Auburn Hills, Mich.—May 31, 2012—e-Procurement Services (ePS) is contributing to the state’s turnaround with its Tier One Diversity Program with supplier partner Office Depot. The e-procurement cloud technology firm was selected by Office Depot to provide state-of-the-art e-commerce technology that supports economic growth opportunities for Michigan-based minority companies, while increasing and strengthening ePS’s market share within multiple market segments.
The Tier One Program helps diversity partners, such as Michigan-based Material Management Services (MMS), WorkPlace Solutions (WPS) and Integrated Supply Chain Solutions (ISCS), adopt procure-to-pay solutions to service Fortune 500 and SMB customers that need to meet diversity spend objectives while improving efficiencies, visibility and control for their customers. ePS’ customizable, cloud-based, e-commerce platform provides diversity companies with a standardized procurement process for buyers and suppliers to procure indirect supplies.
Although ePS and Office Depot both have a national business presence, ePS is determined to stay rooted in Michigan and support local companies wherever possible. For its technology partner, ePS chose Online Tech, which has multiple Michigan locations, to host and manage its servers. ePS and its strategic and technical partners are helping Michigan diversity companies compete with big business locally and nationally.
“Our goal is to provide an easier, faster way to buy from minorities by providing Fortune 500 companies and SMBs with an application suite to streamline their indirect spend procurement process, which creates a truly synergistic relationship between buyer and supplier,” said David Saroli, Chief Executive Officer, ePS. “Additionally, this program empowers small companies to compete with large ones and helps to drive supply costs down through increased competition.”
Keeping the e-procurement solution easy and affordable for clients has also increased the technology company’s growth—ePS’s Tier One diversity revenue grew 450 percent since its inception and currently has over 150 customers with over 50,000 users.
The e-commerce solution does not require any IT involvement, hardware requirements or maintenance costs, is easy to implement and is flexible and scalable. Additionally, ePS’ minority partners have the ability to provide their customers with a high-tech, standardized, e-procurement platform, with approval workflow capabilities, budget controls, and reporting, as well as integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), accounting, and third-party software.
