TradeMC to streamline procurement for customers globally
Royal Bank of Canada today announced it has joined IBM and Fluor
Corporation in the creation of a global electronic procurement market
that will allow businesses worldwide to purchase supplies and capital
goods over the Internet. Royal Bank will acquire an equity stake in the
new venture, to be known as TradeMC, and has been chosen the company's
preferred global provider of Internet-based financial services.
Initial plans call for TradeMC to build a superhorizontal e-market
serving the business-to-business (B2B) segment, providing complete
end-to-end procurement solutions through online collaboration. The
marketplace will focus on indirect supplies and capital goods -- like
office equipment and mobile phone services -- as well as strategically
sourced capital goods in the oil and gas, utilities, pharmaceuticals,
mining, manufacturing and consumer products industries among others. The
combined spend of TradeMC members, coupled with streamlined and more
targeted ordering processes will result in reduced procurement costs for
both members and their customers.
As part of the agreement, Royal Bank is committed to contributing
internal procurement spending to the marketplace. TradeMC plans to
create a Canadian-based operation for the purposes of attracting other
anchor members who will be offered equity in the company for a
commitment to bring spend to the marketplace and a cash investment.
"TradeMC represents a significant step in the evolution of Royal Bank's
B2B eBusiness services. It also solidifies our position as a global
provider of Internet-based financial services for business," said Tom
Wolf, senior vice-president, eBusiness. "Liquidity is the key to success
in an e- marketplace and TradeMC's ability to attract blue chip
companies with large spends represents a unique competitive advantage
over other marketplaces."
Electronic marketplaces act as Internet-based trading hubs allowing
buyers and sellers to identify and locate products, request proposals,
issue purchase orders and track spending behavior. TradeMC will operate
globally and allow customers of the member companies to realize cost
savings from the combined large volume spend. Some customers will also
be able to sell their goods to the global TradeMC membership. Royal Bank
is the preferred financial services provider for TradeMC and will
provide services to the marketplace including payments, letters of
credit and foreign exchange.
"Unlike other marketplaces, TradeMC targets both capital and indirect
goods in the online procurement process to help members achieve even
greater cost savings," said John Hopkins, CEO and president of TradeMC.
"By combining Royal Bank's strong network of commercial and
institutional banking customers with the technology and supplier
relationships from our founders, we're positioned to capitalize on an
area untapped by other exchanges."
Royal Bank will leverage its existing investment with Mediagrif
Interactive Technologies focused on building industry-focused or
vertical marketplaces, enabling Royal Bank to offer a complete
e-procurement solution. In addition, Royal Bank will use its
correspondent banking relationships with other banks globally so they
can offer the service to their customers.
Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY - news news) is a diversified global
financial services group and a leading provider of personal and
commercial banking, investment and trust services, insurance, corporate
and investment banking, online banking and transaction-based services
including custody. An internationally recognized eBusiness financial
institution, Royal Bank has more than 1.1 million Canadian online
customers and direct investments with many innovative companies
including AOL Canada, TradeMC, Mediagrif Interactive, Sona Innovations
and CashEdge. Atlanta-based Security First Network Bank (SFNB) is a
member of Royal Bank Financial Group and is the world's first fully
transactional Internet bank. For more information, visit Royal Bank's
Web site at www.royalbank.com.
Founded by IBM (NYSE:IBM - news) and Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR -
news), TradeMC works with suppliers of capital and indirect goods and
services to eliminate supply chain inefficiencies, substantially
reducing the costs of these goods and services while maintaining product
quality and preserving supplier margins. TradeMC offers buyers access to
its price advantaged supplier relationships via the Internet and
traditional channels. TradeMC's technology offerings are designed to
expedite buyer implementations, minimize cost and facilitate full
buyer/supplier collaboration. The company is headquartered in Dallas,
Texas. For more information, please visit www.trademc.com.
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Media Contact: Royal Bank: Neil Parmenter, (416) 348-6246, neil.parmenter@royalbank.comTradeMC: Taylor L. Cole, (972) 333-4343, taylor.cole@prodigy.net