SCIQUEST.COM's B2B E-MARKETPLACE
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continued from: THE TECHNOLOGY
To solve this problem, SciQuest entered into an agreement with Yantra[1] in
November 1999, to take advantage of its operations fulfillment solution, Pure
ECommerce. This was a web-enabled application that managed, tracked and
executed complex customer transactions across a company's extended supply
chain. It provided comprehensive real-time order management services throughout
the transaction lifecycle, from order acceptance, through credit approvals and
freight shipping to product delivery.
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Pure ECommerce enabled SciQuest to effectively manage
every single line item even when it was disconnected from its supplier
base. Pure ECommerce also helped SciQuest to manage customer relationships
through reverse logistics, order personalization and tracking
capabilities. Customer data was brought forward to the front-end of the
business, allowing the consumers to modify and track their orders, print
return labels and the like. Now, when SciQuest's customers filled their
shopping cart in the e-marketplace, the orders were routed by Pure
ECommerce, directly to the concerned supplier. Pure ECommerce integrated
thousands of suppliers (small, medium and large suppliers), with
SciQuest's marketplace and supported thousands of transactions per day.SciQuest
introduced a training program to help its customer service representatives
learn how to use Pure ECommerce. Francis said, "For us, the whole Pure
ECommerce system acts like a pivot in the middle of our operation. |
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We no longer touch an order from the time it comes off our web site
as a submitted order until it has passed the various suppliers and is in their
hands, via XML, EDI or Order Fax." The software also had the ability to keep a
check on the sale of substances, which could potentially be used to make bombs
or drugs. This was made possible by linking Pure ECommerce with a CRM
application and an e-mail system. The sale of all such substances was
immediately recorded, along with the order-maker's web site address, for review
by SciQuest.
The software not only helped SciQuest cut the order-processing costs by 50%,
but also significantly reduced the problems the company faced due to the
increasing number of customers. The company now began considering introducing
various features in the B2B e-marketplace to provide value-added services to
its customers.
One such initiative was the launch of an online auction facility in early 2000.
The technology for this purpose was supplied by Lotus Domino[2] and Lotus
Notes[3] . The auction facility helped customers to submit bids for used and
refurbished laboratory equipment. Using Lotus Notes, SciQuest could send, an
e-mail response, confirming receipt of a bid by the customer. Items for bid
were posted to the web site with the help of Lotus Domino. By the end of 2000,
SciQuest shifted the auction functions to WebSphere Commerce Suite, since it
supported Java and XML[4] . Skowron said, "We'll be able to integrate front-end
auction transactions with back-end distribution systems."
[1] Yantra is a Boston based e-business applications developer.
[2] Lotus Domino offers integrated application services such as security, workflow and content management. Its built-in connection services provide access to leading relational databases, transaction systems and ERP applications.
[3] Lotus Notes is an integrated, web-like environment providing quicker access to and better management of many types of information including Domino and Internet-based e-mail, calendar of appointments, personal contacts, web pages, news groups and intranet applications.
[4] Extensible Markup Language is a specification developed by the W3C. XML
is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents. It
allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition,
transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and
between organizations
THE FUTURE
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