CommerceOne and SAP in supply chain link-up

Sap and Internet exchange specialist CommerceOne are linking up to develop integrated Web-based supply-chain management and procurement.

SAP plans to resell CommerceOne's Marketsite alongside mySAP.com, with both companies planning to develop a set of XML-based procurement and exchange applications, probably towards the end of the year. MySAP.com will gradually replace SAP flagship product R/3.

The move, which targets Oracle and the tripartite IBM-Ariba-i2 tie-up, is intended to offer users a one-stop shop for e-business services.

In contrast, Oracle began shipping its suite of e-commerce products - dubbed 11i - featuring supply chain management and customer relationship management software a couple of weeks ago.

SAP's co-founder Hasso Plattner said mySAP.com has been a success, despite user confusion over how they can move from expensively developed R/3 systems to mySAP.com.

SAP, which claims to have more than a million end-users since it mySAP was launched last August, has insisted that the new product represents not a technology change for users, but a business change.

Peter Klaey, managing director of SAP UK, said the rationale for the CommerceOne had been about "time to market", and he insisted mySap.com would exist as a separate product.