COMPANY
NEWS
October
28,
1999
Corporate
Express and Buhrmann Finalize
Merger; Create
Worldâs Largest Business-to-Business
Leader in Office Product Distribution
September 23, 1999
Award-Winning
Web Site Spawns European Versions
August 2, 1999
BT
Office Products Announces Alliances
with Oracle Corporation
and Requisite Technology
July 13, 1999
Buhrmann
NV to Acquire Corporate Express,
Inc.
May
6, 1999
BT
Office Products Teams With Sun-Netscape
Alliance to Provide High-Quality
Catalog to Corporate Buyers
March
3, 1999
BT
Office Products Partners with
Ariba Through Ariba.Com Network
Create
Worldâs Largest Business-to-Business
Leader in Office Product Distribution
BROOMFIELD,
Colo. (October 28, 1999) â Corporate
Express, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEXP),
a leading supplier of essential
office and computer products and
services to corporations that
value innovative procurement solutions,
today announced the completion
of its merger with Buhrmann NV
(AEX: BUHR), a leading international
business services and distribution
company, and the parent company
of BT Office Products. As a result
of the transaction, Corporate
Express, Inc. is now a wholly
owned subsidiary of Buhrmann,
and will cease trading under the
ticker symbol CEXP on Nasdaq today.
The
combination of these two premier
organizations creates the world's
leading business-to-business office
supply and services company, with
total revenues of approximately
$9 billion, 30,000 employees and
operations in 28 countries.
"We
are extremely pleased to complete
the acquisition of Corporate Express,
which creates significant growth
opportunities and strongly advances
our strategy to become the world's
premier office products distributor
in the business-to-business market,"
said Frans Koffrie, CEO of Buhrmann.
"By combining our two successful
office products businesses, we
become the logical choice for
large corporations looking to
consolidate their procurement
programs on a global basis."
"We
also extend a very warm welcome
to the Corporate Express employees,
who will be instrumental in our
successes going forward, and we
look forward to working closely
with Robert King, Richard Dubin,
Mark Hoffman and Gary Jacobs,
the new North American Executive
Board," added Koffrie.
Buhrmann's
worldwide headquarters will remain
in Amsterdam. Internationally,
Corporate Express' and Buhrmann's
European office products operations
have combined to form the leading
supplier of office products in
the European business-to-business
market. Janhein Pieterse has been
named President Office Products
Europe. Corporate Express Australia
will continue to operate as the
leading office products supplier
in the Australian business-to-business
market under the leadership of
Ted Nark, President of Corporate
Express Australia Pty Limited.
In
North America, BT Office Products
has combined with Corporate Express'
North American operations to form
the newly named entity, Corporate
Express, A Buhrmann Company. Robert
King, the former President and
CEO of Corporate Express, Inc.
has been named President and CEO
of this entity. Headquartered
in Broomfield, Colorado, Corporate
Express, A Buhrmann Company is
the leading business-to-business
supplier of office products and
services in North America, with
revenues of $4 billion and approximately
15,000 employees.
"Customers
will truly benefit from the merger
of Corporate Express and Buhrmann,"
said Robert King, President and
CEO of Corporate Express. "In
North America, we are now the
market leader in terms of revenues,
facilities, staffing and the breadth
of our product offering. Customers
have access to superior "one-stop"
procurement solutions. Our sales
force is supported by more locations
and distribution centers than
any other business-to-business
office supply company, with almost
double the number of delivery
vehicles of our nearest competitor,
state-of-the-art distribution
technology and a strong commitment
to quality."
"The
anticipated benefits of the merger
would not have been made possible
without the sound advice and dedicated
service of our Board of Directors,"
added King. "We appreciate
their efforts as well as the efforts
of the Company's professional
advisors, who worked diligently
to bring this transaction to fruition."
Under
the terms of the merger agreement,
Buhrmann will pay $9.70 cash for
each share of Corporate Express'
outstanding common stock. The
process for exchanging stock certificates
for the merger consideration of
$9.70 per share will begin immediately.
Buhrmann has also assumed $1.2
billion of Corporate Express'
debt, bringing the total transaction
value to approximately $2.3 billion.
Corporate
Express, A Buhrmann Company, is
the leading supplier of essential
office and computer products and
services to corporations that
value innovative procurement solutions.
