TMCnet News
Aberdeen Research Group Recognizes Verticalnet Customers For Best Practices In Advanced Sourcing and NegotiationsMALVERN, Pa. --(Business Wire)-- July 14, 2005 -- Verticalnet, Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT): -0- *T Alcan's Work on TruckLoad Transportation in North America and Europe Highlighted For Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency Verticalnet Also Releases New White Paper On The Latest Evolution of Strategic Sourcing *T Verticalnet, Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT), a leading provider of supply management solutions, announced today that two of its customers have been recognized in a new report from Aberdeen Group for best practices in advanced sourcing. In particular, Aberdeen praised Alcan for its success using Verticalnet's optimization technology to achieve "aggressive cost savings targets on complex transportation spend categories." The leading analyst group also highlighted Verticalnet's work with a major consumer packaged goods company. The new Aberdeen report, "Success Strategies in Advanced Sourcing and Negotiations", focuses on the use of total cost optimization and the value for the next wave of e-sourcing savings. This new report highlights how Alcan leveraged advanced sourcing and negotiation tools and techniques from Verticalnet to address a $100 million spending on truckload transportation in North America. The success of this project led Alcan to repeat the process in Europe, encompassing $90 million in spend across multiple modes of transportation. According to Aberdeen's research, four in five Fortune 1000 companies have tried e-sourcing tools, but just one in five of the companies Aberdeen surveyed have experience with sophisticated sourcing tools and techniques. The companies that are employing these advanced solutions are generating savings that surpass by a considerable margin what can be achieved solely through reverse auctions. "Companies that fall into the one-in-five category of having used advanced solutions, like Alcan, are setting an example for the rest of the pack as they expand well beyond reverse auctions to attain higher levels of e-sourcing cost-savings," said Richard Waugh, Aberdeen Group's vice president of supply management and the report's author. "This is increasingly possible thanks to the user-friendly solutions, like Verticalnet's, that are now reaching the marketplace. We can expect to see more and more companies achieve greater cost-savings as this trend gains momentum." "We're glad to see Aberdeen Group recognize the advanced sourcing success and sustainable cost savings Verticalnet has helped Alcan and many other customers achieve, and we congratulate Alcan on this honor," said Nathanael V. Lentz, Verticalnet President and CEO. "This new report helps show that advanced sourcing and negotiation must go well beyond basic price capture and price analysis into a realm where only a combination of technology and domain expertise will deliver meaningful value." The extremely extensive Alcan European project evaluated more than 30,000 supplier bids and then generated and optimized a solution for Alcan within one hour. As a result, Alcan realized twice the project's savings targets. The report quotes Alcan's Director of Procurement Strategy, Ed Mathany, commenting on the power of Verticalnet's optimization engine, noting that it "can easily generate many more increasingly complex scenarios that we could never do without it," and emphasizing that it allowed Alcan to "tap into the creativity of the supplier base." Today, Verticalnet also announced that it has issued a white paper on the latest developments in advanced sourcing, such as Verticalnet's work with Alcan, entitled, "Strategic Sourcing: Then and Now and Again". Written by Senior Vice President for Advanced Sourcing, Jeffrey Ryan, the paper looks at the history of strategic sourcing function and examines its latest evolution, which Ryan terms 'beyond sourcing'. Ryan explains that the level 'beyond sourcing' is typified by: -- Well-designed, cost-effective and long-lasting buyer/supplier relationships; -- An appropriate investment in the relationship by both parties; -- And an obvious shift from a 'sourcing event' mentality to a 'category management' mentality. Ryan holds that at the 'beyond sourcing' level; sourcing professionals must expand their influence beyond the traditional boundaries of procurement. According to Ryan, "In the Verticalnet worldview, we would say that Alcan has evolved 'beyond sourcing'. By going 'beyond sourcing', we are helping companies like Alcan develop supplier relationships that deliver increased value, and then shift their focus to operational constraints that are blocking further progress. At this level, opportunities such as the effective use of low-cost-country sourcing and concerns such as supply security can be balanced into the supply base design. As Verticalnet customers evolve 'beyond sourcing', they will continue to boost their performance, uncover additional savings and deliver long-term, sustainable value to the bottom line." To obtain copies of the new Verticalnet white paper, please contact Scuzscon Walker at [email protected]. About Verticalnet Verticalnet is a leading provider of supply management solutions that enable companies to identify and realize sustained value across the supply management lifecycle. Going beyond traditional spend management and sourcing approaches, Verticalnet's solutions provide the visibility, insight and process control required to maximize the sustained value realization from supply management. Large enough to help customers attain supply management success worldwide, yet nimble enough to provide individual attention and remain focused on customer priorities, Verticalnet has helped numerous Global 2000 companies take their supply management efforts to the next level through an optimal blend of software, comprehensive services, and deep category knowledge and domain expertise. To learn more, please visit us at www.verticalnet.com. Verticalnet is a registered trademark or a trademark in the United States and other countries of Vert Tech LLC |
