Electronic Commerce Brief: Big Vendors in Chase Unit's Supplier Group

procurement over the Internet, said major vendors in the field have joined its Premier Supplier Alliance program.

The members -- Office Depot, W.W. Grainger, Newark Electronics, BOC Gases, MSX International, RoweCom, and Software Spectrum -- get to take advantage of joint marketing, buyer-supplier conferences, lead referrals, and joint technology initiatives.

The Premier Supplier Alliance is part of a program open to suppliers to Intelisys clients, such as Ford Motor Co., Texas Instruments, and Chase Manhattan Bank, which owns Intelisys.

Lloyd O'Connor, Intelisys chief executive officer, said support for the alliance bodes well for "broad adoption of the open-standards-based, supplier-managed content model advocated by Intelisys since 1996. And by putting a high priority on supporting solutions and services that help suppliers of all sizes establish an on-line presence, we're expanding the buying options for our clients exponentially."

"Our partnership with Intelisys, one of the leaders in electronic procurement software, is a significant component of Grainger's multichannel, anywhere-anytime strategy for serving our customers," said Daniel Hamburger, the president of Grainger Internet Commerce.