What's happening?
- President Bush announced his intent to nominate Ariba president David McCormick to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce.
- Ariba's Chairman and CEO Bob Calderoni would assume McCormick's duties.
Background
Who? What?
- McCormick was President and CEO of FreeMarkets which Ariba acquired nearly a year ago.
- FreeMarkets is known is smaller circles for QuickSource, an introductory negotiation platform (RFX).
Affect
Will this affect suppliers? I don't think so.
If he had left right after Ariba took over QuickSource, then I'd say it might make the transition difficult and this could affect suppliers who had to use QuickSource with their customers. But I believe Ariba has had enough time to assimilate FreeMarkets.
On the possibly positive side...
- The increased press for Ariba should be good for suppliers who are already on the Ariba Supplier Network:
increased visibility = more Ariba Buyers = more opportunities for Ariba suppliers
- It won't hurt Ariba suppliers to have a politician rooting for Ariba.
On the possibly negative side...
- I saw McCormick speak at the last AribaLive conference in Orlando and I found him sincerely inspired. Ariba would be wise to find a new source of inspiration.
Links
No comments:
Post a Comment