webMethods to the Defense

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has selected the webMethods platform to integrate the DoD’s internal marketplace and procurement system, called EMALL, to other applications required for managing an electronic procurement system.

EMALL uses the Internet to give single access to enter and to procure off-the-shelf, finished goods from commercial marketplaces and the government’s suppliers, to all of its customers throughout the DoD.

It automates purchasing processes that were paper-based and serial-processing intensive, enabling the DoD to leverage the Department’s buying power through volume discounts and streamlines the procurement process for commercial items.

The Fairfax, Va.-based webMethods will further deepen the functionality of EMALL by providing a common integration platform to connect approximately 30,000 new vendors directly to the user’s back-end procurement systems, which will allow a paperless purchasing environment. The DoD will also use the webMethods integration platform to integrate EMALL to major marketplaces, exchanges and suppliers, such as the Ariba Commerce Services Network, Exostar and Aeroxchange.

“The webMethods integration platform enriches the functionality of DoD EMALL in a way that was not previously possible,” said Don O’Brien, DoD EMALL program manager, Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Department of Defense. “The goal of the DoD EMALL is to improve material availability and reduce cost for the entire Department. webMethods will be an integral partner, helping the DoD EMALL fulfill that vision.”

webMethods has a thriving Public Sector Operations organization with customers throughout the federal government and across the country in state and local governments. DoD customers include the Army, Navy, Air Force, and other DoD Agencies including Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and Defense Logistics Agency. Civilian agency customers include the Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and General Services Administration.

Founded in 1996, webMethods has offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific with more than 750 customers worldwide including Citibank, Dell, Eastman Chemical, The Ford Motor Company, Grainger, and Motorola. The company’s strategic partners include Accenture, AMS, BMC, BroadVision, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Deloitte Consulting, EDS, Hewlett-Packard, i2 Technologies, J.D. Edwards, KPMG Consulting, Microsoft, Oracle Corp., SAP AG and Siebel Systems.