From SEC archives dated 3/1/99: sec.gov
"pcOrder is a leading provider of Internet-based electronic commerce solutions
that enable the computer industry's suppliers, resellers and end users to buy
and sell computer products online. The Company's solutions are designed to
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales, marketing and
distribution of computer products and to enable members of the industry to take
advantage of the increasing adoption of e-commerce. Forrester Research, Inc.
estimates that the business-to-business e-commerce market will grow from $43
billion in 1998 to $1.3 trillion by 2003. In addition, Forrester believes that
computer products (including wholesale and retail equipment, software,
semiconductors and manufacturing) is the largest and fastest growing segment,
by revenue, in business-to-business e-commerce.
The Company's comprehensive offering consists of software applications and
content databases which enable industry participants to buy and sell computer
products online by increasing the automation of product search, comparison,
configuration, pricing, financing, ordering and reseller selection. The Company
believes that it is uniquely positioned to deliver these solutions through its:
(i) ability to offer a broad set of advanced front-office and e-commerce
software applications, including configuration and pricing; (ii) position as a
leading content provider of computer product and compatibility information; and
(iii) experience in delivering industry-specific functionality and integrations
into business systems of computer industry participants.
The Company's solutions have been adopted by market leaders including Compaq
Computer Corporation, CompuCom Systems, Inc., CompUSA Inc., CMP Publications
Inc., GE Capital Corp., Hewlett-Packard Company, Ingram Micro Inc.,
International Business Machines Corporation, Kingston Technology Corporation,
MCI Systemhouse Corp., MicroAge Integration Company, Nortel Networks Inc., PC
Wholesale, Pinacor, Inc. and Tech Data Corporation. In 1998, over $3 billion of
quotes for computer products had been generated using the Company's solutions,
representing use by more than 3,500 sales representatives from over 500
resellers. Since 1996, the Company's revenues have grown from $5.9 million to
$21.7 million in 1998.
The Internet and Internet-related technologies are revolutionizing the way
businesses and consumers communicate, share information and conduct business.
Businesses are increasingly
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replacing paper-based transactions and communications with e-commerce solutions
in an effort to reduce costs, decrease inventories and shorten time-to-market.
The Company believes that the computer industry is particularly well-suited to
the use of Internet-enabled e-commerce solutions due to the large size and
fragmented nature of the industry, its high costs of sales and distribution,
and its propensity to embrace technology for automating processes. In addition,
rapid technological change has resulted in the continuing decline of component
prices and shorter life cycles of computer products. Such pressures have
heightened the importance for industry participants to employ build-to-order
and configure-to-order models in order to reduce inventories, improve the
ability to gauge and meet changing customer demands, and shorten time-to-market
by enabling just-in-time component acquisition. The Company believes that a key
capability required to address these needs is real-time access to information,
providing seamless configuration and pricing at the point-of-sale.
The Company believes that there is a significant need for an independent,
industry-wide solution to enable the buying and selling of computer products
online. The Company leverages Internet technologies to provide comprehensive e-
commerce solutions designed to increase sales and marketing productivity, meet
end-user demand for online ordering, reduce costs and shorten order fulfillment
cycles for industry participants. The Company's solutions include software
applications that are designed to increase the automation of product search,
comparison, configuration, pricing, financing and ordering, combined with what
the Company believes is the industry's largest content database consisting of
detailed product, categorization, compatibility, pricing and availability
information on more than 600,000 product SKUs from over 1,000 manufacturers.
The Company is a party to a technology license agreement with its parent
company, Trilogy, which provides pcOrder with the ability to leverage Trilogy's
front-office and e-commerce software applications, including one of the
industry's leading configuration and pricing engines. The Company has extended
these applications to support the specific configuration and pricing rules of
the computer industry in order to help industry sales representatives and end
users quickly and accurately build custom-configured systems across multiple
vendors.
In addition to its development of software applications and content
databases, the Company has integrated its software with the systems of leading
industry suppliers for such functions as order placement, pricing, inventory
and order status queries, financing and credit approval. Through these
integrations, pcOrder's customers can establish or enhance electronic links
with their business partners. Furthermore, the Company provides software
integration, customization, training and Web hosting services designed to
ensure the successful deployment of its solutions.
The Company believes that its position as an independent third-party
provider, combined with its industry focus and experience, has enabled it to
build product functionality, content and supplier integrations that address the
diverse requirements of manufacturers, distributors, resellers, retailers,
other industry participants and end users, including corporate buyers and
consumers. Accordingly, the Company believes that it is able to offer more
cost-effective and rapid time-to-market solutions for e-commerce than the
proprietary development efforts of industry participants. To the extent that
the Company continues to develop and enhance its software applications, content
databases and supplier integrations, pcOrder believes that the incentive for
companies to outsource these e-commerce services to the Company will increase.
Strategy
The Company's objective is to be the leading e-commerce technology and
content provider to the computer industry. The key elements of the Company's
strategy are as follows:
. Leverage Internet technologies to provide communication capability and
support complex transactions across a range of computer industry
participants;
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. Broaden adoption of the Company's e-commerce solutions through
relationships with computer industry market leaders;
. Extend the Company's position as an industry-leading source of product
information;
. Leverage the Company's position as an independent third-party solutions
provider to achieve broad market adoption; and
. Expand software applications functionality to increase automation of the
sales, marketing, and channel management functions of the industry."
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