Atlanta September 24, 2001 Omnexus, the global, neutral e-marketplace created by the plastics industry for the plastics industry, marks its first anniversary October 2, 2001, having successfully reached every scheduled benchmark set by the company since its inception. Omnexus officially launched its service last year, with founding members BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont and Ticona, and has since added more than 15 other members.
"We have met all our initial goals during our first year, which has bolstered our confidence as we look ahead to aggressive growth in our second year and beyond," said Peter Dunning, Omnexus' CEO. "The response to Omnexus from plastics processors and suppliers validates the model we have created for the future of e-procurement in the plastics industry."
A recent report from analyst group AMR Research supported Omnexus as a "compelling" business model going forward in a redefined Internet economy now focused on integration as an indicator of success. The report cited the technological benefits shared by consortia like Omnexus with member suppliers and B2B customers, noting "accelerated standards development" that "set the stage for cheaper, easier integration."*
Because of the company's early success in the North American market, it has accelerated its global expansion, also serving as an information hub that provides continuously updated news of the plastics industry through its internal news service.
Omnexus has brought us real cost savings," said Jim Ashton, chief financial officer of Entec Engineered Resins, one of Omnexus' newest customers. "We place orders every week with three different Omnexus suppliers. These are suppliers we have dealt with for years. With Omnexus, we've seen a reduction in our order entry errors, almost immediate confirmation of each order directly from the supplier, and we can now track all of our purchases from all of these suppliers in one place."
Among the targets reached in Omnexus' first year:
- Membership has grown to more than 10,000, representing a tenfold increase since May 1, when Omnexus began actively soliciting members beyond its core group of pilot customers.
- Monthly transaction liquidity has reached multi-million dollar levels, and is expected to exceed $100 million in the next 12 months.
- Omnexus is already realizing income from numerous identified revenue streams beyond transaction fees.
- Omnexus is on track to achieve all of its financial goals, while remaining below budget on its expenditures.
Omnexus has set several more benchmarks for its second year, the most significant of which involves expansion beyond North America and Europe intoBASF AG, Bayer AG, Biesterfeld, Clariant, Demag Ergotech, Distrupol, Dow Chemical, DSM, DuPont, Engel, Entec, Muehlstein, Performance Polymers, PolyOne, Resinex & Ravago, Solvay and Ticona.
* "Chemical and Process Industry Outlook: Integration, Integration, Integration," AMR Research, Aug. 15, 2001.
