Sify, Sterling Commerce to offer E-marketplace

BANGALORE: Satyam Infoway Ltd. and Sterling Commerce Inc. have formed an

alliance to offer Net-based procurement to consumers through E-marketplace,

Sterling Commerce's Internet-based information center. According to a release,

Satyam Infoway will help extend E-marketplace's worldwide capabilities in key

areas like global logistics, regional market expertise and local language

support.

The E-marketplace is a Web-based information and transaction portal. Its

solutions allow companies to connect, integrate, collaborate, exchange

information, transact business and streamline business processes with customers,

suppliers and distributors globally, the release said.

Satyam Infoway president, e-business, N Sekhar said that the solution allowed

the use of multiple media such as Web and catalogue to reach out to potential

customers. "The platform can be easily integrated to the back-end

transaction system of the organization," he added. Satyam will initially

target manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, automotive and the retail segments

for E-marketplace.

Satyam Infoway chief operating officer George Zacharias said, "This

strategic alliance is a logical extension of our on-going relationship with

Sterling Commerce. The alliance has now been extended to offer Internet based

global e-business solutions to our customers. This is, along with our being a

Global Trust Associate of Verisign, a key enabling initiative for the growth of

e-commerce in India, post the passing of the IT Bill. The legal framework and

the assurance of secure transactions are now possible. What was required was a

facility that could serve as a catalyst for e-commerce by providing a platform

where it would be possible to explore, understand, collaborate and integrate

ideas and information for custom designed e-commerce solutions for companies

wanting to conduct business over the Internet."

The E-marketplace is an online exchange where organizations and their

communities come together to conduct commerce, access content and collaborate to

improve business. There are two types of e-marketplaces–enterprise and

industry marketplace. E-marketplaces or Internet Trade Exchanges are based on a

new commerce model where multiple buyers and suppliers establish user

communities on the Web to dynamically exchange goods and services, share

information and streamline the commerce process. Large companies who exchange a

number of transaction-types with a large number of partners can use the

E-marketplace solutions to mange their total supply and customer value chains,

not just pieces of them.

The benefits of these marketplaces are they offer complete and secure

transactions to all business partners, increase efficiency in distribution,

reduce sales order cycle, enable collaborative planning with suppliers and

distributors and increase brand equity globally.