The company was created through
the combining of Corporate Express,
Inc. and BT Office Products in
October 1999. Corporate Express,
A Buhrmann Company has revenues
of more than $4 billion and approximately
15,000 employees.
BT
Office Products Award-Winning
Web Site Spawns European Versions
Whatâs
in an URL? One US company has
exported its Web site as e-Commerce
heats up in Europe
DEERFIELD,
IL (September 23, 1999) â Just
as todayâs best-selling novels
are translated into various languages
for overseas readers, todayâs
successful American Web sites
are finding new audiences overseas
thanks to language and currency
translations. A case in point
is www.btopi.com,
the award-winning Web site for
BT Office Products (BT OP). This
Deerfield, IL-based distributor
of office products has converted
its proprietary electronic commerce
site into multiple European versions.
The European releases support
language, currency, catalog, and
customization, by market, for
Buhrmann Office Products Europe,
which, like BT Office Products,
operates under the umbrella of
Dutch parent company, Buhrmann,
N.V.
"The
US site brings flexible and robust,
content-rich e-Commerce capabilities
to our European operations,"
said Neil Callahan, Buhrmannâs
director of IT, "allowing
us to deliver Web-based efficiencies
to our customers." The first
European release was introduced
early this year by the Buhrmann
company Copygraphic PLC in the
United Kingdom (www.btope.com/uk),
and has been well-received by
customers there. September launches
are scheduled for several Buhrmann
companies in Germany and for Kuipers
in the Netherlands. By the beginning
of next year, Büro Austria (in
Austria) will also be running
its pilot of the Buhrmann Office
Products site.
In
February, 1996, BT Office Products
was one of the first national
office products distribution companies
to have a corporate Web site.
The Site was enhanced in 1997
with the introduction of the SyntraNetSM
Online Catalog & Order Management
system, designed to simplify business-to-business
ordering of office supplies. Flexible
order management and a rich-content
catalog, with full item descriptions
and crisp images, are accessed
in a highly-personalized and secured
"extranet" environment.
Today, the site continues to evolve,
interacting with customer enterprise
systems and Web-based systems
from leading e-procurement vendors,
to better support customer procurement
initiatives and help maximize
savings in office products purchasing.
"Our
Web-based capability has been
a great tool for developing technology-based
partnerships with our customers,
as we mutually pursue an evolving
vision of e-procurement,"
said Ron Bowman, eBusiness Marketing
Manager for BT OP. "Weâre
delighted that our European operating
companies can further leverage
that technology and experience
for our European and global customers."
The
BT OP Web site has been recognized
by the Web Marketing Association,
Windows Magazine, Business
Marketing magazine and the
Business Marketing Association.
Most recently, the site was named
again to Business Marketingâs
NetMarketing 200 list of top business
sites on the Web. The Company
has been named an InformationWeek
"Top Technology Innovator"
for its leadership in using contemporary
technologies to support customer
procurement initiatives.
BT
Office Products is a leading,
full-service distributor of office
products, business furniture,
computer supplies and promotional
products serving medium and large
businesses, government agencies
and institutions throughout the
United States and in Europe. For
more information, please visit
the BT Office Products Web site
at www.btopi.com.
BT
Office Products Announces Alliances
with Oracle Corporation and Requisite
Technology
New Partnerships Deliver Streamlined
Enterprise Procurement
DEERFIELD, IL (August 2, 1999)
â BT Office Products International,
Inc., a major corporate supplier
of office products, announced
today strategic partnerships with
Oracle Corporation and Requisite
Technology, Inc. to enhance enterprise
procurement.
"These
partnerships will enable us to
offer faster deployment of our
online office products catalog
for enterprise customers who use
electronic procurement systems,"
said Ron Bowman, e-Business Marketing
Manager for BT Office Products
(BT OP). "A quick response
time is key," he explained,
"to helping customers maximize
savings in office products procurement
and accelerate the return on their
technology investments."
By
becoming a member of the Oracle®
Supplier Network, BT OPâs
online catalog will be seamlessly
integrated with Oracle Internet
Procurement solutions. The resulting
"commerce-ready" application
will simplify catalog support
by providing the BT OP full-line
catalog directly to multiple Oracle
customers, by hosting it at Oracle
Exchange â a newly announced online
business-to-business marketplace,
or by providing direct Internet
access to BT OPâs award-winning
catalog at btopi.com, utilizing
Open Buying on the Internet (OBI)
guidelines.
