February 28, 2001 -- MasterCard International today launched MasterSource, a program that offers a Web-based ratings system to foster trust between buyers and sellers in e-marketplaces and corporate exchanges. Through Buyer Insight, a co-developed solution from Open Ratings and Dun & Bradstreet, the MasterSource program helps businesses using any MasterCard Corporate Payment Solution make e-procurement decisions based on detailed supplier performance data. In return, sellers can distinguish themselves in the e-marketplace using the system's optional performance analysis.
MasterSource operates on the principle that if buyers can access reliable information about potential trading partners, their confidence levels will increase, resulting in more transactions completed through e-marketplaces, said Steve Abrams, senior vice president, corporate payment solutions, MasterCard International.
MasterSource can also be used to compare current trading partners with other merchants within a specified supplier base, to ensure optimal value when making purchasing decisions. Through the use of Buyer Insight, the program also provides access to detailed business and financial information about suppliers within a participating exchange network.
Among the e-marketplaces that are implementing MasterSource are GoTradeSeafood, a leading B2B Internet seafood trading site, and WHN Exchange, a leading e-marketplace for buying and selling licensed merchandise online. WHN Exchange is built on the Ariba B2B commerce platform.
The new MasterSource program benefits WHN Exchange members by providing buyers and suppliers with critical performance information to help them make confident transaction decisions, said Frank Keating, general manager of WHN Exchange. We are excited to be a part of the MasterSource program and feel that our clients will find enhanced value from our marketplace because of it.
Any prospective buyer can use MasterSource to view Buyer Insight's sophisticated predictive data on select exchanges in an easy-to-understand ratings format. Through Buyer Insight, Open Ratings and Dun & Bradstreet provide a critical service to help trading partners on public and private e-marketplaces build confidence and strengthen new and existing trading relationships. Purchasing professionals can obtain and evaluate supplier performance information in real-time and across many e-marketplaces.
The service combines Open Ratings' patent-pending predictive rating of a supplier's performance based on criteria including timeliness, responsiveness and reliability and Dun & Bradstreet's global database of business information. Dun & Bradstreet's information and technology solutions help businesses reduce credit risk, find profitable customers, manage suppliers efficiently and collect cash and receivables.
Pattie Maes, Ph.D., founder and director of Open Ratings and associate professor at the MIT Media Lab, commented, The Internet offers an outstanding opportunity for buyers and sellers to come together and transact with anyone, anywhere, anytime. The alliance between MasterCard and Open Ratings brings together two visionaries using this medium to achieve a common goal: to help companies do business more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
