Sunnyvale, CA June 21, 2001 B2B e-commerce solutions provider Ariba yesterday announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has selected the Ariba Commerce Services Network (Ariba CSN) and Network Connect program to drive supplier adoption to the DoD EMALL, the agency's internal marketplace and procurement system, while improving the management of its purchasing process, increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
DoD EMALL is the DoD's single entry point for its customers to find and acquire off-the-shelf, finished goods and items from the commercial marketplace and government sources. The DoD will leverage the Ariba Network Connect program and Ariba CSN to significantly increase the number and types of suppliers (particularly small and disadvantaged suppliers) supported on the site. A Network Connector, developed by the DoD, will enable the agency to connect its buyers and suppliers to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other procurement applications.
We're really looking forward to working with Ariba, said Don O'Brien, DoD Emall program manager, Defense Logistics Agency. It will enable the DoD EMALL to quickly and easily access the many Ariba suppliers. They will be able to use the same Ariba- enabled catalog content and business processes for the DoD that they use with their commercial customers. The resultant efficiency will provide benefits to both parties.
Ariba CSN maximizes the ability of buyers such as the DoD to attract and rapidly enable all of their target suppliers, regardless of the complexity of their eCommerce project, said Shannon Lynch, vice president and general manager, Network Solutions, Ariba. Ariba CSN supports the industry's largest network of value chain partners, including thousands of suppliers registered and transacting on the network. This established supplier community will enable the DoD to gain access to their strategic suppliers and continue to ramp their entire supplier base.