Requisite
Technology, Inc., a leading provider
of electronic catalog technology
and content services, will give
enterprise purchasing systems
quick and easy access to the wealth
of product information, including
full item descriptions and crisp
product graphics, contained in
BT OPâs electronic catalog.
Requisiteâs content conversion,
classification and management
capabilities enable companies
with SAP, Oracle, and AMS-based
procurement systems to add the
desktop convenience of BT OPâs
catalog access for company-wide
purchasing.
"The
combination of BT Office Productsâ
content-rich product catalog with
our catalog technology provides
real value to customers,"
agreed Barbara Mowry, CEO of Requisite
Technology. "Together we
can bring customers the highest
levels of catalog content and
buyer management in eProcurement
systems â within weeks rather
than months."
BT
Office Products is a leading,
full-service distributor of office
products, business furniture,
computer supplies and promotional
products serving medium and large
businesses, government agencies
and institutions throughout the
United States and in Europe. The
company has been recognized as
an InformationWeek Top
Technology Innovator for its leadership
in using contemporary technologies
to support customer procurement
initiatives.
For more information, please visit
the BT Office Products Web site
at www.btopi.com.
#
# #
Oracle
is a registered trademark of Oracle
Corporation.
Buhrmann
NV to Acquire Corporate Express,
Inc.
July
13, 1999
SUMMARY
- USD
2.3 billion transaction to create
the world’s No. 1 business-to-business
office products distribution
company
- Combined
company will have revenues in
excess of USD 9 billion, with
operations in 28 countries and
30,000 employees
- More
than 90% of the US Fortune 500
companies will be amongst the
170,000 customers of the combined
office products business
- Synergies
expected to exceed USD 100 million
annually, the bulk of
which will be realised in the
year 2000
- Buhrmann
to pay USD 9.70 per share in
cash for Corporate Express common
stock
- Required
financing fully committed
- Apollo
Management L.P and Bain Capital,
Inc. to invest USD 350-USD 400
million in newly issued convertible
preference shares
- Public
issuance of EUR 300 million
of ordinary Buhrmann shares
expected to follow post closing
- Transaction
will be significantly earnings
enhancing, before amortisation
of goodwill, beginning in the
year 2000
Buhrmann
NV to Acquire Corporate Express,
Inc.
(July
13, 1999) AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
and BROOMFIELD, COLORADO –
Buhrmann NV (AEX: BUHR), the international
Dutch-based business services
and distribution company, and
Corporate Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CEXP), a leading supplier of essential
office and computer products and
services, today announced that
they have signed a definitive
agreement that will create the
world’s largest business-to-business
office products distribution company.
The combined company is expected
to have revenues in excess of
USD 9 billion, and operations
in 28 countries with approximately
30,000 employees.
Under
the terms of the merger agreement,
Buhrmann will pay USD 9.70 per
share in cash, subject to adjustment
as described below, for all outstanding
shares of Corporate Express common
stock, valued at approximately
USD 1.1 billion. The USD 9.70
purchase price represents a 41.7%
premium over the USD 6.84 average
closing price of Corporate Express
common stock for the 30-trading
day period ended 12 July 1999.
As of yesterday’s close of
business, Corporate Express’
common stock price was USD 8.56.
Buhrmann will also refinance approximately
USD 1.2 billion of Corporate Express
debt, net of certain expected
asset sale proceeds, for a total
transaction value of approximately
USD 2.3 billion.
As
a result of the transaction, Corporate
Express will become a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Buhrmann. The transaction
has been recommended by the Board
of Directors of both Buhrmann
and Corporate Express.
SIGNIFICANT
STRATEGIC BENEFITS
The
combination of Buhrmann and Corporate
Express results in substantial
strategic advantages, including:
- significantly
enhancing Buhrmann’s position
as a leading international business
service and distribution company;
- creating
the world’s number one
office products company in the
business-to-business market,
with leading market positions
in North America, Europe and
Australia;
- combining
two experienced management teams
with valuable knowledge and
industry expertise;
- realizing
substantial cost savings and
synergies, which are expected
to be USD 100 million
annually, phased in over 3 years;
and
- providing
an expanded platform for pan-Atlantic
growth in the office products
and services sector.
This
transaction is expected to be
significantly earnings enhancing
on a fully diluted basis, before
amortisation of goodwill, beginning
in the year 2000.
