A statement released by the two enterprises said the Bank has enhanced its electronic product offering by adding new functions. Within the next few weeks, billing and payment solutions, electronic auctions and connectivity to internal management systems, such as SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft, will be accessible in one product for companies of all sizes. In addition, the eScout platform will offer navigation, a product search engine and supplier catalog management to businesses served by the Bank.
According to the companies, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to conduct e-commerce through the Bank's public B2B marketplace, where suppliers offering general business products will present their catalogs. The eScout platform also supports a variety of public and private marketplaces in Canada and integrates master agreements signed between a company and its suppliers.
According to Michel Lozeau, senior vice-president of e-commerce at the National Bank, "The Bank feels that the Internet offers a high growth potential and therefore wants to stay at the forefront of technology by offering increasingly high-quality solutions to its clients."
This contract marks the second bank alliance in Canada for eScout, which first came to Canada nearly one year ago in a partnership with Bank of Montreal.
