After its first financial injection of $20 million in June, Webango is fast bringing its e-sourcing solution to market. On the Webango Network, customers have the capability to choose appropriate suppliers for complex commodities and services.
Todays competitive business environment forces companies to offer customers the highest quality product at the lowest possible price. "The best way this can be achieved is by partnering with the most appropriate suppliers and developing long-term relationships to maximize quality, service, and availability, and to minimize costs. This is critical but has been a challenge to execute because of the lack of tools and relevant information, said Rami Goraly, President and CEO of Webango.
According to Tim Minahan, Research Director of e-Business at the Aberdeen Group, "Strategic sourcing offers the biggest opportunity for organizations to recognize procurement savings and to design long term efficiencies into the supply chain. However, a lack of commodity expertise and rigid organizational structures have made sourcing a lengthy, inefficient, and sub-optimized process for many organizations. Aberdeen research indicates that Internet-based sourcing (e-Sourcing) solutions that deliver commodity and market intelligence and enable a high level intra- and inter-enterprise collaboration can enhance the sourcing process and drastically reduce the time spent on initiating supply chain relationships. Webango enters the e-Sourcing space strong, with a solid product map and compelling client and partner relationships."
Putting sensitive information out there on someone elses site can be a scary proposition. However, Webango has taken extra measures to protect against malicious activity. As a means of providing customers with a sense of security, Webango sought the endorsement of Ernst & Youngs CyberProcess Certification (CPC). The CPC attests that effective security measures are in place. In addition, the CPC also assures users that Webango maintains effective controls that ensure that electronic RFPs follow the companys policies, which provide for consistent, equitable and impartial RFP and proposal submission. It also qualifies that decision support tools are designed to enable consistent and quantifiable evaluation and comparison of supplier proposals.
Customers will take advantage of Webangos partnerships with several consulting firms and e-procurement services, including QPEC, a consulting firm in purchasing and supply chain transformation that boasts a heavy-hitting client list with the likes of British Telecom and Hewlett Packard.
Speaking of customers, Eastman Chemical Company has signed on in the last two weeks as the first client on the Webango Network. The chemical giant hopes to replace their decentralized and fragmented sourcing efforts with an integrated supplier base. In the procurement of direct materials our goal is to reduce contract administration costs and build strategic relationships. We believe that the Webango Network will facilitate our strategic efforts and allow us to reap the benefits much faster than we otherwise could, said Buddy Williams, Sr. VP of Worldwide Operations of Eastman Chemical.
To move the Webango Network along, the company also brought James Cooper onboard, formerly the VP of sales for Reasoning, Inc. Bringing more than seventeen years experience in the computer industry, Cooper will spearhead the sales force and business development.
