Torrance, CA August 15, 2001 Agribuys, a solution provider for the food industry supply chain, has revamped its pricing structure to allow its buy- and sell-side users to share costs and select a pricing plan based on the mix of basic and premium services that meet their needs, the company announced today.
Agribuys offers Internet-based solutions for demand planning, procurement, logistics, receiving and payment for buyers in the food industry. The company says its solutions improve the way organizations carry out transactions, use real-time information to make decisions and build relationships with their supply chain partners. The company said it altered its pricing policies in response to supplier and buyer requests.
Under Agribuys' new pricing structure, user fees start at $75 per month. Various plans offer discounted pricing for high-volume users, as well as for occasional and seasonal users.
Agribuys says its basic fees include the software, hardware and other infrastructure necessary to maintain a round-the-clock system capable of handling more than 1,000 purchase orders a second in a confidential and secure environment. Agribuys' users obtain access to the company's procurement module, standard training and user set-up services, and customer service support via its call center and online live help function. Relationship support services, reports and data integration consultation are also included.
A nominal, flat fee is charged for each completed and reconciled purchase order, regardless of the size of the order or the number of communications and transactions needed to complete the purchase order.
Customers can choose to add premium services to their Agribuys package, for example, to automate such tasks as collaborative planning and demand forecasting. Agribuys has also introduced pricing for its suite of integration solutions.
Explaining the shift in pricing policy, Marina Kotsianas, Agribuys' president and CEO, said: "Agribuys has now completed a significant number of complex implementations and we have developed accurate knowledge of the cost drivers of e-commerce. Our new pricing is based on a thorough analysis of the hardware and software services, security, marketplace management and redundancy services that are essential to provide the service levels that our customers expect. Our buyers and suppliers have told us that they are willing to share in the expense if we provide a structure that is fair, reflects our actual costs, and creates tangible value for them."
