June 10, 2002

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Volume 80, Number 23
CENEAR 80 23 p. 22
ISSN 0009-2347

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E-BUSINESS
NEWS UPDATES FOR THE WORLD OF BUSINESS ONLINE

Services

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SciQuest has created new software to let pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms manage environmental, health, and safety information. The goal is to help research-focused organizations maintain safety and regulatory compliance by monitoring and controlling the chemicals they use. The software covers chemical handling and tracking, beginning with ordering and receiving and then following transfer, use, and disposal. "Many times, companies are faced with significant fines and other legal liabilities associated with the control and disposal of their chemical inventories," says Terry Graber, SciQuest senior product director. The software automates chemical management processes, notifying health and safety staff of chemicals being ordered, entering, and moving throughout a location. SciQuest also recently released version 4.4 of its enterprise reagent manager software for organizing laboratory chemical reporting, purchasing, and inventory control.

LabBook, Lextant, and Entara Technology will work together to create customizable knowledge management applications for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The planned software will help users to set up electronically enabled, collaborative scientific environments. A customizable environment would include document and process management tools while capturing scientists' workflow and information sharing. Lextant brings expertise in human behavior engineering, Entara offers consulting for technology deployment, and LabBook provides electronic laboratory technology.

SCO Logistics has signed contracts with Baker Petrolite and Ashta Chemicals for Web-based logistics services. SCO will give Baker Petrolite the ability to monitor and manage inbound and outbound shipments and receive management reports to help track the performance of its carriers and business. Beyond improving its operations, the company wants to avoid the "need for costly consultants for implementation and training," says Bruce W. Nied, Baker Petrolite's director of logistics. SCO will provide Ashta with request-for-quote services for bulk tank truck transportation.

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Consulting

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Nexant's Chem Systems consulting business has relaunched ChemSystems Online with the help of e-marketing and consulting firm the Turnaround Team. The new site includes a suite of trend analysis and forecasting tools, along with real-time information on capacity, supply/demand, and profitability in many chemical business areas. Chem Systems and Turnaround developed the online tools after assessing client needs and what others were offering. The first two tools released are "Industry Researcher" and "Market Analyst," designed to meet the information gathering needs of midlevel chemical industry managers. They will devise future additions to assist high-level industry managers with large-scale planning and decision-making. Turnaround is continuing to provide technical support.

Kamer Consulting Group is offering a collection of news coverage, industry information, and legislative updates concerning terrorism and its effect on chemical producers and related companies at its new Emerging Risk Center website. The consulting firm says it sees renewed interest in chemical plants, particularly in the potential risk they might pose in a terrorist threat. The firm believes "the challenge companies now face is twofold: dealing with the potential for terrorism and communicating their actions to key audiences." The site is intended to help companies stay on top of the issues, while Kamer also is touting its services in issues management, crisis communications, media relations, and community interaction.

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Marketplaces

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GE Global eXchange Services (GXS) says customers using its online reverse auction tools together have saved more than $200 million in the first quarter of 2002 through what it calls "price deflation"--or paying lower prices on materials and services. About 17 companies reaped these cost savings, including IMC Global and many of GE's own businesses. Customers individually had cost reductions ranging between 7 and 49%, compared with traditional procurement methods. GXS also supports request-for-quote and request-for-proposal services, plus transactions and materials planning capabilities.

Omnexus, the plastics industry online marketplace, has developed integration technology it dubs "UltraLite" in response to customer demand. Integration of company computer systems is desirable because it can automate the process of placing orders and obtaining related invoices and information. A nonintegrated buyer can face the problem of "dual entry," which means having to input order information into its own record-keeping system and then again into a supplier's system to place the order. The UltraLite technology avoids this problem, Omnexus says, but doesn't require the cost or time for full-scale integration. Buyers connect with plastics suppliers on the Omnexus site and have orders automatically sent and received.

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MOBILITY

Palm's m500 and m505 handheld computers are the first such personal digital assistants (PDAs) to be certified as free from the possibility of igniting flammables that may be present in petrochemical environments, the company reports. The certification--for class I, division II, groups A, B, C, D environments, which include most refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities--came from product safety testing firm Underwriters Laboratories. With this certification, software providers offering mobile applications can extend them to users in these industries. For example, Palm cites LPG Central, which provides wireless oil, gas, and propane tank management systems. Delivery drivers can now enter these areas with PDAs that they use for optimizing delivery sequences and routes, recording deliveries, and generating invoices. In these applications, PDAs are expected to cut customer costs by 20 to 30%, LPG Central says.

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