[Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC] Czech company B2B Centrum launched
Intelligo.cz, the premier B2B e-marketplace for non-production MRO
(maintenance, repair and operating) products in Central and Eastern
Europe.
Intelligo.cz is the first complete business-to-business e-marketplace
positioned to harness the 342 billion CZK (US $3 billion) Czech
non-production MRO market. Intelligo.cz will work with local
manufacturers and multinational distributors and serve Czech industry,
services and government. The marketplace’s product portfolio includes
office supplies, stationery, furniture, computer equipment, cleaning
agents, refreshments and work aids.
“The Czech non-production MRO market is highly fragmented and its
ordering system is very time-consuming – two key factors that make this
category of products most suitable for our e-marketplace solution,” said
B2B Centrum founder and CEO Dalibor Wijas. “We also believe that MRO
products will be the first category that companies look to as they
transform themselves to use e-procurement methods.”
B2B Centrum was established in February 2000 with the aim of providing
e-commerce services for medium and large-sized firms in Central and East
Europe. The flagship product of the firm is B2B system – a software
platform for B2B e-marketplaces. Intelligo.cz is the first deployment of
this system. The company’s technology partners include Oracle, Sun
Microsystems and leading German systems integrator Debis Systemhaus. The
company is headquartered in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
The R&D department is based in Brno, the second largest city in the
Czech Republic.
B2B Centrum recently went through its first round of venture capital
funding to develop and launch Intelligo.cz. The lead investor is
American Internet visionary Esther Dyson, chairman of EDventure
Holdings, who focuses on both emerging technologies and emerging
markets. In addition to her, Roman Stanek is a key investor in B2B
Centrum. Mr. Stanek was the founder and CEO of NetBeans, Inc., a
software development company that was acquired by Sun Microsystems last year.
According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the volume of online transactions
is expected to reach 8 billion CZK (US $205 million) in the Czech
Republic by the end of 2003.