Easy-to-use and quick to deploy spend management.

Ketera Supplier Connect Drives Predictable ROI From eProcurement Systems And Increases Spend Under Management

Santa Clara, Calif., October 9, 2007 - Ketera, the leading provider of On Demand Spend Management solutions, today unveiled Ketera Supplier Connect, an end-to-end Supply Base Management solution that challenges the existing pricing and deployment model for supplier enablement and supplier network solutions. Leveraging a Software-as-a-Service architecture, Supplier Connect provides both buyer - and supplier-facing tools that help enterprise companies drive efficiency and predictability from their investments in new or existing sourcing and procure-to-pay applications.

Supplier Connect pinpoints key challenges around supplier participation and end user adoption, and it addresses data quality issues related to both supplier profile and catalog content. By providing scalable, repeatable enablement process support, Supplier Connect improves supplier on-boarding to help drive electronic procure-to-pay transactions through Ketera or third-party procurement applications. As a result, procurement departments can accelerate the speed at which end-users adapt to new initiatives or sources of supply and expand spend under management.

"Supplier Enablement is the Achilles' Heel for the average eProcurement initiative," notes Andrew Bartolini, research director, Aberdeen Group. "Investing in supplier enablement capabilities is one of the best ways to place more spend under management, increase user adoption and improve the return on your eProcurement investment." According to the research firm, lack of visibility and control over supplier processes is one of the single largest reasons for project delay or failure in the implementation of a spend management system.

Breaking the mold from other industry solutions, Supplier Connect provides a single, comprehensive set of applications that provide operational transparency across the entire supplier lifecycle. This includes support for data validation, supplier rating, supplier diversity, and supplier certification management. Supplier Connect also serves as a delivery platform for value-added services such as content cleansing and hosting, making it an ideal conduit for syndicating accurate supplier profile information across a buying organization's ERP, eProcurement and Vendor Master Data Management systems. By providing a management framework capable of sustaining ongoing process improvement, Supplier Connect eliminates the need for stand-alone supplier information management and supplier network systems that are typically strung together by a hodge-podge of loose knit manual activities.

"Efficiently expanding management of all non-payroll spend is a critical procurement challenge facing enterprise companies today, and it is driving higher expectations of procurement to adapt and change," said Burton M. Goldfield, chief executive officer, Ketera. "As a result, the market for Supply Base Management solutions is rapidly accelerating as companies look for better ways to quicken user adoption, increase supplier participation and provide a systematic and scalable approach to improve business results quarter over quarter. By offering a comprehensive solution that provides consistent support for supplier-facing business processes that span the entire supplier lifecycle, Supplier Connect will solve these key challenges for our customers, ensuring predictable, high-quality ROI from their investments in procurement and extending Ketera's leadership firmly into the Supply Base Management space."

Key Features & Benefits

Supplier Connect is the first supplier enablement solution to feature the Ketera Trading Partner Directory that supports organizational hierarchy and allows buyer-specific targeting and invitation of trusted suppliers via web-based registration into a full-service, preferred supplier community. Supplier Connect also features Ketera Document Exchange to manage the electronic exchange of business documents with suppliers in their preferred format, eliminating transaction-fees related to translation and communication of business documents (e.g., purchase orders) to suppliers. In addition, the solution provides both buyer and supplier role-based dashboards with drill-down reporting supported by embedded Hyperion analytics.

Pricing and Availability

All solution components of Supplier Connect except the Trading Partner Directory are currently available in all geographies. Supplier Connect with the Trading Partner Directory will be generally available in December 2007. Pricing is available upon request.

 

Next Steps

“ We selected the Ketera eRFX tool because it is quick to implement, cost effective and drives efficiencies into the sourcing process.  Its portal design streamlines the communication, document traffic and analysis associated with conducting our RFPs.  The entire Ketera package has allowed us to run more events with fewer resources, leading to increased procurement efficiencies. ” Michael Feeney Vice President, Corporate Procurement for U.S. Bank

“ When using a hard copy or .pdf system to manage our contracts, Luminex would sometimes miss key milestones. With Ketera Contract management we now have full contract compliance and sufficient advanced warning to take the appropriate actions in a timely fashion.  The Ketera solution also has resulted in huge time savings for us; deciphering language in a contract used to take us hours, now it takes us minutes. ” David Mendoza Director, Strategic Planning and Business Development Group for Luminex

“ We recognized an opportunity to enhance our purchasing process with state–of–the–art technology – without the up–front investment and ongoing resource commitment associated with the implementation of enterprise software. ” Mitch Platt VP Contract Services for Con–way

“ Ketera′s on demand solution is ahead of the competition – we will be able to implement the solution in weeks and we never have to worry about taking the system down to install upgrades or make changes. ” Steve Kenny Vice President Risk Management and General Services for Columbia Credit Union

“ From the beginning, Ketera explained everything to us, both from the technical and sales side. They′ve accommodated our needs and have been very helpful and responsive. ” Michael Kapeles Senior Supply Manager for Cabot Microelectronics

“ Not only does Ketera provide innovative solutions for spend management, they also offer high quality professional services that let you get the most from their solutions. Working with Ketera is like a breath of fresh air. ” Nick Walker Procurement Manager for BTP

“ Ketera's new solution is really an amazing innovation that will revolutionize the purchasing industry. ” Dian Trosclair VP of Supply Chain Management for ServiceMaster

“ Using Ketera, we've lowered our costs and improved our compliance with negotiated corporate contracts. By buying on contract, we typically see a ten percent reduction in cost. ” Jim Cebula Director of Global Purchasing for Kennametal

Company
Buyers
Suppliers