE Emergis announced today that the Company is launching a new business to business
auctioning technology that will enable enterprises to bid on-line and therefore lower material costs and reduce inventory
holding cost. BCE Emergis is launching this new technology with an electronic auction pilot called Electronic Negotiation
System (ENS) that will reunite on line and in real time woodchip producers and buyers. The pilot project will start during the
summer and will include several paper mills and sawmills companies. ''We are very excited to work with BCE Emergis to offer
the forestry industry an innovative and better way to exchange information'' said Claude Paradis, President, Quebec
Woodchip Producers Association Inc. ''With BCE Emergis' technology, we were able to set the pace for a better way to
manage our renewable natural resources. Indeed, with ENS, the industry's members will always be aware of the production's
availability.'' Through the electronic auction ENS, the Quebec woodchip producers will offer to the paper mills the
possibility to choose and to buy a part of their production. This electronic market place will only be accessible to buyers and
sellers in the forestry industry. The transactions' security and confidentiality will be ensured by BCE Emergis' Electronic
Business Network adapted for the industry's needs. ENS originated from research projects that were made in collaboration
with the Centre for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO) specifically to create an electronic
negotiation mechanism that would become the center of other industry's virtual market places. ''The business to business
electronic auctioning is a new model that will flourish in all vertical markets. Auctions make the most sense in industries
plagued by inventory headaches'', said Christian Trudeau, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, BCE
Emergis. ''The woodchip industry alone represents a market of $600 millions in Quebec and with all those money tied up in
large, high-cost warehouses, it represents a phenomenal potential in terms of commerce on electronic auctioning.'' The
Quebec Government issued a statutory order in February 1999 ordering that up to 3% of all 1999 woodchip production would
be sold outside of Quebec through an electronic network. According to the statutory order, all woodchip transactions have to
be done by electronic market and thus, accessible to all Quebequers buyers. This statutory order was proceed in order to
encourage the development of the Quebec Inforoute and to enhance the forestry industry competitivity, a market that
represents an annual economic value of $8 billion dollars. BCE Emergis delivers network-centric e-commerce services that
improve customer processes through the exchange of secure transactions. Combining e-commerce services, network
connectivity, security and e-payments solutions through industry verticals , BCE Emergis offers a full suite of core
technologies that are the essential building blocks for electronic commerce. BCE Emergis is among the top electronic
commerce providers in North America and is listed on the TSE 300 Composite Index. For more information, please refer to
www.emergis.com. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or
expectations of BCE Emergis with respect to its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantl |
