Chantilly, VA June 15, 2001 Rolls-Royce announced today that it has joined Exostar, the online exchange established last year by the aerospace and defense industry.
Rolls-Royce will become the sixth partner in Exostar, which is based in Washington D.C. and already includes BAE SYSTEMS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Technology provider Commerce One also has a stake.
As a "founding member" of the exchange, U.K.-based Rolls-Royce will have a 17 percent shareholding in Exostar and a seat on its main board. The company will use the exchange as one method for conducting transactions with its suppliers in aerospace markets.
John Rose, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, said Exostar would allow his company to reduce material and procurement costs, shorten lead times and reduce its inventory. "It will also enable us to collaborate more effectively with partners on designs for future projects," Rose said. "Exostar will allow design teams to hold shared, secure information [that] can receive input from around the world. This will allow us to bring ideas to life in the marketplace more quickly, enabling a rapid response to customer requirements."
Rolls-Royce reportedly will continue to operate its online portals for customers, such as aeromanager.com and enginedatacentre.com, which are being offered through a Rolls-Royce joint venture, Data Systems & Solutions. Customers are using these services to improve the overall management of in-service equipment.
Steven O'Sullivan, Exostar's sales and marketing vice president, said the addition of Rolls-Royce would enhance the exchange's value proposition for the members' shared supplier base through system standardization and reduced reliance on manual data entry.
Another founding partner noted that the addition of Rolls-Royce to Exostar will further extend the consortium's reach outside North America. Rod Leggetter, group procurement and IT director of BAE SYSTEMS said: "Having two of the leading European based aerospace companies on board will significantly strengthen Exostar's European presence."
Exostar reported in its second quarter report for 2001 that its then-four founding members were conducting 2,000 transactions per week over the exchange.
