FreeMarkets, Inc., a US-based firm specializing in business-to-business online auctions, has announced plans
to expand into Asia with operations in both Hong Kong and Singapore.
The expansion will enhance
FreeMarkets’ ability to provide its buyer clients with on-the-ground access to Asian suppliers
of industrial parts, raw materials, commodities and services.
FreeMarkets’ Asian operations will also
focus on industrial buyers based in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia and other Asian
markets.
“Our clients rely on us to create successful online auctions around the world. In order to be
successful, we must work with buyers and find suppliers globally,” said Glen Meakem, chairman,
president and CEO of FreeMarkets.
Meakem went on to explain that strategic purchasing for direct materials requires global reach
and that his firm sought to provide global services to their multinational clients.
United Technologies Corporation is among the first clients to benefit from
FreeMarkets’ latest expansion. FreeMarkets is providing online auction services in Asia to United
Technologies, a Fortune 50 provider of high technology products to the aerospace and building
systems industries.
FreeMarkets created online auctions for approximately US$1
billion worth of purchase orders in 1998 and approximately US$1.4 billion worth of purchase orders in
the nine months ended September 30, 1999.