Big Guns Unite for Vertical Market Alliance

[Sydney, AUSTRALIA] Fourteen corporations have announced plans to form a multiple-industry Australian business-to-business e-marketplace called corProcure, in which each will be a founding shareholder.

The companies involved are Amcor, AMP, ANZ, Australia Post, BHP, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coles Myer, Foster’s, Goodman Fielder, Orica, Pacific Dunlop, Qantas, Telstra and Wesfarmers.

The companies have committed to a joint investment of more than $8 billion (US $5 billion) on indirect goods and services using corProcure over the next two years. The total value of indirect spending in Australia is predicted to exceed $300 billion (US $187.5 billion) annually.

A memorandum of understanding was signed today, and a shareholders’
agreement is expected to be signed in 45 days.

corProcure will be an independent, stand-alone, Internet-based indirect
goods and services marketplace open to all existing and new suppliers, according to a joint statement issued by the companies. The founding shareholders will share the investment cost of e-procurement
infrastructure, which was not disclosed.

“The number of leading companies coming together from a range of
industries and business sectors is unmatched in Australia’s
business-to-business marketplace. This is a significant and far-reaching partnership of major buyers and sellers that will utilize technology to extract and deliver wide-ranging benefits for all parties,” the companies claimed.

“Suppliers will gain access to a much larger customer base, will be able
to reduce administration and customer acquisition costs and better manage product demand processes, and will eliminate time-consuming paperwork and tracking. Buyers will benefit from simplified ordering processes and improved order accuracy,” the statement said.