SAP announced today its acquisition of Frictionless Commerce, SAP anticipates that the acquisition will be completed in July 2006. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Frictionless Commerce employs approximately 70 people and has an additional office in London, England.

Frictionless Commerce's On-Demand edition offers e-Sourcing capabilities available through a Web browser. Within days, organizations can run sourcing events and begin managing suppliers. The On-Demand edition offers a faster time-to-benefit, as well as measurable cost savings with a minimal investment in time, resources and training.

"With today's announcement, SAP continues its extension of mySAP Supplier Relationship Management to include an on-demand option for e-Sourcing," said Shai Agassi, president of the Product & Technology Group and executive board member, SAP AG. "Sourcing on-demand offers customers a fast and consistent way to automate labor-intensive negotiations. Because Frictionless Commerce software is 'Powered by SAP NetWeaver' certified, integration with SAP applications already exists, making this a quick win for our customers. We extend a warm welcome to Frictionless Commerce's employees and partners."

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Frictionless Commerce serves large and midsize enterprises across an array of vertical markets, including banking, insurance, professional services, consumer products, discrete manufacturing, life sciences, telecommunications and utilities. The transaction with Frictionless Commerce is consistent with SAP's strategy to use targeted, fill-in acquisitions that add superior functionality to its broad solution portfolio while continuing to grow its business organically.

Prashanth Rai

Tag(s):SAPPHIRE06, SAP