August 14, 2000

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I2 Casts Wider Net Over Online Marketplaces

Network API lets marketplaces that don't use i2 technology integrate with i2-driven exchanges

By Jennifer Maselli

More on i2:

TechWeb Finance I2 Updates Marketplace Integration Software (8/9/00) TechWeb WorldWide Retail Exchange Picks IBM, Ariba, i2 (7/14/00)

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2 Technologies Inc. last week revealed the latest enhancements to its TradeMatrix platform. Key among the new features is the TradeMatrix Network API, which allows marketplaces that don't use i2's technology to integrate with i2-driven exchanges.

Also new is the Supplier Network. Suppliers publish all their data to i2's TradeMatrix, says Shridhar Mittal, VP of E-business solutions at i2, and the system automatically publishes the data to all supplier-specified exchanges that run TradeMatrix, as well as to non-i2 exchanges that use Network API.

So, if a hard-drive manufacturer wants to upload its information to PC marketplaces, for example, the manufacturer has to publish that data just once. Before, the manufacturer had to upload the information to each exchange separately.

Another new feature, Single Point of Registration, lets a company register with TradeMatrix once, then automatically receive registration with any marketplaces running TradeMatrix or Network API. I2 last week also launched FinancialSettlementMatrix.com, a new company formed by Citigroup, Enron Broadband Services, i2, S1, and Wells Fargo.

Pat Steele, head of technology and operations at the Worldwide Retail Exchange, applauds i2's moves. The online marketplace, which boasts over 17 retail members with a combined annual revenue of $450 billion, will use software and services from alliance partners Ariba, IBM, and i2 to launch its reverse-auction capability in two weeks. "We'll use these tools to facilitate more tightly integrated supply chains, which will help shape the trading environments of the future," Steele says.

But analysts warn that companies should be wary of participating in marketplaces if they don't have the right technology in place. George Gilbert, VP of E-business applications at the financial investment firm Credit Suisse First Boston, says businesses must have their enterprise resource planning and supply-chain management systems working efficiently before they can branch out to an online marketplace. Greg Brady, president of i2, agrees. "If you're still using faxes and phones to distribute information to your suppliers, then you're not ready to join a marketplace," he says.

Readiness to participate in an online exchange goes beyond technology. Says Gilbert, "Cultural changes are important. Businesses must be willing to communicate over marketplaces before they'll work."

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