Ketera launches online tool to give midsize firms insight into corporate spending
Santa Clara, CA — November 23, 2004 — On-demand procurement specialist Ketera Technologies this week rolled out its first solution specifically targeted at the small and midsize business segment, offering up an online tool designed to give customers access to the provider's spend analysis solution directly from the Web.
Ketera said that its Spend Analysis Express solution provides small and midsize businesses with a self-service tool to analyze corporate spend without having to invest in costly and lengthy sales and implementation cycles typically associated with packaged procurement software.
"Because most small-to-midsize companies don't have the time or money to implement traditional procurement software, Ketera's new solution delivers an 'express' version of the company's hosted Spend Analysis offering, which has helped customers of all sizes manage almost $120 billion worth of corporate spend," Ketera said in announcing the new offering.
Spend Analysis Express enables customers to upload data from accounts payable and purchase order systems directly into the Ketera Processing Engine. Data is then automatically categorized and customized based on company-specific variable data such as suppliers, records, systems, business units, locations and users within a company structure.
Because the solution is hosted, users don't have to purchase hardware, install software and burden IT with an implementation cycle as is typical with packaged software solutions, Ketera said. After data is analyzed, Spend Analysis Express compiles a detailed spend analysis report to help companies identify where money is spent, negotiate better contracts with suppliers and reign in maverick spending, according to the solution provider.
Spend Analysis Express pricing begins at $2,500.
"Spend analysis has been the bane of many supply management improvement initiatives," said Tim Minahan, senior vice president of supply research and strategy with Aberdeen Group. "Incomplete, inaccurate and misclassified spend data has kept many companies from developing fact-based sourcing strategies, driving compliance and identifying savings and improvement opportunities. Ketera's affordable spend data cleansing and classification service should be highly appealing to mid-market companies that are looking to launch new supply management initiatives or jump-start stalled sourcing or procurement programs and investments."
"Our customers are saying that the way we're delivering our solution is how they want to buy software," said Steve Savignano, CEO of Ketera. "And this unique delivery model is resonating with both large and small customers. Specifically, the self-service model of our new Spend Analysis Express site offers companies an affordable way to gain visibility into their corporate spend, which is an ideal solution for mid-market companies that are looking to achieve a higher return on investment and opportunities to grow their business through streamlined procurement processes."
For more information regarding "on demand" computing models, see the article "Cutting Through the 'On Demand' Hype," the Net Best Thing column in the December/January 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
For more information on solutions for mid-market enterprises, see "Stuck in the Middle" in the April/May 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Santa Clara, CA — November 23, 2004 — On-demand procurement specialist Ketera Technologies this week rolled out its first solution specifically targeted at the small and midsize business segment, offering up an online tool designed to give customers access to the provider's spend analysis solution directly from the Web.
Ketera said that its Spend Analysis Express solution provides small and midsize businesses with a self-service tool to analyze corporate spend without having to invest in costly and lengthy sales and implementation cycles typically associated with packaged procurement software.
"Because most small-to-midsize companies don't have the time or money to implement traditional procurement software, Ketera's new solution delivers an 'express' version of the company's hosted Spend Analysis offering, which has helped customers of all sizes manage almost $120 billion worth of corporate spend," Ketera said in announcing the new offering.
Spend Analysis Express enables customers to upload data from accounts payable and purchase order systems directly into the Ketera Processing Engine. Data is then automatically categorized and customized based on company-specific variable data such as suppliers, records, systems, business units, locations and users within a company structure.
Because the solution is hosted, users don't have to purchase hardware, install software and burden IT with an implementation cycle as is typical with packaged software solutions, Ketera said. After data is analyzed, Spend Analysis Express compiles a detailed spend analysis report to help companies identify where money is spent, negotiate better contracts with suppliers and reign in maverick spending, according to the solution provider.
Spend Analysis Express pricing begins at $2,500.
"Spend analysis has been the bane of many supply management improvement initiatives," said Tim Minahan, senior vice president of supply research and strategy with Aberdeen Group. "Incomplete, inaccurate and misclassified spend data has kept many companies from developing fact-based sourcing strategies, driving compliance and identifying savings and improvement opportunities. Ketera's affordable spend data cleansing and classification service should be highly appealing to mid-market companies that are looking to launch new supply management initiatives or jump-start stalled sourcing or procurement programs and investments."
"Our customers are saying that the way we're delivering our solution is how they want to buy software," said Steve Savignano, CEO of Ketera. "And this unique delivery model is resonating with both large and small customers. Specifically, the self-service model of our new Spend Analysis Express site offers companies an affordable way to gain visibility into their corporate spend, which is an ideal solution for mid-market companies that are looking to achieve a higher return on investment and opportunities to grow their business through streamlined procurement processes."
For more information regarding "on demand" computing models, see the article "Cutting Through the 'On Demand' Hype," the Net Best Thing column in the December/January 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
For more information on solutions for mid-market enterprises, see "Stuck in the Middle" in the April/May 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
