BBCN Announces World's First Online Exchange for Auto Dealerships
16 December 1999
BBCN Announces World's First Online Exchange for Auto Dealerships; Experts Plan to Change Industry With B2BE Site, Boosting Profits for Dealers And Suppliers
HOUSTON, Dec. 16 -- BBCN.com will launch an automotive
industry first -- an Internet-based marketplace allowing competitive
purchasing between auto dealerships and their vendors -- on January 22, 2000
at the National Automobile Dealers Association conference in Orlando, Fla.,
company officials announced today. The net market maker will serve the
$59 billion automotive dealership purchase market with a real-time online
system that provides new efficiencies and expense reduction.
"BBCN will dramatically change the way car dealerships purchase supplies,"
says Robert Dowlearn, CEO of BBCN. "Our system offers the industry a means
for tackling increasingly narrow profit margins, an issue for both private and
publicly held operations. We have already attracted the attention and
investment of some of the nation's most powerful mega-dealers, including Los-
Angeles-based Bert Boeckmann, the world's largest retailer of Fords."
By subscribing to the new e-procurement site, dealers will be able to
purchase a broad range of products, goods and services. Based on specific
category identifications, the site will electronically notify suppliers of a
dealer's purchase inquiry. Suppliers can then electronically submit a
response. Dealers may submit inquiries either with their full identity or
anonymously.
"As one of the first investors in BBCN, I believe the concept is very
solid," says John Anderson, the top Chevrolet dealer in California, located in
the San Francisco Bay area. "It makes sense -- participating dealers supply a
list of their vendors to BBCN when they sign up for the service, so those
suppliers will get a chance to bid like everyone else, and I assume that as
long as their bids are in the ball park, the value of a good service
relationship will weight things in their favor. At least the dealer will know
where the bottom line is and be able to make a best value judgement. In
short, it will keep them honest."
Early forecasts by Forrester Research indicated that business-to-business
spending in 1999 was to be more than $43 billion. While retail spending on
the Web is projected to reach $108 billion by the year 2003, business-to-
business spending is expected to reach $1.3 trillion dollars by that time.
According to Les Hall, executive vice president for BBCN, the Web site will
offer much more than just a purchasing channel. "There are several facets to
BBCN," says Hall. "In addition to bidding for supplies, we will offer
auctions for equipment, parts and supplies, plus a forum where dealers can buy
and sell used equipment.
"In the future, our site will be the definitive marketplace where dealers
do business," he adds. "Using BBCN will give dealers the advantage -- buying
both time and profit."
About BBCN
BBCN is an Internet-based marketplace allowing for competitive purchasing
to take place between automotive dealerships and their vendors. BBCN provides
a secure, efficient and centralized online process designed to measurably
reduce expenses and increase net profits for all participants. At BBCN, users
may harness the power of a vertical portal that effectively matches buyers and
sellers within the automotive dealership industry. For more information, call
1-877-222-6266 or visit http://www.bbcn.com.
CONTACT: Michele Luke of Pierpont Communications, 713-627-2223,
ext. 118, or email, mdluke@piercom.com, for BBCN.com.