"The
acquisition of Corporate Express
strongly advances Buhrmann’s
strategy to become the world’s
premier office products distributor
in the business-to-business market,
and we expect that it will create
significant value for our shareholders,"
said Frans Koffrie, CEO of Buhrmann.
"Office products will be
our largest business, complemented
by our substantial European paper
merchanting activities and successful
graphic systems business. We will
capitalize on the innovative sales
and distribution strengths of
the two companies, while expanding
our rapidly growing e-commerce
business and providing world-class
customer service and quality."
"This
transaction strengthens Corporate
Express’ position as a leading
provider of essential office and
computer products and services,
and is an excellent opportunity
for our shareholders, customers,
employees and suppliers,"
said Robert King, President and
CEO of Corporate Express. "Not
only does the transaction provide
value to our shareholders, it
also clearly positions the combined
company as the largest business-to-
business office products distributor
in North America, Europe and Australia.
Together, we will have a customer
base of approximately 170,000
customers, including more than
90% of the US Fortune 500 companies."
MANAGEMENT
AND ORGANISATION
The
corporate headquarters of the
combined company will be in Amsterdam.
Buhrmann’s Executive Board
will remain unchanged and is comprised
of Frans Koffrie (Chairman) and
George Dean. As recently announced,
Floris Waller will join the company
as CFO on 1 September 1999.
The
acquisition will result in the
merger of Buhrmann’s North
American business, which operates
as BT Office Products, with Corporate
Express’ North American activities.
This combined operation will be
headquartered in Broomfield (Denver),
Colorado. Corporate Express’
European operations in Germany,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Switzerland, and the UK will be
combined with Buhrmann’s
Office Products Europe Division
and will be headquartered in Amsterdam.
Robert
King, President and CEO of Corporate
Express, will be named President
and CEO of the combined North
American business group. An Executive
Committee for the North American
business group will be created
and will include Robert King,
together with Richard Dubin, current
President of BT Office Products
North America, Mark Hoffman, current
President of Corporate Express
North American operations, and
Gary Jacobs, current Executive
Vice President and CFO of Corporate
Express, each of whom will be
named an Executive Vice President
of the combined North American
group.
Buhrmann’s
Office Products Europe Division
will continue under the leadership
of Janhein Pieterse, President
Office Products Europe. Tom Frank,
Corporate Express President of
International Operations, will
report to Janhein Pieterse. Ted
Nark, President of Corporate Express
Australia Pty Limited, will continue
to manage the Company’s Australian
and New Zealand operations.
FINANCING
Buhrmann
has a commitment from Deutsche
Bank to provide for the total
financing of the transaction.
The financing commitment includes
USD 2.6 billion to finance the
transaction and to refinance the
existing indebtedness of the combined
companies, and a USD 350 million
revolving credit facility to fund
seasonal working capital requirements.
A
portion of this commitment is
expected to be refinanced at the
completion of the transaction
by Buhrmann’s issuance of
USD 350-USD 400 million of new
convertible preference shares
to Apollo Management L.P. ("Apollo")
and Bain Capital, Inc. ("Bain"),
both US-headquartered private
equity firms. It is further anticipated
that a public issue of approximately
EUR 300 million of Buhrmann ordinary
shares will be placed after the
closing of the transaction, subject
to market conditions. As a result
of the issuance of the convertible
preference shares, Apollo and
Bain will together own approximately
22% of Buhrmann’s ordinary
shares on a fully diluted basis,
assuming a USD 400 million investment,
before giving effect to the contemplated
issuance of EUR 300 million of
Buhrmann ordinary shares. Upon
completion of their investment
in Buhrmann, it is expected that
each party will be offered a seat
on Buhrmann’s Supervisory
Board.
TERMS
AND CONDITIONS
Under
the terms of the agreement, the
cash price of USD 9.70 per share
for Corporate Express common stock
will be subject, under certain
conditions, to upward or downward
adjustment based upon the actual
proceeds received by Corporate
Express from the sale or disposition
of certain businesses and assets,
including the Delivery Systems
business.
The
acquisition of Corporate Express
is conditional upon the approval
of Buhrmann’s shareholders
at an Extraordinary General Meeting
to be held on 4 August 1999,
the approval of Corporate Express’
shareholders at a special shareholders’meeting
to be held later this year, and
regulatory approvals in the US
and Europe. This transaction is
subject to other standard terms,
conditions and fees, including
fiduciary termination provisions.
