Supply Transactions SimplifiedSupply Transactions Simplified

Elemica Inc., a private trading network for the chemical industry, has deployed portal technology from Asera Inc. to let suppliers and buyers conduct transactions without having to develop costly application links.

Elemica's recent implementation of the Asera eBusiness Operating System--a development and deployment platform for integrating new and existing applications and business logic--resulted in the creation of the Elemica .com Web portal. The system lets chemical buyers and sellers, previously unable to use Elemica's enterprise resource planning trading hub, carry out ERP and supply-chain transactions via the Internet without investing in software or custom-integration capabilities.

Unlike trading exchanges that match buyers and sellers, Elemica serves as a communications hub between companies that already have trading relationships. The Elemica network consists of the Connected Solution that lets companies carry out transactions between their respective ERP systems, as well as a collection of supply-chain facilities that let partners work on collaborative planning and forecasting, inventory management, and supply-chain optimization.

Elemica's offerings are based on proprietary XML, IP tools, and integration technology from webMethods Inc. But some companies don't want to integrate their systems directly, and others are so small, they don't even use ERP software. These companies can trade via a browser over the Elemica portal, VP Allen Wizdo says.

The portal capabilities should expand Elemica's appeal to a wider range of chemical buyers and sellers, says AMR Research analyst Leif Eriksen.

The value of Elemica's contract with Asera wasn't disclosed, but Asera VP Mark Atherton says projects of this scope usually cost $2 million for software and $4 million for implementation services. Elemica was founded by 22 companies, including BASF, British Petroleum, Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Shell.