Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) announced today that its new QuickBooks® Shopping Source, the Internet-based shopping service powered by Metiom, is now available to QuickBooks 2000 users. The QuickBooks Shopping Source provides the ability to link leading suppliers and hundreds of thousands of small businesses in an Internet marketplace specifically developed with the needs of small businesses in mind. It enables these companies to benefit from the volume discounts -- up to 40 percent off of supplier direct pricing -- previously available only to large corporations.
The QuickBooks Shopping Source is an ideal way for suppliers to effectively reach small businesses and for businesses to benefit from corporate-level, negotiated discounts. The initial 19 participating suppliers benefit from an open platform that makes it easy to access a previously untapped customer base with significant buying power. QuickBooks users, in aggregate, spend a total of $500 billion per year on business goods and services, and 62 percent of them already make business purchases via the Internet1. In addition, 70 percent of QuickBooks' nearly three million users are the owner or decision-maker in the business.
Small business e-commerce is big and getting bigger. Online purchases by the nation's 25 million small businesses are forecast to hit $118 billion by next year.
In response to the launch, Lisa Williams, program manager of eCommerce at The Yankee Group said, " Metiom and Intuit have taken a large step forward in bringing the small to medium business universe into the potential of wide-reaching e-Marketplaces."
An Effective Way to Reach Small Businesses
Suppliers maintain the ability to manage the look, feel, branding and content of their own online catalog within the QuickBooks Shopping Source. The service's open platform allows suppliers to easily convert existing catalogs into the service without added development. In addition, the service provides links to suppliers' existing Web catalogs, so that their infrastructure and image can be leveraged.
The new QuickBooks Shopping Source will help level the e-commerce playing field for small businesses by lowering the barriers to e-commerce. It enables them to buy with big company clout from leading vendors such as Office Depot, Gateway, RoweCom, Iomega, Lexmark, Anixter, ABC Warehouse, Mission Janitorial, B-Sting.com apparel, Ralph's Electronics, iGo.com, FirstSource, Software Spectrum, Newark Electronics, Contact East, Daytimers, Enable Systems, EqualFooting.com, OFSS.com. The number of suppliers is anticipated to more than double by the end of the calendar year. Suppliers that are expected to soon be enabled include Equal Footing, Staples, DXP Enterprises, Boise Cascade, Office Max, MCM Electronics, Officesupplies.com, Software House International, Northern Industrial Services, IBM, VWR, Jade Systems, CompUSA, Daly Computers, Batteries.com, Bulbs.com, New England Office Supply, CorporateGifts.com, Sarcom, Vibes Technology, and Ebuyxpress.
"Suppliers are eager to reach the small business market," said Dan Nye, vice president and general manager of the small business division at Intuit. "With the QuickBooks Shopping Source, suppliers can easily reach a large base of small businesses rather than try to build a community piece by piece. We are starting a chain reaction we believe will attract more and more suppliers and more and more customers."
The Ultimate Small Business E-Marketplace
The QuickBooks Shopping Source enables users to shop for a wide range of business products -- such as communications and computer equipment, software, and office supplies -- all from leading vendors. Selections can be converted quickly into purchases and tracked from within the service, streamlining and simplifying record keeping.
In a recent survey conducted by International Communications Research, more than 80 percent of small businesses felt that competition from big companies or chains could cause them to suffer2. Almost half of those businesses surveyed said they are unable to take advantage of discounts available to their larger competitors, primarily because they lack the buying power enjoyed by larger organizations.
"Working with companies like Intuit, Metiom provides business owners with the ultimate e-Marketplace-- a flexible, scalable, convenient service to help save money, enhancing their productivity, and going toe-to-toe against the big guys," said Chris Wagner, president and chief executive officer of Metiom. "QuickBooks' user base puts Intuit in the pole position to become the leader in small business e-commerce. Intuit's innovation in small business financial software paves the way for every small business to leverage the Internet with added convenience and confidence."
Making e-Business Easier and Faster
The new purchasing service takes advantage of the e-commerce functionality of Metiom's ConnectTradeTM for electronic marketplaces. From within QuickBooks or QuickBooks Pro 2000, users can search multiple vendor catalogs simultaneously, and quickly view products, prices, availability and shipping charges. The QuickBooks Shopping Source compares information from different vendors on one convenient display, making buying decisions easier and faster. Users can purchase products from different vendors at the same time with just a credit card. Because the QuickBooks Shopping Source uses Metiom Supplier-Managed Catalogs, vendors control their catalog content and branding.
"QuickBooks Shopping Source provides Lexmark with incremental awareness and consideration in the small business space, the fastest growing market segment, and one that is traditionally expensive to reach. Most importantly, the Metiom formula makes it painless for the small business user to procure Lexmark printers, services and supplies. That equates to a superior customer experience, and we're thrilled to be aligned with Metiom and Intuit to meet the needs of our small business customers," said John Salsman, director of business development, Lexmark International.
The Metiom ConnectTradeTM product suite enables electronic inter-networking of buyers and suppliers by allowing purchasers to order goods and services online directly from suppliers' electronic catalogs. Metiom ConnectTrade products fully support leading Internet commerce standards and are easily integrated into a buying organization's existing systems. The Metiom ConnectTrade solution powers Internet purchasing for Global 2000 corporations and large public sector entities.
Metiom is a leader in powering e-marketplaces for small and mid-sized businesses. Each Metiom-powered marketplace allows buyers to search, compare and purchase goods and services from an array of suppliers, choose a payment method, and track and control their purchasing.
The QuickBooks Shopping Source is now one of several connected e-services available with QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000, enhancing the value of the accounting and business management system and helping to reduce the administrative hassles of running a business.
Pricing and Availability
The QuickBooks Shopping Source is now available and is provided at no additional charge within QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro 2000. Internet access is required for online services including e-services. Terms, conditions, features, service options and pricing are subject to change.
