SupplyOn challenges Covisint in U.S - The Supply Side - Brief Article

Automotive Industries,  April, 2002  by Andrea Wielgat

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North American Tier 2 and 3 suppliers overwhelmed by the big wand of electronic marketplaces now have another option in dealing with customers.

SupplyOn -- German suppliers' answer to Covisint and online auctions -- recently opened its first North American office. The Detroit-based staff will work with suppliers located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The company, based in Hillbergmoos, Germany, is a one-stop internet solution for purchasing, selling, logistics and development for European suppliers. It is a platform run by suppliers for suppliers, says SupplyOn.

"SupplyOn really focuses on the integration of the Tier One suppliers--the system suppliers -- and the chain behind that The Tier 2,3s and so on," says John Sobeck, vice president global eBusiness and total quality management for ZF Friedrichshafen AG, one of SupplyOn's founding members and equity holders. The others include Robert Bosch GmbH, Continental AG, SAP AG and INA-Holding Schaeffler KG. Siemens VDO Automotive AG joined in 2001.

Created in late 2000 by several German Tier One suppliers who continue to hold equity in the company, SupplyOn has topped 1,000 transactions and now has 3,000 registered users.

Much like Covisint, SupplyOn is a portal for electronic requests for quotations, possible auctions and logistics management It also has a supplier directory and in the future will provide engineering functions to facilitate cross-company vehicle component development

But unlike Covisint, SupplyOn is not bundling volume or driving down prices, Sobeck explains. "We're really not driving the marketplace on our own," he says. Instead SupplyOn focuses on the quotation process and helping suppliers increase business.

"For the Tier 2 or Tier 3 they have a better opportunity to present their capability," Sobeck says. It also helps suppliers avoid making large IT investments to keep up with advancing technology.

"We provide the whole application," Sobeck says. "The whole software via the internet All they need is access to the internet."

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