Visa and @UKplc announce strategic partnership to launch cloudBuy, an advanced Procure-to-Pay and business planning tool in Asia Pacific

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Global payments technology company, Visa and @UKplc, one of the United Kingdom's largest eCommerce marketplace solutions providers, today jointly announced a partnership that will position and deliver effective cost management for Governments and Enterprises in the region. The partnership will launch a cloud-based, advanced e-procurement system that extends the capabilities of existing procure-to-pay products, into business planning and improving interaction between buyers and their suppliers.

cloudBuy is an integrated solution that takes a corporate buyer through a procurement process, from sourcing, order placement, payment, through to analyzing the purchase from a cost management standpoint, in a few mouse clicks. The solution then takes the process further with in-built controls and immediate audit facilities, eliminating rogue buying and off-contract pricing as well as ensuring compliance.

cloudBuy has an exclusive partnership with Visa, which offers a safe and controlled payment environment. The payment method also ensures that buyer organizations do not lapse on payment schedules with their suppliers and that suppliers have better cash flow with shorter payment periods. The payment method will particularly benefit SME suppliers who often suffer cash flow problems because of payment delays by buyers.

“Economic forecasts in Asia Pacific markets, particularly the more developed ones, have called for austerity measures. We acknowledge that organizations are under pressure to cut costs and improve efficiencies quickly. They are looking for solutions that are not just quick fixes but provide sustainable cost management possibilities,” said Olivia Leong, Regional Head of Enterprise & Government Payment Solutions, Commercial Products, Visa, Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“We decided to extend Visa's collaboration with @UKplc that started in Europe, to Asia Pacific. Through cloudBuy, we bring to market an enhanced electronic procure-to-pay solution that doesn't just provide immediate cost savings, but will push companies to reassess their buying behaviors and payment methods to meet long-term cost management objectives,” Leong added.

Visa says that the partnership combines the strengths of the company's issuer relationships, a proven network and a track record of bringing innovative payment solutions to the market, with @UKplc's experience in developing and running e-commerce and cloud computing solutions for Government and corporate clients.

cloudBuy – Going Beyond Procure-to-Pay

A key differentiator of cloudBuy is its starting point. The system operates on artificial intelligence technology that analyses a buying organization's spend detail in just days. It gives an immediate assessment of compliance to raising purchase orders, price variances for the same product across the organization locally and globally, lost opportunities with volume discounts and special promotions, as well as a global price benchmark for the same product. The data and analysis will assist buying organizations to set realistic cost management targets even before cloudBuy is implemented.

Upon implementation, cloudBuy continues to offer data analysis that produces extensive reports that assist organizations with supplier management, contract negotiations and renegotiations, as well as real time tracking of cost management leading to better business forecasting.

“We have at hand the intelligence of having analyzed more than $500 billion of spend through our SpendInsight tool,” said Lyn Duncan, CEO, @UKplc. “cloudBuy's client base will benefit from the knowledge gained from @UKplc's experience in analyzing corporate buying behavior as well as price variances across the globe. We remain steadfastly committed to helping organizations improve purchasing processes and achieving their strategic business goals.”

Working with Visa, we have been challenged to bring to market a technological solution that is easy to implement and use. Buying organizations need not deal with high up-front investments and complicated set-up procedures. There will be a minimum training requirement for administrators and users.

“Using the system is intuitive as it has been modeled to be an eCommerce site for corporate purchases. So anyone who is capable of online shopping through an amazon.com or Travelocity will breeze through cloudBuy. This ensures that the adoption rate is higher and organizations will see the benefits of implementation much faster,” said Duncan.

cloudBuy for Suppliers

Another e-commerce influence that buyers can see on cloudBuy is its catalogue management system. Typically in e-procurement systems, catalogue management resides with buying organizations that have to manually load suppliers' spreadsheet catalogues into their portals. This results in extra work for buyers and suppliers as well as out-of-date content and a limited ability to deal with services and more complex products.

cloudBuy enables suppliers to manage their own content. Suppliers are provided with a B2B website which enables them to manage their catalogue of goods or services, time based booking, pricing and discount structures, inform buyers of delivery charges, stock levels, as well as tax and currency. If suppliers maintain their own websites, cloudBuy can work with them to make those sites interoperable with the buyer's cloudBuy portal.

This is a significant step forward from a supplier standpoint as the website structure allows for them to promote their products and services at the right price, ensuring availability, and eliminating hidden costs for buyers, significantly reducing the possibility of disagreement on final purchase prices.

cloudBuy will be first launched in Australia in late 2013. Other markets earmarked for first phase launch include New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

For more information, visit www.cloudbuy.com.

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