He says these vendors need to do major reengineering to provide the sophisticated data model, security, and participant role establishment found in Metaprise. But Atlas will face increased competition from Ariba Inc., which bought Agile Software Corp. and allied with Syncra Systems Inc. to boost its presence in the private marketplace space. At HP, the Jewel project has given the manufacturer another way to save money. But now, HP can act as a market-maker in plastic resins, briefly buying the raw products, then reselling them at the market price to the molding manufacturers. HP has more clout for collecting payment from the molders.
More efficient inventory can lead to larger profits for the lower-level suppliers.
Private marketplaces are gaining popularity, according to analysts. While Metaprise has made its name in private marketplaces, TradeMC, a public marketplace that primarily handles transactions in engineering-based capital goods such as pressure vessels, steel, valves, and pipe, is also deploying the software. Fluor is the first, but won't be the only, large buyer, Poage says. Selecting Metaprise was among TradeMC's first decisions because it allowed complex requests for proposals drawn from engineering designs done at customer locations. The most important thing was how to get the data out of the customer system.