01/20/2004

TradeStone Software, a maker of collaborative e-sourcing software designed to enable companies “to mainstream international trade as a key part of their business,” announced that it had completed formation of its executive team, and a customer win at Ocean State Job Lot.

Under the "seasoned direction" of CEO Sue Welch, the TradeStone management team is creating next-generation collaborative e-sourcing software for Global 2000 companies, the vendor says.

TradeStone Software was founded in 2003 by “e-sourcing trailblazer” Sue Welch, whose previous companies – IMC Systems Group and RockPort Trade Systems – delivered such industry firsts as PC-based import software in 1984 and Windows-based sourcing software in 1994, TradeStone notes. Based on the experience gained over two decades of developing global trading software, the TradeStone management team has developed a new and innovative e-sourcing system with “breakthrough capabilities,” the vendor asserts.

“Companies today are still struggling to find and implement a platform that supports their strategies to build a truly world-class global sourcing organization,” said Welch. “As our economy globalizes, a competitive advantage in global trading and rapid collaboration can be the difference between market success and failure. The management team at TradeStone has been developing these solutions for nearly 20 years and we know what it takes to give customers what they need to succeed.”

Along with the completion of the executive management team, TradeStone announced that it had been awarded a “significant” contract to implement its new global e-sourcing solution at off-price retailer Ocean State Job Lot.

TradeStone explains that, “Ocean State Job Lot sells electronics, housewares, lawn and garden items, stationery supplies, gourmet foods, sporting goods, toys, pet supplies, home decor, computer supplies and seasonal items. With 69 stores throughout New England, a typical Ocean State store stocks more than 4,000 items, many of them imported from a wide array of offshore suppliers. Because Ocean State provides “opportunistic” merchandise – which changes frequently based on availability – it was vital that the retailer have a global e-sourcing system that enables it to move quickly while dealing with a large variety of small suppliers.”

“In evaluating e-sourcing software, we quickly found that most existing solutions were complex, inflexible, and required extensive training,” said Hisham Aharon, CTO at Ocean State Job Lot. “TradeStone’s software suite stood apart from the pack, helping us to leverage our existing IT infrastructure and business processes while enabling quick, easy and seamless collaboration with our international suppliers.”