Software provides global sourcing solution.
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Press Release Summary:
Frictionless® Sourcing v3.0 provides enterprise-wide strategic sourcing and supplier management. Product offers integration APIs, contract spend tracking, legal contract generation, and supplier management portal. In addition to Sourcing Optimizer module, product offers Workflow, Demand Aggregation, Bill of Material, and Spend Analysis modules. RFQuick module runs bidding events from desktop while providing complete visibility to Purchasing organization.
Original Press Release:
Frictionless Commerce Extends Product Leadership In Enterprise Sourcing: Frictionless Sourcing 3.0 Contains Major Platform Enhancements and Five New Advanced Modules
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - March 3, 2003 - Frictionless Commerce, the enterprise sourcing leader, today announced a major release of its Frictionless® Sourcing platform. Driven by customer requirements, Frictionless Sourcing 3.0 includes numerous "must have" platform enhancements for an enterprise-wide approach to strategic sourcing and supplier management including: globalization, integration APIs, contract spend tracking, legal contract generation, and a supplier management portal. Adding to its existing Sourcing Optimizer module, Frictionless Commerce also announced five new, advanced modules: Workflow, Demand Aggregation, BOM (Bill of Material), RFQuick and Spend Analysis.
"What separates Frictionless from its competitors is its ability to combine best-in-class usability and comprehensive functionality--all geared toward automating the management of a global sourcing program itself, not just basic e-sourcing workflows. For example, Frictionless Sourcing 3.0 contains platform enhancements such as richer supplier portal functionality, full "multi- multi-" globalization support ...and unsurpassed integration to Microsoft Office products," said Pierre Mitchell, vice president and research fellow, AMR Research, in the Alert entitled Frictionless Sourcing 3.0: How to Automate a Global Sourcing Program dated February 28, 2003. "Frictionless has done a great job with Frictionless Sourcing 3.0, and any firm looking for a comprehensive e-sourcing suite has to put Frictionless on its short list-period."
With this release, Frictionless adds to its already significant list of recognized firsts:
-- The first solution built from the ground up to support the entire strategic sourcing and supplier management process
-- The first platform successfully deployed behind Fortune 500 companies' firewalls
-- The first to deliver an easy to use, personalized workbench that places all essential sourcing tools and information at users' fingertips
Key Platform Advancements
Globalization - THE FIRST global sourcing platform. Thus far, only stand-alone auction tools had been translated into multiple languages. With Frictionless Sourcing, each user views their native language, currency, time zone, and date/time formatting seamlessly across all modules of the system. A leading investment bank will be the first to utilize this functionality, deploying in the US, UK, Germany and Japan in the first half of 2003.
Integration APIs - Provides built-in integrations to both desktop applications (MS Excel, MS Project, MS Word, MS Outlook) and published APIs for back-end systems (Ariba, SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and others).
Contract Spend Tracking and Legal Contract Generation - Offers the ability to create and manage the legal contract and track actual PO or invoice spend against contract line item prices to capture volume-based discounts.
Supplier Management Portal - Enables multiple, diverse supplier interactions that go beyond basic negotiation. Through this portal, companies can share scorecard performance, allow suppliers to maintain their own contact and product records, enable diversity outreach programs, and manage contracts.
"Frictionless Sourcing 3.0 provides the capability to deploy globally, collaborate fully and manage completely. For the first time, companies can effectively manage and monitor a global organization, using data from across the enterprise. Our customer-focused product development process has resulted in functionality that is well ahead of the market," said Stephen Sharp, president and CEO, Frictionless Commerce.
Highlights of New Advanced Modules
Workflow - A FLEXIBLE workflow solution that can be tied to any desired trigger event throughout the platform. Workflow design is made easy through a simple graphical user interface.
Demand Aggregation - Provides automation of the requirements specification and quantity forecasting process from multiple business stakeholders/ divisions.
Bill of Material (BOM) - Offers the ability to import, manage and export BOMs as part of a complete sourcing platform. Also included is the ability to track savings against the target price, to ensure product profitability.
RFQuick - THE FIRST to allow business stakeholders to run rapid bidding events from their desktops with approved vendors and templates while providing complete visibility to the Purchasing organization. This is a powerful and unique capability that allows companies to increase spend under management and capture additional savings in project-based categories such as print and temp labor.
Spend Analysis - Advanced transformation, loading and reporting capability built into a sourcing platform. New enhancements include: synonym mapping, on-the-fly error correction, and pivot tables for analysis.
"No other solution provider can claim our level of experience in successful enterprise sourcing deployments. Frictionless has the most mature product currently in the market. Companies looking for an enterprise sourcing solution should challenge every vendor to demonstrate these capabilities with live software," said Marc Osofsky, vice president of Marketing and Business Development, Frictionless Commerce.
About Frictionless Commerce
Frictionless® Commerce is a privately held, enterprise software company based in Cambridge, Mass. Frictionless delivers enterprise software applications that enable large purchasing organizations to achieve world-class performance. Frictionless® Sourcing software is a complete enterprise sourcing platform that minimizes the total cost of acquisition for all direct and indirect materials, services and capital equipment. Customers include: British Airways, MetLife, CIGNA, John Hancock Financial Services, Philip Morris U.S.A. and CompAir UK Ltd. For more information, contact Frictionless Commerce at (617) 495-0180 or visit www.frictionless.com.
Carolyn Kirk
Frictionless Commerce
(617) 495-0180 x341
ckirk@frictionless.com
Jeff Weinshenker
Miller Consulting Group
(617) 262-1800 ext. 229
jeff@millergrp.com
