IHS Engineering Announces Alliance With PartNET
31 August 1999
IHS Engineering Announces Alliance With PartNET to Provide E-Commerce Capability to Online Parts Database
Universal Parts Center now Offers Vendors Easy, Inexpensive E-Commerce Avenue While Users Enjoy Greatly Streamlined ProcurementAbilities
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--Aug. 30, 1999--IHS Engineering, the leading engineering and technical information publisher, today announced it has formed an alliance with PartNET, a provider of e-commerce solutions. IHS has incorporated PartNET's Distributed Internet Commerce(TM) technology into its Universal Parts Center (UPC) online database of mechanical and electronic parts information.
The addition of PartNET's technology means that users of UPC, the world's largest online parts database, will be able to purchase directly from manufacturers and distributors any of the database's over 50 million commercial and government parts. PartNET utilizes convenient "shopping cart" technology, allowing UPC users to select numerous parts from multiple suppliers and purchase them in one transaction. Users can make online price comparisons between similar parts and get up-to-the-minute pricing information from participating vendors. This will save engineers and purchasing professionals valuable time and effort.
Manufacturers and distributors adding their parts to UPC will benefit from increased e-commerce capabilities for no additional charge beyond IHS's standard UPC inclusion rate ($2,500 for up to 50,000 parts). IHS can also provide a portal to manufacturers' and distributors' Web sites to enable e-commerce capability and provide up-to-date pricing information through UPC.
"E-commerce will quickly become the new standard buying tool for purchasing and procurement professionals worldwide. UPC provides the perfect venue for PartNET's electronic commerce technology," said Bob Wing, CEO and president of IHS Engineering. "Purchasing and engineering professionals will be able to locate, and then purchase parts from multiple manufacturers around the world in one online location. Vendors are also able to cost-effectively expand their business opportunities by making their products easier to purchase."
Customers can access UPC for free at www.ihsparts.com, or by linking from one of IHS's other database products. IHS charges vendors a small order transaction fee for parts purchased through UPC. This cost is offset by the fact that users bypass time-consuming searches through multiple paper catalogs or manufacturer's Web sites, which often turn up dead ends or incomplete information.
PartNET's Distributed Internet Commerce technology, known as eCommerce(TM), has also been used by the United States Department of Defense in the construction of its online procurement site.
"We tailor our eCommerce technology to meet the needs of large supply distribution organizations," said Don Brown, CEO of PartNET. "With PartNET's eCommerce products, catalog information from any number of suppliers, anywhere on the Internet, can be unified into a single virtual catalog."
Since UPC's inception, engineers and purchasing professionals have been able to search it by part number, partial part number, keyword or manufacturer name, and find information on pricing, inventory status, product descriptions and component fit, form and function. Manufacturers that include their product information can reach more than 1 million UPC users worldwide. Vendors can also include links from the UPC homepage that lead directly to their corporate Web sites, or take advantage of banner advertising opportunities.
About PartNET
PartNET is a privately held software development company that specializes in Distributed Internet Commerce(TM) for large buyers and sellers. PartNET eCommerce(TM) catalogs allow multiple suppliers to be presented through a single Web address.
About IHS Engineering
Englewood, Colo.-based IHS Engineering, an IHS Group company, is the worldwide leader for engineering, technical and regulatory information published in a variety of media, from CD-ROM to the Internet and intranet. IHS Group is a leading international publisher of information databases, with annual sales of approximately $450 million. Its companies serve the vital information needs of customers across the world's technical, business and professional sectors. IHS Group employs over 3,200 people worldwide.
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