Australia’s top telecommunications provider Telstra Corp has announced plans to enter the US online business market by supplying companies with purchasing services via the internet. Telstra Electronic Commerce Procurement Solutions will be competing head on with US companies Ariba and Commerce One.
Telstra and US partner Intelisys, which is half owned by Chase Manhattan Bank, will unveil their online purchasing product at the Internet World Conference in New York on October 4. Telstra has tested the service with IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola although managing director for data and IP products Stuart Lee would not say if they were still involved in the venture. We will make an announcement in the next few weeks, he said.
The service will enable companies such as car makers to use internet applications for making orders and answering customers’ questions. It will be Telstra’s spearhead to break into the US market for online buying of goods such as office supplies and auto parts.
The market has grown rapidly from virtually nothing at the beginning of last year, with New York-based Ariba saying last month it is now processing purchases valued at more than $100bn a year. Telstra’s partner Intelisys ranks third in the market for online procurement behind Ariba and Commerce One.
If we can make this work with world-class companies, and therefore very demanding customers, in a US environment, it’s likely to prove successful everywhere else, said Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski.
