By Suzanna Kerridge, 7 April 2000 00:25
NEWS Just over a week after some of the biggest players in the aerospace industry joined forces in a $400bn online marketplace, five petrochemical giants have teamed up to form an e-trading hub for their own $50bn plastics market. The companies involved - BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemicals, DuPont and Ticona/Celanese - claim the site will be up and running by 1 October. They have not yet announced which technology suppliers will be involved. The as-yet unnamed consortium will use the marketplace to provide a catalogue of products and services from manufacturers, suppliers and distributors. In addition participants will be able to access online order tracking, electronic billing and payment and customer support. A spokesman for Bayer said: "All markets are starting to join forces with their competitors to create a new form of marketplace that includes more than just products but a complete range of tools and services. "There are less processing costs while customers carry out transactions, and all the partners expect to have savings, as well as help their customers, by offering a one-stop shop for the chemical industry." He added that the marketplace will be open for all participants of the chemical industry and other partners will be welcomed in the future. The companies are the latest in a range of industries to move distribution processes online, and DuPont claimed it was a natural progression for the chemical industry. A spokesman for DuPont said: "The marketplace is changing so fast, we anticipate within five years up to 80 per cent of the business will be done in some e-format. It is one of the driving forces behind the industry and if we do not do it then someone else will."
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