Companies

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Voridian, a division of Eastman Chemical, has launched its own website, Voridian.com. The site was created with the help of Scient, an "experience management" consulting firm focused on connecting people and businesses through a variety of channels. Voridian's site provides product information, order placement and tracking, account information, shipment monitoring, and other capabilities. Like Eastman's site, Voridian's is based on a focused customer center.

DuPont's white pigment and mineral products business has become a partner of SpecialChem, which operates an online polymer additives site. DuPont's technical and polymer application information for titanium dioxide is now available there. SpecialChem claims to have an online community of more than 8,500 plastics industry professionals. Other companies with storefronts on the site include Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Uniqema, Baerlocher, and Atofina.

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Technology

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SAP Portals has formed alliances with several partners to expand its ability to provide software and expertise for business processes and online enterprise portals. The partners will help companies get returns on information technology investments, increase efficiency, and improve interactions among employees, customers, partners, and suppliers. The partners include technology and content providers--such as Baan, Compaq Computer, Microsoft, Documentum, and webMethods--and consultants and system integrators such as Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In January, SAP merged its SAP Portals and SAP Markets businesses into one subsidiary. SAP Markets offered buying and selling applications for collaboration among trading partners, whereas SAP Portals works to integrate applications, information, and services.

SciQuest has acquired Textco, a provider of software for molecular biologists, for a combination of cash and stock. With about $500,000 in annual sales, Textco sells gene analysis and data management tools. Separately, SciQuest has created two new products derived from its research information portal, SciCentral. The first is a biopharmaceutical-related research news feed that can be supplied daily to a customer's website and matched to the look and feel of that site. The second is a SciCentral private portal, again customized and updated daily, that includes news from 100 disciplines and other online resources. SciQuest's news sources include research newswires, communications from journals, articles from technology portals and research magazines, and press releases from universities and professional organizations.

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Marketplaces/Networks

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ChemConnect completed its acquisition of rival chemical exchange website CheMatch.com nearly three weeks earlier than its end-of-February target. Changes are already in place: The CheMatch site is no longer accessible, and ChemConnect has a new look. Two former CheMatch executives have ChemConnect management positions: Michael Appling is now chief financial officer, and Michael Ereli is vice president for technology. ChemConnect executives hold five of seven other major roles; former employees of the industry network Envera, acquired by ChemConnect in June 2001, are in the remaining two. Two of eight directors on the revamped board have CheMatch ties. The number of partnerships with financial services, logistics, market research, and technology providers has nearly doubled with the combination.

Trade-Ranger, an online marketplace for goods and services in the oil and petrochemical industries, has set up a partnership with Portum, which provides sourcing and negotiation applications. Under the agreement, Portum will provide online auction capabilities and requests for quotation/proposal/information services for Trade-Ranger's users. Trade-Ranger was launched in July 2000 by 15 leading energy and petrochemical companies, including Dow Chemical, Mitsubishi Corp., Phillips Petroleum, Royal Dutch/Shell, TotalFinaElf, and BP. Procurement activities by its 20 buyer members represent more than 25% of annual global spending in the energy and petrochemical industries, Trade-Ranger says.

Elemica will connect with Quadrem, a global e-marketplace for the mining, minerals, and metals industries. The connection will join the network of chemical producers with their customers in the other industries. Quadrem is backed by more than 20 major firms. Companies on both sides are looking for more efficient ways to place orders, receive confirmations, track shipments, and process invoices, the websites say. Using a link to be completed in the second quarter, orders placed by Quadrem's users will be routed to the correct contracted supplier on Elemica. Elemica also is linking to transportation and logistics hub Transwide and plastic industry site Omnexus.

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PARTNERING

BASF Corp., the North American arm of BASF AG, will offer its customers the use of BillingZone's electronic invoicing and payment service to receive, review, and pay invoices. The service is expected to reduce manual activity, improve cash flow, and simplify and automate invoice processing. BillingZone is a joint venture of PNC Bank and Perot Systems. Through another alliance with Spacenet, BASF's North American agricultural products business will provide high-speed, satellite-based Internet service to 3,000 distributors and retail customers. The Harvest Partners Network will allow users in rural locations to have informational and e-business capabilities. This summer, it is to be offered to growers as well. Separately, BASF IT Services, the recently formed information technology provider for BASF AG, is using Volera's content networking software. The software will help BASF manage and deliver information across its global computer network. More than 20,000 employees at the company's headquarters download business information daily, and the software is expected to improve Internet access and productivity. Also, to cut hardware and service costs, BASF has standardized its use of computers from Dell. Under an exclusive agreement, Dell will deliver more than 60,000 notebooks, workstations, and desktop PCs already configured with BASF-specific hardware and software.