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June 2003
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NEWS UPDATES FOR THE WORLD OF BUSINESS ONLINE Services
GreenBiz.com, with a grant from EPA and support from several companies, has launched GreenBizLeaders.com, a free database of information on companies that have aligned environmental responsibility with business success. Users can search among nearly 700 company examples in 25 sectors to find company practices and initiatives. Most of the companies included are past winners of federal, state, and local environmental awards and recognition programs. GreenBiz is a website providing tools, news, and information on corporate environmental practices. It was created by the nonprofit Green Business Network, a project of the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation. Chemical Industry Data Exchange (CIDX) has published a cybersecurity guidance document, marking its first completed task under a recently begun initiative to improve chemical industry cybersecurity. The 46-page document, "Guidance for Addressing Cybersecurity in the Chemical Sector Version 1.0," can be downloaded from the CIDX website. The document is consistent with the American Chemistry Council's Responsible Care security code. For each of 13 management practices in the ACC code, the document gives guidance on cybersecurity applicability, sample strategies, and resources to help companies with implementation. Both process control and information technology systems are addressed. The larger initiative, the Chemical Sector Cybersecurity Program managed by CIDX, is aligned with the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to improve cybersecurity in seven critical infrastructure industries. Technology
Dow Corning will provide its environmental, health, and safety expertise to a collaborative SAP EH&S consulting effort with Enterprism Solutions. Enterprism's parent, TechniData AG, is the exclusive development partner of German software provider SAP for its mySAP product life-cycle management EH&S software and provides training in Europe. Dow Corning began using SAP EH&S software in 1999. This was also the first single global installation of the software, and SAP frequently refers prospective customers to the company. Enterprism and Dow Corning will now consult on SAP EH&S installations in North and South America.
SciQuest, a provider of services and software for procuring and managing research- and education-related materials, conducted a reverse stock split on May 20. Every seven-and-one-half of its shares were combined into one share, now trading at a little over $4.00 per share. Originally launched as a laboratory products e-marketplace, SciQuest was among the first dot-coms to go public. On a postsplit basis, its shares traded in early 2000 for as much as $630. By late 2000, when investors soured on dot-coms, SciQuest shifted its focus away from an e-marketplace and toward software and services. Marketplaces ChemConnect has expanded its capabilities and services for the plastics industry by adding a polymers trading pit. Using the pit, buyers and sellers can complete transactions for various grades of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene and also create financial vehicles--such as swaps and spreads--across the polymer product chain from feedstock to finished product. The site also offers managed and self-service auctions for wide-spec or nonprime materials. More than 700 lots, representing over 100 million lb of resin, have been sold through 75 managed ChemConnect auctions, the firm reports. Auctions covering $200 million worth of plastic additives and colorants and $70 million of packaging materials have also been completed. Elemica has added Elite International Transportation to its network of chemical companies and service providers. Elite is the first U.S.-based freight forwarder to join the network. Elemica members who are also Elite logistics services customers will be able to exchange transaction and shipment data electronically. Elite says it was among the first freight forwarders to offer track and trace capabilities, electronic documents, and data mining via the Internet. ELECTRONIC INTERACTIONS Chemical and pharmaceutical companies need to work harder to improve the online customer experience, Customer Respect Group concludes. The research and consulting firm recently reported on its studies of U.S. chemical and drug producers and their websites. Among the findings were that half of 37 chemical companies and nearly two-thirds of 18 drug firms surveyed didn't respond to inquiries sent via their websites. And of the few chemical companies that used Autoresponder technology promising to respond, most never did. The surveys assigned a "customer respect index" to each company based on a qualitative analysis and quantitative measures of interacting with the company online. The index tracked 25 different attributes--such as privacy, attitude, transparency, simplicity of use, and responsiveness--that together create the online experience. The chemical group average was 5.9 out of 10, with FMC garnering the highest rating of 9.4 and International Flavors & Fragrances the lowest at 2.7. Chemical companies' best overall rating was for simplicity, at 7.1, and the worst was for responsiveness, at 4.1. Similarly, drug companies together rated just 3.7 for responsiveness while doing the best at privacy, with a 7.5 rating. Wyeth was the sector's highest ranked company, at 8.1, while generic drug producer Ivax scored just 2.7; the drug sector average was also 5.9. E-Business is written by
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