VIENNA, VA March 4, 2002 Entigo Corporation, a provider of B2B sell and service-side e-business solutions, announced today that its Entigo Catalog, Entigo Order, and Entigo Reality Builder software has been licensed by Goodman Manufacturing Company to build a new B2B sell and service-side e-marketplace for Goodman distributors and dealers.
Goodman is the second largest manufacturer of central air conditioning and heating products for residential and light commercial use in the United States. The equipment is sold through a worldwide network of company-owned and independent distributors and installers. The new private exchange will enable the company to organize and accelerate the business processes between Goodman and its distributors by providing e-commerce services such as real-time product information, pricing, inventory inquiries, order processing and order management.
The new private exchange will allow Goodman to establish seamless and interactive relationships with its business customers. Goodman will use the private exchange to deliver a positive buying experience for its channel participants, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty while cutting business customers' costs.
"With 40% to 70% of [manufacturers'] business coming through indirect channels, growth, profitability, and competitiveness depend on the strength of the relationships with partners," explains Louis Columbus, senior analyst at AMR Research, in a Report on Channel Partners for Profit published October 2001. "Nearly all [manufacturers'] channel partners are multibrand, so companies must compete for partners' time, resources, and attention. PRM strategies have the potential to create alliances that transcend marketing, sales, and product development events and make their channels a core asset of the company. The potential payoff for adopting PRM strategies is significant."
"We are extremely pleased to be working with such a world-class HVAC company as Goodman," said Mark Demers, vice president of marketing and business development at Entigo. "Whether you're battling competition or costs, companies are realizing that sell-side private exchanges can provide substantial economic benefit to manufacturers, their channel partners, and ultimately the customer. We look forward to continuing to drive value to companies in the HVAC marketplace as they seek to adopt e-business channel management strategies."
