The companies all found themselves working independently on similar ventures and joined together to help speed implementation of an open neutral marketplace that would benefit the entire industry. That is not contemplated at this time, although that is a possibility in the future. Everyone in the industry is encouraged to join the marketplace. While we re optimistic there will be material savings, and we ve seen the public estimates for the proposed auto, airline and other procurement marketplaces, we ll not give estimates until we re confident the numbers are achievable. Buyers will certainly benefit from the cost savings, but suppliers will also reduce costs through lower transaction and administrative costs and reduced inventory needs.
Suppliers also get access to a much broader global customer base.
The least efficient and least value-added points of the supply chain will obviously be the most severely impacted. As we develop the technology platform we will be working closely with suppliers to get their information online in the common catalogue. We ll be describing that process in more detail as we move along in building the marketplace. Standardization means industry specs for certain types of common products where it makes sense for the buyers and suppliers. Obviously, many products will continue to need to be highly specialized and unique.