Lucent Technologies Selects Alliente for Global E-Procurement Services - Brief Article

Information Superhighways Newsletter, Oct, 2000

Lucent Technologies and Alliente Inc., a provider of e-procurement solutions for global businesses, announced that they are forming a strategic relationship to manage Lucent's indirect e-procurement services.

As part of the agreement, Lucent will utilize Alliente's end-to-end, automated procurement services to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of purchasing indirect goods, which include office supplies and furniture, travel services, and power and energy supplies.

As a cornerstone customer, Lucent will receive a minority stake in privately-held Alliente. Lucent will also transfer approximately 60 employees with extensive procurement and travel services experience to Alliente. These professionals will augment Alliente's workforce to support customer service, procurement management, and supplier relationships.

"Lucent's work with Alliente is another way the company is streamlining its operations and concentrating its resources on what it does best -- building the broadband and mobile Internet," said Jose Mejia, Lucent's chief supply officer. "With this agreement, we are also fostering and investing in an exciting new e-commerce application that will help drive the demand for next-generation broadband networks."

Alliente uses Web-based applications to provide customized e-procurement services, including implementation, consulting, catalog order management, non-catalog procurement, supplier management and e-enablement. and payment services. With these activities managed by Alliente, Lucent will be able to focus more resources on strategically delivering products and systems to best serve their customers.

Lucent has been taking an aggressive approach to its on-line procurement and supply chain initiatives in the last year, including using an Ariba technology platform. Because Alliente has deep experience working with Ariba and servicing the procurement requirements of large, global companies, the transition of c-procurement services is expected to be seamless. For Alliente, the agreement adds another g]obal technology leader to its customer list and builds the company's capacity to effectively manage the best outcome for their customers in significant service areas, such as global corporate travel.