The transaction is expected to
close in the fourth quarter of
calendar year 1999.
DIVIDENDS
Buhrmann
intends to maintain its EUR 0,60
per share dividend this year.
The future dividend policy will
be based on a pay-out ratio of
35%, compared with its previous
pay-out ratio of 35% to 45%, demonstrating
Buhrmann’s continued commitment
to earnings growth and, as a result,
dividend growth.
BUHRMANN’S
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DIVISION
Buhrmann
also today announced that it will
focus its growth on the office
products business, complemented
by the growth of its paper merchanting
and graphic systems operations.
Alternative strategies, therefore,
will be evaluated for the future
development of its Information
Systems Division. As a result,
the Information Systems Division
will be deconsolidated in the
financial statements during the
second half of this year.
COMPANY
DESCRIPTIONS
Buhrmann
NV, headquartered in Amsterdam,
with US operations headquartered
in Chicago, has approximately
15,000 employees in more than
20 countries. For the fiscal year
ended 31 December 1998, Buhrmann
on a comparable basis had net
sales of EUR 5.4 billion
(USD 6.0 billion), EBITDA (earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation) of EUR 208 million
(USD 232 million) and EBIT (earnings
before interest and tax) of EUR
160 million (USD 178 million).
It is currently the third largest
supplier of office products in
the business-to-business market
in Europe and the fifth largest
in the US, with 180 locations
including 35 distribution facilities.
Buhrmann is also the leading paper
merchant in Europe and a major
distributor of graphic equipment
and information systems.
Corporate
Express, Inc., based in Broomfield
(Denver), Colorado, is a leading
supplier of essential office and
computer products and services.
In its continuing operations,
Corporate Express currently operates
in nearly 300 locations, including
89 distribution centers, and employs
approximately 15,000 people in
11 countries. It is the second
largest contract stationer in
the US market. For the fiscal
year ended 30 January 1999, Corporate
Express had net sales of USD 3.8
billion, EBITDA of USD 220 million
and EBIT of USD 151 million, excluding
restructuring, merger and other
nonrecurring charges.
Apollo
Management L.P is a private investment
firm with offices in Los Angeles,
New York and London. Since its
inception in 1990, Apollo and
its affiliate funds have invested
over USD 10 billion of capital
in response to the needs of its
strategic partners in a broad
range of industries.
Bain
Capital, Inc. is a private investment
company with USD 6 billion of
capital under management. Since
its founding in 1984, Bain has
completed in excess of 125 transactions
and today has investments in companies
with aggregate revenues in excess
of USD 14 billion.
ADVISORS
Buhrmann
has been advised by ING Barings
and Paribas on the transaction.
Deutsche Bank is acting as arranger
and lead underwriter of the financing.
Corporate Express has been advised
by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Securities Corporation, Deutsche
Banc Alex.Brown, and Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter.
Amsterdam,
13 July 1999
Note:
This press release contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning
of the U.S. Federal securities
laws, including statements concerning
business plans and strategies
and their intended results, and
similar statements concerning
anticipated future events and
expectations that are not historical
facts. The forward-looking statements
in this press release are subject
to substantial risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those
expressed in or implied by the
statements herein. For example,
there can be no assurance that
expected cost savings and synergies
from the proposed combination
will be realized, that the expected
level of earnings or cash flow
will be realized, that the required
shareholder or regulatory approvals
will be obtained or that all conditions
to closing the transaction will
be satisfied. Additional information
concerning potential factors that
could affect future financial
and operating results is included
in Corporate Express’ annual
report on Form 10-K for the year
ended 30 January 1999.
Media
and Investor Contacts:
Buhrmann
NV
Pieter
Barbas, Corporate Secretary, telephone
31 (0)20 651 10 70
Marina Millington-Ward, Investor
Relations, 31 (0)20 651 10 42
Agency
Contacts
USA: Owen Blicksilver, Citigate
Dewe Rogerson, telephone 1 (0)212
419 42 83
UK: Rachel Lankester, Citigate
Dewe Rogerson, telephone 44 (0)171
638 95 71
Toby Mountford, Citigate Dewe
Rogerson, telephone 44 (0)171
638 95 71
Corporate
Express, Inc.:
Linda Dill, Vice President Strategic
Planning and Investor
Relations, telephone 1 (0)303
664 39 49
There
will be presentations today
to Buhrmann’s analysts
at 10.30 a.m. CET (Central
European Time) and a press
conference at 12.15 p.m. CET
at Hotel The Grand, Oudezijds
Voorburgwal 197, 1012 EX Amsterdam.
