Zycus' Automated UNSPSC Classification Solution Powers P&O's Enterprise Spend Analysis Initiative
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Sept. 30, 2002--AutoClass, Zycus' AI Based Classifier to Help P&O In Tracking Spend
and Rationalizing Purchasing Costs Through Granular Spend
Classification
Zycus, the leader in Artificial Intelligence driven automated spend analysis and product content management solutions, today announced that P&O, the international logistics and transport company, has selected Zycus for detailed classification of its procurement data into UNSPSC, the global product and services classification standard. Zycus' automated UNSPSC classification and content enrichment solutions will enable P&O to get accurate top-down as well as bottom-up views of its spend landscape, thus helping identify opportunities for optimizing its procurement activities.
Currently deployed at P&O Ferries in the UK, which makes annual purchases of about GBP 600 million on wide range of products and services, Zycus' UNSPSC classification solution will help leverage purchasing efficiencies across the enterprise. UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code), a worldwide classification system developed in 1998 by the United Nations and Dun & Bradstreet, is an open, global electronic commerce standard that provides a logical framework for classifying goods and services. The hierarchical structure of UNSPSC allows drilling down and rolling up, which is integral for tactical and strategic spend analysis. It is a global standard and freely available to the public with no copyright protection issues -- which has led to its widespread adoption all around the world.
Zycus' AutoClass, the AI based fully automated UNSPSC classifier, would power P&O's spend classification initiative. Highly accurate (greater than 90%), AutoClass works at the remarkable speed of more than 50,000 transaction records or SKUs per hour per machine, replacing tedious manual coding while improving costs and accuracy. It's built-in UNSPSC libraries and embedded domain intelligence minimizes ramp-up time, and a flexible mapping schema ensures easy mapping of proprietary schemas with UNSPSC. AutoClass is language independent, and has built in support for languages like French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese, which helps companies leverage the benefits of UNSPSC on a global scale.
"We are delighted to partner P&O in its strategic sourcing initiative. P&O has been one of the early adopters of cutting edge technology in Europe for improving their business processes, and Zycus' spend classification solution will help P&O considerably increase the ROI from its group-wide purchasing initiative," said Aatish Dedhia, CEO, Zycus Inc. "Europe is a key focus market for Zycus. We are committed to this region and will go all out to ensure that we meet and exceed the expectations of P&O and our other European clients," he added.
According to Mr. Nick Holness, Head of Fuel Procurement, P&O, "After a lengthy process of evaluation, Zycus was able to meet our requirements for product coding both in terms of performance criteria and cost effectiveness."
ABOUT P&O
P&O is a major international logistics and transport company. Its fastest growing business is the development of container ports around the world. P&O provides contract and cold logistics services internationally and owns half of P&O Nedlloyd, the world's second largest container shipping line. It is the leading ferry operator in the UK, with a fleet of 48 vessels. P&O also operates commercial vehicles through P&O Trans European and other subsidiaries. For more information about P&O, visit www.pogroup.com
ABOUT ZYCUS:
Zycus is a leading provider of AI based automated Spend Analysis and Product Content Management solutions for Global 2000 companies. Zycus' automated spend analysis solution accelerates and sustains the savings discovery process by automating pain points such as spend data normalization/rationalization and granular classification, thus ensuring ongoing analysis and tracking of enterprise spend. Zycus' product content management solutions include enterprise catalog management systems and outsourced catalog enrichment services. All Zycus solutions have comprehensive support for UNSPSC, the global classification standard. For more information about Zycus, visit www.zycus.com.