Gaithersburg, MD April 5, 2001 GE Global eXchange Services yesterday announced that it has acquired TPN Register, LLC (TPN), an interactive content-management service based in Rockville, Md.
TPN's interactive catalog-management (ICM) services enable buyers and suppliers to customize catalog content for individual user's specific needs. The acquisition of TPN allows GE Global eXchange Services (GXS) to provide a Web-based e-procurement solution including catalog content, purchasing workflow, B2B integration and transaction capabilities across multiple industries.
TPN was founded in 1997 as a joint venture between GXS and Thomas Publishing Co., which has agreed to sell to GXS its interest in TPN.
TPN's primary solution, TPN Marketplace, provides purchasing professionals access to a searchable catalog of goods and services, in a standardized format, from an approved supplier base. The catalog content includes private pricing and contract terms for more than 2 million line items from a list of more than 1,300 suppliers. Customer benefits of TPN Marketplace include flexible supplier enablement and data hosting; data transformation for cleansed, standardized and categorized supplier catalog content; and interactive contract management between buyers and suppliers, allowing users' catalog views to reflect negotiated pricing and other contract terms.
"TPN's content-management services address an important part of the online procurement process making sure that sophisticated e-procurement systems are populated with useful, searchable content," said Harvey Seegers, president and CEO of GE Global eXchange Services. "Combined with GXS's portfolio of integration, interchange and marketplace solutions, TPN's services will give companies powerful new ways to manage their entire indirect purchasing process online."
"Our move to GXS offers TPN's customers and partners access to a broader range of products and services than ever before," said Ray Schiavone, president of TPN. "GXS has a tremendous depth of experience in providing their global customers with supply chain e-business capabilities that superbly complement TPN's interactive catalog management solutions."
"It is a logical move for GXS to acquire TPN at this time," according to Cathy Spencer, research director at Gartner. "TPN Register provides aggregated content and catalog development and maintenance services to buyers, suppliers and e-marketplaces."
