CLEVELAND, March 29, 2001 KeyNext, a unit of KeyCorp, recently announced the addition of four new suppliers to KeyProcure, its online B2B marketplace for mid-sized corporate clients.
The new suppliers are AFD Contract Furniture, a furniture management company; Corporate Software, which provides a wide variety of software products; NeoSafety, a distributor and exporter of environmental health and safety products; and Flowers Online, which offers corporate floral gift purchasing programs. Over the next few months, Key expects to sign up additional suppliers in the areas of computer hardware, Maintenance, Repair and Operation (MRO) supplies, and other Operating Resource Materials (ORM) categories.
The new suppliers significantly extend the benefits of participating in KeyProcure, said Linda Grandstaff, executive vice president of KeyCorp and CEO of KeyNext. Office furniture, computer software, safety products and corporate gift giving are excellent product categories for online sales, and we have aligned ourselves with leading suppliers in each area. We expect the addition of these suppliers, and the continuing presence of Corporate Express, to increase the use of the marketplace by current participants and to generate interest among other Key clients.
KeyProcure enables Key's middle-market corporate clients those with $10 million to $1 billion in revenues to buy and sell online. As of today, more than 120 Key clients are buying products through KeyProcure, with an additional 250 to 300 scheduled to come online in the next few months. Buyers and suppliers on the site use KeyProcure's NextPay function, which enables entire transactions from ordering, invoicing and payment transaction to be handled electronically. In November 2000, KeyProcure became the first e-marketplace to complete an entire transaction electronically using the Ariba Marketplace, Network Edition e-commerce platform.
