February 15, 2001 -- B2B marketplace and e-sourcing company FreeMarkets announced today at its eMarkets 2001 conference that it is expanding its portfolio of e-sourcing technologies by introducing QuickSource, an ASP-based private marketplace solution. QuickSource is designed to allow organizations to create and run their own e-markets from their desktops.
Based on the technologies used to power its B2B Global Marketplace, QuickSource allows procurement professionals to create and manage e-markets for direct and indirect materials, as well as services. Whether professional buyers use FreeMarkets' leading B2B Global Marketplace or set up and manage their own e-markets, FreeMarkets has a powerful eSourcing solution to meet their needs, said Ken Ramoutar, vice president of product management at FreeMarkets.
Through a do-it-yourself interface, FreeMarkets' QuickSource solution allows buyers to create and post electronic Requests For Quote (RFQ), collaborate with and manage suppliers, create and run real-time, online markets and award contracts. FreeMarkets' QuickSource application runs on the Microsoft Windows 2000 platform and uses a multi-tiered WinDNA architecture. Using Microsoft's Active Server Page technology, QuickSource is supported by FreeMarkets' ASP infrastructure and requires no client installation, maintenance or unique hardware requirements.
The QuickSource announcement came a day after the company announced a new agreement with defense, government and commercial electronics, and business and special mission aircraft contractor Raytheon. Under the terms of the agreement, FreeMarkets will continue to provide Raytheon with access to its B2B Global Marketplace, which Raytheon will use to purchase goods and services for its operations around the world. The agreement follows the successful completion of a pilot program, which FreeMarkets and Raytheon began in October 2000.
FreeMarkets' unique combination of technology, market making services and deep supply market knowledge have proven very effective in enabling our organization to identify savings and efficiencies, while maintaining a high level of quality in the goods and services we source, said Shelley Stewart, vice president of Supply Chain Management, Raytheon and a keynote speaker at eMarkets 2001. We are pleased to be extending our relationship with FreeMarkets and look forward to continuing to leverage their B2B Global Marketplace and eSourcing technologies to create successful eMarkets for goods and services that deliver results to our operations around the world.
To date, Raytheon has conducted eMarkets for a variety of goods and services including industrial gases, scheduled air transportation, facilities support and relocation services through the FreeMarkets B2B Global Marketplace. During the pilot, Raytheon sourced in excess of $192 million in contract volume through FreeMarkets and identified average savings of over 24 percent.