Further
information about Buhrmann, BT
Office Products and Corporate
Express can be found at:
www.buhrmann.com
www.Corporate-Express.com
www.btopi.com
BT
Office Products Teams
With Sun-Netscape Alliance
to Provide High-Quality Catalog
to Corporate Buyers
DEERFIELD,
Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6,
1999-- BT Office Products today
announced a relationship with
the Sun-Netscape Alliance to provide
a high quality office supply catalog
to corporate buyers through the
Alliance's new Catalog Management
Service. The Alliance Catalog
Management Service is an innovative
initiative announced last week
to provide buyers using Netscape®
BuyerXpert e-commerce software
with access to high quality catalog
content from their suppliers.
The
Alliance Catalog Management Service
is the first initiative of the
Sun-Netscape Alliance Supplier
Network, which will enable buyers
to purchase products from more
than 5,000 suppliers that offer
more than three million products.
BT Office Products is a charter
member of the Alliance Supplier
Network.
``The
Alliance Supplier Network supports
our vision of e-commerce, and
will greatly streamline trading
relationships with our enterprise
customers,'' said Ron Bowman,
BT Office Product's manager, E-Business
Marketing. ``Because our people
and technologies are focused on
supporting customer procurement
strategies, we can help our customers
achieve accelerated return on
their Netscape enterprise procurement
investment.''
The
relationship between BT Office
Products and the Sun-Netscape
Alliance will give BT Office Products
a new outlet for Syntranet(TM),
its content-rich online catalog
service. It will also help ensure
that businesses can procure the
range of products from BT OP in
a cost-effective manner and will
be able to use emerging standards
such as Extensible Mark-Up Language
(XML), the common language for
doing business over the Internet.
``The
purpose of the Catalog Management
Service and the Sun-Netscape Alliance
Supplier Network is to give Netscape
BuyerXpert customers the ability
to find any product they need
quickly and easily,'' said Steve
Savignano, senior vice president
of Applications Product Division
for the Sun-Netscape Alliance.
``We are pleased that BT Office
Products is a charter member of
the Alliance Supplier Network
and that they will help us meet
the demand for high-quality content
that our customers seek.''
An
InformationWeek Top Technology
Innovator, BT Office Products
is a leading, full-service distributor
of office products, serving primarily
medium and large size operations
in major markets in the United
States and Europe. In addition
to general office products, the
company distributes business furniture,
computer supplies and promotional
products. For more information,
please visit the BT Office Products
web site at www.btopi.com.
BT
Office Products Partners with
Ariba Through Ariba.Com Network
DEERFIELD,
Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3,
1999--BT Office Products (BT OP)
today announced their participation
as one of the initial suppliers
in Ariba.com
Network(TM), an Internet service
that connects buying organizations
using Ariba Operating Resource
Management System (TM) with suppliers
worldwide. This business-to-business
eCommerce service will enable
BT OP to enjoy full electronic
partnerships with customers using
Ariba for office product procurement.
"The
introduction of Ariba.com Network(TM)
expands the focus of Web commerce
from cost-effective procurement
to cost-effective trading partnerships",
said Ron Bowman, BT OP's Manager,
E-Business Marketing. "We're
excited to be part of Ariba's
new initiative, as it will provide
highly-efficient conduits to our
customers and also allow us to
better leverage our technology
investments as we extend our enterprise
capabilities to our customers".
A
charter member of Ariba's supplier
council -- Ariba Supplier Link(TM),
BT Office Products has been working
with Ariba to develop a cost-effective
platform for customer relationships
that better leverages e-Commerce
capabilities.
Ariba's
solution utilizes the distributed
architecture of the Internet and
major e-Commerce standards to
route commerce transactions and
supplier catalog content between
buyers and suppliers, and complements
BT OP's support for customer procurement
initiatives.
BT
Office Products is a leading,
full-service distributor of office
products, serving primarily medium
and large size operations in major
markets, both in the United States
and Europe. In addition to general
office products, the company distributes
business furniture, computer supplies
and promotional products. For
more information, please visit
the BT Office Products web site
at www.btopi.com.
