Mountain View, CA -- November 27, 2000 -- PRNewswire Is the next wave in the Internet world the conversion of B2C Web businesses to B2B? E-Stamp Corp.s shift from Internet postage to Web-based shipping and logistics might suggest just that. Over the past two quarters, E-Stamp has steadily been outlining a more aggressive move into shipping and logistics, said Robert (Bo) Ewald, president and CEO of E-Stamp Corporation. Our acquisition of two logistics companies in May of this year enabled us to move into the supply chain execution market, which, according to a recent report by AMR, is expected to reach $8 billion by 2004.
In what might be a spin doctoring worthy of Florida politics, Ewald said that his company had seen less favorable results in our Internet postage business and that E-Stamp would focus its efforts on the greater market opportunity presented by our logistics solutions, Digital Shipper and e-Warehouse. This news probably rings a bit more bitterly for the 30 percent of E-Stamps current workforce who will be given the proverbial sandwich and a road map. (Or re-orged out, if you prefer.) The company will also redeploy the existing organization and resources toward the shipping and logistics opportunity. As of the end of the third quarter of 2000, E-Stamps cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $40 million.
In a letter sent to E-Stamp customers today, the company outlined details of the transition and thanked customers for helping to pioneer Internet postage. E-Stamp was the first company to receive USPS approval for Internet postage technology, and it was the first company to offer Internet postage commercially. Said Ewald, The business reality of operating in a highly regulated environment combined with the change in valuation models of Internet companies were key factors influencing our decision to phase out our postage business and leverage the greater opportunities presented by shipping and logistics.
In order to facilitate a smooth transition for customers, E-Stamp has partnered with Neopost Online to encourage customers to adopt Neoposts comparable Internet postage solution Simply Postage. Neopost Online has special offers available to all former E-Stamp customers who migrate to their Simply Postage products. E-Stamp customers will be notified of these special offers via e-mail and direct mail.
E-Stamp ceased shipments of its Internet Postage starter kits on November 24. Customers may continue to purchase postage until December 31, 2000, and E-Stamp will provide customer support and accept returns of postage and vaults through March 1, 2001. Additional details of the migration plan will be posted on the E-Stamp Web site.
