A rchive Date
[ 07-06-2000 ]
Category
[ Information Technologies ]
sub-Categoy
[ Nortel ]
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[Nortel to help launch powerful Internet marketplace
Tue., Jun. 06, 2000
OTTAWA, June 6 (Reuters) - A high-powered group of technology titans, including Nortel Networks Corp. (NT-T ) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM-N) , are expected to announce early on Wednesday they will join their purchasing power to become one of the world's largest business-to-business Internet marketplaces, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The sales consortium, which is expected to include such electronics manufacturing giants as Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., is likely to save members billions of dollars, analysts suggest.
Other founding members are expected to include LG Electronics Inc., Seagate Technology Inc. (SEG-N) , Solectron Corp. (SLR-N ) and such technology developers as IBM, Ariba Inc. (ARBA-O ) and i2/Aspect Development.
Named e2open.com, the network is scheduled to be launched in mid-July and be fully operational in the fourth quarter.
Member companies and their customers will use the network as a sales channel to buy and sell electronics equipment such as semiconductors and displays from each other. The automated purchasing system is expected to save members 10 percent to 20 percent, analysts suggest.
Sources close to the deal suggest that Nortel will spend about $5 billion on goods and services annually by the end of 2001.
A separate company will be established to run the operation, which analysts estimate will have about $200 million in financing.
Recently the world's three largest personal computer makers, Compaq Computer Corp., Gateway Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Co., also established plans for a business-to-business market.
Forrester Research estimates that computers, electronics and telecommunications e-commerce transactions are worth $50 billion in 2000 but will grow to $400 billion internationally by 2003.]
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