Electronic trade platform joins world market
By Kamil Tchorek
Marketplanet, the largest e-purchasing platform in Poland and Central Europe, has joined the largest business-to-business alliance of electronic trading networks in the world, the Open Network for Commerce Exchange (ONCE). The agreement is good news for direct inward investors and logistics-heavy industries, who can turn to Marketplanet for further reductions of supply cost and time.
Marketplanet is operated by Otwarty Rynek Elektroniczy SA (ORE), which is a member of the Telekomunikacja Group. Its flagship project is the provision of e-procurement systems for TPSA, creating a secure environment with electronic signaturing. The affiliation with ONCE enables Marketplanet to implement previously unconsidered business models, based on the experience of other members worldwide.
"The real potential of this agreement is the knowledge that can be exchanged," says Konrad Makomaski, CEO of ORE. "Thanks to the sharing of information with other ONCE members from all over the world, we can see how to re-structure our business model, for example by increasing the responsibilities of lower management."
Kerry Lamson, CEO of ONCE, looks to the expansion with Marketplanet as a way of boosting international trade. "As a global organization and alliance of exchanges, it is extremely valuable to include the companies and products that MarketPlanet represents in our global buying community. The ONCE alliance of member companies continues to connect the key electronic trading hubs of the world - such as MarketPlanet - to allow buyers and suppliers to Connect ONCE to conduct business with any company anywhere."
In Poland, the signatories of the agreement intend it as a benefit for Polish exporters and importers alike. "For Poles, we can serve a coordinating role for goods producers," says Makomaski. "At present, they are simply not visible to the big consumers of America and Western Europe; whereas in some sectors of many countries, e-commerce is already standard. Firms who are used to e-commerce would like to have what they are accustomed to when they come to Poland."
Electronic purchasing is used extensively in the worldwide aerospace industry. Competitors such as Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems have cooperated to create exostar.com, where competing suppliers and competing customers are able to list and realize their respective provisions and needs. The benefit for all parties is an unprecedented reduction of costs and a reduction of ordering time.
Makomaski hopes that the way in which they can cut down clients' paperwork and meetings will also bring Polish e-commerce a reputation for anti-corruption. Quantity and price, he argues, can be accounted for in a more efficient way thanks to his product: fewer middlemen (hopefully) means fewer opportunities for corporate crime. "Of course, the big deals and initial negotiations between purchasers and suppliers will always need to be face-to-face. But knowing when an order of thousands of printer toners will be required, or new switchboards for that matter, is something that e-commerce can do better than personnel."
