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Volume 81, Number 15
CENEAR 81 15 p. 21
ISSN 0009-2347

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E-BUSINESS
NEWS UPDATES FOR THE WORLD OF BUSINESS ONLINE

Marketplaces

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ChemUnity has been acquired by procurement consulting firm Emeritor, based in the Netherlands. ChemUnity was started in 1999 as an online marketplace for truckload quantities of chemicals in Europe. It then shifted its focus two years ago to being a procurement e-marketplace and then later to selling electronic procurement software and consulting. Emeritor was founded in 1998 and serves clients in the public sector, services industry, manufacturing, and finance.

cc-Chemplorer and software provider SAP Hosting have agreed to cooperate in serving the online purchasing market. In 2001, cc-markets and chemplorer, both backed by major chemical companies, merged to form cc-Chemplorer as an online marketplace for purchasing goods and services related to maintenance, repairs, and operations (MRO) in the process industries. cc-Chemplorer will take over the business of SAP's emaro division and manage electronic catalogs and document exchange for existing customers. SAP will continue to operate purchasing systems for customers.

ChemConnect, which operates a chemicals e-marketplace, and ForestExpress, a transaction-processing network for the forest products and allied industries, are creating a link between their networks. Member companies on the two networks will be able to exchange business documents beginning this quarter. The link also will establish a bridge between documents that follow the Chem eStandards format and those using papiNet, the global standards initiative of the paper and forest products industry. Separately, Guaranty Clearing will offer clearing and settlement services for contracts transacted on ChemConnect's natural gas liquids commodity market, called Chalkboard. Initially focusing on ethane and propane, the services will involve forwards, swaps, and options contracts and will be available this summer.

Elemica, a hub for intercompany transactions in the chemical industry, is acquiring the technology and ongoing business of Optimum Logistics, a marine logistics software provider. The technology will be integrated into Elemica's current software platform to provide not only marine, but also ground, rail, and container applications for companies transacting on the hub. Elemica also intends to expand its network with logistics services providers, terminal and warehouse operators, and freight forwarders. A marine logistics offering is now available; ground-based logistics should be launched soon in Europe and North America. Last month, Elemica dissolved its link with Transwide, a European online logistics website. Since then, Transwide has let road carriers access its site at no cost.

• Dow Chemical's specialty monomers business has created a new website, http://www.dowspecialtymonomers.com, through which it hopes potential customers and collaborators will generate new uses for the older products divinylbenzene and vinylbenzene chloride.

• BASF Corp., the U.S. arm of BASF Group, is using software from EasyAsk as part of its internal corporate portal. The software will let employees use "natural-language queries" to easily and quickly locate and retrieve business information.

• Degussa has decided to use software from mySAP for deploying a customer relationship management system. During the pilot phase, 1,300 users in four business units will use a common template. A later companywide rollout is expected to serve 6,000 users in sales, marketing, and management. 

• Rohm and Haas has extended its contract with LRN (the Legal Knowledge Co.) for three years. LRN provides training and education on legal, compliance, and ethics issues. Rohm and Haas offers the training to employees, in part, through online courses. 

• Plateau Systems reports that nearly a dozen chemical manufacturers have implemented its learning management system. The online system helps companies comply with a variety of regulations by managing training, delivering materials, and tracking employee efforts. Customers include Akzo Nobel, Bayer, Degussa, and Lonza.

Chemical & Engineering News
Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society

E-Business Story CHEMICAL E-BUSINESS: ARE WE THERE YET? A couple of years after the tech boom, chemical firms strive to make e-business just business

Cover Story SYNTHETIC RUBBER North American producers struggle to hang on in some sectors, while other segments post modest gains

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