• silicon.com
• Technology
• Software

By Joey Gardiner, 5 July 2000 00:30

NEWS E-procurement marketplaces are in danger of failing because suppliers can't get their goods online. Adam Jacobs, CEO of Cataloga, a company that publishes electronic catalogues, claims suppliers are struggling with a profusion of different marketplaces, each requiring catalogues published in different formats leaving it prohibitively difficult for suppliers to get involved. Jacobs told silicon.com: "The issue with publishing content really needs to be addressed if these vertical marketplaces are going to succeed. If you don't have the quality content that goes into these new supermarkets, then buyers, sitting at their desktops trying to raise an acquisition or trying to buy a product will simply not find the products they're looking for and go elsewhere." He added that online marketplaces that create virtual supermarkets for buyers will not survive if the shelves are empty. "No-one is trading yet - all the focus so far has been on buyer savings," he said. Jacobs call was echoed by suppliers who have tried to get involved in online procurement. Martin Bentley, marketing director and chief net officer at Dudley Stationery, who has tried to implement a corporate web strategy, said: "This will certainly slow down our implementation. Any company that can provide a solution to this is onto a complete winner because suppliers are finding it incredibly hard." John O'Rourke, commercial director for furniture supplier Idem Funiture, said he expected 80 per cent of his business to move to online sales. "We don't have any alternative but to move to web-based business, and a key problem is going to be providing content - the investment required is huge," he said. John Clifford, PricewaterhouseCoopers partner responsible for online marketplaces, said the issue caused massive problems for suppliers. He told silicon.com: "The formats have to be standardised - no-one has really tackled the problem of content management." Commerce One, which sets up online trading hubs, denied the issue was a causing a problem but admitted the industry as a whole had been slow to address suppliers concerns. Chris Phillips, EMEA director of marketing at the Commerce One, said: "Overall the industry could have done more to focus on the supplier, but Commerce One has taken the lead in this area."