Catalyst launches online marketplace for SAP components, add-ons
Atlanta, GA — April 21, 2004 — Catalyst International Inc., a global supplier of supply chain execution (SCE) solutions, is offering its new componentsNOW Web site, which it said is the first global marketplace for the SAP information technology (IT) community. The site features SAP components, external applications, add-ons, complementary hardware and information for product comparisons and build/buy analysis.
Catalyst said the componentsNOW site has more than 100 components for SAP customers to research, compare and order. Its Phase I rollout primarily features plug-in modules for logistics execution systems (LES) and related supply chain applications from Catalyst and more than a dozen software suppliers.
Catalyst said it anticipates that componentsNOW will also expand its offerings of SAP modules for finance and human resource applications in the very near future.
"The future of enterprise software is the use of more granular components that can be quickly assembled to fit companies' specific processes," said Steve Banker, service director, Supply Chain Management, for the ARC Advisory Group. "With componentsNOW, Catalyst has done something visionary in creating a marketplace for selling application components to SAP users. These components will help SAP's users more closely tailor SAP solutions to their individual needs."
For SAP customers, Catalyst said componentsNOW represents a new way to improve the functionality and enterprise value of their existing technology. Instead of having to research products from multiple suppliers, they simply go to one site to compare many different solutions and order what best suits their immediate needs.
For suppliers, componentsNOW offers a marketing channel for generating and pre-qualifying leads without the expense of direct selling, added Catalyst.
"We felt the time was right to spearhead the development of an SAP components marketplace that would attract a broad range of participants," said James Treleaven, president of Catalyst. "Catalyst concurs with SAP's efforts to encourage and support the development of open systems, and we expect componentsNOW will help promote utilization of the SAP NetWeaver platform."
