The deal calls for EDS in Plano, Texas, and Ariba in Mountain View, Calif., to swap stock warrants. Participating buyers will install Ariba's software and electronic purchasing forms on their intranets and purchase supplies via a Web browser. Company officials declined to provide specifics.Īriba operates an extensive online catalog of office supplies that will be tailored to meet the specific purchasing needs of each buying consortium. The next four networks - one each for companies in Asia, Europe and South America and a fourth for industry-specific procurements - are expected to open for orders later this year.Īriba and EDS will charge registration and per-transaction fees to firms that buy goods through the network. and eight other firms have signed on to participate in the first of 12 planned sourcing networks, with the first site launch slated for June. 'Their consultants are better negotiators, and they know how to strike a good deal (with suppliers).'ĮDS, Bethlehem Steel Corp., The Clorox Co., Kellogg Co. 'The other efficiencies are important, but the real upside is the environment of competition we're building with our supplies, and we expect that to translate into lower prices,' Spray said.ĮDS has demonstrated that it can lower costs by driving efficiencies into many business processes and managing systems effectively, said Stan Lepeak, a vice president at Meta Group Inc. Spray said the system made transaction processing more efficient by using electronic forms and offering one spot for users to order goods. in Palo Alto, Calif., has been using Ariba's procurement network since last February. Greg Spray, the director of operations procurement at Hewlett-Packard Co. The networks will offer a wide range of goods and services - from office supplies and computer systems to travel and energy services - for purchase and auction.

subsidiary CoNext and Ariba Inc., plan to co-develop Web-based business-to-business procurement sites for big corporate customers, the firms said last week.ĬoNext and Ariba want to create what they call Leveraged Sourcing Networks for more than 400 companies.

Ariba office supplies