USAutoNews.com Forms a Strategic Supplier Partnership With PurchasePro.com To Create a Premier 'E-Marketplace' for the Automotive Industry
22 August 2000
USAutoNews.com Forms a Strategic Supplier Partnership With PurchasePro.com To Create a Premier 'E-Marketplace' for the Automotive Industry
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - USAutoNews.com, a premier automotive industry
portal, today announced that it will create a universal dealer e-marketplace for
the sale and distribution of products and services for the automotive industry
powered by PurchasePro.com , a leader in browser-based, business-to-business e-
commerce solutions.
Through its industry-specific Internet portal and e-commerce hub,
USAutoNews.com will create three exchanges and two marketplaces covering B2B
and B2C sales and distribution of dealer maintenance, repair and operating
(MRO) products, cars, financing, warranties, and aftermarket parts.
USAutoNews.com currently lists over 22,000 links to automotive websites and
provides aggregated news from over 60 sources. Further, the USAutoNews.com
related website, DealerWarranties.com, provides consumers with extended
warranties that are sold and serviced by dealers.
Implementation of PurchasePro.com's e-MarketMaker solution will allow
USAutoNews.com members and their customers to receive better pricing,
streamline their ordering process, expand their selection of suppliers, use
single-checkout technology when purchasing from multiple vendors and
communicate with over 25,000 businesses currently participating in the
PurchasePro.com global network.
"USAutoNews.com is dedicated to creating fast and efficient solutions for
automotive dealers, trade members and their customers," said Robert J.
Zwerling, chairman and chief executive officer of USAutoNews.com. "Our
e-commerce solution will allow the automotive industry and its customer base
to buy and sell a wide range of products and services through the dealer. Our
focus is to use the Internet to facilitate commerce between the dealer and
consumer rather than disintermediate the dealer as some other Internet models
have attempted."
"Our e-MarketMaker solution enables us to power e-commerce in new vertical
industries while continuing to add to our critical mass of buyers and
suppliers on the PurchasePro.com global marketplace," said Charles Johnson,
Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of PurchasePro.com. "This seamless
marketplace creates a dynamic exchange-to-exchange opportunity, allowing new
buyers and suppliers to facilitate e-commerce across diverse industry
segments."
The agreement to develop and operate a premier universal automotive
industry exchange will create three separate product and service exchanges and
a vehicle service contract and dealer car marketplace within the
USAutoNews.com portal. The specific exchanges under development include an
aftermarket products exchange, an MRO non-factory products exchange and an
industry shopper exchange. The vehicle service contract marketplace,
DealerWarranties.com, will facilitate increased dealer sales of vehicle
service contracts, while the AtomicAuto.com marketplace will offer dealer's
cars, warranties and financing to consumers. As a value-added benefit, the
automotive industry exchange will also be available to PurchasePro.com's
existing and future strategic alliance partners.
About USAutoNews.com
USAutoNews.com is the first and largest Internet automotive portal
providing communications and e-commerce business to automotive dealers and
trade in the $1 trillion automotive industry. The company is focused to
utilize the Internet to assist dealers to sell more cars, parts, services and
warranties and to lower their operating costs. The USAutoNews.com portal
currently has links to over 22,000 automotive websites and aggregates news
from over 60 news sources. The DealerWarranties.com site of USAutoNews.com
generates extended warranty prospects for dealer and includes an MRO
non-factory product exchange. Catalyst Capital, A Newport Beach, Calif.-based
venture management firm that services emerging companies in the Internet,
software and digital technology areas, manages USAutoNews.com.
About PurchasePro.com
PurchasePro.com, a leader in Internet business-to-business e-commerce,
operates the PurchasePro.com exchange encompassing more than 25,000 businesses
and powers approximately 160 private marketplaces with its highly scalable,
browser-based e-commerce engine. The PurchasePro.com exchange and the private
marketplaces employing its technology make it easy for businesses of all sizes
to buy and sell a wide range of products and services. PurchasePro.com
enables businesses to compete more efficiently by meaningfully reducing
procurement costs and greatly increasing employee productivity.
PurchasePro.com offers the fastest e-marketplace solutions in the industry
designed for important market segments -- e-Procurement for corporate
procurement needs, v-Distributor for online distributors, and e-MarketMaker
for Internet market makers.
A key element of PurchasePro.com's strategy is to develop sales and
marketing relationships with industry leaders including AOL, Hilton, Office
Depot Inc. and Sprint Corp. The company provides extensive support and
training programs.