Capita Outsourcing Seeks to Acquire Rival Xchanging

It has been widely reported that Capita, a London-based business process management and outsourcing services provider, recently launched a bid to acquire Chicago-based Xchanging, which provides cloud-based software and procurement services as well as outsourcing services. According to Sky News, Capita has offered Xchanging more than 400 million British pounds to acquire Xchanging, one of Capita’s principal competitors. To bolster its bid, Capita’s financier, Citi, purchased 24 million shares of Xchanging, or 10% of the company, in what Sky News calls an attempt to deter other bidders from making an offer. A day before Capita made its bid Xchanging, Apollo Global Management, a venture capital firm, announced that it was no longer interested in acquiring the company. However, according to the Telegraph, Xchanging was still interested in a bid from Apollo, presumably at a rate of 170 pence per share compared to Capita’s 160 pence per share.

Elemica Introduces New Sourcing Optimization Capabilities

Pennsylvania-based Elemica, which provides supply chain business networks, announced the release of its new Sourcing Optimization solution that seeks to drive greater collaboration, speed, and visibility into the sourcing process. According to Elemica officials, their solution relies on advanced algorithms that can quickly and efficiently compute thousands of variables within “complex, interdependent bids” to derive cost- and non-cost related insights. The advanced tool is meant to complement eSourcing solutions and replace Excel-based date computations, which are becoming increasingly too complex to handle within spreadsheets. Elemica’s Sourcing Optimization solution is said to provide increased flexibility in building custom RFX and auctions. It is also said to allow practitioners to consider cost- and non-cost attributes, in part with an advanced analytics capabilities, complete with “what if” scenario planning. Finally, Elemica’s new Sourcing Optimization tool is supposed to reduce project cycle times and time to value.

Ariba Announces the Release of Next-Generation Partner Program

Recently, Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA), the online business network wholly owned by SAP, announced the release of its Next-Generation Partner Program at its Partner Leadership Summit, which seeks to simplify B2B relationships and interactions on Ariba’s network. By increasing access to collaborative processes and tools on its network, Ariba intends to drive speed and efficiency through the purchasing and deployment phases, particularly with service providers. Ariba’s improved Partner Program will including access to open APIs and SAP HANA Cloud Platform, allowing users to build customized extensions on the Network as well as Ariba’s cloud-based source-to-settle solutions. Approximately 300 enterprises currently partner with Ariba, and it will be interesting to see how well its user base responds to these enhancements.

Tradeshift Launches Network-Based Supplier and Risk Management Solution

On November 3, Tradeshift, the California-based provider of supplier collaboration networks, announced the release of Tradeshift Risk, a network-based tool that leverages supplier data to manage supply and supplier risk in real time on one platform. With Tradeshift Risk, users monitor and manage supplier information that is updated and provided by suppliers, rather than manually maintaining that information within the enterprise where it can lose its freshness and value. Now, users can take action within the Network based on updates they receive from suppliers on the Network; they do not have to perform offline risk analyses using disparate data streams and analysis methods.

According to Tradeshift, its new offering includes the ability to manage the risks of all non-compliant suppliers, not just top-tier suppliers that happen to fall in the red. It merges internal and external sources of information to present users with a single source of truth, rather than relying solely on supplier data or enterprise data. Tradeshift Risk is also compatible with Tradeshift Buy and Tradeshift Pay, and it builds out the P2P capabilities of the platform with a value-adding risk management capability. Finally, Tradeshift Risk can provide customization for users via Tradeshift Apps, particularly if users need to consider other factors, such as sustainability.

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Tagged in: Ardent Team, Collaboration, Innovation, Networks, Process, Solution Providers, Suppliers, Supply Risk, Tech Round-Up, Technology