Burlington, MA - (October 17, 2008) - Emptoris, a world leader in supply and contract management software solutions, unveiled a parade of news and new solutions enhancements at its annual conference, Emptoris Empower 2008, which was held on Cape Cod, Massachusetts during the first week of October. The event attracted hundreds of Global 2000 executives to discuss best practices in supply and contract management and to collaborate on the best strategies to manage their organizations amid an uncertain economic environment.
At the conference, the company also unveiled the latest innovations and expansion of its award-winning Emptoris Supply and Contract Management software solutions.
"We're honored that hundreds of leaders and senior executives took time out of their tight schedules to make time to spend close to a week with us discussing best practices and strategies for managing in the current challenging environment. It's interesting and worth noting that sales of supply and contract management solutions have grown even at a time when many global companies are seeking to reduce costs and put off investments. The interest in the Emptoris Empower 2008 conference and investment in our solutions speaks volumes about the value these solutions provide," said Avner Schneur, president and chief executive officer of Emptoris, Inc.
Emptoris Empower 2008
The Emptoris Empower 2008 conference featured over 30 lectures, panels and seminars by industry experts and leading practitioners, including a kick-off general session on the "Roadmap to Supply Management Transformation" by Dr. Hans Elmsheuser, the head of global purchasing for Syngenta; and punctuated by a panel discussion of leading CPOs focused on "Thought Leadership: Weathering a Downward Economy." Sessions were held across a variety of tracks, including those for spend analysis, sourcing, contract management and supplier performance management.
A summary of the sessions held is available at: http://www.emptoris.com/empower/overview.asp. Emptoris Empower 2008 attendees can request copies of session presentations by contacting Todd Wilms of Emptoris at twilms@emptoris.com. Further information about the Emptoris' European Conference, scheduled for [London] in [April 2009] is available from John Webster at jwebster@emptoris.com.
Emptoris 7 Expansion - Driving Greater Agility and Actionable Insights
At the Emptoris Empower 2008 Conference, the company announced the release of a set of expansions to Emptoris Supply & Contract Management solutions, which focus on helping companies gain greater agility and actionable insights to address the challenges of globalization and an uncertain economic environment. The Emptoris solution expansion includes a new spend enrichment manager for Emptoris Spend Analysis; new advanced sourcing desktop analytics for Emptoris Sourcing; enhanced performance visibility for Emptoris Contract Management; and expanded interactive dashboards for all Emptoris solutions which provide detailed analysis options for "anyone, anywhere, anytime." Further details of the solution expansion are available in a separate news release at: http://www.emptoris.com/newsroom/pressreleases/news_press150.asp
Inaugural Emptoris Empower Awards
The inaugural Emptoris Empower Customer Awards Program were presented at a special ceremony at the Emptoris Empower 2008 Conference. The Emptoris Awards recognize the achievements of Global 2000 companies in the areas of innovation, adoption and creating bottom-line value with supply and contract management software. Eight leading Global 2000 companies were recognized for their accomplishments, including GlaxoSmithKline, Syngenta and UnitedHealthcare. Further information about the award winners is available at: http://www.emptoris.com/newsroom/pressreleases/news_press151.asp.
Emptoris Growth Accelerates with Global 2000 Customers
The company also provided an update on its own performance at the conference. Illustrating the investment in its supply and contract management solutions, Emptoris reported that more than 85 Global 2000 companies and other organizations extended or expanded their investment in Emptoris solution(s) in the past 12 months. Noting interest in the full suite of Emptoris solutions, the company announced that it had recently sold its complete suite, including spend analysis, sourcing, and contract management solutions, to two European public agencies as well as a consortium of financial institutions. Illustrating the global demand for its solutions, the company highlighted recent solution implementations for multi-billion-dollar global companies in markets ranging from India, the United Kingdom and Germany, to South America.
Emptoris: Consistently Ranked #1
The company also documented its continued recognition by independent research firms in 2008, highlighting a number of new reports reviewing Emptoris solutions, including:
- Gartner: The Gartner "Magic Quadrant For Sourcing Application Suites, 2008" report positioned Emptoris in the leaders quadrant based on an evaluation of the company's "Ability to Execute" and "Completeness of Vision." The Gartner report, "Vendor Rating: Emptoris" was also released in early 2008, and gives Emptoris and its solution suite an overall "positive" rating.
- Forrester Research: Forrester Research places Emptoris in the "Top Tier" of spend analysis providers in its report, "Market Overview 2008: Automated Spend Analysis" This 20-page report reviews 12 spend analysis software providers and ranks those providers into three tiers. Emptoris Contract Management also received the highest score for "Current Product Offering" in the recently released report, "The Forrester Wave: Contract Life-Cycle Management, Q3 2008." The 17-page report reviews 13 contract management software providers and evaluates them on 110 criteria.
- AMR Research: This AMR Research report, "Case Studies of the Supply Management Transformation Journey," examines the supply management processes and technology at six global companies and provides a detailed breakdown of the "four stages of supply management transformation and maturity." Emptoris' customers and solutions were the only ones featured in the highest developed stage of maturity in the report, "value-driven supply management."
Continuing a Tradition of Thought Leadership
Emptoris Empower 2008 is the seminal event for supply and contract management leaders and practitioners, and the highlight of a long line up of thought leadership events Emptoris sponsors. Over the past year, Emptoris has sponsored notable events and discussions on supply and contract management, including:
- CPO Roundtables: Emptoris and the global consulting firm Accenture sponsored a series of executive debate roundtable sessions focused on key trends and practices in world class procurement at Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 organizations across Europe. The sessions saw senior procurement executives from more than 150 leading companies come together at events in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Paris and Stockholm.
- IACCM Contract Management Seminars: Emptoris and the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) also held a series of educational sessions across Europe - including Paris, Frankfurt and London - to discuss contract management best practices and technologies, and their impact on improving efficiency, innovation and business results. The sessions include presentations by leaders from organizations such as Cisco Systems, Syngenta AG, and the London School of Economics.
- Podcast Series: The company also launched the Emptoris Podcast Network, a series of recorded conversations with experts from a range of disciplines designed to help busy executives get quick insights into strategic procurement and contracting issues. The first podcasts in the series included conversations on supplier risk management, spend analysis, and how to address an economic downturn.
- Spend Analysis Textbook: Kirit Pandit, an Emptoris consultant, was the latest of Emptoris-affiliated professionals to release a book on supply and contract management best practices. Pandit's book, "Spend Analysis: The Window into Strategic Sourcing," examines how spend analysis can be used to improve identification of cost reduction opportunities and prioritization of sourcing projects, as well as ensuring that cost savings reach the bottom line.
- Online Seminars: Emptoris also continued its investment in a long-running series of educational online seminars on supply management topics, partnering with third-parties such as The Institute for Supply Management (ISM), IACCM, Inside Counsel, Huron Consulting, Accenture and professors of supply chain strategy at leading Universities to deliver six new online seminars in 2008. The company also released detailed whitepapers with some of these partners on both supplier risk management and Low Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS).
The company's Emptoris Empower 2008 Conference takes place this week on Cape Cod, MA. The event has attracted more than 250 leaders and professionals from Global 2000 companies and consulting firms to discuss best practices in supply and contract management. The assembled leaders will particularly focus on how to employ supply and contract management solutions to better manage their organizations amid globalization, increased competition and economic uncertainty.
Expanding Operations to Better Service Customers, Educate the Market
Emptoris also announced at the conference, that to meet growing global interest in its solutions, the company has expanded its global operation outside North America by 15% since the start of 2008. In the past year, the company has opened new global offices in Australia, France and Germany - and has significantly expanded is Global Customer Support operations.
The company noted key additions to its company including the appointment of Ted Williams as Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations and Consulting. Williams brings more than 25 years of experience as a leader of software sales and field operations to Emptoris, including having previously served as a Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at growing software firms. The company also appointed Patti Guay as Vice President of Global Services, John Milbank to serve as Vice President of North American Sales and Kevin Ives to serve as General Manager for Australia and New Zealand. Ives had previously worked with Ariba.
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